Monaco - Sardinia
Show on MapWith lots of very good memories we leave the Italian and French Riviera. We have no complaints and will be back. The people where helpful, the food great and the cruising ground fantastic. We are very fortunate to see it all from the water and found it no more expensive than anywhere else. We loved the ability to either go into towns big or smalland enjoy the restaurants, cafes, shops, museums and churches or you can anchor off in bays and just enjoy being on the boat.
Our crossing to Corsica was very uneventful and had to motor - sail all the way, 170 miles to Bonifacio, taking 26 hours. We have now linked up with our sail around the Mediterranean, we where in Bonifacio 14/10/2003, it was very late in the season then and snow on the mountains.
Bonifacio is magnificent from the water with its clinging white cliff top houses and natural Calanque harbour. Janey leaves us here to join Maximus the super maxi from NZ in Porto Cervo. We will join them on the 1st September and I am looking forward to being in a marina for 10 days and enjoying some days on my own while Ian is racing.
Corsica is untouched by developers with lots of natural inlets and islands to visit with rugged, crystal clear beautiful bays. Renowned for its wind, we watch closely as to where to anchor. Port de Rondinara is a bay that features in all advertisements of Corsica, a moon shaped beach with turquoise water and golden sand. With fantastic all round shelter it give's us time to slow down to do some domestics.
We think we have found paradise when 2 catamarans full of Aussies arrive and the English keep calling out, what's the cricket score. We are asked to a party on the 4300 catamaran and accept before we see the banner go up "The Castle". A very noisy night and a line up of inflatables trail the Cat. Even the Italians, with magnum in hand, joined in, thinking we are a bunch of young ones.
Too much for us, we head out to the island of Cavello where the rich and famous have holiday homes and a very busy helicopter pad. 
This area looks like a pile of huge boulder stones landed here, some created islands and others lie everywhere in the sea. The homes are camouflaged amongst the boulder stone and still very natural looking. As for the lethal boulders, in the water we are paying extra attention to the charts.
Crossing to Sardinia is only 8 miles to yet another group of islands called the Archipelago of La Maddalena National Park with beautiful contrasting colours of red rock, deep blue water to sky blue water over white sand. I have never visited a beach that is completely out of bounds to everyone. Pink Bay is a small unique pink sand beach that is immaculate and very special. The reason that no one is allowed here anymore is because the people where taking the sand. You can walk around on a wooden constructed platform while being watched by not very nice custodians.
The water way is full of cruising yachts but the weather is not being kind to us. Still August we are surprised at the sudden cooler change and hoping the summer will return, but it doesn't stop us swimming and snorkelling in warm clear shallow water. I see a lot of sand castles but the sculpture of a nude woman in photo has to be the best.
There are more than 40 inlets around the seven islands covering 49 sq km. They charge you to anchor for every day you are here and for a boat our size it costs $55, the only thing in our favour is that they have to find you.
Summer has returned and every bay is another wonderful sight of wind shaped granite rocks and on the east side of the islands the water has changed to emerald green. Our favourite islands being three islands Razzoli, Budelli and Santa Maria that come together and form a very protected passage way.
We are now on our way into Porto Cervo for the Maxi Worlds. Forecast is beautiful days with light breeze and looking forward to seeing 40 Maxi's racing. Ian is to become a kiwi and I will sit on the fence. Here from Australia is Scandia and Maximus from NZ.