Gales, gales and yet more gales....

Gulf of Arzachena

Gulf of Arzachena

Once we'd crossed the Bonifacio Straits into Sardinian waters we needed to find a safe haven for a few days as strong north easterly winds were expected. We decided on the very sheltered Porto Palma on the south of the island of Caprera in the Maddalena archipelago. This bay, needless to say, was firmly in the national park where you are charged not only to pick up a buoy but also to drop your own anchor in their pristine waters. It was the end of the season and with the weather deteriorating we decided to risk it. 


We found a great spot in the north eastern corner of this lovely bay and had fun watching the dinghies from the two sailing schools zip by. There were noticeably more yachts here than in Corsica and the anchorage was filling up fast. Unfortunately our time in this lovely spot was cut short the following morning with the arrival of the park warden. We paid our dues and were allowed to stay for one more night as long as we were gone before they arrived at 10 the next morning. 

Cala Gavetta marina, La Maddalena

Moored up in Cala Gavetta marina

La Maddalena promenade

The predicted wind speeds were forecast to increase. To avoid paying to sit out the storm at anchor we sailed south a couple of miles to the Sardinian mainland to a bay in the north eastern corner of the Gulf of Arzachena which looked like it might afford a good lee from the north easterly winds. It proved to be a great little spot with good shelter and a supermarket just up the road where we could replenish our dwindling supplies. With the wind and rain fast approaching we raced ashore to Baia Sardinia, a rather bizarre purpose built high end tourist resort on the edge of the Costa Smeralda. It served its purpose and we were soon back on the boat before the heavens opened. The storm was now due to pass overhead with an overnight shift of gale force winds. We had already sat out two days of bad weather but with the forecast winds increasing to 50+ knots with non stop torrential rain we decided we'd had enough. We donned our waterproof clothing and braved the elements for the hour long journey back up to La Maddalena island and the safety of Cala Gavetta marina.

La Maddalena harbour

La Maddalena

We stayed put for a few days and enjoyed re-exploring La Maddalena. We'd stopped here briefly ten years ago so it was nice to refresh our memories. It also coincided with the Rugby World cup and an important Welsh game. We dressed up head to toe in our waterproof gear and made a dash for a port side bar that was showing the game. A good result but the weather had deteriorated further during the match. We stood in the doorway watching the road turning into a river. There was no sign

The roads turn to rivers

of a respite so we just had to go for it and wade back. At least the boat got a good clean! Thankfully by morning the sun was shining again and finally the winds were starting to drop.

Cala di Volpe

Waiting for favourable winds, Olbia town quay

Unfortunately the weather was very unsettled and there were yet more gales forecast to come our way. We decided to move before the next one arrived and had a lovely sail down past Porto Cervo to Cala di Volpe, a wonderfully protected shallow inlet. In the summer it is full of the jet set in their super yachts and noisy toys but in October there were only a couple of other yachts for company. We enjoyed a day of calm and were able to dive under the boat to do a final bottom clean before it started howling again. We ended up staying put for a week and sitting out two more gales. We were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to be able to make the 200 miles across the Tyrrhenian Sea to our winter destination of Gaeta lying between Rome and Naples on the Italian mainland. With easterly winds forecast and our food stores again depleting we dropped down to Olbia town quay to wait for favourable winds. It was a convenient spot right in town but sadly there have been a lot of thefts from boats in broad daylight so one of us always stayed on board.

Yet another gale heading our way

Approaching Gaeta by sea

Yet another gale blew through and with a small window we set sail as the westerly winds were abating. It was a bumpy but extremely fast crossing and we dropped anchor in Gaeta harbour with an hour to spare before the start of the Wales v Australia game! We had hoped to stop in the Pontine islands before tying ourselves up for the winter but they will have to wait for some calm seas in the Spring. Yet more rain and wind was on its way so we decided to call it a day and head into Gaeta marina.

Gaeta harbour