Northeast Sardinia - Cruising Extraordinaire

We had been warned that the VIPs would be in Sardinia...and, indeed, they were.  Milly was in fine company.  I think Yacht A is following us around - this is the fourth time we've sailed by.  The other ship, "Dilbar", was moored beside us.  Note the crew on the little bridge sticking out the starboard side of the bow directing the lines to the dinghy below.  She's the world's biggest yacht at 157 m (512 ft), taking up to 36 lucky? guests.

Leaving from the Tiber for seas north, it made sense to only touch on the northeast corner of Sardinia.  And what a coast it was.  A perfect cruising ground - countless anchorages in beautiful bays with sparkling, clear water.  Being on the east side of the island, it was easy to find protection from the predictable mistral which belted through the strait between Corsica and Sardinia.  No intimidating local boras like Croatia that arrive in twenty minutes or long-lasting, buffeting winds like the Aegean's meltimi.  Anchoring was in sand and not too deep.  No need to tie to shore. The only downside was that the towns, although pleasant, were newer with unimaginative architecture.  Croatia wins for sweet, old, walled villages.  It was August and the height of the crazy Mediterranean season.  Although, the anchorages were busy, especially on weekends when locals come out in droves to party, we always found a place.  Charterers were far fewer then in Greece and Croatia, although it is the perfect chartering location!

The wind honking through the Bonifacio Strait and our own inertia dictated that we spend ten days exploring less than 50 NM of Sardinian coast followed by three nights in Corsica.  We had been looking forward to Corsica based on what other cruisers had told us.  However, we realized that they had come from the north and made their way south with the prevailing wind and along the very indented west coast enjoying a myriad of rugged anchorages.  We were heading north against the wind and, therefore, on the east coast where there were anchorages only at the southern and northern tips.  So when the wind was in our northern bound favour and the anchorages disappeared in the long, flat middle of the east coast we headed on an overnight to Elba.  What we saw of Corsica was rugged and beautiful.  Need I say, we'll have to go back.

We left our humbler location on the Tiber River.  Two months later, Milly still suffers from stubborn tea stains around her hulls.  She's overdue for a polish.  The river, although peaceful, had opaque water if there is such a thing.  At one point, a bloated, very large water rat, floated by - probably overeaten.  Although the swan family seemed to be thriving.  The brown adolescents were turning white when we returned after three weeks away.

Anchorage number 1 on Sardinia in Cala Coda Cavallo with the amazing Isola Di Tavolara looming in the background.  It's a narrow solid chunk of granite.  

The Isola Di Tavolara is a magnet for small boats.  They anchor in it's shadow and then visit from boat to boat all day.  At night the anchorage is empty with only the hardcore who shun marinas as much as possible.  There are not many of us.

Anchorage number 2 at Porto Brandinghi.  This was a undeveloped beach - everyone brought their own umbrellas.  Only one cafe and if driving you had to walk about 500m to get to it - relative isolation.  It was still packed.  We went for a walk and cars were parked in every nook and cranny all along the road.  Milly was heaven.

We holed up in Golfo Aranci for several days while the mistral honked through the strait stalling our progress north.  We were stuck on board for a day or two but hiked up to the top of the highest peak in the background.

Most trails in Europe have been very well marked.  We were off the usual path heading straight up the  rocky slope.  But someone who had been up before us had kindly left cairns to mark the trail.  This special one, strategically piled in a dead but not quite fallen tree.

We saw only a tiny portion of Sardinia, a part that is apparently well-developed, with a lot of tourism.  It was busy, lots of boats to keep us entertained but nothing like Croatia.  Human development was limited to the coast - not particularly attractive - but the interior mountain slopes were completely untouched.  Compared to the mainland of Italy where many of the hills are topped with villages, Sardinia was largely left to nature.

Pellegrino Falcons are very strange in Sardinia!  The semaphore station was our hike destination.

In a very sad state of decrepitude but with a glorious view and a cool history.

Around the station were several mounds of rock with religious figures in nooks - burial mounds?

The Costa Smeralda was developed in 1962 by the Aga Khan and others.  The building of villas was strictly controlled to be tasteful and to blend in with the environment.  Porto Cervo, above, is the yachting hub of the Costa.  Apparently, it attracts the likes of Bruce Willis, Mick Jagger and royalty show off their super yachts.  We joined a parade of super yachts on TomTom but went to the very end of the huge marina to be a little less conspicuous.  The development if a little too artificial and rarified for our taste.  We left without a souvenir.

Corsica, crowded but vacant of development.

Beyond the rocky coastline hills, lay the huge rugged mountains of the interior, each cloaked in blue.

A very sad reminder that the wind and waves, even in a protected anchorage, can drag a boat to an early demise.

Porto-Vecchio, an old walled Genoese town, was an unexpected and sweet surprise with a stunning background.  It's current French sophistication was clear while it's historical influence was Italian - nice combo.

Dates:  August 6 to August 19, 2019.