Fri 10 Aug

The weather forecast showed signs of a strong westerly Mistral wind building today then blowing through tomorrow and into Sunday. Where we were in La Maddalena was open to the west so we headed around the east side of north eastern Sardinia to find an anchorage with some shelter. The coastline is called Costa Smeralda and it’s known to be frequented by very rich Italians, should be fun 🙂

We were up and away by 07:15. I know we always say this but it’s such a lovely time of day, especially in the busy months as most people are still fast asleep. It felt like we had the islands to ourselves.

We saw some pretty impressive yachts en-route.

Our destination was originally going to be Cugnana but we noticed on Marina Traffic that the one and only Maltese Falcon was anchored Cala de Volpe, a bay just before it so we wanted to stop by and take a look. As we tuned the corner there she was in a massive bay nestled in amongst over 30 of the biggest super yachts you’ve ever seen. The bay looked packed and the reviews suggested giving it a miss if your boat was less than 60m in length. We decided to venture in anyway and do a flyby to take a few photos. As is always the case, the perspective looking into a bay from the outside makes it look crammed. The reality once you’re inside is often quite different and there’s always more space than you’d imagine. We motored past, slowed down and gazed like awestruck kids at the massive structure. Tom gave a wave to a crew member who just about managed to muster a small nod in return. They must be sick of waving by now.

As we looked around the bay it seemed like a perfect spot to sit out the winds, and we spotted an area just off a beach out of the way which looked promising.

It was then I almost lost a finger. Idiot me preparing to drop the anchor managed to have my little finger far too close to the chain, then press the “Up” instead of “Down” button. My finger was promptly sucked into the chain and onto the roller. It was squashed and completely stuck. Realising instantly what I’d done I pressed “Down” and out it came. Still attached, not broken but very sore. That’ll teach me not to concentrate.

With the anchor set we had lunch and were joined by a steady stream of day boats with the same idea. Out of nowhere the wind picked up, and the usual chaos ensued. Boats dragging onto one another, panicked Italians all shouting, children crying. Our gem of an anchor clung on whilst a jet ski hanging off the neighbouring motor boat tried to wrap itself around our chain. Just as everyone made a speedy exit the wind dropped so we finished our lunch in relative peace and quiet.

After lunch we swam to the beach, which was like a scene from Baywatch. Beautiful people lounging around on sun beds, drinking champagne and taking endless selfies. Feeling rather out of place we slunk like crocodiles back into the water and back to our safe place.

We realised that we hadn’t set the anchor alarm, and if we’re to do it we had to before sunset (so we could still see it). Thing is we’d both just had showers and didn’t feel like another swim. How to avoid getting wet? Take to the dinghy! We got in, Tom donned his mask and stuck his head over the front into the water and mumbled directions through his snorkel whilst I rowed. It worked surprisingly well and only his head got soaked.

Around 20:00 we were sitting in the cockpit, it was windy but comfortable, and we noticed one of the official RIBs coming to approach us. Convinced they were going to try to move us on we ignored them until they came up along side. Expecting the worse we were surprised when they offered us a free mooring buoy! They warned of very strong winds (which were building as we were talking) and said we’d get a better nights sleep if we moved. We thanked them profusely, upped anchor and motored excitedly towards the buoy. Just as we were approaching it the guys returned, to help with our lines we thought. How nice! They’d actually come to tell us he’d just been told by his boss the mooring wasn’t safe, so we couldn’t take it after all. Even though they were doing their best it was really frustrating as we’d just left a perfectly secure spot anchored in sand, and we now had to re-anchor in the dark. Annoying! Anyhow, back we went, Tom on the bow with a flashlight looking for sand. We dropped anchor and Tom jumped in to see whether he could see if it’d dug in, me trying to hold the flashlight on him. It was no good, it was too dark so I got (very begrudgingly!) back in the dinghy rowing to where it was to hold the torch so Tom could dive on it. It was set. Back on the boat we took down the solar panels, stowed away the bimini and had a bite to eat. The wind wasn’t all that bad but we were glad to be prepared should it pick up. All throughout the night the guys in their RIBs were charging around checking the super yacht moorings as these huge yachts were swinging backwards and forwards. That would be one hell of an insurance claim if one came lose!