Sailing with the Treleavens

Bonifacio is a beautiful historical place, but has a reputation for blowing, in fact 250 days a year according to the brochure. Our days are spent exploring the old cliff top village.

Ian’s birthday and we enjoy a huge bowl of mussels for lunch and fine dine on French food in the evening. We had forgotten how good French food could be.

We rent a car and decide to see Corsica by land as we are still marina bound (day 5). Passing through vast forests of pine trees on this mountainous island, inlets of clear blue water and white beaches makes an amazing contrast of scenery. Then there are the granite houses and villages built on cliff faces with one-lane roads through, you can only wonder at the history that has preceded us.

We visit Sartene high on a cliff face, Propriano a fishing village, Aljaccio the capital on the west coast and back to Porto Vecchio on the east coast, our pick of the ports.

Crossing back across the Bonifacio Straits to Porto Cervo, we are passing islands we will revisit with Janey and Dara. This is the Emerald Coast, currently out of season, but with a bit of luck we will get some nice days and enjoy this beautiful waterway that lives up to its name - Emerald.

Now in the Bay of Porto Cervo, home to some of the worlds richest yacht races. We are seeing Porto Cervo as no one else does, because no one is here, and everything is closed for six months. It is still a beautiful place and we would love to come back at race time, if only to see the 600 odd boats leave every day and return at night through a very small entrance.

On our way yesterday we heard a Mayday call and I found it most interesting to listen to and learn how important it is to give clear and concise instructions. From the time the first call was received by Radio Porto Cervo the boat sank in 10 minutes. It went like this:

Porto Cervo we have hit a rock.
What is your position?
We are sinking.
What is your position?

Position finally given and relayed, how many people on board and condition.

After 10 minutes the caller abandoned the boat and that was all we heard, although saw the rescue boat return later in the day with the saved crew. Unmarked rocks are lethal here and one always has to keep a careful watch.

Tied up to the old town wall of Olbia, and much to our surprise, it is a very pleasant city of modern shops and restaurants. It is the main ferry port from mainland Italy to Sardinia, and we are here to meet Janey and Dara, who arrive on the 7.00am ferry from Rome. A bit early for us, but exciting to catch up with them after a long absence.

Bikes out, we explore this very different island. There are no mountains, only low cliffs line the coastline, with small inlets leading to small beaches. It’s a bit like going back in time with a lot of history preserved in time. We biked five ks inland to the oldest standing building in Europe still surviving from the Bronze Age.

Tourism is a big part of their economy, of which I will only say I have never seen so many socks and sandals! Cruising here is still naturally beautiful and any one interested in history should visit this place.

Sailing around the south coast, we find what is recognized as the most idyllic small inlet in the Balearics, Cales Coves. Anchored, and with mooring lines astern to the cliffs, we stay two nights.

This bay is a historical site, with 145 caves used by the pirates over the centuries, and lived in until recently by locals. The nights are very dark, making the surrounding cliffs look close and spooky. We walk around the cliffs, through fields growing with wild rosemary, over stonewalls that are centuries old, throwing us back in time.

It’s 1st of October, and we move on to the capital, Mahon, the home of mayonnaise. It is the best natural harbour in the Med with a vast history - too numerous to mention. A prized possession, it has been occupied by different nations, including England for many years.

It is surrounded by sandstone forts from the different cultures. Today we are anchored off the fort of La Mola and join a tour for three hours, visiting the Fort and Prison where Franco held and executed his political opponents.

We ran into an Australian (a member of the coastguard), who tells Ian he is flying the wrong National flag. Red rag to a bull, Ian went to great lengths to find out from John Vaughan, the leading Vexillographer in Australia, what flag we should fly.

He recommended the blue National flag, rather than the traditional red ensign, as both are now allowed, as it would be easily recognized as Australian. This has actually proved to be correct, as the other yacht in the bay, which left six years ago, flys the red ensign and is always being confused as English, and we don�t want to be called Poms do we?

Karl and Minda from Danger Island, sailing on Karminda 11, a 32 footer he designed and built himself, left Sydney in 1997 and plan another two years before returning home. They have given us great advice on wintering over in Rome and also an excellent web site for weather from the university of Athens forecast.uoa.gr. Note, no www. To get all of Med, rather than just Greece, go to Skiron.

All stocked with wine (still enjoying wine at $3.50 a bottle), and freezer full of meat, we are ready to cross to Sardinia.

Spain has been great, the cheapest place in Europe, so we are told, but looking forward to another new adventure and country.