Nimrod Oceanlord

We left Calvi after buying breakfast from town and refuelling as it is 50 cents per litre cheaper than in Sardinia. We made our way north eastwards towards the bottom of the tip of Corsica. Winds were yet again light but we did manage to hoist the cruising chute for a while and have evidence to prove it!

We arrived at Saint Florent just before 6pm and after mooring up found out that the showers were closed for the evening. Mind you, they wanted €2.30 each for the privilege on top of the overnight rate of €66! After a chicken tagine on board, we went for a wander along the front. It’s a pleasant enough town with an ancient citadel but it certainly wasn’t as interesting or charming as Calvi. However, it served our purpose as we thought there was going to be some high winds overnight that didn’t happen but it was good to fill up with water.

Today, having hoisted the Corsican flag – a present for Nimmie from the Colins – we had a 30nm trip over the top of Cap Corse to the east coast of Corsica. The Corsican flag represents a Moor’s head, taken from the Aragon arms representing a defeat of the Saracens and first used by Corsican rebels in the 18th century.

We managed to sail for most of the day but the swell made for an uncomfortable passage for a couple of hours. We had a cracking sail initially then had the engine on for a while and then were able to goose wing for the rest. Goose winging is when you have the wind directly behind you so you have a sail on each side. We arrived near Macinaggio and found a bay just south of it that looked good from the pilot books but on arrival decided that it looked more like a set from a war movie with deserted or shut up houses and derelict towers! We went a couple of miles north back to Macinaggio and anchored just outside the harbour in a lovely bay with sandy beaches and a hilly back drop. The wind is supposed to pick up tonight but we should be fine tucked up into the bay.

Pictures of the four of us with the cruising chute, the Corsican flag, Saint Florent and Macinaggio.

Yesterday saw us departing the delightful Girolata after a lazy breakfast, at 10.20.

Discussion between skipper (Jo) and first mate (Liz) about the necessity of sails resulted in the good ship Nimrod, which our generous hosts have transformed from weekend cruiser to an ocean capable home away from home, motoring close inshore enabling us to savour the beauty of the rock colours and formations of the Corsican national park. The pilot books had us expecting every hue from indigo to grey and clefts cut into cliff faces soaring to 2,000 ft. Impressive and beautiful as the coastline is we suspect that some of the notes may have been written after a lunch anchored close inshore off one of the numerous bays and imbibing of a glass or two.

Still a few miles south of La Revellata the wind seemed favourable for the cruising chute so discussion ensued followed by action the net result of which is that it is now in the saloon rather than under a bunk in the fore peak. Fickle winds putting paid to the more drastic action of actually hoisting.

Not long after, as Jo and I were sitting in the cockpit discussing the attributes of the next passing super yacht, I passed a warning of “wash” to those below – little bounce, bigger bounce – screech from below! Who had opened the saloon hatch and left the heads open a notch? Liz who was editing on Jo’s laptop and CJ, who shall we say in the smallest room, were soaked. An amazing amount of water from one wave. No damage so all well.

We picked up a mooring buoy off the marina in the shadow of the walled town of Calvi which amongst its many delights hosts a detachment of the French Foreign Legion who provided a distraction or two as we explored the old town.

Provisioning complete a sundowner was enjoyed to the sound of rhythmic drumming starting of a night of live music. One street back from the waterfront we were spoilt for choice of places to eat opting for a restaurant that provided more than an adequate sufficiency alfresco. Safely back onboard live music wafted across the bay.

Another tough day drew to a close. Pictures below of Calvi from the mooring buoy (day and night) and of Nimrod from the citadel.

Colin (Weston)

We left Ajaccio around midday to make the 20+nm round to Anse de Chiuni. A large bay with turquoise waters and sandy beaches. We managed to sail most of it despite the flukey wind. When we arrived, there was only one other boat. Club Med had a resort on the beach but the noise (sorry karaoke) stopped around 9pm.

We had an incredibly quiet night at anchor followed by a lazy morning swimming off the boat and getting rid of the barnacles that had grown on the propeller during the winter. Not easy holding your breathe long enough to dive under the boat and scrap the little blighters off the prop.

We left around 1330 to sail to Girolata, a small village in a sheltered bay that is only accessible by boat. It reminded us of Deja on Mallorca with an artist colony type feel to it. We are on mooring buoys fore and aft (front and back) so you keep in a line and don’t swing this allowing far more boats to be fitted in. It is a fabulous location with artisan shops and restaurants around the bay. Sitting in the cockpit after dinner on board watching the world go by in a very pleasant 26 degrees.

On the way over we went via rock formations called Calanches which are made of red rock and supposedly depicted a Moor’s head, dog, bear and monocled bishop. Suffice to say we saw skulls, dementus from Harry Potter but no dog!

Pictures of Chiuni, the rock formations and Girolata.

Having spent a peaceful night at Porto Pollo, we got up early to travel the 20nm north to Ajaccio, Corsica’s capital, to meet Colin and Colin, our first set of guests this holiday. The city is on the north side of a huge bay that took us two hours to cross. We had just pulled into the marina when they arrived – perfect timing. As we had arrived before midday, we had to wait for boats to leave so that we could be allocated a berth. So an hour later we were safely moored up and began planning our day. Given all of us had had early starts, we decided on a gentle stroll around the old town and a visit to Napoleon’s apartments. These rooms are a national monument but it wasn’t exactly the most informative of tours. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio but apparently as he wasn’t famous whilst he lived here, he left aged 9, most of the history was conjecture and repetitive conjecture at that. Still, we persevered in the forlorn hope it would improve – it didn’t.

Back on board for a late lunch and a snooze before going out to have dinner in one of the many harbourside restaurants. The benefit of being in the Vieux Port rather than the newer Charles Omano further up the bay.

Today we are planning to continue northwards for around 25nm to a small bay to anchor overnight. The weather continues to be very warm at 30 degrees and is already 26 at 0930.

Pictures below of a bust of Napoleon, dinner with the Colins and a view of the old quarter from the marina.

After a longish but uneventful motor from Alghero as there was either zero wind or dead on the nose for the first hour or so, we arrived at Porto Pollo at 0600 hours this morning. The sea was fairly calm so we had very little swell to contend with.

We were honoured to have yet another visit from a couple of dolphins around dusk last night but they were too far away to come out in a photo. It was relatively warm all night at 20 degrees but we still needed jackets from around midnight until arrival. It was only really dark between 1030 and 5 so it didn’t feel like a long night sail. We split the night into two watches so we both got at least three solid hours sleep.

Porto Pollo is a few miles south of the capital, Ajaccio, on the western side. We chose here as a landing as it had mooring buoys in a sheltered bay so we could moor up and then go straight to sleep without worrying about the anchor holding. And, as you know, we do try to avoid marinas if we can whilst on our travels, preferring mooring buoys or anchoring whenever possible.

Pictures of us on our passage over, a Sardinian sunset, Porto Pollo this morning and a map of Corsica.