We are finally here in Corsica after a long passage of over 500 Nm, the longest since crossing Biscay last year and the last of the very long passages for our journey to Corfu. The 340 Nm journey from Malta to Corfu will seem easy after this one! After a very bouncy night at sea under engine power due to lack of wind, we were lucky later in the afternoon when the wind picked up and we had a fantastic two hour sail right in towards the harbour area with the boat reaching seven knots at times. We are tied up in Port Tino Rossi, Ajaccio, the capital city of Corsica, and the marina is about five minutes walk from the centre of the old town which is where all of the interesting roads and restaurants are located. The first thing we have noticed is the cost of food and drink here compared to Spain – approximately double! I suspect that we shall be eating on board for most of our time here. Tuesday was a day of rest after the long trip, albeit repairing the cruising chute lines and block. Yesterday we spent time walking around the town getting our bearings and had an excellent meal with Mark at the other marina near town prior to his departure back to the UK for a few weeks before rejoining us in Sardinia. Well, best made plans....the weather turned very nasty later in the day with torrential rain, thunder and lightning, and at about 8-45 pm Mark called back to tell me his Easyjet flight had been cancelled due to bad weather and he was on his way back to QUASAR IV! He has managed to rebook onto an alternative flight for today so hopefully this plan will come to fruition. Tracey and I are now planning the next stage of the journey which is a slow amble along the east coast of Sardinia towards Cagliari on the south coast. I had intended to depart the marina on tomorrow but unfortunately there is a very strong Mistral weather system approaching this weekend which will make passing through the Bonifacio Straits very uncomfortable, even dangerous, and will also prevent us from enjoying the north eastern Sardinia anchorages, one of the highlights of this trip. So we are keeping our eyes on the weather forecast and it looks like we may be departing next Monday or Tuesday all being well. In the meantime, we shall be enjoying the delights of Ajaccio!