Sailing to Porto Malfatano and Carloforte

Capo Sant’Elia (our anchorage off Poetta Beach was just behind it)   

We left our anchorage behind Capo Sant’Elia, off Poetta Beach, much later than we had expected on Sunday 18 June. The wind had been forecast as 10 knots from the east from quite early in the day, building as the day progressed, but the easterly had not materialised until lunchtime, which left us with at least 30nm to cover before sunset at about 2045.

Happily, when the wind did appear, it came with some gusto. With one reef in the main, full genoa and the apparent wind on the beam BV romped along at 7+knots.

The sailing was fast and fun and the scenery attractive too, with green hills and golden beaches and relatively few towns or resorts. At frequent intervals along the coast we saw stone watchtowers. This network of look out posts dates back to the 16^th and 17^th centuries, built to watch out for and provide early warning of Saracen raiders. As the coastline turned gradually more southwesterly, we bore away from the wind and poled out the genoa to port, aiming to keep the speed up not only so that we would arrive at Porto Malfantano at a reasonable time but also because we now had competition – another yacht. [Ed: it’s a well-known fact that when sailing in company with other yachts, even unknown yachts, one is always racing!].

Rounding Capo Spartivento and its very smart lighthouse   

The other yacht, however, did not pole out its genoa [Ed: nor, we think, rig a preventer on its main] so it couldn’t sail as effectively downwind and we won the race to round Capo Spartivento, the second most southerly point of Sardinia. We gybed, dropped the pole and hardened up for the last couple of miles to our destination. It was suddenly very windy as we turned crosswind under the low cliffs of the cape. Yes, the wind had picked up a bit during the passage but it was also being accelerated across and then down from the hills. There were a few motorboats anchored in the area we had planned to use but they were all tucked in very close to the cliffs and out of the wind where it was too shallow for BV. Where there was sufficient depth for us, the gusts howled across water, raising white caps and small drifts of spume.

Porto Malfatano   

Slightly further northwest was another, larger bay with a yacht already anchored in it, so we had a look there and found it to be far less windy, though there were still strong gusts. By 1720, 4½ hours after switching the engine on at Poetta Beach, the anchor was secure in a large patch of sand and we were hoisting the riding sail in the new configuration we had trialled at Favignana. And, as the evening progressed we were joined by 3 other yachts, though our racing rival decided to anchor in the next bay west behind a small island.

Continued below

Porto Malfatano, Sardinia, Italy   

We weren’t exactly taking things slowly on the morning of Monday 19 June but we weren’t exactly rushing to get going either. However, when we saw the top of the mainsail of our racing rival above the island between the 2 of us, we realised that we probably should be on the move too. Anchor up, mainsail up, light wind from dead astern, and a race on – it had to be the day to get the MPS out for the first time this season! So we did.

Capo Teulada   

All was looking good to pass Capo Teulada, the most southerly tip of Sardinia, with the MPS flying. However, as we got closer the wind veered by 30 degrees and we had to ease the pole forward and fly the sail about as close to the wind as we could. We could, perhaps, have got a few degrees closer to the wind by hardening the tack of the sail down to BV’s removable bowsprit, but once we were around Capo Teulada we knew that we would have to bear away from the wind again and therefore that we would want the sail on the spinnaker pole, so we stuck it out with the configuration we had. Things weren’t helped by there being a military range and avoidance area over the Capo Teulada headland and out to about a mile off its tip. It was tempting to just cut through as we saw others doing but we stuck to our track and managed to stay half a mile or so outside the avoid. We were jolly glad that we did too as the boats that cut through the range were all intercepted by a military-looking launch and, judging from their subsequent courses, were told to exit the avoidance area sharpish.

Once around Capo Teulada we still had about 25 miles to sail to Isola di San Pietro and the island’s main port of Carloforte. With our ‘racing partner’ left safely in our wake we pootled north, all the time tweaking the sails because the wind was getting lighter and lighter.

Carloforte ahead   

At times the wind was down to around just 6 or 7 knots (true) and our speed dropped right off. However, we were still passing other yachts and as they gave up sailing and switched to engine power we hung on in with the MPS. We were rewarded with increased wind for the last 2½ hours of the passage which meant that we almost caught up the motoring yachts; most satisfying!

Entering Caroforte harbour   

However, the fun had to stop as we reached the approaches to Carloforte. The San Pietro Channel is very shallow, especially in the final approach to Carloforte, and so we wanted to get everything down and packed away before picking up a transit to make our way into the harbour. As we approached the harbour entrance, a mariñero from Marinatour, one of the marinas, intercepted us to try to get our trade. He offered us a good price, €35 a night, but we kept our options open because we had read about the town quay being a possibility for us. Luckily, there were a couple of BV sized spaces left on the quay, so we tied up there. We had to go through a few shenanigans, buying a Port Tax stamp at one of the shops [Ed: which shop?….Anyone?…..Anyone?] and then some paperwork with the harbourmaster, but he was delightfully helpful and the whole bill came to just €16 for 4 nights. The profit from the deal has been pushed into the ‘Beer, Wine and Restaurant Fund’ and, better still, we have discovered that a four-day tuna festival starts whilst we are staying here.

BV on the town quay at Carloforte

Carloforte, Sardinia, Italy