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.

Back to Alghero, and a visit to Bandit Country

The more touristy areas of the Med are well appointed with 'Lookie Lookie' men (and women) who wander the towns and beaches politely trying to sell you sunglasses (the men) and handbags (the women).  They clearly guard their wares very carefully - this raft was carefully packed up and paddles out to the bay where we were anchored.  We must have looked particularly trustworthy, as the owner left it anchored next to us and swum back to the shore - he collected it again the next morning and we saw him setting out his wares on the beach.

Overnight parking

Maybe he can't swim, but this vendor didn't even set his sunglasses out till well after dark!

We saw two small pods of dolphins on our trip back to Alghero - these ones were much more blasé about yachts than the Biscay dolphins as they didn't bother to come over to play.

Clare and Jamie went for a fender ride behind the boat

Our fenders are clearly single person sized!  No fenders were injured during the filming.

Back to Capo Caccia - are you sure that gap is big enough???

This is in the entrance to Alghero Harbour - a lesson for the unwary?

Sadly our visitors had to leave us in Alghero and go back to the real world, but at least the sun was shining in the UK so they could show off their tans!

Sunset, Alghero

The marina charges in high summer in the Med are punishingly high, so we try to spend the absolute minimum time in them - Clare and Jamie left us at 0730, and by lunchtime we had been to the laundrette and the supermarket, done a fuel and water filter change on the boat, refilled with water and fuel and managed to escape the marina before being charged for another day.  We then needed to go sailing for a rest!

Our next excitement was meeting up with Frances and Peter who have also sailed from Eastbourne - Peter left about the same time as us, sailed with a selection of crew to Marseilles where he was joined by his wife Frances.  They have just sailed down the West coast of Corsica, we initially met in a little bay in Sardinia and the next day sailed across to Corsica to a bay that had some resemblance to a NCP car park!

Piccolo, heading for Corsica

Going ashore in Rondinara Anchorage, Corsica.

We went our separate ways the next day, Piccolo heading back north up the East coast of Corsica while we went to check out Bonifacio.  To say that this area is a millionaires' playground would be an understatement - many are clearly Billionaires!  It's as busy as the Solent, and there are some VERY serious yachts in these waters.

Just one of the little ones that came to show us their wash!

Bonifacio itself is spectacular - first you see the edge of the town, literally perched on top of the cliffs

As you continue you come to the narrow, cliff lined harbour.  It is a bit of a leap of faith entering this harbour, hoping that you will be able to turn round and get back out again!

The walled city, and a few of the yachts

The harbour opens up as you get  a little further in, and it gets VERY busy.

A bit more walled city

Leaving Bonifacio

We left the mayhem that is Bonifacio and headed for a small bay nearby, only to find it completely packed - rather than fight for space, we went back to the beautiful and peaceful bay where we'd first met up with Peter. I think we need to revisit Corsica in low season!!!

Nautilus - thanks Peter for the photos.

So - next stop - Olbia, to meet Nick and Debbie