The Sardinian Channel - joining two worlds

Before I continue with the tale of our journey on to Sardegna, there is a small postscript that I need to add to my last blog post from Sidi Bou Said. I had pressed ‘send’ on the previous post somewhat hastily as we had wanted to get an early night before our departure at dawn the next morning. A little after ten in the evening our newfound Tunisian friends stopped by the boat to come say goodbye, bottle of Tunisian Syrah in hand. They were surprised we were leaving already and tried to talk us out of our departure. They even offered to pick us up from another port up the coast if the wind was against us and we decided to stop there. The warmth is genuine here and not to be taken for granted. We will have to return next season and experience more...

Moucharabiehs to keep cool & incognito

House proud entrances

The weather window to cross to Sardegna was as good as we were going to get for another week. Well, in fact it was going to get terrible so we left as early as we could after our customs check-out into a brisk wind, but tolerable swell. This was at the time that the news broke of the plight of over 600 refugees/migrants picked up by the SOS Méditerranée not very far from us, which was not allowed to dock anywhere. Unless you have seen the sea state and towering waves angrily trying to broadside you, I would venture to say that we should not judge those who end up trying to better their lives by braving the very thin mercy of the elements no matter what your political viewpoint.

The passage to Sardegna was over 32 hours as we ended up clocking an extra 40 miles or so as we tacked our way north, not wishing to avail ourselves of the engine unnecessarily. Sailing is meant to have an accompanying sound of wind, waves and spray - not a diesel engine. During the rougher moments of a passage like this there is not much activity aside from keeping watch or sleeping, but when it is calmer we busy ourselves with all manner of things. We have a seasonal Scrabble match going that, while played in English, is definitely not all mine to win, disturbingly. If you can thread a needle it means the swell is not bad enough not to sew and there is always something to sew on board.

Do not tack!

Only attempted by the foolhardy

We arrived at the Capo Carbonara (not related to the dish) late the following afternoon after riding and surfing some big waves that only abated as we entered the bay. The plan was to relax for a while and to sit out the weather that we had seen coming. It was not too worrisome, but definitely not the kind of wind to venture out in for a few days if you have a choice. My favoured activity during such lulls in travel, it seems, is to strip down the outboard engine carburettor. This is potentially quite a stupid thing to do as the boat is not exactly still and little parts tend to go flying…. but luck, for once, was on my side.

Villasimius' ancient ...

and less ancient artifacts

Arriving in Sardegna again reminded us of the beauty of the landscape which is so unspoiled that one is almost reticent to recommend it to anyone. The whole issue around litter in the sea is so topical and it is heartening to see the Attenborough effect. It is predominantly a land problem I think, although I did have to spend several minutes under the water cutting off some fishing line that we had managed to get wrapped around the propeller shaft. As long as I am not fishing successfully, I can get rather sanctimonious about fishing line.

All neatly anchored in Porto Frailis just south of Arbatax

We lingered in the bay, Cala Giunco, for almost a week until we were spurred on to head north towards Arbatax, where we anchored in the beautiful bay of Porto Frailis. Our friends on Sirena and Vesna were there and we enjoyed a welcome reunion tipple upon our arrival. Jack on Vesna has two very good attributes, he is a very generous person and, probably more importantly, he has an ice-maker on board.

Gorropu Canyon  - looking down some 700 meters and several miles to our picnic spot 

Our resident polylinguist and alpine all-rounder felt a day in the mountains would enrich us, albeit not our knees. So we, Rocko One and Sirena, headed off inland the next day, an hour’s drive away to start a hike down to a canyon, Gorropu, whose scale and beauty is best left to photos to describe. Of course we were quite laden down with a multi-faceted picnic, but there were no complaints in terms of the weight on our backs. Once we were at the canyon, several hours on foot and an elevation drop of around 700 meters, on ageing knees, we were greeted by a river with crystal, cool water and house-sized white rocks against a huge granite backdrop.  It is a climber’s paradise and looking around you would not know what century you’re in. Mind you, If you happen to have seen the forestry vehicles, you still wouldn’t have known what century you were in. The mantra of ‘take nothing but images and leave nothing but footsteps’ is strictly adhered to and it is a privilege to experience nature like this. There is a grandeur about the place that is not what one expects from what is a relatively small island

Ant-sized people in the gorge	After 2hrs another 2.5km was definitely an attempt at humour
Clapped-out hikers' picnic	Completely pristine nature

Historically Sardegna has not been an easy place to conquer and this inaccessible terrain is probably one of the main reasons why. It is only after the 1960s when a huge investment in infrastructure took place that created a road network, which started a different sort of invasion. That Italy and NATO chose Sardegna as a location for the majority of Italian military installations and experimental weapons testing is a bit of a hidden disgrace. After all, if push came to shove, what would they actually use them for! They can't even sort out a ship full of unarmed, frightened migrants... anyway, back to nature:

We had checked into the Marina di Arbatax so that we could do the trip to Gorropu, but decided that outstaying the 24 hour charge period was not an option given that the pristine water of the bay was calling and even though a bit of a northerly blow was expected, being at anchor is more pleasant than being tied up in a port with rather static air. This was a sensible rationale in part. The other part though did not predict the amount of swell we would encounter that afternoon. We had arranged a barbecue with SY Sirena, but it was clear that that would not work given the fact that both our boats were rocking quite violently and no wine glass would keep still for long.

How many Guardia does it take .... Around 7pm just when we were contemplating going back into the Marina di Arbatax some 3 nautical miles away, out of nowhere a Guardia di Finanza speedboat appeared. They approached Sirena, going for the Italian flag and bigger potential catch obviously. My friend Tom though just about lost his rag with them (as they had picked on him just two days before and not long before that too) and he effectively shooed them away! Of course we were next in the firing line and they, quite politely admittedly, asked for all our papers. These they accepted precariously into a fishing net while their skipper fought the hefty swell (not apparent on the picture at all). Their ruminations about our status etc. took long enough for the window to return to the marina to have closed. The night was very roly, but not the worst we have experienced, being where your fillings get shaken loose and the market justification for melamine plates becomes obvious. It seems that we are definitely getting thick-skinned or have serial amnesia.

Our next stop is Porto San Paolo, which is a little south of Olbia, and under the watchful gaze of the Tavolara island/rock.  Last August we spent nearly a month here criss-crossing this coastline and enjoying fantastic sailing and pristine waters.  With our sailing we have not spent a lot of time returning to places and it is an almost guilty pleasure to settle into familiar waters and vistas.

Watch tower over Frailis

Glass-like water that flatters to deceive

We have three weeks and 280 Nautical miles to get to Monaco now which is a lazy itinerary, given that we have covered more than double that distance already. Next stops will be the Maddalena islands and then Corsica...à bientôt.

Tavolara with Sirena on the right