ablE was I ere I saw Elba

Our stay in Bastia was rather longer than we initially intended due to Parcel Force excelling itself in taking nine days to deliver our parcel, first class! It would have arrived more quickly on a ship! Added to which September's arrival seemed to be the trigger for a dramatic change in the weather…including rain! We even splashed out on two new fenders after spending part of one night trying to keep La Premiere safe in the marina through gusts of force 9. We watched the Spa F1 Grand Prix in a bar in town, the first one we have seen all year and frustratingly missed the much talked about Germany/England match. So, on Thursday 6th September, when we wandered round to the Capitanerie at around 1000 to find a good weather forecast we manned action stations and within an hour and a half we were showered, ship shape and ready to go.

We contemplated going to the tiny island of Capraia but decided that Elba would be a better bet, given the unreliable weather of the last week. This was to be just a stepping-stone up to Livorno, from where we planned to visit Pisa, and then we would return to Elba later in September. Plans always change though!

Portoferraio was 42 nautical miles away and though it was quite a late start, 1130, we thought we could make it in daylight, at our usual average of 5 knots. We were not reckoning on nearly 2 knots of current against us though. There was also an uncomfortable beam on swell so in all it wasn't one of my favourite sailing experiences! We did manage to sail for several hours, with 1 reef in the main and about half the jib. Despite only being a force 4 the white horses skimming off the swell made it feel more. At 1900 we realised that summer was drawing to a close when jumpers were called for and we motored past Marciana Marina on the North coast. Sunset was due at 2010 so we plugged on and decided that it was not worth trying to enter the marina at Portoferraio when we could anchor safely. Ferries were still plying in and out of the bay as we followed the fortified walls around to the anchorage. There were quite a number of boats on anchor and in the darkness we too dropped the hook. We think this is one of our only arrivals to a new port in the dark in the eighteen months of the adventure. Just as well it was straightforward!

We decided the following morning to declare a day of rest and with enough food supplies in the larder, going ashore wasn't necessary, so we stayed out on anchor. I was absorbed watching the huge Ferries arrive and depart all day long. The Moby-Lines boats had fantastic mural paintings on their topsides and we were amused by the connection between the company name and the Cockney Rhyming slang "feeling Moby-Dick"! It was a very sheltered anchorage, and Nelson apparently described the old harbour as being one of the best in the world, for its size. It didn't seem necessary to go into the marina so after a second comfortable night on anchor we pumped up the dinghy to go ashore for a look around and to do a bit of shopping.

The wind began to increase again, however, and after a day of being boat-bound we decided that we would go into the marina on our fourth morning, as it seemed unlikely that we would be heading north for a few days with the forecasts we had received. A spectacular red sky that night should have promised fine weather. When we awoke, there was a breeze building so Chris got the outboard safely put away ready to go into the marina, and then the gusts set in. Two boats nearby dragged anchor and just as I was thinking we'd have to wait until it died down a bit before we could head in our anchor let go too! We quickly got the engine on and I had to keep us pointing into the wind while Chris hauled up the anchor. It was hard work, but because I had to motor forward to maintain steerage, Chris was able to get the anchor up pretty rapidly despite the wind gusting to force 7. He now thinks it had actually re-set itself after the initial drag but by then our minds were made up to go into the brilliant shelter of the old port. There was hardly a ripple in there, compared with the white horses in the anchorage and we were pleased with our decision. There was a space along the north wall and with no "ormeggatori" in sight we tied ourselves up, another yachty helping us to find a stern line to pick up. The main problem with our position was the road. Giblet had to be kept below because the quay was also the main road around the town!

Portoferraio is a fantastic little town, colourful houses and wandering streets. Its fortifications are substantial, Napoleon was safe enough in his exile there! We enjoyed an extensive walk around the edge and into the castle grounds, although "the tourist season" is obviously over and, much to my disappointment, facilities in the attraction such as ice cream huts are already shut! The supermarket was a bit of a trek out of the town, but we headed there to stock up anyway. In the entrance, a TV was showing latest news and we glimpsed a burning tower block. It wasn't until we turned on the World Service that evening that we found out about the terrorist aeroplane crashes in New York and Washington.