We woke up on our first morning in Elba to completely changed weather – sunny, not a cloud in the sky and calm seas. Just as if the last few days of storms and turbulent nights hadn’t happened. We went ashore to explore and,of course, being part of Italy, everything was laid out perfectly and with no visible unpleasantness – I think the Tuscan Islands are more like Italy than mainland Italy! It is almost as they have to prove that they are a proper part of Italy. The countries are so different – you couldn’t be anywhere but Italy. In the past I think I have made the mistake of assuming Italy was just a prettier version of Spain but Italians and Spaniards are so different. Even in a seaside resort most Italians don’t wear shorts unless on the beach and certainly wouldn’t go in to town wearing beach clothes. Appearances are clearly important and standards have to be maintained. However so far we haven’t found the island Italians very friendly towards strangers and, in fact, in an anchorage go out of their way not to smile or wave. Since we left the Balaerics we haven’t seen another British boat – obviously we are pretty much off the usual passage routes here so we have tried to say hello to people on Italian boats but not much luck so far.
We exchanged our Gaz bottle for a a new one ashore and checked out the bus route to Portferraio (capital and only big town on Elba) - bus seemed to run every hour so we decided to make a trip tomorrow. The rest of the day we spent sunbathing and snorkelling and generally doing what we expected to be doing on a boat in July in Italy! (not hanging on our anchor for grim death and sailing through storms and heaving seas!)
The next day we caught the bus to Portoferraio – it was absolutely packed and standing room only. We offered the driver money but he waved us inside and then didn’t make eye contact with us again so we shuffled down the bus and tried to find a place to wedge ourselves so we wouldn’t fly down the bus when it cornered and end up in some stranger’s lap. Bit like being on the Tube in London in rush hour – so many people all packed in like sardines in a tin and desperately trying not to have any physical contact with another person or have to speak to anyone. Or Italy generally! The bus made several more stops and we didn’t see anyone pay although there was a machine for validating tickets half way down the bus. No one seemed to have a ticket to validate though. At the last stop a beach or market seller was waiting at the stop with at least 30 handmade baskets all looped together with cloth. The merchandise, although probably not heavy, took up as much space as two people – surely the bus driver either wouldn’t let him on or at least would charge him. But no, we all squeezed up and the trader and his wares got on and took up the whole space by the driver. No offer of payment was made and none asked for. Are the buses in Elba free?
The crowded bus discharged us all at the bus station in Portoferraio and we set off without a clue where we were going. We wandered round the town – you couldn’t help falling in love with the place – streets of 18th century cream and ochre buildings overlooked by a 16th century citadel built on top of the craggy cliffs and, of course, Napoleon Bonaparte’s house. Cant think why he ever left. We had a great day being sightseeing tourists, found a supermarket of sorts and bought some much needed provisions and then caught the bus back. We did have to pay on the way back as there was a ticket machine at the bus station. It seems people only paid if they got on at a stop where there was a ticket machine. Lesson there I think....
Our dinghy was where we left it(amazingly) and we spent the evening on the boat watching the sun go down. We even spoke to a lovely Italian couple on another boat, Blackfish. They were flying a red ensign and we thought it was a British boat but they explained (in perfect English) that they had registered the boat as British because the Italian taxes and regulations are so expensive now it was cost effective to register it as British. Alexandrine and Roberto seemed very disillusioned with Italy and their government and were planning to move to Malta next year to get away from the Italian tax system. Probably more to it than that but it made us think that maybe Britain isn’t so bad after all....

The next day we decided to sail further round Elba before heading off to the last island, Isola di Capraia, in the next few days so we sailed off anchor as the wind was still very light. It dropped to nothing after an hour so just let the boat drift and we fished and swam – but still no fish despite Martyn buying every expensive lure any fishing shop he sees has to offer, . Eventually we dropped anchor at Barbatoia just behind the headland. There were 4 or 5 other boats also anchored there.
We settled in for a calm night but by 9 o’clock it was getting distinctly uncomfortable and very rolly. It wasn’t going to be a dangerous night but it was enough of a swell to make sleeping difficult so we upped anchor to move round the headland 8 miles to the other side of the island where we would be sheltered. At least on Elba there were options. As we sailed round the headland the wind picked up to 22 knots and we had 2 reefs in the sail so after a day of no wind we got a good sail in after all. The other boats in the anchorage must have been thinking the same as us and as we left we looked back to see the lights of another boat following us. We hoped to be able to anchor at San Andrea which was the closest place offering shelter from a south easterly wind and so it was great to see another boat (hopefully local) heading the same way. Maybe they would know the way in and the best place to anchor. It was pitch dark with no moon when we arrived so we slowly inched our way in with Jane up on the bow checking for fishing pots and buoys. The other boat was still following so we thought we must be on the right track. There were a lot of buoys and ropes but we managed to anchor quite close in to the beach and it was, as hoped, much calmer than where we had come from. The other boat came in almost alongside and dropped their anchor. In the darkness they called across and asked if we were French. We said no we were English and then they thanked us in English for finding a good place for the night. They were quite a small boat without much GPS equipment and had seen us leave the previous anchorage, thought we knew where we were gong and decide to follow us!! And we had hoped they knew where we were all going. Talk about the blind leading the blind!!
Next morning we could see the Island of Capraia in the distance and we set off towards it. It was a day of mixed weather and mixed sailing. The weather had still not been what we expected – most days are a mixture of cloud and sunshine although it is always about 27 or 28 degrees. We had good wind, then no wind, then strong gusts for a while and wind from nearly every direction but after five hours , often having to sail in the wrong direction, we were sailing along the coast of the Island of Capraia in the rain. There were huge cliffs and rock faces and no sign at all of any habitation but the pilot book said that Porto Capraia was along the coast there somewhere. Several other yachts were also heading for the port (we assumed) and as they approached the coast they seemed to disappear and be swallowed up into the cliff like into a big mouth so we headed for that spot. As we got there the harbour and bay became visible and we sailed in to the small bay. It was the most perfect looking harbour I have ever seen – high cliffs, turquoise water and a small harbour in one corner. It was very deep as the cliffs dropped vertically into the sea and carried on down but we managed to find a good spot and dropped the anchor. There was a system of floating buoys which boats backed up and were attached to which we hadn’t seen before but we still decided to anchor. Blackfish with Alexandrine and Roberto were on the buoys so we waved and later they came across to us for drinks.
The next day we rowed ashore, filled up with water and also found a small shop selling a limited slection of food. Maintaining stock can`t be easy on a small island when everything has to be brought in by ferry. It made us realise how isolated these islands are. We don’t often go anywhere that doesn’t have an airport and Ryanair flying in. To get to Capraia you would have to fly to Italy and then get the ferry to Elba and then another ferry from Elba to Capraia so it did make us feel a long way from home. We caught the only bus which takes a windy road up to the top of the island where there is a small but but perfect village. No roads went any further but we walked for miles around the coast, picked more blackberries and then walked back down to the harbour. The ferry had just got in and the harbour was teeming with backpackers and walkers ready to enjoy this beautiful, unspoilt island. I didn’t know such places even existed in Europe. We both agreed this is the most pefect island we have ever been lucky enough to visit. We will definitely come back.
When we got back to the boat there was an incredible and entertaining spectacle. Most boats had left the buoys that morning leaving vacant about 35 spaces and we had wondered if they would be filled again. While we had been ashore boats had clearly been arriving. Each buoy had to be allocated by the marinero in a rib boat then he would attach the ropes to each boat individually and ,there as only one of him and many boats,a sort of mad queue of boats had formed in the bay. As we all know Italians do many things well but queuing is not one of them! Boats were jostling for position, shouting at each other that they were next and using gestures that I am glad I have have no idea what they mean. The poor marinero was trying to keep some sort of order. It was clear that there was going to be enough buoys for everyone and there was no need to panic but that didn’t stop the mayhem. We sat on our boat, poured a G & T and watched. By 5pm all was sorted, everyone was on their buoy and calm settled over the harbour again. This must be renacted between 3 and 5 pm every day. We felt sorry for the marinero until we worked out that he had taken about 1100 euros in cash in 2 hours....
It was going to be hard to leave this lovely island and this was our last stop in the Tuscan islands but we need to start heading back towards the Balaerics so tomorrow we set off for Corsica.....