SV Ostinato: Ladies in Distress

August 11

Capo Caccia greets you as you approach Sardinia's west coast

To ensure a daylight arrival in Sardinia, King set the alarm for 0600. This is suppose to be retirement! By 0700, we were tip toeing our way out of the anchorage in Mahan, Menorca while everyone else slept. Thirty-two hours later, we sailed into Sardinia’s stunning Capo Caccia Marine Reserve. A beautiful spot comprised of shear cliffs, spectacular caves, including Neptune's Grotto, and a bay that provides protection from most winds directions.

As crossings go, it was an easy one. Not enough wind to sail, but forever hopeful, we kept the main up all the way to catch any tiny puff that might float by. The 3 hour watch shifts meant everyone got a solid 6 hours of sleep before being rudely drug out of bed for your turn looking for ships, big and small, that might want to inhabit the same piece of water at the same time. The guys were especially kind to the cook, taking the midnight to six watches. It was probably because I whined when King suggested the midnight to 3 a.m. shift. The boys rightly worry when the cook gets cranky. Upon arrival, Prosecco was put on ice so we could do a proper celebration of our return to Italy.

King will miss his buddy Bill

Bill immediately began his search on how he would escape the boat and return to the joys of air conditioning. WIFI was sketchy which didn’t make the job a breeze but, while it was like watching grass grow, we were able to eke out the needed info. When all options were laid out, the airport in Alghero, 15 minutes away from our current location, was the best to get him to Barcelona to catch a Delta flight home. That accomplished, it was time to explore for the few days he had left.

King read up on the entries in the Cruising Association “Captains Mate” for Alghero. It gave a detailed explanation on how you could enter the port, wave off all of the marineros trying to lure you to their marina slips, weave the boat around some tricky mooring balls, down a narrow lane, squeeze between two power boats and if all went well, tie up to the city wall for FREE! Yes, free is the key word here. Its vacation time in France and Italy. Marina slips for Ostinato are breath taking. All went well, including the bit about the dicey mooring balls but just as I was ready to leap off for the tie up, two guys in Coast Guard attire came running from a nearby building, waving arms and saying “No, no, no”. Well, maybe we got it wrong. Maybe it’s the other corner. I began my pantomime to this possibility. Heads began shaking to the affirmative. “Yes, other side,

Did someone say FREE mooring?

no here”. Somehow, King backed us out, squeezing between the power boats and past the mooring balls, again. I have no idea how because I had to close my eyes during certain sections. The Coast Guardia guys, who stayed to watch, were clearly quite amazed. I’m thinking nothing could be worse than that as we headed toward the opposite corner. Of course, I was so wrong. The corner was empty. As we approached closer it became clear why. Multiple rocks poked their heads just above the water line. "No, we cannot go there", I firmly called back to King from the bow. He was on a quest, so, of course, paid me no attention and somehow (eyes were closed again) we were tied to the dock. King immediately jumped off the boat to check out another space. Bill and I hid below. Within minutes, a small power boat arrived and told us we couldn't be there. a small crowd was forming. I held my ground with the excuse that the Coast Guard sent us here. That worked for about 10 minutes until the Coast Guardia from a second building arrived to tell us we could not stay. This was a landing dock…..the stairs were a dead giveaway. I negotiated with them for us to stay long enough to collect King and let us check into Sardinia, which we had yet to do. In the mean time, people took pictures of the crazy American boat jammed between the rocks, steps and a power boat (Bella was less than thrilled with our presence). It ended up that the entire city wall is indeed free, as long as you do not use the available mooring lines, electricity or water. Unfortunately, our arrival was timed the night before the biggest summer holiday in Italy, all space was booked. We would have to go. How we would get out of there, we had no clue, we were a wedged in tight. Finally, using Google Translate with anyone on the boat behind us that we could get to make eye contact, we convinced them that we would not take their slip while they were gone for a planned afternoon sail. The power boat finally slid out of its spot. We slipped out with little fan fare behind him and headed to the beach to anchor. An hour later we were on a bus back into Alghero. Always alternatives……

August 19 - After great debate on whether to take a northern route or southern route to Oblia, where we would pick up our next guests, Franz and Martina, the anchored was pulled and Ostinato's bow was pointed South. We were looking forward to exploring Cagliari and the east coast of Sardinia. Thunderstorms had been in the area all day so waiting for them to clear resulted in a late start. Unfortunately, it was theater we had seen before. The skies clear around you, the storm passes, you move out and the storm circles back to give you a whack! And she did. Forty knot gusts and five foot seas made for a less than pleasant afternoon. We made it through the worst of it but it looked that the storm might just join us for the trip down the coast. King offered and I quickly agreed to turning around. Five hours after we had pulled anchor, we were back where we had started......and happy to be there! We would look at the weather tomorrow.

July 21 – The weather was stormy again. A good day to stay put and take care of boat chores that had been piling up. My most, dreaded, defrosting the freezer, was at

Bill, this is for you.

Tthe top of the list. Bill, Mr Clean, had started a list of things he would attend to on his next visit. Plenty of chores to keep one busy till nap time. We also took another look at the weather in the South of Sardinia and decided it was looking a bit iffy for us to reach Olbia in time for guests. Our reluctance in heading north was only that we had sailed the area last year. The southern route would give us an opportunity to explore a few new places. Time was slipping by. No in either direction, we needed to be tucked in somewhere safe in four days. We weren't the only thing heading toward Olbia, a Mistrial was coming!

Decision made, the safe option was clearly to go north. We would just find new anchorages along a familiar route. This had additional positives. Friends, Luda and Dave, on Bobcat were in northern Sardinia. We might be able to arrive before they left for Corsica. A quick text told them we were on our way!

After checking the 10:30 morning weather update on Windy, it was time to pull anchor. What little wind there was came on the nose. It was a motor all the way. We didn't even bother with putting up a sail. As we arrived at the Fornelli passage, I recalled my trepidation the previous year when we transited the short cut between the NW of Sardina and Isola Asinara behind SY Rob Roy. This year, no pacing! I actually enjoyed the passage through the shallow reefed waters. It was so lovely, we decided to spend the night just outside the Isola Asinara Marine Reserve behind Isla Piana. The next two days we sailed across the north coast stopping overnight in Baia Reparata and then on to an anchorage just west of Palau.

Hello Bobcat!

After much texting, we managed to meet up with Luda and David on Bobcat, in Rafa di Mezzo Schifow near Palau and then later in Cannigione. We first met Luda and Dave in Croatia when, after seeing their American flag, I asked if they were “real Americans” (versus those that have registered their boats in Delaware for tax purposes). We later spent two winters together in Marina Di Ragusa. The Mistrial enabled us to pack in a lot of catching up. The anchorage was nicely protected from the west so the 30 plus knot gusts throughout the three days impacted our ability to go in shore but were never a threat. We even managed to get in a game of Joker. The guys were crushed!

The text message you never want to get while at the supermarket...."Honey, pick up a rat trap."

Did he jump aboard the dinghy in Alghero or get blown out during the Mistrial? Just get him off!!!!

August 26 – We learned tonight our daughter’s home caught on fire. The first blaze destroyed three rooms. The second, starting a few hours later, finished it off. All escaped unharmed but everything is gone. This is one of those times that being so far away is way too hard. Many thanks to so many who reached out to Kim and Brian (and us) to offer their support.

August 30 – We slowly moved south down Sardinia’s east coast to Olbia with stop overs in Cala di Volpe a favorite anchorage from last year, near Marina Di Portisco and then Gulfo Aranci where we spent a very rocky rolly night. In Olbia, we would pick up Franz and Martina, friends from Switzerland who we met at the ABYC in Shell Point ten or so years ago while they did a sabbatical at Florida State University. The four of us had been trying to schedule a cruise together since we first arrived in Europe over six years ago! It came together not a minute too soon.

The town quay was available for tying up when we arrived. We hadn’t been tied to a dock since we left Cartagena…..no I am not counting the 30 minutes in Alghero! Two days gave us time to locate supermarkets, find gelato and magically turn storage rooms back into sleeping cabins.

Sept 2 – Franz and Martina arrived off the ferry loaded with their gear and shopping bags of fresh fruit and vegetables picked the night before at their farm. Somewhere along the route from the ferry to Ostinato, the bag with life vests decided not to come along. After unfruitful efforts to locate the following morning, we pulled out our extra life vests and headed north to begin our six day cruise of the Maddalena Islands. Our first day turned out to be a bit breezy so we were thankful for the left over pizza from the night before for lunch. While a bit bouncy, we were treated to our first of several sightings of the Rolex Maxi Races. These big sleek sailing yachts were dressed in black until they popped their black and white spinnakers in 25 knot winds. We decided to stop over in Cala di Volpe to let our Swiss passengers enjoy the refuge and its beautiful blue waters.

The only American yacht we saw racing in the Rolex Maxi Race. They were flying under spinnaker in 25 ks!

Black sails seemed to be the thing in this years Maxi races

The Maddalena archipelago lies to the north of Sardinia and south of Corsica and makes up the La Maddalena National Park. The Park consists of several tree barren islands with multiple anchorages to accommodate almost any wind direction. During July and August

The Maddalena's are a great place to walk too!

the islands are jammed packed so we skipped them last year. It was a treat to get to explore them in the off season. Most locations within the Park require a permit to pick up a bouy and while you may anchor in sand during the day, overnight anchoring is prohibited. Our first stop was off a sandy beach on the east side of Isla Caprera in Cala Portese. Franz and King lassoed a mooring ball and we swam, ate and caught up over the next few hours. In the afternoon, King took a nap and the rest of us grabbed our books to settled in for some quiet time. Just about then there was a bang. I looked up to see the power boat at anchor ahead of us was now sitting on our starboard bow! As I ran forward, the female crew on board the power boat began fending off while a man and two women watched from the back deck. I yelled at them to start their engines. They simply stared back in response. I yelled a second time and a male crew finally came out to check out all the commotion. “This is why they have mooring balls” “what’s wrong with you people?” I shouted. The group on the back deck continued to star….surely they thought the Americano has lost her mind. Engines were finally started and they sped away. No sorry, no "did we do damage", no "a bottle of wine for your trouble". Everyone kept a healthy distance after that. Lucky for us, there was no damage.

We told them they couldn't keep the boys

Just before sundown, anchorages typically clear out leaving those spending the night room to breathe. A 45 ft sailboat behind us finally decided it was time they headed back to the docks. The five woman aboard moved to the bow to begin bringing up the anchor. Their token man, was on the helm. The group struggled as the cockpits of the yachts around them filled with sailors with full glasses of wine prepared for the show. It was someone else’s turn. The women pulled and pushed on the chain, consulted with each other and then pulled and pushed again. It wasn’t budging. Anchor chain duties, apparently, were not in the guys job description. He stayed on the helm. King and Franz couldn’t bear to watch any longer and hopped in the dinghy. To the rescue! They chatted, climbed aboard and five minutes later the anchor was up. The ladies were delighted. Martina and I yelled over that they had to give the boys back. They were returned with a beer each as their reward.

To the rescue! Look at those smiles!

The following days we spent time in Cala Spalmatore, Porto Palma, watched the start of another day of the Maxi Races and anchored in the Gulfo di Marinella before returning to Olbia to deliver Franz and Martina back to the ferry. The time went way too fast......Did I mention that Martina and I beat Franz and King at Joker?!!!