A few km north of the marina is Capo di Monte Santu. It stands tall, very tall and we believe it to be responsible for sending strong gusts into the marina. On three separate days over the course of one week we experienced strong winds causing quite a chop and sending sea spray over the decks. Thankfully we used our heavy duty springs which took the snatching out of the ropes but if we'd known that the wind gusts into the marina we would have asked for an inside berth, it would have been dryer and calmer!

The weather forecast for the next week predicts light northerly winds. We could have waited for the ideal wind to take us north but we didn't want to spend another week in the marina. Instead we decided to take the lightest airs and motor.

With 50 plus miles to cover we started out early. In the bay we had 12 knots of wind but by the time we passed the headland it dropped to just 9 knots. We noticed an underlying current of about 1 knot so for the first time in a long time we motored with both engines. In the last couple of hours the wind shifted a few degrees allowing us to motor sail.

By late afternoon we entered Porto Brandinchi, a wide horse-shoe shaped bay with several attractive coves and anchored along with a couple of other yachts including 'Geni' for (we hope) a swell-free night.

Total distance this season: 134.65 nautical miles