To La Maddalena, 7-8 May 2023

From Propriano we had planned to make a stopover on the way to Bonifacio. However, after a very sunny first week with calm winds, the forecast for the next few days was stormy. We decided to sail through the Strait of Bonifacio on the 7th of May to find a good shelter for the coming stormy days without delaying our journey to the south...

But things turned out quite differently. The wind came much stronger than the forecast, from the east, forcing us to tack against the current and the waves in winds of around 25 knots. As we were not progressing as expected and would not reach Sardegna before nightfall, we decided to anchor in a sheltered bay on the way to Bonifacio. We found good shelter, soon joined by two other boats, in a small Corsican paradise, the bay of Arbitru.

Belisama surrounded by the two late comer neighbours

And then sunset, from the shore

On May 9, around 10, we departed from Arbitru for crossing the straight of Bonifacio, shortly ahead of the forecasted storm. As the wind had turn west, we had a very fine sailing day to our destination in Sardegna, with winds 10 to 13 m/s (20-25 knots). We moored in La Maddalena, in the Cala Gaveta Marina (35€/night). Good choice as the wind got as expected in the following hours, bouncing us back and fro on the pendilles of the marina. 

The first sight of the Sardegnan coast

One of the many Genoese towers that line the Corsican coast

Sailing along Bonifacio

Sea Cloud II, based in Monaco and taking passengers around the Mediterranean (and the world) 

On our way to the island of La Maddalena, we came across the Lavezzi Islands while crossing the Strait of Bonifacio. We were followed by Sea Cloud II, launched in March 1999. She was following us, but at a much slower speed than we were... Still a very elegant boat. The sight of her reminded me of the frigate Sémillante, which in French means 'lively and cheerful'. La Sémillante was a French frigate, sadly famous for being the victim of one of the worst shipwrecks France has ever seen. She sank off Bonifacio Strait in 1855 with the loss of 773 lives. The captain, on his way to the Crimea, encountered a westerly stormy wind veering south as he was passing along the west coast of Sardegna. Unable to tack in such a storm, he decided to take the Bonifacio Strait instead, but broke the rudder in the process. Left to the wind, she sank off the coast of Lavezzi. None of those on board survived!

 

The picture below shows the place where La Sémillante wrecked. The small building that you can see on the left of the picture is the cemetery where the remains of those who died and could be recovered were buried.

The harbour of La Maladdena is the entry point to the protected marine sea park of La Maladdena. This area was used by NATO to be a US base hosting atomic nuclear bomb holding submarines until 2003. Since then, it is a protected wildlife area that we are going to explore in the coming days. 

In La Maddalena you can buy a pass for the Natural Park for 60€ per week (14 metre boat) and enjoy free mooring at buoys all over the islands. Although the wind is still strong, we are planning to leave tomorrow morning to explore the park further.

As for now, we are provisioning the boat for our days in the park. Below is a screen shot from the Windy site showing winds up to 39 knots, which is 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale. Not a good idea to be at sea in such winds. In fact, even the ferries to the island are not working!

Below is our route from Propriano to La Maddalena, barely 50 nautical miles.