Aisling I

Sailing down the east coast of Sardinia was not part of our original itinerary. Since all of our reading and preparation had been based on exploring the western part of the island, it was a complete surprise to discover that the anchorage in Arbatax had a view worthy of a charter-company brochure. The turquoise water was warm and amazingly clear-perfect for swimming or just for sitting and staring. With one empty water tank, we toyed with the idea of moving in to the marina for the second night, but decided against it when we were told that the water on the docks was non-potable. Ashore, there was little to see other than the "rocce rosse", an unusual formation of large red rocks located on the beach near the port. Shopping opportunities are available almost everywhere though-the nautical sports store had a selection of underwater prescription lenses and Rick managed to have a pair fitted into a snorkeling mask before we left Arbatax on Friday morning. He's so thrilled with it that he's been jumping into the water to check the anchor at every opportunity! We sailed away from Arbatax without realizing that one of Sardinia's major nuraghe sites (more about that later) was only a short drive away.

There were lovely mountain views and sandy beaches off the starboard side as we made our way to Porto Corallo, about 30 miles south of Arbatax. Here, we were surprised to find that the marina (39 euros/night, with potable water available) was more than half empty. The Italian family beside us, accustomed to fighting the crowds in Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, were amazed by the sight of empty berths in such a pretty place. There was a large campground across the road, with camp sites and tiny cabins nestled under tall trees. The only business establishments were a pizzeria, a small caf� where some elderly men were drinking coffee and a tiny market in the campground. For once, we were as far from the crowds as we are when we cruise in Nova Scotia.

We stayed only a single night in Porto Corallo, then sailed to Cagliari. We had intended to anchor off Poetta beach, but changed our minds when we saw the roll in the anchorage. We continued into the harbour at Cagliari and took a berth at the Marina Del Sole (35 euros/night), where we were happy to hear that potable water and laundry facilities were available. The next day was Sunday, when most businesses are closed, so we decided to catch up on a few jobs around the boat and dedicate Monday to touring. We should have checked the guidebook first! All the museums and historic sights are closed on Mondays- but that gave us a chance to do the laundry, buy some provisions and do a little shopping. Unfortunately, the walk into town was long, hot and a bit dispiriting, along dusty garbage-strewn streets. The amount of litter in some of the more populated areas of Sardinia is a strange contrast to the incredible natural beauty of the island. On the bright side, there is a gelato (ice cream) shop at about every 20 paces here. Also, the cappuccino is the first thing we've tasted that's as good as the Spanish caf� con leche. Oddly, they serve it lukewarm, but perhaps that's just as well when the thermometer is pushing into the mid-thirties by 10 a.m.

Tuesday showed us a more interesting side of Cagliari (pronounced CAL-yar-ee, not Cag-li-AR-I as we had originally thought). We had cappuccino in a sidewalk caf� as we waited for the tour bus that would give us an overview of the sights- salt ponds full of pink flamingos, the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre, a medieval "castello" and many, many churches. We spent much of the afternoon in the archeological museum within the castello, where we saw artifacts so old that the dates made my head spin. This island is believed to have been inhabited by primitive men more than 350,000 years ago. The exhibits had artifacts from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages, as well as from the Phoenician and Roman eras. The most interesting exhibits relate to the "nuraghes" (stone towers dating to the pre-Phoenician era, 1800-500BC) that are scattered across Sardinia. I hope we will see at least one nuraghe site, and perhaps the ancient graves known as "giants' tombs", before we leave the island. In the Vice-Regal Palace, we walked through an exhibit of the work of Costatino Nivola, a famous 20th century Sardinian artist and sculptor who was a friend and contemporary of Jackson Pollack. Then we wandered slowly downhill toward the Via Roma and the marina, stopping to buy Katie Waller's birthday gift in a little shop along the way.

Before leaving Cagliari, we had to make a decision on our next steps. In the interest of truth-telling, I must say that the past two weeks have been difficult, and both of us have been out of sorts and wishing that the road to home was not so long and fraught with complications. The reports on Rick's mother's progress continue to be very positive, though, and Rick's brothers and sisters and our own children have been very supportive, so we have decided to keep sailing, at least for a while. We'll explore a bit of the west coast of Sardinia before crossing to Sicily where our friends Roy and Joanne will join us in mid August. Janet Cooper will also join us for a few days later in the month, and then we'll cross to Tunisia and try to get back to Halifax in early September.

Yesterday, we arrived in Pula (Nora)- a beautiful anchorage beside the ruins of an ancient Phoenician/Roman town. The water is crystal clear and 28.9C. There are anchorages on both sides of the peninsula. We checked the west side first- there was a great view of the ruins, but nine boats were rolling and pitching and the holding looked poor with lots of rocks and remains of the Roman buildings underwater. It was also only 8-12' deep in the parts we scoped out, so we decided to head to the east side, where we found great holding in 24' of hard packed sand. It's a bit rolly here too, but it's very beautiful- there's a view of the ruins off the starboard side, a long sandy beach off the port and stern, and a backdrop of mountains in the distance. Not a bad place to spend a little time!

Comments

Vessel Name:	Aisling I
Vessel Make/Model:	Slocum 43
Hailing Port:	Halifax, NS, Canada
Crew:	Rick and Bonnie Salsman
About:	Crew from Halifax to Horta: Bonnie and Rick Salsman, Dave Morse, Wally Fraser Crew from Horta to Spain: Bonnie and Rick Salsman, Al Salsman, Rob Salsman We left Halifax, N.S. in June 2007, sailed to Horta, and explored the Azores for a month. [...] More
Extra:	The info below is a copy and paste from some literature about the Slocum 43. Please excuse the platitudes. Although I may like them , they are not truly mine. Aisling I is a 1987 Slocum 43, designed by Stan Huntingford. She has been designed to satisfy the sailor who wants the blue water, "get [...] me there" ability with the amenities for great comfort at anchor and at sea. It's a combination of engineering, performance, comfort and safety, wrapped in high quality Burmese teak finish, teak and holly cabin soles and rich upholstery. She is meant to be easily handled by a couple under almost any conditions. She was built in Taiwan to exacting standards using some of the latest technologies of the time that are still admired today. LOA: 42'6" LWL: 35'10"" TYPE: Sailboat - Cutter Rigged BEAM: 12'11" DRAFT: 6' 5" BUILDER:SLOCUM DISPL: 28,104 lbs. SAIL AREA: 808 Sq.Ft. DESIGNER: Stan Huntingford BALLAST: 9,000 lbs. HULL MATRL: Fiberglass ENGINE: Perkins 4108 TANKAGE/FUEL: 120 gal TANKAGE/WATER:150 gal GENERAL INFORMATION: Naval Architect Stan Huntingford has incorporated into this sturdy double ender, both seaworthiness and ample interior space that offers steady and comfortable cruising. Below the water line, the hull shows a fine entry with a long cutaway forefoot followed by an efficient and modern keel section and a deep profile skeg hung rudder, just forward of a tapered stern section. This design combination readily separates the Slocum 43 from other traditional yachts and offers ease of handling and lively performance. This yacht is a perfect example of a classic offshore design and has a warm, roomy and comfortable interior . Incorporating a tumble home stern, bulwarks, dorades, opening ports, oversize rigging and quality construction, This yacht is a modern classic. ACCOMMODATIONS & LAYOUT: Headroom is 6'4" or better, throughout the boat and storage capacity can only be noted as "more than ample". Beautiful Burmese teak joinery throughout, solid teak staving , all doors are beveled and hand fitted, lockers are teak lined and the glossy varnished cabin sole is teak and holly plank. The interior is finished with a satin varnish with high gloss accents on the trim. Teak doors are louvered. This yacht sleeps up to six people in accommodations with the forward cabin, main salon and owners quarter berth cabin. The forward cabin design is a signature of the Slocum and incorporates an upper and lower twin bunk to port, with the top berth extending into a a settee and to port, there is extensive storage in the form of shelves, hanging locker, drawers and louvered doors. Naval Architect Stan Huntingford has incorporated into this sturdy double ender, both seaworthiness and ample interior space that offers steady and comfortable cruising. Below the water line, the hull shows a fine entry with a long cutaway forefoot followed by an efficient and modern keel section and a deep profile skeg hung rudder, just forward of a tapered stern section. This design combination readily separates the Slocum 43 from other traditional yachts and offers ease of handling and lively performance. This yacht is a perfect example of a classic offshore design and is one of the warmest, roomiest, most comfortable interiors available in a 43' cruising yacht. Incorporating a tumble home stern, bulwarks, dorades, opening ports, oversize rigging and quality construction, This yacht is a modern classic. Underneath the starboard countertop is a Stainless Steel automatic internal lighted freezer controlled by an opening top or door. Additionally, the refrigerator box opens from the front. The refrigerator and freezer have large capacity plates which were built to be easily removed for future servicing. There are 2-deep stainless steel sinks, fully gimbaled stove and generous counter space. Overhead cabinets have a moveable peg system, which allows you to custom fit spaces inside to the size and shape of your dishes. Over the galley is a large opening hatch for light and ventilation, also, there are two opening ports over the stove area for added ventilation. Directly across from the galley, to starboard, is a proper offshore, forward facing navigation station and chart table with tremendous room for an exceptional compliment of navigation and electronic equipment for easy use while navigating. The large nav table/desk has a generous storage locker under the desk top and room for the additional electronic navigation and communication equipment outboard. The nav seat is contoured for ease of use underway and the electrical panel is flush mounted here, on a swing-out door for easy access. Overhead are two additional opening ports for excellent cross ventilation with the galley and Nav area. Just aft of the nav station and to starboard of the companionway, is a large pilot berth that will be your favorite berth when offshore. There is a teak grate built into the teak and holly floor at the bottom of the companionway, to catch water from wet gear. With the wet locker and teak draining grate, which drains to the bilge, all foul weather gear is kept aft and away from the main living quarters. All locker doors are ventilated. At the bottom of the companionway stairs is additional storage behind bottom two steps. Next, to port is the owners aft cabin with a queen sized berth with storage below as well as drawers for him and her. Various shelves and locker with removable shelf and enclosed storage locker, as well as ample book storage and large teak framed mirror, mounted on the bulkhead. The aft stateroom also has excellent ventilation provided by two opening ports and an opening hatch overhead. There are 11 Stainless steel opening ports with screens and 5 opening deck hatches, plus the companionway hatch, with screens, which provides a tremendous amount of light and superior cross ventilation. There are also 2 dorade vents, one over the head and one over the chart table. Below deck ventilation far surpasses the standards in the industry. There are light colored curtains at the ports for privacy, interior cushions are a blue HULL AND DECK Hull hand laid-up Fiberglas with 20mm R62-80 Airex Sandwich. Cast iron ballast - 4.08 tonnes, flooded with resin and 100% glassed over ( encapsulated keel). Deck- hand laid-up Fiberglas with 3/4" Baltek balsa-wd sandwich core. Teak side decks - seasoned timber, quarter sawn with black bedding compound below and in seams, secured to Fiberglas by 1" sheet metal screws, countersunk and plugged. Inlaid teak on cabin top. 1 1/2" s/s shaft, tapered to ABYC std ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Conforms to United States Coast Guard and American Bureau Yachting regulations governing wire type, coding and load capacity FRP battery box, ventilated cover with quick release tie down NEWMAR (USA) electrical panel with panel light, circuit breakers with "ON" light and battery test switch, both 110v AC and 12v DC, volt Fuel tanks - New April2000, 120 gallons in 2 Aluminum 60 gal tanks with baffles, clean out ports, complete with dipsticks, inter tank connectors with valve, take off from top with s/s ball valve on each labeled and grounded More
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