Tag Archives: Eileen of Avoca

Ostia

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Calm seas for Christmas

Calm seas for Christmas

It started to rain. Rummaging about in the lockers I found the large green canvas I generally use as a shade. Tonight it would serve; rather poorly as it turned out; as my water-resistant blanket.

Eileen motored on through the night. The only other vessel to be seen was the scheduled ferry passing well to the North on its way to the mainland in the wee hours of the morning.

By daybreak (Christmas day) the swell and wind had vanished and we made good progress (5kts ENE) on a smooth sea. The crew was feeling better so it was time to open presents. I am now the proud owner of a captains hat two sizes too large. Well at least there is room to grow.

By 3pm we had arrived at the new marina in Ostia the ancient port city of Rome. I’d tried my luck at some fishing on route, but true to form (I’d been trying to catch a fish all season) I came up empty handed. My fishing prowess has become the running joke with friends and family so my New Year’s resolution will be to reveal my currently latent fisherman’s skill.

Any and all tips greatly appreciated.

Ostia itself is not much to look at but there are good connections to Rome and the marina area is excellent (www.portoturisticodiroma.net), Transiting yachts: 13 Euro a night from October to March but 33 Euro in July and August.

Locals pack the boulevard on their nightly promenade and there are a multitude of restaurants and boutiques close at hand. Enough to keep Eva content as we sat out another round of bad weather just after New Years Eve.

The big night was spent in Rome and Eileen of Avoca served splendidly as our hotel for the remainder of our stay.

Christmas at sea

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Opening gifts

Opening gifts

At 11:00 am (GMT) Eileen left Porto Rotondo for the last time. While the wind from the East had slackened a confused swell made for a very uncomfortable run.

Within a few hours, despite having taken a dose of Sturgeron, Eva was overcome by motion sickness and reluctantly retired below deck. Sleep appears to be the best remedy for her, something I evidently would not be getting much of during the crossing! I must grudgingly admit that I wasn’t feeling well either, but I seem to function adequately despite occasional spates of nausea.

Before dark a couple of porpoises gave me a great display in the fading light as they playfully leapt from the waves. I tried to encourage Eva to come witness the spectacle but she was in no condition to move and told me as much in no uncertain terms.

Flight back to Amsterdam

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Old Sea Dog

Old Sea Dog

40 Euro taxi ride to the airport, two and a half hours flight time, collect car from the office and drive two and a half hours home to Belgium. Adventure over? Not quite…

One week later I was back in Sardinia, for a short stay of 5 days. This time with my car, my mum and my dog!

I did do a little sailing but nothing worth writing about. My Old English Sheepdog Chester seemed to enjoy himself on the boat.

Porto Rotondo to Olbia

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Olbia queue

Olbia queue

Impressed as I was with Porto Rotondo, I had planned to finish my trip in Olbia, a mere 4 hours away by boat (25 minutes by car). After checking the forecast for the next few days with the marina office, I set sail.

Three hours later, just outside the buoyed channel to Olbia harbour, I experienced my first taste of the unpredictable Sirocco winds. It had been an easy run past Punta Filasca headland into Gulfo Aranci and I was already bringing down the mainsail when Eileen shuddered as we were hit by an incredibly strong and sustained wind from the SSE. Although somewhat sheltered by the bays southern peninsula, the mainsail was not fully lowered making the next few minutes interesting to say the least.
By the time I had motored the last five miles into the port the wind had dropped to a gentle breeze and tying up against the old commercial quay proved a cinch.

I spent one night on the exposed wall (no charge) and made enquiries about extending my stay in the nearby marinas. Contrary to the information published in my pilot book, visitors are not so welcome here. I quickly concluded that Porto Rotondo was a far superior place to leave my boat and resolved to return there in the morning.

Cala Garibaldi to Porto Rotondo

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Cala di Volpe

Cala di Volpe

I rounded Punta Galera, the northern tip of Isola Caprera at 10:20. Turning southeast, I kept Isolotti Monaci and the Secca delle Bisce shoals to port adjusting my heading to almost due south after passing the east cardinal marker at Secche del Cervo.
A regatta was underway several miles east of Porto Cervo but I kept close to the coastline to admire the extraordinary villas dotting the rocky shoreline. The remainder of the trip to Porto Rotondo was uneventful, I spotted a couple of dolphins in the distance, anchored briefly by a small beach just east of Cala di Volpe for a quick swim, and leisurely made my way to the marina, arriving just after 5pm.

The Costa Smeralda, developed by a consortium led by the Aga Khan in the 60s is evidently still a playground for the rich and famous, but by October only a few travel hardy German tourists remain. The good life in these parts is scheduled for July and August where prices soar. In high season expect to pay 60 to 70 Euro a night for your 6m boat. In October however, the marina fees are a bargain at 2 Euro and 28 cents a night.

Check: http://www.marinadiportorotondo.it/

Bonifacio to Isola Caprera

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Sunshine and gentle winds from the NE provided me with a beautiful day to sail through the Maddalena group of islands, where I planned to find a sheltered anchorage for the night.

I amused myself by occasionally letting go of the tiller (simulating falling overboard) and studying how the boat behaved when left to its own devices under different sail plans and trim. My conclusion is that no matter what you do with the trim, a Yarmouth 23 will keep on sailing with or without someone at the tiller. I’d been hoping that she would luff up and stay put like Robert Manry’s Tinkerbelle as recounted in his Atlantic crossing. A link to this book is provided in the Links section of the main ifno.info site.

Isola Caprera

Cala Garibaldi

Unfortunately, even when hove to, Eileen of Avoca sets a brisk pace. All the more reason to always use my safety harness when single-handed.

A tranquil evening was spent in Cala Garibaldi between La Maddalena and Isola Caprera in an anchorage by a disused resort. Numerous submerged rocks would make passage here risky in anything but ideal conditions.

Awake all night

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Feeling cold

Feeling cold

For much of the cold night I made good time (close to 6kts) motor sailing due South, only turning South East after passing Ajaccio at 01:00 (GMT).

As daylight broke, the wind strengthened and shifted eastward, making progress uncomfortable. Rounding Le Moines, a 26m high light marking shoals extending 3 miles from the southwestern coast I made for the lee provided by Cap de Feno seeking smoother seas.

One other sailboat was visible this morning. It surfed along at frightening speed under genoa with apparent unconcern for the unsavory conditions. (I recognised this boat tied to the quay in Bonifacio and identified it as an 8m Thomson tboat (www.tboat.com)).
By midday, 25hrs after departing Calvi, I entered the fascinating port of Bonifacio, refueled**, found a free space to tie up on the southern quay and promptly went to sleep.

**Just as a matter of interest, Eileen of Avoca has a range of approximately 100M with a full tank (45 L) but I carry an extra 20 L in plastic jerry cans to top up mid route.

Eileen of Avoca travels via Corsica and Sardinia to Rome

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Route from UK to Italy

Route from UK to Italy

**Snapshot of Eileen of Avoca’s route in 2007. Note that the GPS was switched off most of the time while traveling through the Belgian and French canals.

I’d ranted in my log for many paragraphs on topics ranging from impossible work deadlines, horrendous Amsterdam traffic, long airport queues, unhelpful service desk personnel, zealous airport security staff, unannounced flight destination changes due to storm-force winds and forest fires leading to hours on a bus from hell. To save the reader from too many diatribes I’ll summarize my journey to Calvi as follows: “emotionally challenging”.

For the next two days the wind blew at Force 8 and it rained proverbial cats and dogs.

Nice to Calvi

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Calvi

Calvi

Only twenty hours if I could keep an average of 5kt. The swell outside the harbour was very uncomfortable and for the first 4 hours Eileen of Avoca rolled heavily on a heading of 135°.

I gave Eva a couple of Sturgeon tablets and sent her to bed as she was not feeling well and readied myself for what was effectively if not technically a solo crossing.

After traveling 35NM I could no longer make out the city lights to the north. Left in splendid isolation on a moonless night, I motor-sailed, double reefed for hours on end. Much later that night, as I sat huddled by the companionway to keep out of the dew, the sea calmed considerably. Apart from having to dodge the occasional ship there was little to do and despite my best efforts I was beginning to feel very tired.

Just at the point where I felt I could easily doze off, a great splash wrenched me from my stupor. Wide awake I looked to port and stood amazed as three dolphins leapt from Eileen’s bow-wave with enviable agility. Wow!
The moon rose just before dawn and the remaining hours passed without event. By 16:00 I was approaching the port of Calvi. Our little holiday was over.
Well, at least until September the 22nd when I intend to take Eileen of Avoca to Sardinia. 🙂