The Gulf of Arzachena

Leaving our corner of Cala di Volpe   

With the mistral seeming to have blown itself out we left Cala di Volpe at 1500 on Sunday 2 July. We had thought about staying another night in Cala di Volpe but having spent so long at anchor we wanted to go for a sail.

So, we weaved our way out past the anchored billionaires’ playthings and hoisted our sails. The shelter tucked away in our corner of Cala di Volpe had been excellent and now that we were out in the main part of the bay it was clear that there was still quite a brisk wind. WE set up BV with reefed sails for our beat north and then west along the Costa Smeralda; the ‘emerald coast’. Since 1962 this area has been actively developed to attract the very rich and famous….

… and so, as we worked our way up the coast we passed fabulous villas with bright green lawns and bays crammed with numerous really rather large motoryachts. The brisk wind made for excellent sailing (but not much photography!) and we made fast progress, clearly racing any of the other yachts going the same way. In the northeast corner of Sardinia is Porto Cervo, the centre of the billionaires’ and filmstars’ playground. Here even the superyacht captains wince at the mooring fees and so we continued a little further around the coast to head into the Gulf of Arzachena.

Our anchorage behind Isola Zui Paulu with its stick figure statue   

The sailing was just fabulous and BV raced along at over 8 knots so it was a bit of a shame when we actually arrived at our planned anchorage. However, the sun was getting lower in the sky and so we lowered the sails before sounding our way into the shallow area just to the south of Isola Zui Paulu. We joined 3 other yachts anchored in around 4 metres, just to the south of the island, and enjoyed a glass of wine or two looking at the distinctive bronze stick man statue on the island.

The town of Cannigione to our south, at the head of the gulf   

Monday started with our writing up a long list of tasks. The forward holding tank contents gauge had stopped reading properly, one of the zips on the bimini had got a small tear in it and needed repairing, the pile of laundry was of a size that we needed to find a laundrette, and the collection of empty bottles and rubbish was similarly of a scale that we needed to do something about it. Additionally, and most importantly, we needed to get a permit to allow us to sail into La Maddalena Archipelago National Park and Marine Reserve. A dinghy trip to the town of Cannigione at the head of the gulf was in order.

The view north from Cannigione   

Cannigione usefully has a laundrette, a large rubbish and recycling area, several supermarkets and a tourist information office where, normally, you can buy a sailing permit for the National Park. All were used to good effect except for buying the permit; the tourist office had suffered a power failure and so buying our permit would necessitate another trip ashore later in the evening when, hopefully, power would be restored.

Cannigione also has a market which we wandered around. There were a couple of stalls selling local cheeses, hams and dried sausages; a few fresh fish and fruit stalls; and the rest could equip you a wide variety of spangly bikinis, matching spangly belts, beach clothes and sun hats.

Armed with bags of (food) shopping, empty recycling bags, a resupply of beer (in case of emergency shortages) and clean laundry (but no spangly bikinis), we returned to BV for lunch. The afternoon was turned over to maintenance with the bimini zip repaired, the contents probe for the forward holding tank replaced and both toilets’ pumps lubricated. All of that hard work qualified us for an icecream and so we took another dinghy trip ashore to Cannigione.

Icecreams were eaten, e-mails checked and then we turned up at the tourist information office as it opened for the evening. Power had been restored and so we were able to buy a permit for La Maddalena Archipelago National Park and Marine Reserve. In 2014 we had booked a permit online but this time the website was a bit clunky to use and Nicky couldn’t find a way to show that we were in a sailing yacht [Ed: you get a 40% discount on permit fees for being in a sailing yacht rather than a motor yacht]. The lady in the tourist information office told us that now you can only get the reduction for sailing yachts by applying in person and having your registration documents checked, so we had done the right thing visiting Cannigione. One day in the park was €23 for a sailing yacht of BV’s size but you could get a 7-day permit for €60. We filled out the form, paid €60 and walked away with a 7-day pass. The day’s admin was complete; time for sundowners and a fab barbecue back aboard BV!

Leaving our anchorage behind Isola Zui Paulu   

The following morning (Tuesday 4 July), having wished our American HF Net chums a Happy Independence Day, we dug the anchor out of the seabed and headed north in a flat calm for Porto Palma, one of the anchorages on the island of Caprera that we hadn’t visited back in 2014. 

The Gulf of Arzachena, Sardinia, Italy