Nimrod Oceanlord

After the last few days of high winds and overcast skies, we awoke this morning to blue skies and light winds. Yesterday afternoon we finally made it over to La Maddalena town on the local ferry. We were storm bound on Nimmie for the morning as winds exceeded 34 knots at times. La Maddalena is supposed to be quite quaint but to be honest it was disappointing. Perhaps because it is so late in the season.

Today we went in search of sandy beaches and turquoise waters. We ventured north east of Palau to Cala Ferringo on Isola Spargi but it was very rocky in the entrance to the bay so caution got the better part of valour and we moved onto the island of Santa Maria where the water was an amazing turquoise but somehow it didn’t do it for us. Maybe we have been spoilt but there were too many tourist boats for our liking. We then moved a couple of miles south to Cala Nord in Deadman’s Reef Passage which is a narrow channel between islands. It has park authority mooring buoys here and spectacular beaches a dinghy row away. We are now on one of these buoys and have set a lobster pot up again (fingers crossed). This afternoon we went ashore and walked round to look over the Pink Beach (immortalised in various films) but is now a conservation area so access to the actual beach is prohibited and amazing to see a pristine beach of pink sand with no footprints! Pictures of Liz at Santa Maria, Nimrod, the beach at Deadman’s Reef Passage Pink Beach and La Maddelena town.

Last night was a blustery night but we slept well although we awoke to a thunderstorm and lashing rain – not what we had ordered! Liz went to collect the lobster pot and yet again it was empty. So the bait of mouldy bacon that we have recycled since leaving the UK was returned to its air tight container ready for the next lobster catching opportunity. Based on advice from Mags the bait may still not be rancid enough for lobsters.

The storm finally passed around lunchtime so we made the decision to sail back to Sardinia as we wanted to explore the Maddalena Archipelago on the NE tip some more before heading west towards Alghero. There are strong, gale force winds forecast for tonight so we decided to come back to Palau and pick up a mooring buoy.

Tomorrow we are planning on catching the ferry across to La Maddalena town as there are no anchorages nearby so we would need to go into the marina there and pay whereas the mooring buoys here in Palau are free!

Picture of sunset across Palau from our mooring.

Having spent another night at anchor in high winds on Isola La Maddalena, it was time to get back to the mainland so that Yvonne and Caron could get to Olbia for their flight to the UK. The wind was due to get even higher so we decided that we should make tracks straight after breakfast. We had an exhilarating sail from the islands to Palau with gusts of 38 knots (a near gale on the Beaufort Scale). We picked up a mooring buoy just outside of Palau marina and then went ashore for some shopping therapy, ice cream and a final meal together.

Palau is a small town that is geared towards the tourist trade in a nice way with plenty of interesting shops, ice cream parlours and restaurants. We wandered around for a couple of hours and then had an early dinner as Yvonne and Caron had to catch the bus at 0800.

It continued to be very windy overnight so we were glad we were on a mooring buoy although we noticed this morning that one of our lines that was attached to the ring on top of the buoy had chaffed through. Luckily, we had attached a second one as a safety measure before we went ashore yesterday. This morning we attached another line through a piece of plastic tubing to stop the same thing happening again.

We were going to take the ferry to Maddalena this morning but the wind has picked up again to over 30 knots so we are not inclined to leave the boat! We have turned the wind generator off as we are now at full capacity as it was charging at over 10amps.

Pictures of Caron and Yvonne sailing, the view from the back of the boat and Palau from the boat.

After a very windy night at anchor, we took the dinghy into Porto Cervo. The playground of the rich and famous was devoid of the rich and famous and was replaced by a bus load of tourists who were disinclined to have to pay €30 for a gin and tonic and €16 for a toasted sandwich. Most of the shops were closed or, if they were open, didn’t have prices! We decided to return to Nimrod and have lunch on board.

We motored into the nearby La Maddalena Archipelago, which is a protected national park. We anchored in a small bay called Cala Spalmatore on Isola La Maddalena. It has a nice beach with clear turquoise waters and until around 1800 we were the only boat. We spent the relaxing and snorkelling around the rocks where we saw huge clams. Another evening on board but at least the wind is light so we should sleep soundly.

Pictures of Nimrod next to one of the super yachts, Caron, Yvonne and Liz in Porto Cervo and Cala Spalmatore.

Our new guests, Yvonne and Caron, arrived on Saturday afternoon and we had a leisurely evening wandering around Olbia before eating onboard. We were moored against the old town quay for a second night for free rather than €50 plus a night in the marina.

Sunday started overcast but relatively warm but no wind so we motored up the Smeralda coast towards the NE corner where the landscape has changed to lots of islands and small coves. We had lunch in one with turquoise waters and sandy beaches. Caron and Jo had a swim beforehand and then we sailed towards Porto Cervo. The wind picked up so we reduced sail but had a lovely afternoon. We are now anchored in Porto Cervo which is where the super rich come to play. It is quite windy tonight so we will go ashore tomorrow morning to see the town with its trendy shops and cafes.

Pictures of us having dinner last night on Nimrod, super yachts in Cervo and Yvonne and Caron with an amazing sunset as a back drop.

We had a very early start this morning and slipped our lines at 0615 in order to make the 70nm journey north to Olbia where we are meeting our next set of visitors, Caron and Yvonne, tomorrow.

The wind was very light again for the morning but we did manage to hoist the cruising chute again for a couple of hours. We needed to arrive in Olbia by early evening as we were having dinner with friends of Liz’s, Louise and Rhys, who are also in Olbia on a sailing holiday. We managed to get onto the town quay, which is very handy for the supermarket as it is in the centre of town and is also free! Olbia is a commercial port near the north east corner of Sardinia that appears functional rather than picturesque.

Pictures of sunrise this morning, Olbia town quay and picture of Louise serving dinner.