Sardinia - Playing in the Playground of the Very Rich

We have based ourselves in Olbia for a few weeks now, and familiarised ourselves with the North East coast of Sardinia as we have been honoured with two sets of visitors in quick succession - first Nick and Debbie, then Mark and Geoff.

This area of Sardinia is rugged and barren, with a harsh beauty - it really does look like the kind of place bandits would thrive, and little else - apart from the very rich ... is there a link??

The entrance to Olbia.

The floating buoys are mussel beds - there are miles of them here outside Olbia

Fishing in the mussel beds is a popular activity here

It is a fairly busy waterway outside Olbia - Nick has just noticed one of the many ferries

Once you get outside Olbia Bay you are in the Billionaires Playground - there are super yachts, there are big super yachts and there are the Yachts of the Maddelena Archipelago!

Here we have Roman Abramovich's Eclipse - a touch over 500 feet of luxury - the second largest privately owned yacht in the world, complete with mini sub, missile defence system and crew of 70.

Just keeping the crew busy ...

One of the more unusual motor boats in the area - an extra from Thunderbirds perhaps?

And possibly the creme of the creme - the Maltese Falcon

So good you get to see it twice!!

A bit more of that rugged landscape - we got to know this headland well, as it is the entrance to the bay of Olbia.  The wind ALWAYS did something strange here.

We spent six nights at anchor with Nick and Debbie, visiting the various bays in the area - there are some fantastic rock formations here, with rocks that have eroded to look like melting snow

Debbie - seeking shelter from the sun under one of the many weird shaped rocks.

So Debbie, clearly deprived of competition in her life as a teacher, decided to set up some challenges for Visitors to Nautilus:

Dolphin Spotting:  Sorry Debbie, I won't say what you were actually doing but you missed them - and Mark and Geoff saw them up close and personal ...  no photos though.

Cleaning:  Debbie took this to a new level - scrubbing the anti foul!

Excellent job - you can come again.  Mind you, the others decided to pass on this challenge!

Diving off the boat - not a bad effort by Debbie,

 but ...  the synchronised skills of Steph and Geoff have got you beaten!

Sailing in the windiest conditions - well, Nick and Debbie had a runaway success on this one, as we availed ourselves of the Force 8 to sail round the Maddelena Islands in record time.

Beer drinking - well, they are the experts!  

But we came in a very close second with the Pimms

Swimming past the boat whilst sailing under spinnaker - That is Geoff down there, but there is a lot of splashing.  1.5 kts is achievable, at 2 kts you get left behind.

All is not lost however, as you can take a rest on a fender before you have another go

Beaches are at a premium - the Mafia seemed to be guarding most of them, so we picked a little one no one else wanted.

Night Swimming - not sure why I agreed to this, but it was fun when it was over!  Points to Debbie on that one.

Pretending to enjoy going up the mast - he does look a little bit like King Kong in some lights 

Just to show you that the sun doesn't always shine here ...  Perfect Harmony

Bread Making - only one candidate for that one as well, but we did have some left over for the Feeding of Fish

We spent one night in Rotondo Marina with Geoff and Mark - mingling with the wealthy

On our pontoon in Rotondo Marina

Some of the Bigger Boys in the Marina

Early morning whilst the world sleeps, Rotondo

Looking for Foredeck Crew, Rotondo Marina

Back on the water - Geoff in the Cool Seat

Looking Relaxed 

Sunset, Olbia Marina

And Finally  ...  The Competition for the Most Relaxed Person

In Third Place - The Foredeck Crew

In Second Place - The Fat Boy

But the Clear Winner - a full Nose ahead - Mark in First Place

But don't look so sad, Nick, you can come again!!!

So - we are now heading South, this time to Sicily.