Our Journey

3 Men and a Baby - 21st September 2007

‘How did you know?’ Quote of the week by T. Outlaw.

After spending a evening in Nice and getting the boat ready for the arrival of Lamby and Outlaw we were duly informed that the port was now full due to a regatta and all the charter yachts returning from the weeks rental. So with the boys arriving that evening we were forced to head off round the corner to the adjacent bay and anchor off the small town of Villefranche-Sur-Mer, which turned out to be a really cute and picturesque little spot that we would have undoubtedly missed had the harbour not been full. Lamby and Outlaw arrived around 11pm and after a quick tour of town searching for a place to grab a take-away pizza we headed off in the dingy to Flora Ella anchored just outside the marina wall. The next four days were a pleasant mix of light sailing, motoring, ample drinking, great food, and lots of cards. We also managed to squeeze in a little beach time and swimming which I could see the guys were really happy about after such a terrible summer in London. The highlight of the trip was stopping in St Tropez and getting a little taste of the bazaar lives that the stupidly rich lead. I think it’s fantastic that we can prop up in the same harbour in Flora Ella and in 2 minutes be walking along the quay boasting a number of 10 million dollar yachts. None with helicopters on top in the harbour but we did manager to see a couple of them anchored in various spots. We have now stopped for a couple of days where we parted with the boys in Port Grimaud due to a Mistral blowing in. The wind was crazy during the evening and poor little Oscar was scared from all the noise of ropes banging and clanging against the masts of all the boats moving around in the harbour. The town is an inland maze of small rivers and canals where people have houses with waterfronts and their yachts parked out front. It kind of reminds me of Patterson Lakes where my mother used to live on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula but kind of bigger. There is a charm and character about the place and the urban mix of houses, shops, boats and water is quite relaxing. Anyway we have just over 100nm (200kms) left of our trip this year and are due to be in Marseille around the start of October, so depending on how long this Mistral lasts will determine how quickly we will be pushed to cover the miles. There are a few places we are looking forward to revisiting along the coast so hopefully we will be not too rushed and miss it all.

Photos

The Genoa Washing Machine (Spin Cycle) – 11th September 2007

Cruising past Genoa and at the top of the Ligurian sea was meant to mark a significant turning point towards the end of our cruise this year. We are now heading towards France and the end is only a couple of hundred miles away, that is if we don’t throw in the towel before that… With a heavily rolling swell the 20nm we were doing under engine was starting to feel like it would never end. I was feeling the effects from a cold graciously passed on by Oscar who had the pleasure of picking it up at the hospital when he went to get his skin checked. I can’t even remember the last time I was sick, so that’s the last time Oscar goes anywhere near a hospital! Coupled with my little incident on the quay at 6am, and a definite bout of sea sickness that we were both overcome with, things were starting to look a little grim in the Howarth household if we didn’t get to a marina quick smart. Well I can safely say that we are now enjoying a cold beer, even if I did have to force it down, and Elo is soaking up the suds and getting her money’s worth in this frightenly expensive marina showers. Think we are both over Italians and their rip-of, well, everything really, and looking forward to a more sympathetic French experience. Oh, and of course looking forward to Outlaw and Lamby arriving in 10 days.

Fun in the Middle of the Night – Camogli - 10th September 2007

Caomgli was given a fantastic write up in our guide book as a place not to miss, a real little gem, I think was the expression. Well it’s not too far off the mark. The only problem was that the marina that was surposto exist, didn’t. The visitors quay was full of fishing boats and there was only room one other yacht, making that the third in the whole harbour. We squeezed in next to a French guy who had been there for a night already and informed us that there was no charge. We thought we were onto a pretty good deal, until the sun went down and the noises started. I am pretty sure we were scraping on the bottom all night and even after several attempts to move away from the quay into deeper water, there was not going to be any sleep tonight, with or without my earplugs. I finally succumbed to the noises around 6am and decided that it was time to sort it out properly and catch at least an hour of sleep before the boy gets up. So I loosened off the lines with the intention of shortening the anchor and pulling us out further still into the harbour. Though as I jumped from the quay back onto the stern of the boat, as I have done a million times, a momentary lapse in concentration saw me miss completely, graze my leg right down the length of my thigh and smack my head on the stainless steel step leading `into the cockpit. Fortunately I landed on the stern swimming platform and not in the water. Though today and I expect for a week or so to come, moving is going to be quite hard, especially round the boat when required. Ah the pain, it even hurts to rest the laptop on my legs. Fosters’ is a remarkable numbing agent though.

The Elegance of Elba - 29th August 2007

Italians being Italians, and by that I mean utterly useless at parking or anchoring a boat under any conditions, are also remarkably protective of their water supply. We have been on anchor now for the last eight days and were starting to run short on water after four. Logically we would go into a port to fill up and be back on our way, though in Italy things are a little different. All the taps have locks and from our experience so far a charge is made in most places. In any case all the marinas were full in Elba and were content to save a bit on the ludicrous summer prices, €80 for a night in Portoferraio, as in most places you can anchor right outside the marina anyway, giving a safety net in case of the ol’ 4am un-forecasted gale. Which seems to happen quite a bit here and it is now our general consensus that the Italian weather forecasts are absolute rubbish. That being said, Elba is a magnificent island and well worth a visit, our favourite spot being Marciana Marina, an elegant and quaint town with a delightful rocky beach at the head. You could easily spend a week there in a B&B soaking up the atmosphere, and by the way there are zero English tourists here, unless on a sailing boat. However it must be said that we were impressed to see a motor boat with an extended family of Chavs at one anchorage, all complemented with a full blistering English tan. Looked like they had just won the lottery, but hey good on them for getting out of England and not heading for the Cost Del Sole.

We are now on the Italian mainland and are heading north to Pisa, where we will leave the boat for a few days and venture inland to check out the Tuscan country side. Aside from the Ryan Air Airport at Trieste, this is my first time in Italy, and am quite excited to soak up the food and rolling landscape. Dinner last night of Spaghetti alla Carbonarra di Mare was scrumptious and if the quality continues like this I will be well satisfied to stay for a while.

Plans are slowly changing for us and it is now looking like we may head eventually to Marseille to leave the boat up for sale. I have been in contact with a large Brokerage firm with offices there who claim to have recently sold some small Moody’s like ours. In any case we will need someone to handle things while we are in Australia. We have been to the marina on our first trip in 2005 and know there is a massive yard where we can keep the boat out of the water.
Photos

Forced Back to Bastia - 17th August 2007

All set to cross the 40nm (8-10hrs) to the Island of Elba just off the Italian mainland when we received the weather forecast on the VHF. Force 8 gales coming, don’t leave port. Normally this would be fine except we were about an hour off the coast and had already tired to get into the port at Macinaggio unsuccessfully. We had a couple of hours up our sleeves and were fully aware that the weather here turns really fast and we needed to get into a port. The closest port where we had a good chance of getting in was Bastia so we headed south the 3 hours it would take and hoped for the best. Close but not close enough… Just five miles from Bastia the weather hit like a sledge hammer. Of course we were unprepared and I needed to go up and shorten the main sail. The autopilot was not responsive enough in the strong gusts so I called Elo out to helm whilst I wrestled with the main. It came down with relative ease and we were soon hammering along at 6-7kts with both sails fully reefed. Bastia was in sight but still a way off. Finally though I got to the wear the new sailing we have been lugging around for the past couple of months not expecting to need until October. We arrived well and were greeted by a traffic jam of 5 boats waiting outside the marina and more on the way. After an anxious wait we were told by the marina staff that we would have a place and just to hang until they came back to fetch us. After a good hour we were finally give a place and a warm welcome. Oh and the beer here tastes the best so far. It always amazes me just how much these boat can actually handle and the more times we get into weather like that, the more our confidence grows. Though not sure if we are really ready for the southern ocean just yet.. Italy will have to wait a couple of days, but who’s in a rush..
Photos

Calvi and the West Coast of Corsica – 15th August 2007

So finally after much umming and arring we decided to go to Calvi by train to meet with Elo’s parents who are chartering a yacht for 2 weeks. The wind did eventually turn in our favour for rounding the cape, though since we are heading to Italy next we were not interested in risking the weather turning bad again and being stuck for another week there.

The yacht, an Oceanias 47, complete with captain / owner. Not my dream boat, none the less something that should ooze comfort and luxury, especially for the money invested. We arrived however to find the customers were not quite as satisfied as we expected and the yacht certainly lacked a few creature comforts. For instance should you really be expected to bring your own sheets and towels? Or not have a shower as the captain doesn’t feel like going into the port to fill up the water tank? How about the CD player not working and yacht having the appearance that things are falling apart? I for one would be a little cheesed off also. Things go wrong all the time on Flora Ella, and I fix them and get most things working again. Though on a charter yacht surely you can’t have clients arrive and not have every piece of equipment working in good order, especially the music system! There was not even a connection for my I-Pod, which I assumed would have been standard, from what I have read in sailing magazines anyway. In any case we had an enjoyable couple of days with family and some of Patrick’s friends. Fantastic dinner and a load of wine in Porto and certainly felt pretty relaxed to be passengers for a while, if only a couple of days. The train / bus getting there and back was fantastic as we passed right through the mountains running down the middle of the country. I certainly have respect for those insane enough to attempt the GR20, a two week walk running north – south along the mountain range. Interesting fact – there are four ski ‘resorts’ on Corsica, one of which we passed along the road. It looked better than the Belgium resort we visited in the winter, though not much. Even though a couple of the peaks pass 2300m, the Island is still pretty underdeveloped kept to its natural beauty, and surprisingly quiet for this time of the year, certainly a positive.

For the moment we are back on Flora Ella and have arrived well in Macinaggio at the top of the finger on the East side and have just dropped the hook, cracked a beer and tried once again unsuccessfully to get a wireless connection.

Rounding Cap Corse – 10th August 2007

Circumnavigating Corse seemed like par of the course for our travels this summer though unfortunately this will not come to fruition, for the moment anyway. Our rendezvous with Elo’s parents on the 11th in Calvi is fast approaching. With us being 100nm on the other side of the island, the wind consistently blowing to gale force round the Cap, our thoughts are focused now on finding the train station rather than planning our next port. Simply we have just run out of time. Flora Ella will rest here while we head off to Calvi for a few days. The option of sailing down to Ajaccio with the oldies is an interesting proposition, since they have a couple of free births until next, we may just take them up on the offer. Really would like to revisit some of the places along the west coast, like Girolatta, a really cute village only accessible by boat or walking. We ended up spending a week or so there in 2005 while a storm belw. Outlaw should remember it well. Visions of swimming to shore since we had lost our tender when the toe rope broke in really strong lee winds close into the cliffs surrounding the area spring to mind. Then running out of food and money leaving us to eat only porridge and Elo’s home made bread seem to underline why our boat is so stocked full of provisions and emergency food this year. We certainly have learned well from our experiences passed.

Stuck in Bastia, Corsica - 8th August 2007

After some uneventful, though quite picturesque sailing up the east coast, we have arrived in Bastia and are awaiting for a storm to pass. The marina is packed to capacity and people next to us were just fighting over a place, quite a spectacle. We are sitting in the cabin as a thunderstorm cracks on overhead, and planning our next move of rounding the finger to meet Elo’s parents in Calvi on the west coast. They are chartering a yacht for 2 weeks and their first stop from Marseille, over 200nm, is Calvi where they will spend a couple of days to relax. Normally we are going to sail there, however with a storm and bad weather settling in for the next couple of days we are not sure if we will have the time. The alternative is to leave the boat here and go there by bus, which I think is the more likely option at the moment. Will need to come back around this side of the Island anyway to make our crossing over the Elba and the Italian main land. It’s some 40nm across, though not out of sight of land. Before leaving Corsica though we still need to spend some time exploring the ‘finger’ and the inland at this end of the Island As you will see from the photos we have done a couple of nice walks in the mountains surrounding Porto Veccio and Solenzara which spectatularly overlook the coast line. We regretted not seeing enough of the inland on our last visit to Corsica in 2005, so made it our priority to get organised with maps and walking guides before heading here this time.

Captains Log – 20th July 2007 Cala Coticcio, Sardinia

Very busy anchorage, and got stung by an €18.50 charge for being in the Maddelena national park area, lucky not to have been charged at Porto Garabaldi also the previous evening. Only four boats stayed on the anchorage overnight which blew a force 4-5 (15 – 20kns) directly across the bay. One other sailing boat that arrived late in the evening was attached to the ferry mooring close to our boat which inhibited me from dropping 10-20m more of chain needed in the conditions. As I nervously slept in the cockpit at 12.30am we dragged under the force of the wind and ended up along side the moored yacht. I immediately called Elodie onto deck as we needed to start the engine and re-set the anchor. 4 Attempts at re-setting were unsuccessful and I was unable to determine in the darkness exactly how close we were to the shore. We decided leaving the bay now and heading for a port was certainly a last resort and consequently woke up the moored boat to request tying along side for the rest of the evening. It took 4 attempts to come along side in the tricky strong wind and in retrospect we should have approached from down wind so we could float off if needed, though wasn’t thinking too clearly at this hour I suppose. Our first ‘event’ went rather smoothly as Elo and I worked calmly and well together under the conditions, there was certainly no panic, well done us!

Photo Album

Finally off - 24th July 2007

Sorry for the lack of updates so far. It hasn't helped that I left the cable for my pc in Belgium and that there has been no wifi in the harbour in St Teresa where we have been based for the last couple of weeks. Well after the excitement of arriving here wore off, we realised quickly the long list of jobs that needed doing on Flora Ella. First off was to get her out of the water and do a much needed paint job and replacement of all the anodes stopping her from falling apart. We also were anxious to inspect the keep after running aground on our last voyage, which turned out to look fine, thankfully. So we spent two weeks doing maintenance and then finally headed off to enjoy some of the islands in the north of Sardinia, the La Maddalena archipelago. Some beautiful landscape and a couple of really great anchorages, although dragging our anchor during the middle of the night is happening a bit to often at the moment and re-setting at 2am is not anyone's idea of fun. We are now back in St Teresa and waiting for the bad weather to pass before heading off up the coast of Corsica, fist stop Boniffacio. Loads of photos to upload and will definitely write more in detail when I get my computer sorted out. Though we do have a mobile +393496183350 so feel free to give us a call. btw Oscar is loving the ocean and has no problems going swimming with us off the back of the boat.

http://picasaweb.google.fr/howarthdav/FranceCorsica07

Back in London
Le Grand Disaster
A Great Place to Learn
Summer in the Med Again
Le Grand Retour
Babies on Boats
Le Havre and the Dreaded Propellor
Feecamp to Le Havre
Crossing the Channel - Take Two
Crossing the Channel - Take One
Before you go get Married and celebrate in Style
Ready for the Off? Almost
Fog Ahoy
The BMYC Retirement Community
A Little Further
Now What?
Making the Dream a Reality
Dream, Stupidity or Reality