Castelsardo - the setting for Captain Pugwash?

On the 9th July we finally set off from Stintino with a good forecast, ideal for getting us to Castelsardo some 25 miles away. A couple of other boats were also leaving, one with a family apparently just going round to Piana to anchor and the other, a German yacht followed us out and was on a similar heading to us. The engine was soon off but our expected downwind sail was a one reef in the main close haul. The white horses were soon galloping by too and we decided that there was no point in feeling so uncomfortable for three hours when Porto Torres was only an hour downwind! So, we changed our heading and brought down the main and sailed in under jib alone. The Germans disappeared off into the distance, obviously undeterred by the waves!

There was no response from the authorities when we radioed to say we were entering the port so we moored in an empty berth without any assistance. A British couple emerged from their yacht and, together with a Swedish yacht berthed about three places down, it seemed we were the only visitors. Porto Torres is not a beautiful place, with a huge oil terminal and ferry port, but it was very well sheltered and the supermarket was close to the marina. We spent the evening with the other English couple who, having bought their boat in Greece were heading back to Britain (slowly!) after three years cruising, including participating in the East Med Rally. They had lots of adventures to share with us and we swapped information on places we had visited. A useful stop if nothing else. We eventually found someone to take our money for our stay the following morning and then, with a more calm sea ahead of us we set out once more for Castelsardo.

The northeast wind of the previous day had backed to the northwest, giving us a much better point of sailing, although the left over swell made for a bit of a bouncy ride! We had an uneventful sail for three hours and were relieved to see the high, old walled town ahead of us. The "Ormagattori" (Italian version of the Spanish "Marinero") waved us into a space and helped us to moor. The marina is some way off the town but well organised and plenty of space owing to a recently opened extension. The buildings around it were unoccupied, we imagine because no traders have yet to take possession but I suppose in a couple of years it could be quite a bustling place. The office, however, is still stuck in the oldest corner by the yard and we found no evidence of facilities such as showers. There was a bar and the yard was quite active but we were keen to explore the old town.

Due to the direction of our approach, we had not realised that there was such a large town high up on the rocky isthmus and as we wound our way up through the modern streets we were surprised to find shops, bars, houses and places of worship within the fortified town. The castle itself is now home to a basket museum, a craft for which the region is particularly well known. The exhibits ranged from fishing equipment such as lobster pots (pretty much the same shape as today's plastic ones) to huge grain containers. The smaller domestic baskets tended to have patterns woven into them and we passed several elderly local ladies busily weaving away on their doorsteps, trying to catch the eye of the unwary tourist! I stuck to my "no nick-nacks" rule though, much to Chris' relief! We continued our exploration around the old town, visiting the cathedral and finding quite a beautiful grassy bank sweeping down to the cliff face. We meandered back to the marina, having enjoyed our visit, to find that a Dutch yacht called Existence had arrived. 

We had last seen Existence in Alicante and the following morning we caught up with one another's adventures since April. They are keeping a file, similar in style to our website, but real paper and pencil stuff! We swapped information on good anchorages and discovered we are likely to meet up again in the winter in Tunisia. We then watched them leave, the wind being better for their southwest heading than our northeast one and were glad to be in port as we watched their mast the other side of the breakwater bouncing back and forth, much in the jerky style of Captain Pugwash's ship in the 1970s cartoon!

We had another walk, out along the breakwater and enjoyed amazing views of the waves crashing against the rocks. Back near the yard we were joined by a dog, which accompanied us on a tour of the marina, (observing other yachts is quite a hobby!) He was very funny, trotting along each pontoon in turn, waiting for us and then moving on again. We assume he is just the yard dog!

We decided to head across to Bonifacio, on the south of Corsica, the next day, to make the most of the relatively calm sea. The "Bouche de Bonifacio" has a well-earned reputation for strong winds and high seas, funnelling the Mistral from the Golfe de Lions through the two landmasses of Corsica and Sardinia. We wanted to get across safely!