Our plan to snorkel over the ancient ruins of Nora didn't materialise because by early evening and contrary to the forecast the wind shifted to NE straight into the anchorage!

Flirtie was bobbing up and down like a rocking horse, her bow rising and falling at least 1m. Thankfully we had plenty of space and depth around us to increase our scope of chain. We were hoping that conditions would improve within a couple of hours but when we heard rumbles of thunder and saw strikes of lightening over the land it wasn't looking promising.

By dawn the sky was filled with thundery clouds and again we could hear the rumble of thunder nearby. Although the wind had eased the swell was now making our stay very uncomfortable - we needed to move! We thought about finding shelter in another anchorage however having done a recce on our supplies, food and water were dwindling and our Tesco data bundle (WIFI) was about to expire. The island's capital, Cagliari seemed the sensible option and in particular Marina di Sant'Elmo given our plan to spend the winter there.

With Cagliari just two hours away and the wind on the nose we motored the short distance across the bay weaving inbetween some large oil tankers at anchor whilst passing a 'Voyager 45' ketch (Flirtie's bigger sister) under full sail going in the opposite direction. That's the third 'Voyager 45' that we've seen since taking ownership of Flirtie.

There are a number of marinas in Cagliari all in relatively close proximity to each other. Once behind the breakwater we radioed ahead to be met by a staff member in a dory who guided us to our berth where a mooring attendant took our ropes before passing over two lazy lines for us to tie off. Normally these are disgustingly slimey and dirty however this time they were pretty clean but covered in small barnacles instead.

This marina is the furthest away from the city centre - a 30 minute walk or 15 minute bike ride along a pedestrian/cycle path. Security is excellent and appears significantly better than the competition. It has a proper shower block rather than a makeshift affair and a washing machine and dryer. There's also an onsite bar/restaurant and free wifi. Berthing charges are pretty good too as they offer a discount to CA members (the marina is run by a Cruising Association HLR).

Total distance this season: 1265.81 miles