It was a lovely morning as we were guided out of the marina by the delightful marinero – or I should say Ormeggiatiori ….. we were sorry to leave such a delightful little spot.
As we progressed the weather started to turn a little cloudy and the sea just slightly choppy. No worries – we got the mainsail out and motorsailed around the coast. Skipper Nigel was having a great time (judging by the photo I found on the phone)
We had to look very closely at the charts and pilot book as we approached Isola Rossa (Red Island). There is a channel between the island and the mainland, wide and deep but deceptive to the eye. However, if we were to go round the island there were rogue rocks on the other side. A fair bit of discussion and review, looking and re-looking and we headed through the channel and into the small but lovely port. Once again, we were welcomed by the Omiggiatori on their boat and guided to our mooring spot where another very friendly guy took the lines. The water is so clear here we could see the fish immediately heading for our boat (new snacks for them on the hull).
I went off for my customary wander and found a lovely little place with fabulous views and crystal clear waters. Looking very good for paddle boarding and going exploring on the zodiac.
As we’ve been here a few days now I think it’s time to write a little about the wonderful food here in Sardinia and we haven’t even eaten out yet. Everything from the larger supermarkets to the tiny corner shops is so fresh and invariably local. We have enjoyed fabulous prawns, avocados, melons (lots of melons) and we had a takeaway pizza too. The supermarket steak and Italian blue cheese was delicious, as were the cheeses we bought in Corsica. Though I must admit the prawn and courgette pizza was not quite as expected (but delicious nonetheless)
We have also enjoyed getting out and about on the zodiac dinghy too – we found a hidden beach only accessible by boat or a proper hike and had an amazing time snorkeling and relaxing. We were just sitting enjoying the view when a couple hiked towards us, they spoke English – they were from just outside Munich. We enjoyed talking (we haven’t properly spoken to anyone who speaks English for a while) and found out they were doing a 10k coastal hike !!! Rather them than us in this heat, we invited them to visit Gemini J in the evening. When we got back to Gemini J we found Skipper Nigel had brought back half the beach in his shorts !!! We’re still finding sand now, a couple of days later – we’re definitely in the holiday spirit now !!!
That evening we were just finishing our delicious pasta when we heard a “hello” – after much wandering around the port they had found us !!! We had a delightful evening comparing travel stories and plans whilst sampling Sardinian beer and wine. We had an epic fail to take any photos – what a shame.
The following day it was really hot and also about time we did some washing….8 buckets later and Gemini J was officially a washing line. By that point we were boiling hot so we jumped in the dinghy and headed out to a buoy where we tied off and Skipper Nigel jumped in for a swim and a snorkel while I minded the boat. He came back and grabbed onto the handles – he couldn’t pull himself on board. We tried various ways – including a bit of manhandling from me !! Nothing was going to get Skipper back on board – we were about a kilometre off shore and there was nothing for it but to swim …… with a bit of towing from me in the dinghy. That was only after I’d gone round in circles a few times trying to get the hang of the whole thing. I am definitely no dinghy skipper but it turns out I can just about row. If we’d been watching ourselves we would have been in hysterics. We finally got to the shore and got Skipper back on board – we headed straight back to Gemini J for a well earned rest !!!!
That afternoon we decided to get some sea air and took the zodiac out again, it was fabulous feeling the wind in our hair and seeing the wonderful coastline. As we were heading back towards the marina the engine suddenly stopped !!! We couldn’t believe it but almost within a minute a larger rib (rigid inflatable boat) came towards us – amazingly one of the chaps on board spoke perfect English and they offered us a tow, Skipper Nigel was keen to reset the motor but I didn’t think we could look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak so we jumped aboard their boat and they towed us back. They were a super friendly father and son, it turned out the son had lived in London for four years and they had just gone out like us to get some breeze. They got us tied up to Gemini J and I managed to scoot down below and grab a couple of Spanish beers for them as they had done such a lovely favour to us. Skipper Nigel stayed on the zodiac to check out the problem and it started immediately!!!! Further investigation implies that we had probably run low on battery and we could have got back slower. Phew what a day, let’s see what tomorrow brings …..
The Adventures of Gemini J 