2022 July: Corsica, west coast
2022-07-27We are back in France.
We have decided to spend the season on the coasts of Corsica and the North of Sardinia to be able to board the passengers who contacted us through the Click and Boat platform. The objective is to complete the box on board.
After a first rental at the end of May, we have another scheduled for August 16th and others currently under discussion.…
We were waiting for a weather window to cross the channel in front of the cliffs of Bonifacio, on July 11, we finally have favorable conditions to reach Corsica. We leave Sardinia, towards Bonifacio or some bay further to the northwest.
As we left our anchorage, we came across CRIOLOS, the Bordeaux 60, who beat us during the “Les Voiles de St Tropez” regatta in 2020. We greeted each other with big friendly gestures and continued our journey.
The wind pushes us, MR is going at a good pace. We passed our destination in the early afternoon. It is too early to break our advance, so we continue on and head for Campomoro in the Bay of Propriano.
But the wind shifts and forces us to continue upwind, tapering off to a gradually weakening late-day breeze. It is after 9 at night and we arrived just to enjoy the sunset and the almost full moon rise.
Here the atmosphere is not the same as in September 2020, the beach bars are open and illuminated, more than 40 boats anchored where we had had the bay just for us 2 years ago.
We have booked a mooring at Propriano Marina for Friday the 15th, platelet check day for Richard. Nothing to worry about, everything is fine.
We did a big cleaning of the deck and everything we had left to clean from MR and we took the opportunity to fill the water tanks.
Saturday July 16th, we meet up with Laurence, Bernard (we met in Argostoli last year) and their new catamaran SMILE, with which they plan to cross the Atlantic again towards the Caribbean. We had a good time together and then parted ways, promising to meet again before the big game.
We resume our journey towards Ajaccio. There we have Romina, Antonia and Mario arrive, who come to spend a few days with us on the occasion of their trip to Europe. Mercedes is looking forward to receiving these very close Argentine friends with whom she will be able to chat in her mother tongue and have fresh news from Argentina.
It’s 9 pm on Sunday, the taxi leaves them at the marina. Richard transfers them on board where the long-awaited reunion is.
On Monday, a walk through Ajaccio and shopping done, we set sail to navigate the region to our friends.
We make a first stop at the Sanguinaires Islands to admire the sunset, enjoy a swim in water at 28° and taste a caipirinha made in Mercedes, always so delicious.
Then we continue climbing, making stops at some beaches in the northwest, going from cove to cove, we find motor yachts, each one more gigantic than the other.
Then we take the road north towards Girolata where we have an appointment with Bernard and Virginie passing through Corsica from Majorca. This place is a curiosity with its cows on the beach, but it is invaded by tourists and boats at anchor: It’s overcrowded!
The next day, we resumed our water ride. Our destination is the Gulf of Révellata just before Calvi. It is a good refuge in the winds from the south to the west. We met NINA there, another Bordeaux 60 with whom we haggled the sails of St Tropez 2020. On the menu tonight, chipolatas grilled on the barbecue outside the boat.
On Friday afternoon we visited the center of Calvi, still under strong heat, and then we sailed towards Ile Rousse, which is our last destination with Mario and his family.
For dinner Mercedes and Mario prepare pizzas 100% made on board. They are delicious
It is with a small stitch in our hearts that the next day we leave our guests on the ferry that takes them back to the mainland.
We spent Sunday at the Île Rousse anchorage, a very undulating anchorage that we do not recommend, and we took the opportunity to visit the town and its market.
On Monday we set sail with the idea of moving on to Propriano, where we have to pick up the mail at the port captaincy, not forgetting the periodic control of Richard’s platelets.
Friends, on a family trip aboard their catamaran, anchors in the Gulf of Revellata. We decided to meet up, we spent the end of the day there.
The Mistral and Tramontana blowing on the continent cause violent winds in the Northwest of the Corsican Coast, which prevents us from continuing our progression towards the South…
We will wait here, until will be able to sail…