2017 Season Two: Porquerolles to Corsica

Sunday July 23 we were up and motoring out of the anchorage by 3.50 am. It was pitch black as there was no moon, and threading our way through the buoys by torch-light had us all wide awake in no time. Once in the channel, we were able to make out various shipping traffic including an obvious cruise ship which was a wall of lights that passed between the islands and rapidly disappeared. We were expecting light breeze from the stern, building as the day progressed and turning to a more favorable angle in the late morning. The plan was to raise the Code Zero (our light wind broad reaching sail) when daylight allowed, and use that until the  wind direction changed, when the main and jib would be more effective. It is an auspicious moment when night fades into dawn, the light on the sea is very calming and once you see the haze of sunrise, the day seems full of hope and potential…

The code 0 halyard had too much twist in it which created friction..so much so that it wouldn’t fully raise and then wouldn’t lower again. This was not a good predicament and Todd battled against the sail for 40 minutes before he got it back on the deck. We tried untwisting it while it was being raised, but to no avail. Back in the sail bag it went, and after an extra hour of motoring the wind angle had improved for the jib and main combination, so off we went for another glorious day of sailing.

In the mid afternoon, we were able to make out an area of high cloud and the slightest outline of mountain peaks. It still took another 5 hours to get there though. Sea life was a lot more interesting on this leg. We saw 2 pilot whales twice, a turtle, and then had a pod of dolphin’s playing off the bows for almost an hour. They were smaller than the bottle nosed variety and had pinkish bellies but were just as energetic.

The wind was 14 to 20 knots and then bumped up to 27 as we approached the NW tip of Corsica where Calvi was located. The sea’s had gotten larger and more disorganized as we approached land, and there was a confluence of boat traffic again. We noted a catamaran heading out with 2 people sitting forward where they would be getting very wet we presumed, judging by the waves splashing over the bows and the hobby-horse motion. We were very glad to be arriving and not going straight into the high winds and rough sea’s that were inbound! It was an exhilarating experience when we hit our top speed of 14 knots surfing down the waves with Todd hand steering for the last hour, before rounding the point and heading into the anchorage at Golfe de le Revellata.

The wind was still gusting over 20 but there wasn’t any swell, so we were able to see a nice patch of sand and get the anchor to dig in. The water was an even warmer 82 degree’s here, and Mark happily dove in and checked that the anchor was well buried. It was nice to dine inside for a change, out of the constant stimulation we’d had all day from the wind, bright sun, and loud noises from the rigging. After hot showers, everyone slept soundly.