Porto Vecchio -> Bonifacio

Entrance to Porto Vecchio marina at dawn

Bonifacio or Bust! Right from the beginning since we planned this holiday, the goal for me has been to make it to Bonifacio. At the same time, I know that there is a good chance that the weather will not be good enough for us to make it through the Strait. If worst comes to worst, we will stay in Porto Vecchio and day-sail from here, stopping off in the many bays and anchorages in the near vicinity. We could probably even get a bus to Bonifacio.

But things seem to be coming together, and the forecast is for light to moderate winds today, strengthening by evening. So we aim to leave early and make Bonifacio by early afternoon. It should take four or five hours to get there.

After a quiet night, I'm up at 07:00. Eileen and Laura are still sleeping so I savour the peaceful stillness of the place. Mist is swirling and rising off the surface of the water in the harbour as the sun's rays start heating things up. A pilot boat comes in, followed by a huge ferry that heads for the commercial dock. The HUGE motor yacht parked near the entrance to the marina starts to move. Eileen is awake so I call her over to watch it leave. It slips out quietly and effortlessly. Yesterday Laura said she thought it looked like a blue whale. We find out later that it was a Mangusta 130, worth about €10,000,000. Details here if you are interested...

We're on our own from now on, so the real adventure begins here. Check and double-check the weather forecasts, read and re-read the pilot books, plan the passage. Prepare the boat and head off, with a few butterflies in the gut. The Gulf of Porto Vecchio is very big, and it takes about an hour to get from the marina, tucked away in the south-west corner, to the entrance. We immediately notice the swell as we leave the shelter of the gulf.

We give the Roches de Chiappino a wide berth and head south, passing between the mainland and the Cerbicale Islands. These small, uninhabited rocky islands are part of a nature reserve, and landing is prohibited during the spring and summer months. Laura gets out the binoculars to look for birds. Suddenly the boat is rocked by a wave, she loses her balance and sits back against the cockpit table. Crack! The table breaks off it's hinges and Laura crashes to the cockpit floor. Ouch. She picks herself up and dusts herself off. Plus de peur que de mal. The teak and stainless steel cockpit table, on the otherhand, is finished. I take the pieces below and store them under a settee, wondering how much a thing like that might possibly cost.

Passage de la Piantarella

There are three main passages through the Strait: the Grande Passe (used by commercial shipping, and by yachts at night and in bad weather), the pass between Lavezzi and L'Ecueil de Lavezzi, and the inside passage known as the Passage de la Piantarella. The Piantarella is the shortest way to get from Porto Vecchio to Bonifacio, saving about 10 miles compared to the Grande Passe. But it can only be undertaken in good weather and by day. We have light winds, not too much swell, and plenty of daylight so we decide to go for it.

The Piantarella passage starts at a rock called the Ecueil de Porraggia, which is to be left about 150m to port as you take up a course of 228°, heading towards the Ile Piana. It's a bit unnerving passing this close to rocks and rocky islands, and we are constantly checking the chart plotter. "Remember, the chart plotter is master". Next we're looking out for the Tignosa di Ratino north cardinal that marks the outlying rocks off the Ile Ratino. Once past, we head 190° and back into deeper water. The next navigation mark to look out for is an isolated danger mark called "Le Pretre". Pass that and round Cap Pertusato and we're through! Phew, we can breath a sigh of relief. The geography is changing fast and we're going from reddish granite outcrops to chalky white cliffs.

Bonifacio from a distance. Spot the entrance...

We're heading north now and soon we can spot houses on the edge of the cliff ahead. That must be Bonifacio! We get out the binoculars and try to spot the entrance to the harbour. There is no obvious break in the cliffs. Then we notice a big cruise ship stopped near the shore. Soon, a motor boat passes near the chruise ship and disappears into the cliffs. That's the entrance!

As we get nearer the cruise ship starts moving off. Eileen takes the helm as I put out fenders and prepare shore lines. Then I go below to radio the harbourmaster for a berth. "Port of Bonifacio, Port of Bonifacio, this is yacht Achab, Yacht Achab". I finally get to use my VHF radio license! The harbourmaster responds and I ask for a berth for the night. She replies that we should proceed to the end of the harbour and take a berth on pontoon J "Juliette" or K "Kilo". I repeat J "Juliette" or K "Kilo". No reply. Oh yeah, you have to press the button to talk... Try again and get confirmation.

Now I'm back on deck and we're through the entrance. It's very narrow with cliffs on either side. We can see people way above on the ramparts looking down. Eileen is going very slowly and we're savoring the incredible spectacle. Impatient tour boats are passing us left and right. Thalassa 1 coming in behind us. Thalassa 3 going out. We can hear the narration of the tour boat's loud-speaker. The wind is building all the time, and I'm aware that berthing is going to be tricky.

The harbour is about a mile long and it takes 15 or 20 minutes to get from the entrance to the very end. Finally we spot pontoons J and K. Thinking it will be easier to back upwind, I pick J. There is quite a bit of wind now, this is going to be tough. As well as that, there is a great big ugly catamaran at the entrance between the pontoons, and a small red buoy right in the middle. What in the heck is a buoy doing there!!!

Citadel seen from the inner harbour

I turn the boat and start backing up the fairway. I'm trying to go as slowly as possible, and as we approach the big cat there is a blast of wind that nearly stops the boat dead. I give it a burst of throttle to keep up steerage way and this kicks the stern to port, directly towards the cat! Short bursts of throttle get us back on course, but we pass very close to the cat turning in between pontoons J and K. There are 3 people standing on the rail of the cat watching, but to my surprise they don't yell!?

Past the cat now, and lining up to moor stern-to. Suddenly I realize that there are no cleats on the pontoon. I panic: "Eileen, there are NO CLEATS! What do we do!?" She replies "I'll just put the mooring rope through those rings there on the side of the pontoon". Oh yeah, there are rings on the side, relax, zen... We reverse up to the pontoon and Eileen gets a line through a ring. We get another stern line on and then I pick up the lazy line and take it to the bow. Cleat it off and we're done! We made it!

We tidy up the boat and I try to hook up the shore power. Wrong sized plug. We have lots of juice in the batteries, so we will do without. We get ready for some sight-seeing but first we have to check in with the harbourmaster and pay for the night.

On the way back we see one of those fake train things that ferry tourists around. It goes to the top of the hill and Eileen is all in favour. We ask how much. 5 euros. Each. You must be kidding? We go buy ice-creams and walk up instead.

Easier coming down than going up!

We walk up the road and there are great views out over the harbour. When we reach the top of the hill we can see the entrance to the citadel and the old town on the right, and a path going up a hill off to the left. We take the path up the hill and soon we are awe-struck by views of the cliffs down towards Cap Pertusato on the left and the old town perched on the cliff edge on the right. It's hot now and we are tired so we don't go too far. Well actually two of us are tired and one of us is full of beans! After a bit we turn around and head back towards the citadel and the old town.

We pass through the entrance gate, which has a real working draw-bridge. The mechanism inside for raising the bridge is quite amazing, and looks like it would draw up the bridge in about 2 seconds flat! It was installed in 1598 when this was still the only entrance to the citadel.

We wander through the narrow streets, admiring the views in all directions. We stop at one point and overhear a bunch of locals speaking Corsican. I'm amazed at how often we've heard people speaking Corsican. It sounds quite similar to Italian, but at the same time it's very distinctly different.

The "Grain of Sand", with Cap Pertusato in the distance

We consult the trusty Michelin guide for restaurant recommendations. The nearest one to where we are is the Café de la Poste, which is located in the old post office. It's too early and they haven't started serving yet, so they suggest we have a drink on the terrace. Good idea! Eileen and I have the by now compulsory glass of Muscat. For some reason we always seem to be early for dinner, but it ends up working out well because the restaurants usually end up being packed later on.

Once again we have a lovely meal. Eileen and I both have the "menu dégustation" where you get to try small portions of 3 different dishes. Laura negotiates for ham again but they bring hamburger instead. Oh well, at least it's a change. Eileen asks if they could add some vegetables like peas or green beans. When her dish comes it has courgette instead. Come to think of it, we haven't seen a pea or a bean since we got here.

Laura is taking forever to eat as usual. The waitress is not happy with her progress, and lets her know it. Eventually she finishes and we can order desert at last. We finish up and stroll back down to the marina.

This time we take the Montée Rastello steps that lead straight down the very steep hill. When we get to the bottom we see that we have many new neighbours. There are lots of boats now on pontoons J and K, including two 50 foot yachts next to us. As we get closer we see crews of young Italians milling about on the pontoon. We tuck up in bed with visions of all-night parties, loud music, and drunken debauchery. Maybe they were tired too, or maybe they are just a considerate well-mannered bunch but in any case we didn't hear them all night.

We made it to Bonifacio, we didn't go bust, and we didn't need to take a bus! 

Log entry for Monday 19/04/2011

Fuel: 4/4

Batteries: 1 (engine) = 13.8; 2 (domestic) = 13.6

Water: Tank 1: 3/4; Tank 2: 4/4

Baro: 1016

Weather forecast: East coast: N-NE F2-3; Bouches de Bonifacio: E F3-4 increasing to F5 by late afternoon

From: Porto Vecchio; Log 51 @ 09:00
Towards: Bonifacio; Log 77 @ 14:00

Solenzara -> Porto Vecchio

The plan is to head out at 08:30 with a skipper for a half-day. He will show us the different systems on the boat and explain how everything works. We get up early and have breakfast on the boat. The wind died down over night and the sea is calm.

In preparation for this trip I have invested in a whole load of iPhone weather apps. Weather Pro, Wind Guru, Passage Weather, Weathertrack, Meteo France. I consult all of them. The accepted wisdom is to have several sources of weather forecast and take the least favorable one. Today they all pretty much agree that there will be light winds. A good way to start off on a new boat in a new area.

Xavier shows up and asks how we want to spend the morning. I ask if he would mind taking us to Porto Vecchio. The general idea being to get as far south at the start of the holiday and work our way back slowly. He agrees, even though it means someone having to pick him up in Porto Vecchio.

Xavier immediately starts unhooking the shore power and undoing the stern lines. To his great frustration the starboard stern line hasn't been done correctly and is jammed on the cleat. "Incredible! Who could have done this?!" he says shaking his head in disbelief. He looks like a salty old sea-dog, and has quite a different manner from Dan, our instructor in Greece. Xavier is very business like, more of a skipper and less of an instructor. Things start off a bit cool. I get the feeling that he is there to assess our ability to take the boat on our own rather than help prepare us to take the boat on our own!

After a while we warm up to each other and Xavier is showing us the furling lines, in-haul, out-haul, kicker, main sheet, jib sheets, wind instrument, depth finder, chart plotter. We unfurl the main, reef the main, furl the main. Unfurl the jib, reef the jib, furl the jib. I'm asking as many questions as I can think of, trying to get as much information and local knowledge as I can from our skipper.

Pte de Sponsaglia, with ruins of a Genoese tower

As we are sailing along we spot many towers on points and headlands along the coast. Xavier explains to us that they were built as a system of defense from North African pirates when the island was controlled by Genoa. Each tower could be seen from it's neighboring tower, and when unknown ships were spotted on the horizon, a fire would be lit. The message would be passed from tower to tower thus alerting the whole island to the potential danger.

We explain to Xavier that the south coast of Ireland has the same system of towers (known as Martello towers), which were built by the British and inspired by these very Corsican towers!

We are unsure about the French pronunciation of the name of the boat (Achab) and ask Xavier about it. He thinks it must be the name of the captain from Moby Dick. That's what we thought. I mention that things didn't turn out too well for Captain Ahab... Hopefully not a bad omen!

Achab has a chart plotter in front of the helm, and with all the rocks, shallows, and isolated dangers in the area it really makes life easier. "Remember, the chart plotter is master". In other words, the chances of the chart plotter being wrong are much smaller that you being wrong. The boat also has a roller-furling jib and in-mast furling main sail. That means the sails can be handled without leaving the cockpit. A real plus in bad weather.

What it doesn't have are any decent life jackets. We always wear self-inflating life jackets when sailing in Ireland, and Sail Ionian also provided them in Greece. They are very compact and comfortable enough that they don't hinder movement and are comfortable to wear. The life jackets on Achab are the big, bulky, bright-orange foam things that no self-respecting sailor would ever be caught dead in. Xavier explains that French sailors never wear life jackets in the Med, so they don't bother buying expensive self-inflating ones.

There is no way in hell I'm going to wear one of those big bright-orange things and this makes Eileen quite uncomfortable. As well as that, there are no child-sized life jackets (Xavier was supposed to bring one for Laura). We agree that we will try to find a chandler in Porto Vecchio and buy some life jackets.

Xavier opens the cockpit locker and smells petrol. Not good. The jerry-can has tipped over, and the lid was not properly screwed on. There is a good quantity of petrol in the bottom of the locker. Thinking about it now, the thought of that fuel catching fire sends a shiver up my spine. Luckily it was found and Xavier cleans out most of it by mopping it up with toilet paper. We'll be leaving the locker lid open from time to time over the next few days, as there is also a smell of petrol in the heads.

Gulf of Porto Vecchio

After about three hours of sailing and motoring we come to the entrance to the very large and beautiful Gulf of Porto Vecchio. We navigate the entrance and follow the channel markers towards the marina. We're getting closer and closer but still can't see the entrance. Eventually it becomes clear that there is a gap between the breakwaters, and we motor in slowly.

Xavier picks an empty berth and backs in. He pulls out again and now it's my turn. I manage to get in without too much trouble. He asks if I want to try again, and I say yes. Mistake. There is a cross-wind and the boat has a very pronounced kick to port when going astern. As Eileen would say, I make a right hames of it. Try again, and again. Xavier suggests turning around and standing behind the wheel. This helps and eventually we are all tied up and secure. "Remember, stay calm, zen!".

It's true that the most stressful part of cruising is the first and last few meters from the dock. The slower you go, the less chance of causing great damage to neighboring (expensive!) boats, but you also have less control over the boat. The wind has more effect, currents have more effect, and if you go too slow you lose steerage way and have no control what so ever!

To celebrate a successful passage we have beers accompanied by bread, cheese, and salami. We talk about our plans for the next few days and Xavier makes a list of the "not to be missed" spots in the area. He also reassures us about the passage to Bonifacio. It's not that difficult in good weather. Just keep an eye on the chart plotter. Then he has to go and we are on our own.

First priority is to check in with the harbourmaster. We tell the lady behind the counter which berth we are in, and she asks us to move! To a more difficult inside berth! I explain that it's afternoon and we will be leaving early next morning. She explains that the pontoon we are on is reserved for bigger boats. But she says that if there are 3 or 4 berths available on that pontoon we can stay. If the space is needed we will have to move. Sounds fair. We see several free spaces so we should be OK.

The second priority is to get ice-cream. Laura missed out on her ice-cream yesterday, and has been promised that we will find some in Porto Vecchio right away. First thing. It's not difficult, as there are several cafés along the edge of the marina that sell ice-cream. As all things in Corsica, ice-cream is also a mix of French and Italian cultures. I was hoping that it would be real Italian gelato but it's just not quite as good. But Laura is not as fussy and is quite satisfied with whatever she gets, as long as it's ice-cream.

Next on the agenda are showers for all. We get shower tokens from the harbourmaster's office. The lady there explains that the boiler is a long way from the showers, so we might want to run the sinks for a while before starting the shower. Otherwise it is likely to be a cold one. Good tip, thanks. The showers and toilets are a bit grotty, not what I expected in a place like this.

Entrance to the Old Town

After showers we read up on Porto Vecchio in the Michelin guide, and jot down a few restaurant recommendations for dinner. We head up the hill to the old town, amazed by the view and the giant cacti. Laura gets sucked into a souvenir shop and comes out pleading for money to buy a key-ring. She doesn't have any keys, but for some reason she has developed a thing for key-rings. We give in and hand over the 5 euros.

We can't find the first resto on our list, and end up going around in circles for a while. Finally we are able to find the second choice, Chez Anna. Highly recommended. I try their speciality, a pasta dish called "dollari" which is very good. Eileen has a delicious aubergine lasagne. Laura has ham with pasta. That girl is not very adventurous with food... We have a really lovely meal, and head back to the boat.

We are getting in the habit of having a glass of Muscat for an apéritif, and a half-litre of Corsican wine with our dinners. They make very drinkable rosés in the region around Porto Vecchio, and the reds aren't bad either. The food in general is very good, with fresh, local ingredients and a nice mix of Italian and French dishes.

Back on the boat, we are subjected to another episode of The Incredibly Annoying Laura. Followed by several games of Fish which are won by Eileen, although we suspect she was cheating.

Corsicans have a habit of dropping the final vowels in place names. Solenzara becomes "Solenzar", Rondinara becomes "Rondinar", and Porto Vecchio becomes "Porto Vecc". Maybe it's an attempt to make the Italian-ish names more French-sounding. Laura picks up her imaginary portable phone and says in her best yuppy-teenage-chick impersonation "Salut mec! J'suis à Porto Vecc!".

Log entry for Monday 18/04/2011
Fuel: 4/4
Batteries: 1 (engine) = 13.8; 2 (domestic) = 13.7
Water: Tank 1: 4/4; Tank 2: 4/4
Baro: 1020.5
Weather forecast: F2-3 offshore, F1-2 near the coast
From: Solenzara; Log 32 @ 09:00
Towards: Porto Vecchio; Log 51 @ 12:30