Sardinia

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Mahon to Alghero

By late afternoon, (half an hour ahead of schedule) we were ready to depart the floating island we had been moored to in Mahon harbour. Once all the crew were in position we left..

With a little under 200 miles to reach Alghero we had planned a daybreak arrival. The passage started very peacefully under engine as was becoming usual. By early evening the autopilot was misbehaving, so we set the monitor windvane, more reliable but more time consuming to set up than pressing a buton. The night passed uneventfully, we are slowly becoming used to managing our sleep deprivation. The following morning around 11 we were visited by a small school of dolphins that were jumping clear of the water, another first for us.


(Sorry about the focus)

During the afternoon the wind filled in and we were able to turn off the engine, by evening the engine was on again. During the entire 183 miles we only sailed without engine assistance for 27 miles. You can see from Nadine’s track where we were sailing only (where the line is thin), as we had turned the chart plotter off to conserve battery power.


The sea was choppy and was producing an uncomfortable rolling. But for the rolling the second night passed easily, the only problem being we had travelled far faster than we had planned, so our dawn landfall occurred at 04.00. It was a shame not to see the impressive Capo Caccia beckon in sunlight. We prefer to arrive at unfamilliar destinations in daylight for safety.

By the time we dropped a hook in the beautiful Porto Conte bay it was just light. Although the anchor appeared set we were not convinced but tired we went to bed and dozed. We checked our position a little later, just as a neighbouring boat sounded a foghorn to confirm we were dragging. A few minutes later the anchor was firmly stuck in the sand. Allan on the other boat popped across later to introduce himself and we enjoyed a cup of coffee with him. It turned out we were to meet him several more times over the next week or so, he had crossed from America and was enroute to meet his girlfriend in the Adriatic six weeks later.

We crossed the bay to visit Alghero town later in the day to await the arrival of our next guests, my daughter Victoria and her boyfriend Ben. As you can see from the chartlet we got to know the Alghero / Porto Conte area quite well over the next few weeks.

The marina in Alghero (Sermar) wasn't cheap, especially as they couldn't provide showers or toilets. They did however make up for this with excellent service. When we asked for advice on a suitable car hire companys for a trip to Porto Cervo, they made the reservation for us and arranged for the car to delivered and collected all for the standard price.

We also checked the prices for taxis to the airport. We though €25 each way for a ten minute journey excessive. On asking the marina if they could offer advice they offered to do the round trip for €20. The following morning the marina owner’s daughter Antonella turned up in her brothers BMW and was a lot of fun.

When we returned to Alghero with Victoria and Ben we learned the fishing quay opposite the marina was free. When you arrive at Alghero harbour there are several RIBs who come out to organise your berthing. The RIBS say harbourmaster or similar, they are in fact belong to the commercial marina's and naturally don't want you tying up to the free berths. Throughout Italy there are berths for 'Transito' (visiting yachts) but the commercial marinas in harbours park vehicles or dustbins in front of the signs and other techniques to dissuade you.

As the weather was too windy for travelling by boat we took the hire car to Porto Cervo. This very expensive marina area is part of the Costa Smeraldo area where all the Hollywood stars and Celebs gather on their charter yachts and shoreside apartments. Fortunately the complex don't charge to park your car. Ben & Tora enjoyed touring the designer shops in the complex.


After Victoria and Ben left we had 4 days to travel 120 miles or so to meet Jayney & Mia at Cagliari Airport in the south of Sardinia. The weather decided that wasn’t going to happen and we hired yet another car.

Whilst in Almerimar, we had been loaned some DVDs of a Canadian couple who travel the world in their boat filming sailing documentaries. We had watched the episode on Sardinia and were keen to see Neptune's Grotto, a section of limestone cliff below Cap Cacio eroded by the sea into caves. We had seen the tour boats in the harbour wanting €13 each to travel to see the caves. The DVD had shown it was not possible to go there in your own boat, but you could climb down a cliff route of 653 steps. This we duly did although I thought I was going to have a heart attack, it’s not for the unfit. Eventually we all reached the caves only to find they wanted €10 entry each. We had seen St Michael's cave in Gibraltar and were told by locals this was better, Bull*** it was a big ripoff. We thought the boat trip for €13 maybe would have been better value. It transpired €13 was just for the boat trip and then you got stiffed for the extra €10 when you arrived at the caves.



If you go there don't waste your money. The boat trip however is a good value alternative to a coronary. As time went on we were to discover the Italians (more than any other country we have visited to date) take the tourist for as much and as often as they can. We know of a cruising couple who agreed a winter rate in Fertilia (across from Alghero) for lift out, berth ashore and lift in. During the winter bits were stolen off their boat and then returned following complaints to the Police. When their boat was in the slings ready to drop back in the water the yard demanded another € 800 for the lift in which the yard claimed wasn’t included. They had no option but pay or watch their boat returned to land until they did pay.

With Jayney & Mia we travelled the same route north (as the best beaches and tourist spots are in the north). To avoid an extra twenty miles passage you can shortcut through Fornelli's Passage. It is said to be a problem in westerly winds as the sea heaps up in the narrow gaps as it reduces in depth from several hundred metres offshore to just four metres between the islands. As we approached for the first time with Victoria & Ben it looked impossible to make the narrow gap with a 1.5 metre swell. Amazingly the sea calmed as we entered the leading marks provided by Mr Fornelli. The anxiety also rises as the bottom becomes white sand and you see it rising up below you, going aground seems only seconds away. Once through we followed the small Island Pianola around to a most delightful anchorage with completely clear water just a few metres above a white sandy bottom.

Just a little south is the town of Stintino, for us the most desirable place we have yet seen if we were going to swallow the anchor. The small marina is wrapped around the cute town, perfect for overlooking your boat; there is even a beach within the harbour.

This is as far as we travelled with Ben & Tora, but we covered the same route with Jayney and Mia we travelled on to Castlesardo a nice holiday town with a somewhat remote harbour and then to Isola Rossa, another holiday resort but with beautiful clear waters, nice beach and a very helpful harbour office.

Overall the weather marred our Sardinian experience, and we didn’t get to see very much of the island, although our two trips to Cagliari by car showed what a magnificent place it must have been when it was built. Unfortunately like so much of the med the people don’t seem to want to maintain the heritage they sell so strongly in their holiday brochures.

We had to wait another few days for the weather settle enough to continue on to Bonifacio in Corsica.

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