Sailing back to Sardinia

It was a crazy morning in Bonifacio as we prepared to depart – a diver had to come to the boat next to us to sort out what we assume was tangled lines. Then marineros and other small boats milling around. This was followed by the departure of some of the larger boats in quite gusty weather. We had decided to leave later since we only had a short hop to make back to Sardinia and thank goodness we could let everything calm down (including the pesky, gusty wind). Just as we were preparing to leave the marinero zoomed up to us (creating a massive wake) telling us to stay put until the superyacht had berthed. This thing was so huge it took up the whole channel and effectively closed the port while it was manoeuvring.

Once it was moored up we started our departure, along with lots of other boats and we found ourselves battling for a position in the very crowded channel (there were also lots of boats trying to come in that had been stuck behind the superyacht too). Skipper Nigel did an incredible job of staying calm and getting Gemini J out of Bonifacio – I was stuck at the bow sitting on the deck trying to keep calm ! It was too choppy to safely move around the boat thanks to all the traffic swell. What an experience!!

We were very happy to reach the entrance/exit of the channel and said “aurevoir” to Corsica. It was another very dull and hazy crossing back to Sardinia – being vigilant for pots and even managing an hour under sail. We were elated to see the Sardinian coastline looming out of the haze and we made our way to the well marked channel into Santa Teresa di Gallura

We were apprehensive about another marina entry but we could not have been more wrong. As we were approaching the port a zodiac sped towards us, my heart sank a little, worrying about a mystery boat speeding up to Gemini J but it turned out to be the marinero – welcoming us! We followed the dinghy to our berth where there were more marineros waiting to help us moor up – absolutely astonishing!! We have never had such a professional, friendly welcome to a marina. Our spot was very, very calm and quiet – it could not have been more opposite than Bonifacio. We sat down and heaved a sigh of relief before relaxing for the rest of the afternoon. I wandered around the marina and into the town, just to get my bearings – it was lovely and lots of flowers once again.

The following day was very much a rest day, just the important jobs of changing our courtesy flag and going for a walk in the countryside. The scenery here is amazing – lots of rocky outcrops and another very underdeveloped coastline around the marina and beyond. It’s also really quiet – although there are lots of boats here it is almost silent at night. Such a wonderful contrast to Bonifacio.

The following day was boat clean day – and Gemini J certainly needed it after a few rain showers full of Saharan dust. All the boats here now looked look filthy so it was time for a good wash and brush up. Gemini J was back to her shiny-ish self in no time with both Skipper and Crew (Nigel and me) working hard at the job. We went out on the dinghy in the afternoon having a little explore of the marina which was great fun.

The next day we went across the marina to the coffee bar where we enjoyed delicious café latte, Skipper Nigel kept an eye on the dinghy whilst I went to the nearby supermarket for a quick re-stock, a second round of café latte and a jam stuffed croissant later and we headed back to Gemini J with our bags full of goodies.

That afternoon we went back for a quick drink in the bar and so Skipper Nigel could drop me off for a bit of exploring in the lovely little town of Santa Teresa di Gallura, lots more gorgeous flowers and a lovely atmosphere greeted me.