Leaving Sardinia was sad, as you know we have become Italian fans, however Corsica is a beautiful Island. We bumped into “the Italian job” in Bonifacio. It was great to see them again and look forward to meeting up next year. We have spent the last 2 weeks very slowly heading around the south west coast from Bonifacio and we are now in Ajaccio spending a few days in the Corsican capital. Along the way, we have seen some gorgeous places, Rocapina being my favourite, where we again saw wild boar on the beach just after the sun had set and all the people had gone..….later when I took Mits for her last go on the beech it was nearly dark and I could see 3 or 4 scurrying away as they heard the engine coming towards the beach. They look really cute and seem to be scared of humans, dogs & engines…thankfully…. as I’m sure if they were cornered they could be dangerous. The rock formations are really weird here, in Rocapina one called the lion ‘cos it looks like a lion sitting up on the top cliffs watching over the bay.
We decided to anchor near Ajaccio for a couple of nights before coming into the town. The weather forecast was OK for anchoring, although possible thunder & lightning was in the area. Sure enough in the evening we could see the lighting in the mountains, it went on for some hours, however it was calm at anchor, so decided to go to bed – we stood on deck for a while watching the light show, it was amazing. Just as I was going off to sleep (12am) the wind started to get up, so as a precaution we decided to do an anchor watch, I said I would do the 1st hour. After around a minute, the wind was howling and Stu appeared. I decided to get some clothes on, just incase we needed to move. By the time I slipped on some trousers and a top the wind was now pretty nasty and the anchor started to drag, within 30 seconds we were nearly on the beach! (Ooh…this living the dream, can sometimes be a nightmare lol). We were anchored near to another boat – who’s anchor had also dragged and where about to collide with us, but managed to motor away. Stu was fantastic, he took control, gave me clear concise instructions to get the wet weather gear out, life jackets on, grab bag & life raft on deck. We then reversed off and got the anchor up. The marina’s of Ajaccio are round 3nm’s away, so we headed in that direction. As we left the anchorage is was pitch black with a howling gale in our faces. It was like something out of a movie – the electrical storm gave brief glimpses of the sea and the far shore, both scarey and exhilarating. The Thunder & lightning continued to flash & roar the whole way, the heavens opened up and we looked like drowned rats. Out in the bay, we could see several other boats nav lights heading from various anchorages around the gulf towards Ajaccio. Upon arriving the marina was chocker block, but luckily the commercial quay had space, however it was a very high wall, higher than i could jump onto and the bollards where too far away to lasso. Fortunately 1 other yacht (flying a French flag) was already on the quay, I shouted “excusez-moir” as load as I could and managed to rouse a sleepy French man who got dressed donned his wet weather gear & helped us get along side and tie up. Over the next hour or so, Stu & the French chap help other yachts to tie up whilst I continued to get Tarian’s ropes secure. Last to arrive was the coastguard with a big catamaran (60-70ft) – they had dragged and ended up on rocks, luckily the captain had woken up and managed to get off the rocks, but lost his starboard prop & rudder and was taking on water. With only 1 engine, he didn’t have good control of the boat, the wind was still howling, it took maybe 5-6 goes to get in, each time having to go out of the marina and back in again to line up to moor behind us. The space was tight and on the last go, he hit Tarian’s port stern quarter….DOH! With the help of many rescue people, Stu and other boaters they finally got the cat into the space. You could see the bilge working as it spurted out water continually. The rescue team got a big pump on board and for the rest of the night, it was on, keeping the boat a float. We finally went to bed at 3am and was woken at 7am by the harbour master asking us to leave, as a big ferry was coming in to dock in an hour. The shock of this was softened by a nice lady in a dutch boat who Stu had helped the night before, who turned up with croissants as a thank you to Stu for helping. We had a quick chat, they had a worse experience than us, as they had to let their anchor go & cut off the chain, as it got stuck in the rocks…they agreed that the wind came from nowhere, which I guess is why so many anchors failed….they also said they saw 40knt on the wind gauge. As we were getting ready to go, the captain of the other Cat apologised for hitting us and asked what damage there was….I gotta say, our little sail boat is as tough as old boots, there were 2 really small scuffs to the gelcoat, but they were so small we couldn’t see them at first, so no big deal. An emergency lift out had been arranged for the catamaran and it is now looking sad on the quay. The paying guests onboard all dis-embarked in the morning, no doubt to finish their holiday in a hotel.
So…the lesson learned…..if we see thunder & lightning on the forecast as a “possible” – get our arse’s into or next to a marina! Although I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone it was comforting to know, that we were not the only one’s out there.
Living the dream….
Stella
p.s cant up load pics, as wifi connection wont allow
Ooh Mits has now used the swim platform into deep water….