Farewell Elba! As much as we had been enjoying the beautiful island of Elba, the last week of Jack and Shena’s time on Trilogy was to be in Corsica. The weather pattern was very stable and so we set sail for the alluring Île de Corse, which is of course, French territory.
The distance between Isola d’Elba and Île de Corse is only 36NM, which highlights the historical bartering and conquering that took place to claim these strategically positioned islands when naval power was mighty. The winds were light N-NW and the sea was mostly glassy smooth with a long 1 metre swell. We all took our turn at watch-keeping and by early afternoon we were standing off the port of Bastia, on the east coast of northern Corsica.
It was very hot and as always, going into marina’s immediately reduces the chance of any breeze. There was a tight entry to the marina and as we reversed back to the pontoon, the bow thrusters decided to go on strike and a breeze got Trilogy’s bow. We tried several things to reboot the bow thrusters, but alas, nothing worked. By then, Trilogy was drifting sideways to the berth and we were all scurrying to fend her off adjacent vessels, which thankfully we achieved. With no success at a reboot, the skipper decided to reverse her in and as quickly as possible tie off a bow line, so he could then have greater control of 25 tons of Trilogy. It took quite some manoeuvring to position her well from that point, but eventually she was correctly aligned, with sufficient space for the tender at the stern and the passerelle comfortably reaching the pontoon. The bow thruster problem has been intermittent for some time which unfortunately means we cannot predict when it will arise....intermittent problems are always the most difficult to rectify!
Bastia is a commercial port city and the most important in Corsica. It is an impressive location with the hills and Cap Corse behind the town. The old town has a faded charm - narrow streets and alleys with many almost crumbling buildings, dating for the 18th C. From the marina, situated at the centre of the old town, the large Saint-Jean-Baptist’s church dominates the scene, built in the 16th C. Victor Hugo lived here in Bastia as a child. There is also a newer port area, where large numbers of Corsica ferries arrive and depart to ply between Italy and France. The marina area is lined with restaurants and bars and along the Quai des Martyrs de la Liberation that leads to the new port, there is another bank of restaurants.
The focus of our 2 night stay in Bastia was to get some repairs done to our rather new tender, that was purchased in France in May. The inflatable sides are losing the air and two chambers have to be pumped up every day. We have tried to get the tender replaced under warranty but there is strong push back on that! We were advised that a local Bastia agent would do a superglue repair but no one showed up! After some more phone calls, we were advised that we would need to take Trilogy to Saint Florent, a 6 hour sail around Cap Corse, the northern rugged peninsula of Corsica. We also had an electrician arranged to check the bow thruster, which seemed to be now completely malfunctioning. However, he eventually sent a message to say he couldn’t make it, having stuffed us around all day! Things aren’t easy when dealing with the French, particularly the siesta breaks! We had a couple of lovely evening meals, with a definite French cuisine influence and from what the pilot book states, it is not really possible to find truly Corsican cuisine in the restaurants. Wild boar does feature on some menus, which also seems to be a national emblem for Corsica.
So, off to St Florant we went the following morning, leaving early enough to depart the marina prior to a breeze arriving, in order to avoid a steerage issue. The sea was very calm and we motored north along the steep rocky peninsula before rounding the Cap Corse and motor sailed south for an equal distance to St Florant, a total distance of 37 NMs. The feeling was of remoteness but we could see a coastal road hugging the cliffs the full distance. The area is subject to strong winds, but for us, there was virtually no wind!
Our arrival in St Florant went surprisingly well, the bow thruster cutting out when the buttons were pushed, but did work when the dongle only was activated ....maybe we are onto something! We were again sweating a lot as we worked in the midday heat, so we retreated below decks to revive for a while. The marina is nice and spacious and there were a lot of boats in. In the cooler afternoon hours, we wandered along the waterfront, amazed at the number of restaurants and clothing boutiques. The men reported to the capitainerie and did the usual checkin procedures. We couldn’t pay for more than one night at a time, which we found unusual. After we had gathered for our GNTs, we headed out for dinner, which was at La Gaffe, a lovely restaurant. The men smacked their lips over a degustation meal in which the starter was called ‘the perfect egg’. The girls decided on a sea bass, served very delicately with an amazing pale green light sauce, consisting of parsley, basil, yoghurt and cream. It is very special when you dine at a restaurant where the food not only looks wonderful, it tastes wonderful.....Michelin chefs can do that!