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Mediterranean Cruise - 2000
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| In July, 2000 our Parisien friends Eric Bourbotte, Evelyne Gayou and their two sons, Yvon and Cyril invited Susan and me to sail with them for two weeks around Corsica. Originally we planned to fly to Corsica and meet them at Ajaccio, but due to high winds in the Mediterranean they were unable to leave Marseilles. So instead we flew to Marseilles to sail the crossing with them. Here are some photos and a narrative of our trip.
---Allen
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| We sailed 189 nautical miles from Marseilles to Corsica in 33 hours. The narrow approach channel to Corsica's capitol city, Ajaccio, is between two mountainous but small islands each capped by an ancient watchtower facing seaward. It's close to 6PM; we had departed Marseilles at 9AM the previous day. I stood a watch midnight to 4am. No wind. Cold. Motor running. 6 knots. Eric's boat, the 40' sloop Le Raz de la Merciere has a radar reflector on the mast that greatly amplifies our size to approaching boats. On our radar we watch the approach of enormous ferrys that shuttle to Nice, Toulons and Marseilles; they clearly turn to avoid us well before they can see us because of our immense radar reflection engineered by Eric. We soon discover that he and Evelyne have thought of everything. |
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Midday on the second day; the steady westerly breeze has freshened to 15 knots and we are fairly skimming the water at 8 knots or better.
One of the four fishing lures trailing 50m behind the boat hooks a fish; the boys quickly notice. Yvon reels and Eric gaffs an 8-10 pound tunafish; I ask if I may clean and carve it into sashimi and steaks. Evelyne issues the peremptory, "oui".
We're exhausted from the all night motoring and watches every four hours, but the fish has cheered us all back into lively conversation.
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| That evening anchored in Ajaccio harbor we enjoy our most memorable dinner. Susan dishes up sashimi with homemade wasabi chiefly consisting of a diced black raddish radi noir, peppers, olive oil and herbs; Evelyne roasts the tuna with salad, olives, cheeses and serves it with bordeaux. We are happy to be there, and the dinner together is sublime. Yvon soon is stringing a clothesline of colored lights over our table attaching one end to the mast and the other to the aft stay. The lights swing gently as the boat rocks. The glow of the city surrounds us and the susurrant sea laps the shore beckoning us to land. That was not to be tonight.
We slept soundly in our small cabin where we used our inflated airline headrests as pillows and opened the porthole to a cool breeze. In the morning a vendor with his croissant filled boat plied among the anchored flotilla. We inflated our Zodiac, rescued the 25 h.p. motor from the bilges, and enjoyed our first step on land, and shower in three days.
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Ajaccio Bay Sail
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Striking sail approaching Bonafaccio on day 5 or 6
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| After shopping and showers in Ajaccio's marina, we set sail across the harbor to a public beach for snorkeling and a beach stroll. The following day we cruised South to Campomoro where the boys waterskied, Susan and I swam ashore and we enjoyed the last of our tuna for dinner. The sunset found us swaying at anchor.
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Senetose Bay is our photogenic stop for lunch on our way to Bonafaccio. The water is clear to 35 feet. We dive and swim. Susan and I climb ashore just to feel the earth under our feet. The thick undergrowth prevents access to a hilltop that promises a spectacular photo of our aluminum sloop. |
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| Bonafaccio is truly beautiful, and quaint. |
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| We tie up at a dock for the first time. Freedom! |
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| Cyril and Susan swab the deck. |
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Sardegna lies 10 miles off the Southern most tip of Corsica. The effects of 5-6 days aboard are beginning to show. Some of us begin to write in our journals.
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| What happens next, we will never fully understand.
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| Eric says we will sail to Sardegna. We all agree. The weather has changed and it appears hazy and a little cloudy. We set sail South again. Below we pass Bonafaccio. Its lovely image fades as we sail South past the angled stairs to the sea cut through the limestone below the city. |
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| Sardegna... |
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By the time we return aboard from our hike around this rocky Sardegnan island we are soaked by a rainstorm that drops large quantities of mud on us, our camera, and all over the sailboat. A sandstorm in the Sahara Desert had blown North across the water. When it got to us it was a rainstorm, too. |
| Susan showers the next morning. Observe in the photo: our stern line attached to the very same rocky island has a plastic bottle attached to it. It's there to prevent rats from coming aboard.
Again.
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It seems that during the night the boys who slept above on deck were awakened by a rat (Le Raz) visiting the boat (Le Raz de la Merciere). They chased it around the deck then knocked it into the water and it began to swim away.
Not good enough for the boys...
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| Yvon displays a victorious pose and tells the story of launching the Zodiac in the night to chase down and kill the offending rat. They both delight in regaling us with their heroics.
Cyril leads us to the rail and gestures to the botton of the clear sea. There floating on the bottom one sees magnified, a brown raccoon-sized rat, teeth bared with its claws extended toward the surface: Le Raz de Le Raz de la Merciere... The visual of the drowned rat spoke volumes about our state-of-mind. Much journal writing was accomplished. We all agree to beat a hasty retreat to Bonafaccio to enjoy Pastis with Gilbert and Mary.
Here are our friends, Eric & Evelyne (right) with Cyril, and their friends Gilbert and Mary (left).
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