Freya & Us

As you can see above we have moved on, but more of that in a moment. Our final few days in Cagliari were spent on our few remaining jobs to get Freya ready to sail and helping Peter get Vital Spark shipshape. Peter went home on Tuesday and it was back to just the two of us and Freya - our livers are thankful for the rest. The winds were still very strong, too windy for Vital Spark to be moved back into the water or for us to set off, in fact we decamped to the main cabin for three nights to get away from the squeaking mooring lines above our beds in the aft cabin. The delay at least meant that Lorraine managed to find a hairdresser and in her best Italian and armed with pictures of her hair as it was when last cut, she managed to get it cut as she wanted and of course it looks lovely.

To escape Cagliari we took the bus about 50km inland to the small town of Sanluri, where we enjoyed a slow lunch and then walked around the sights and the town. Not a huge amount to see but some great views from the monastery and the guided tour around the castle was the highlight.

Yesterday there was a break in the wind forecast, in fact we anticipated motoring all the way as the winds were forecast at less than 10kts, so just before 10.00 we let the lines go and tried to set off. Freya limped forward and wouldn't turn. We managed to reverse back into the berth and grabbed a passing diver. (He was about to start work on a neighbours boat). 1.5 hours and 100 euros later we were on our way. He cleaned some barnacles and some plastic bags from the prop and tightened its nose cone which he said was loose. The good news was that he inspected all the hull and we had no significant fouling otherwise.

Initially we were motoring in calm seas with the new main up - more for show than effect. We were treated to two dolphin sightings and some jumping tuna. After a couple of hours the winds picked up to c8kts, then they increased a bit more and we were motor sailing at 6.5 -7kts. After a bit the winds died to zero and as I was furling the jib, all of a sudden they returned with a vengeance, they had changed direction 180 degrees and were blowing at 25 kts. Lorraine quickly came up from below to see what the noise was about. A few minutes later we had both jib and main reefed and were sailing at around 7 kts in 2-3m waves. It was overcast and cold, but still great fun. We spent three or four hours sailing close hauled with the toe rails in the water, and waves splashing into the cockpit and over the helmswoman and now in winds of up to 30kts. We almost lost a life ring as the dinghy bouncing in its davits hit it. (I hadn't fully secured the dinghy as the forecast conditions were so benign.) We were wearing life jackets and fleeces/oilies ....reminded us of sailing in the UK!

We abandoned the anchoring plan and headed in to Marina Tuelada, losing a winch handle overboard in the process (don't ask). A little out of character, Freya behaved perfectly as we moored stern-to in the heavy winds. A great days sailing and a whole season's worth of conditions in 7 hours. Our arrival beer tasted so good! The marina is isolated but is in a really beautiful spot and very friendly.... I came back from registering a little worse for wear as the marinero had just been given a bottle of wine which he insisted I sample.

Today we are sitting out the return of the high winds, but did go out for a walk across the headland through beautiful spring flowers and wonderful views. We found a sheltered spot on the beach and lay down on the white sand watching the clouds race across the sky, next to the turquoise waters and under the warm sun - We happily ignored the occasional spell of "sand blasting" for over an hour.

Weather-wise we may be able to move on tomorrow but as its so beautiful here we may stay another night before heading on.

Click here for the interactive map of our travels