From St Florent we headed for Calvi. Leaving the Golfe St Florent we saw a tall ship under sail approaching, which then did some exercises. What fun! They are so big you can imagine how extraordinary they must have seemed to the expert navigators of the Pacific, who could sail anywhere but whose resources constrained them to relatively small craft.
We had hoped to enjoy an anchorage on the west coast of the Desert but as we came round the corner the breeze got up to a south-westerly F4 with a nasty choppy sea. And cold! So we reshaped our plans to spend the night in the shelter of the islet at Ile Rousse. This little town was built by Pasquale Paoli when the citizens of Calvi refused to cooperate with his plans for independent Corsica. So he made Ile Rousse as competition. All our guide books are sniffy about it, so we didn't bother to sort out Bridget and go ashore.
The pilot book is wary about rocks, and the bay looks quite different from you expect from the chart . You go further west than you anticipate and the main reef off the beach is very visible. The smaller reef on the west side is not as clear but there are lots of moorings there. The gap between the two is large enough for several anchored boats. Between the beach and the western rocks is a large, high quay, but we saw no signs of it being used. The marina is then straight ahead, and to the north is the ferry terminal, which is surprisingly busy with some very large vessels and a hyperactive pilot.
The pilot kept us amused for quite a while. The little blue boat swarmed around the big ferry for a bit. Then it went out into the open sea about half a mile off and twisted round in small circles like an angry hornet for no obvious reason. For several minutes! Then it came back and meandered around the ferry again. Eventually, an orange lifejacket was passed up to a waiting crewman. What a to-do!
The wind did calm down in the evening but we stayed put, quite comfortable and enjoyed a lovely sunset. We have made
a small album with some pictures for pilotage value.