Making A Floor In A John Boat

Tuesday, August 11 - Aranci - Olbia - 7000

Short but fast navigation with a west wind gusting over 30 knots at times. Around noon, under 3 reef genoa alone, we head 8 knots and we sprinkle it say ...
Then came the entrance channel of Olbia with her pretty little lighthouse. This channel is 3 miles long and we pass huge ferries because Olbia is an important port for passengers and commerce.
the bottom of the harbor, there is an old disused wharf which it is possible to moor.
A large empty space in the middle front of us and we prepare to launch our moorings when a man on the platform pushes us to great things! We understand why later! In
us with guidance, we are able to slip into a parking space, just the size of the boat ...
A little later, two trucks arrived in front of the place we wanted and a huge yacht "Casino Royale" is moored to its full!
From the afternoon, we're looking for a battery and we will make 3 in stores around the city on foot by a very hot and with a sympathetic Italian call a store before last find the suitable battery.
An employee of this store we are taken back in the car with the battery up to our boat ... these Sardis Kind!
Olbia has a very historic and small enough quick visit. The church of San Paolo and the Basilica of San Simplicio both built entirely of granite are interesting. There are also some pretty shady squares, some shopping and entertainment.
Many tourists are passing through because the city has an airport and a major ferry terminal.
Wednesday, we're seeing "Baam" the cata Hervé preparing to cross to the Italian coast
. We hope to meet again later in our trip.

Friday, August 14-Olbia - CODA CAVALLO - 15,000

We borrow the channel in the other sense and then we pass the island Tavolara (table = Tavola Italian), impressive white stone block sprung from the sea and rises to almost 600 meters. It is often crowned with a cap of white clouds.
way we enter into a very pretty bay Tavolara closed by the island, the island and Cape Molara Coda Cavallo. It is to him that we are moving to drop anchor in front of a beach sheltered from the east wind.
The boat traffic is again impressive, all kinds of boats chart the sea with their wake of foam, often making big waves! We anchored
far back as there are many boats, especially motor boats, they will leave Toud late afternoon and we will enjoy a calm and serene place once more at sunset.
All day, the beach was saturated world, they are on top of each other, even blocking the entrance to the beach! We will walk the other side, along the windward coast, very beautiful and cut with its ocher porphyries, there is nobody there ...




Saturday, August 15 Coda Cavallo - Taverna - 3000

The next day we 3 miles away, find a quieter place with water still clear and warm and good taste the joys of swimming.

Sunday, August 16 - Taverna - La Caleta - 23,000

David, Beatrice and their son Tanguy de Sainte-Marie arrives for a week now and we will find ourselves in La Caleta, a small port near their holiday destination .
navigation, though against the wind, is very nice because the wind is steady and we are going well. We will not be forced to take one small board to pass over rocks Pedram, very dangerous.
The 23 miles will be covered in 4 hours and we moor at a dock waiting to find a place inside the port.
In late afternoon, it is with great pleasure that we find our friends Brittany and we will enjoy a pizza evening in the small seaside town whose streets are crowded!
The next day we take the car to go together to visit the small town of Nuoro located inside the country.

Tuesday, August 17 - Wednesday, August 18-La Caleta - Coda Cavallo - La Caleta -41,000

Our friends who are also sailors (David is a keen sailor who do not let them tell!) Embark Algieba on and we take them to visit around the island Tavolara that we found so enjoyable. David will take the opportunity to make fine-tuning of the sails and move the boat a little faster!
At anchor, Tanguy enjoy the pleasures of the bath, spending much time in the water! And we have a little more fresh than on land ...
After a quiet night, we will visit the Taverna next day and the time goes very fast, already we are back on the Caletta by the little time that will require the engine to finish to return before nightfall.

Thursday, August 19 to Saturday August 21: Tourism

Thursday always with our friends, we make an excursion by car to Porto Cervo, the port of billionaires, we can see some pretty high-tec sailboats, canoes Riva with impeccable polish and other fine boats, off course scope of our purse! Can we leave
inwards and we stop at Calangianus, nice large village with traditional houses made of granite, a beautiful church and narrow streets and austere. People are very friendly and talk easily, like a nice Sardinian who worked in France ... And who remembers.
Friday, we conduct a new boat trip in the afternoon when David improves further trim the sails. The wind is set to 10/11 knots, the sea is flat, it is very nice and we travel 25 miles and while we walked.
Saturday last days of vacation for David, Beatrice and Tanguy, will be devoted to a new driving tour in the interior. We visit and Orani, very nice little old town frequented by tourists. We walk through the narrow streets, picking here and there with beautiful bunches of grapes hanging in the vines lining the walls of almost every house ... and end up getting lost in the maze of streets!.
Then it will Gavoi and its majestic church, we will do our lunch there before going Orgosolo, colorful picturesque market town sits at the foot of the mountains Supramonte.
Many murals are painted on the walls of homes and have their origin in a political protest in the early 60s. Then it will
Oliena and decorated streets we'll visit soon as the day progresses and our friends must return the car late afternoon. We must therefore return quickly and we say goodbye and next winter.

Sunday, August 22 - La Caleta, Cala Gorgon - 28,000

Gentille Navigation sailing and we arrived at Cala Gorgon, located at the foot of an ancient volcano.
We anchored at a small port, the site is beautiful, clear water ... but unfortunately, in August forced the zodiac, passenger vessels, etc. ... we go low over mustache at full speed and make waves, anchoring is rather agitated! We will leave no regrets despite the beauty of the landscape.

Monday, August 23 - Cala Gorgon-Isola d'Ogliastra - 31,000

The wind was absent this morning, we pass to the engine the beautiful Gulf of Orosei and we can admire the cliffs white limestone riddled with caves plunging into a turquoise sea, all against a backdrop of high mountains ... Beautiful!
La Cala Di Luna is said to be one of the most beautiful Mediterranean beaches and is accessible only by boat.
The water is well protected by the Capo di Monte Santu and we do not feel the wind but we begin to see beyond, sheep that whiten the sea
We take a risk before they arrive in this area, the wind rose to 15 then 20 to 25 knots and more ... A 2nd risk and we need to tack to go in the direction of Ogliastra Algieba line at 7 / 8 knots on the sea agitated.
Two hours later the wind decreased and we can drop a laugh then two before reaching the small pebble that is the island of Ogliastra. Many boats are moored and we must put back by 15 meters.
At night, only 4 boats and the night will remain quiet.

Tuesday, August 24 to Friday 27 August - Arbatax

The commercial port, fishing and boating is remote than 3000 and we enter into late morning. We intend to inform us about the possibilities of winter as the port is well sheltered and the surroundings are beautiful, except for port facilities where an oil rig is under construction.
The village of Arbatax is very small and built on a headland dominated by a lighthouse. A chapel shows a nice bell and real bells we distill their crystalline notes. A mixture of old houses and new homes and businesses also made the village is quite pleasant, a lovely cala occupying the seaward side of the promontory. There is even a small station for a tourist train that takes people in mountain villages. The town of Tortoli
is distant from 4 to 5 kms and is easily accessible by bus and also by bike. For the first time in months, we have the rain because storms are there.

Inititle:i-catcher Console-web Monitor

Porto Conte Golfo Aranci Sardinia

Monday, July 27 Friday, July 31 at the Bay of Porto Conte

We stay almost the whole week in this beautiful bay, dividing our time between walking, fishing periwinkles, swimming ... in this magnificent setting. We change
mooring us closer to a small village but it is a little less quiet as there is a holiday club and we hear the animations!

Saturday, August 2 - Porto Conte - Porto Torres - 48,000

We left the anchorage early because we need to proceed again against the wind, we go up the coast of Sardinia northbound.
So we start tacking then, the wind dropping, putting the motor and sailing times and alternons engine.
The coast is beautiful like the Capo Caccia very impressive with its small lighthouse perched up there. Then came a succession of small caps followed by large bays framed by mountains that takes us to the Fornelli passage between the island Asinara (extreme northwestern tip of Sardinia) and Sardinia.
This passage, which saves about twenty miles, is very narrow and shallow. It is passable only in good weather, it also with some trepidation that we begin to align the marks of the passage (tags black and white). However
all goes well, the sea is a mirror because the place is the Deventer by Asinara island is a nature park. The water is transparent and we see the bottom of sand and rocks, while vessels are anchored around the islands along ... In this fine weather, the place is paradise!
Then we find a little wind and we may continue our course to sail to the Cape south-east towards Porto Torres.
The place is not very poetic, it is a major trading port that follows an oil terminal ... A very nice marinero us into the shoehorn in one place and we are installed.

Sunday, August 3 until Tuesday, August 5 - Porto Torres

Finally, this small marina is pretty nice and has the merit of being cheap. The city is not very big and has a long main street where all the shops are clustered. There is also a large square near the church.
In Roman times, the city was called Turis Lybissonis and was very successful ... Many remains from this period have been delivered to date, including a very beautiful Roman bridge that is unfortunately difficult to see under a suitable angle, the countryside is covered with bamboo and ... private property!
Sunday evening is a celebration in the village and we see a parade of floats followed by groups of dancers, all in a friendly atmosphere, away from the excesses Spaniards!
A local band also occurs on the place and people dance to the music of the country first, then the "universal disco.
The weather suddenly announcing a mistral, we decide to stay two more days ... On Monday, the day when the sun is exceptionally hard, we spend almost our afternoon looking for a shop where we can print an administrative document to refer to France, walking the city, wiping two rejections before finding the right place. It is less easy when you do not speak the language!
Tuesday, we take the bus to visit Sassari distant twenty miles. What a welcome initiative, we discover a beautiful city full of architectural treasures of the era and Sponge Catalan, palaces, churches, theaters, narrow alleys with arches uniting the two sides ... etc. Everything is easy on the eyes! Many buildings
remained unchanged, plants growing on walls and roofs, which gives an impression of going back in time, though some are being restored.
life seems to unfold slowly in this old town, away from vibrations of the new town that developed around!
We keep very good memories of Sassari.

Wednesday, August 5 - Porto Torres - Anse La Colba - 43,000

Departure at 7:00 towards the Capo Testa on the northern tip of Sardinia. Navigation is peaceful, a little engine, then sail on a calm sea ...
We are in no hurry, lazing on deck, and the road is slowly upwind. Then suddenly, around 16h, the wind begins to rise and sheep appear on the sea, the boat accelerates quickly and reaches 7-8 knots with a list that s' emphasizes, "it is time to take a risk" to paraphrase the song! Done and reducing the sail, we continue to spin but an hour later, it dies down and we must jettison laugh ... It's the Mediterranean!
We admire the way the discretion of the buildings on the Sardinian coast, the houses blend with the rock.
We anchored in a cove bordered by a beach south of the cape, the weather annonçant du vent du nord pour la nuit… Il soufflera du sud, générant du clapot heureusement pas trop fort. Dans le coin Eole est parfois un farceur !

Jeudi 6 août – La Colba – Golfe de Sant’Amanza ( Corse) – 20 milles

Ce n’était pas prévu, mais la tentation est grande d’aller faire un tour en Corse qui n’est distante que d’une dizaine de milles.
Nous traversons les Bouches de Bonifacio où la mer marmite et où le trafic maritime est intense, allant des cargos et ferries aux petits pneumatiques, en passant par les énormes yachts et les nombreux voiliers.
Le temps est magnifique et il y a un peu de vent d’ouest which leads us quietly. A motor yacht marching towards us at an alarming rate, it gets closer, I turn the ignition key to start the engine ... Nothing! Fortunately the other boat changes direction at penny now ... phew!
remains to determine the outage, the battery's engine slammed to a sudden, it worked very well again in the morning!
I troubleshoots temporarily by installing a system in parallel with the batteries and it will start service ... We will have to quickly replace the faulty battery ... Moreover, the pump is leaking from the fridge compartment and the group fills Water!
I forgot, the anemometer also refuses to function, we must go up the mast a little visit ... What
misery these boats!


Friday, August 7-Saturday, August 8 - Gulf Sant'Amanza

We like this place very well in wild, there are few boats at anchor and the nature is very beautiful. It is difficult cons of walking in the bush, trails invariably ending in a cul-de-sac.
To make a few supplies, we were forced to make a half-hour schedule then 3 miles on foot to find a grocery store (Horribly expensive), but it gave us a pleasant walk along the small roads.
Towards the bottom of the Gulf, there are many more boats, including yachts and also lots of little stars. All this does not stop to move and make waves! We see that this is the month of August!
Corsica is still beautiful and has protected its shores! Here, no homes or buildings in Spain ... as wilderness!
I spend time trying to find a way to escape from the fridge as it becomes worrisome. I think it's a pump seal is bad, but access is very difficult. I finally removed the holder and return the group, the risk of breaking pipes containing freon. So I can tighten the pump and put some magic glue at the joint.
I back everything and more ... it leaks!

Sunday, August 9 - Gulf-Golfo Aranci Sant'Amanza (Sardinia) - 44,000

We decided to miss the archipelago of La Maddalena is yet very beautiful because there are too many people and anchorages are paying very expensive! We therefore
shave these islands jagged rocks as the wind (opposite of course) requires us to tighten the coast. We will also draw two sides to move the caps that stand in our way. We
"admire" in passing the huge yachts parked here and there in the creeks.
On the sea, we passed and we are overtaken by the countless machines that spray of water and waves ... The traffic is relentless, they pass us on a level, without slowing down! Large, small!
Later, we drive along the Costa Smeralda, the coast of billionaires and famous port: Porto Cervo, built by the "Consortium of the Costa Smeralda on the initiative of Karim Aga Khan! To go there, you need a (very) big boat and a robust wallet! Then it
Capo Figari, with its majestic limestone cliffs plunging into the white pink blue water, which opens with a large bay in northern Golfo Aranci where we anchored near the fishing port.
Virtually all navigation was done with sailing close hauled with, for once, a steady east wind.



Monday, August 10 - Golfo Aranci

Small town, fishing port and seaside resort backed by mountains, Aranci is pleasant but quickly seen.