After all that, the actual cape is stunningly beautiful and, in settled weather, could offer several days delightful cruising along its five mile breadth. It is very reminiscent of Scotland with one key difference: at 0800 it was 23 centigrade in the cockpit. Not imaginable in the Western Isles on 23rd May! We took over 70 photos - you'll be glad to know they're not all in the album in the gallery.
From Macinaggio, you go northeast past the pretty Baie de Tamarone. This is a popular lunchtime anchorage, but no-one seemed to have spent the night there. The first milestone is rounding Ile Finocchiarola, which has a distinctive Genoese ruined tower on it. There is plenty of room between it and the Sante Marie Beacon which marks a dangerous reef some 400m eastwards.
From here your turn just west of north and cruise past some beautiful bays, where the grass slopes across the hills to rocks that are smoothed and folded till they resemble an elephant's skin. The pilot warns of rocks and reefs across the entrances, so you would not want to enter at night. There was an intrepid yacht anchored in there though, and the shelter looked excellent.
After about three miles, you must decide whether to go between Pta d'Agnello and Isle de la Garaglia, or outside; the pass between the two is the photo above. The island has a very distinctive white tower on it. The headland on the south side of the channel is also crowned with a Genoese ruin. Heikell suggests least depths of 10m, and the chart showed 11m. Mid-channel, we never saw less than 17.8m. Looking back through that channel, we could just see Isola Capraia underneath the rising sun.
Directly beneath the pointed rocks west of Pta d'Agnello, we saw a boat nose into the tiny cove beneath the tower - so it's obviously deep enough and would be a fantastic spot in settled weather; definitely one for local knowledge or a reconnaissance in the dinghy! Further along there are several excellent bays and anchorages, plus two tiny fishing villages.
At the western end of the Cap is Capo Grosso, which has a very prominent white radar tower on it. It's not mentioned in any of the pilotage notes, but is a great landmark. Just as we were coming past it (but had stopped taking photos) a coast guard vessel roared up and took a good look at us. Without saying a word they then buzzed off again: we obviously don't look like drug-runners, and we even had our motoring cone hoisted!
The eastern side of the Cape is dramatic. Ile de Centuri sticks out clearly, sheltering the tiny port and anchorage. The steep ravine of Marine de Giottani sits behind the Roche de Magliarese, and the bays at Albo and Nonza are also possible stopping points. On this side of the Cape, the cliffs are steep and often bare rock: a completely different landscape from the softer east. The quarry and factory at Albo show that, in addition to the fertile farmlands of the Nebbio sub-region, there have been other sources of prosperity in this remote area.