Sunday, June 3 started the usual way at 0800 with cups of coffee. We waited for the Irishman to bring over his latest NavTex weather information. Once he did and we had studied it, along with talking to Rene from the Dutch boat, Mrs. Jones on Corsica, we decided to brave the crossing over to Sardinia. By 1000 Dan had hoisted the dinghy up behind our boat, after he dumped the last of our garbage on the pontoon, and soon we cast off the mooringball and motored our way down to the anchorage at the entrance to Mahon, where our friends on XTC had moved the previous day. Once we met up with XTC, both boats headed out into the sea southeast of Menorca and set a course of 068 degrees toward Sardinia. The winds were very light and couldn't quite decided which direction to stay at to begin with. At 1100 Rene called again; he had gotten updated weather information and it looked like northeasterly winds to force 4 (11-16 knots) by afternoon. If that would be the case, Dan decided to head in a more northerly direction for awhile, as we probably would have to alter our course more southeasterly once we encounterd the northeasterly winds. I don't know who had predicted NE winds at force 4, but it soon became evident that it was a very optimistic prediction. More like force 7 (28-33 knots) started blowing when the winds came from NE! Not much fun at all even though we made pretty good time surfing down the big waves. Once both Dan and I started feeling a bit sick, we changed course to SE and it didn't seem to be quite as rough going more with the wind and the waves. A couple of times the wind seemed to calm down, and then we could change our course back towards the original course line. We had removed all our windows around the cockpit for the summer, except the one in front of the helm, and during this trip we got reminded that maybe we shouldn't have! Some of the waves broke alongside the boat towards the rear quarter and consequently splashed into the cockpit. Once both Dan, Duke and I got soaked by a big wave, then out came our foul weather gear, and the rest of the trip we wore them. Of course the night came and we had to get through it. Dan and I took turns staying awake, and I believe Dan got the short end of the stick. I managed to sleep two hours twice, but Dan only got two hours once! Towards morning the wind died down somewhat, and we could once again change our course to a more northeasterly direction. Even though the wind had subsided quite a bit, the waves didn't deminish at once; they were still about 12-15 feet high, but managable! Since the evening before, when we saw XTC pound northeast into the waves, we hadn't heard from them, so Monday morning we tried the VHF and barley reached them. Seems they too had changed direction finally, and they were now quite a bit north of us but farther behind! During the day on Monday, June 4, the wind changed direction three times. First it went to north, then northwest and finally settled at west at a mere 8-10 knots! After speeding along in over 30 knot wind for almost 24 hours, eight to ten seems like a crawl, and Dan started the engine to help the boat along. By late afternoon we started seeing Sardinia hidden in haze, and still about 25 miles to go. We were heading to a port on the west coast, called Porto Conte, where we had decided with XTC to hold up and rest after the rough trip across the sea. The sun went down Monday evening, but thankfully the moon rose bright and round and bathed the coast and water in silvery moonshine, so we could easily find the way in towards shore. The bay, where we were headed, was pretty straight forward according to our cruising guide and no obstructions lay in the way. Not until 0230 Tuesday morning did we finally reach the bay at Porto Conte and lay secured on anchor. We had come another 186 rough miles across from The Baleares; we were safe and no damage to the boat, so I guess it was a good trip after all!

A few hours sleep felt good, but then it was time to clean up the boat again. When we are underway, nothing gets done inside; the mess just grows till we are in port. XTC arrived in late morning, safe and sound. They had been sailing when we started the engine, so that's why they lagged behind! The batteries for XTC had given out, so Dan and Tom went ashore to try to locate some on Wednesday. They ended up taking a taxi from the hotel on shore, over to the bigger town of Alghero, where they found some car batteries; better than none at all! The next day we took our dinghy and went ashore father down the point at Porto Conte. We wanted to find Neptune's Grotto! Once we left the dinghy at the shore line, it was quite a long hike uphill, but we were rewarded by a gorgeous view down over our little bay and the area surrounding it. No sign showed if we were on the right track for the Grotto, but when we reached the top and came around a corner, we knew we had arrived. Busses and cars were parked along the side of the road and there was also a cafe'. The entrance to Neptune's Grotto was a gate with numerous steps leading quite steeply downhill, and that's where I left Dan and Duke. I wanted to walk down a bit and take some pictures, as it looked to be a beautiful view from the steps. The steps wound their way down the rock face, and before I reached every corner, I promised myself to turn back once I reached the corner. Of course that didn't happen, as more and more gorgeous views opened up before me. Halfway down I met Tom and Val; they had gone ashore before us and they had been down to the cave entrance and turned around. When they told me how beautiful it was, I had to see for myself, so on I walked. The last bit, before I reached the cave, got quite steep. Along the rail a lot of people stood taking pitures of something interesting. Below, in the water, a tourist boat was trying to get into the mouth of the cave, and it did so by being tied off in the stern to a mooring farther out. They knew exactly how far into the cave they could go. Even if the ocean was pretty calm, the swells were big and the cruise boat rose up and down. How were the people supposed to get onboard? Once I got farther down and into the mouth of the cave, I saw how. From the bow of the boat a long gangway stretched ashore and that's where the people hurried across and onboard the boat! I was glad I didn't have to do that! I had arrived in Neptune's Grotto entrance, but to continue farther in, I had to pay. We hadn't gotten any lire yet, so the entrance had to be enough for me! The entrance was colorful with water dripping from the rocks above, and with spotlights illuminating the rockformations hanging and sticking up from the clear and calm water inside the cave, it was absolutely magical. A few minutes to soak up the magic, before the arduous return to reality and the edge high above!

According to the weather from one source for Friday, June 8, it was supposed to blow southwesterly wind to 20 knots, and if that was the case, it would be a good day for us to continue. We soon prepared our boat, pulled in the anchor and motored around the high and steep rock at Capo Caccia. Once we got around the point, there was hardly any wind on the other side either, so again the weather we received was not to be trusted. Seeing we were on the way, we figured we would continue anyway, even if we had to motor to the next anchorage! That is exactly what happened, so all day we powered north along the western coast of Sardinia and headed for the Fornelli Passage, which would save going around the Asinara island and mean at least 20 miles shorter distance.

Daylight passage through the Fornelli Passage is only permitted, as there are no lighted bouys. The passage should neither be used during strong westerly or easterly winds, as the swells tend to reduce the effective depths. About nine feet in the shallowest area, but that wouldn't bother our catamarans! Since we arrived at the passage from the west, with hardly any wind, we could pick our way through. First we had to steer a course that lined us up with daymarkes on shore. Once we had two markers lined up one behind the other, we continued in that direction, until we looked behind us and lined up two different markers. From that moment on, all we had to do was stay in a straight line until we reached deeper water. The water was very clear in the passage, only sand and no weeds, so we could see the bottom clearly. The bottom seemed much closer than it actually was, but I had to keep looking at the depth meter to make sure. I was happy when we finally got out into deeper water and sailed on to the port at Stintino.

Stintino is a small fishing village south of the Fornelli Passage, and since there is anchorage inside the breakwater walls, the port is a popular stop-over. We found the bottom to be poor holding for our anchor, as our boat and numerous other boats dragged their anchors once the wind picked up and changed direction. We moved closer to shore, in shallower water, and there our anchor held much better! While we waited for suitable winds to continue our journey, other boats arrived. One was a rather small English sailboat with a young couple onboard, whom we had met on Menorca. They had left Menorca the day before us and basically ran into the same strong wind and high seas we did. They did not come through it all right! Their boat was knocked down,and their boom was broken off the mast, they had to cut the rigging and try to lash everything down as best they could, and they also lost the protective canvas along the sides of the boat! When we heard their story, we were happy they were ok, but at the same time I couldn't help wondering why they had such problems?

We had decided to continue on Tuesday, June 12, and we hoped to reach the anchorage at Capo Testa by nightfall; that meant crossing Asinara Bay and arrive almost to Bonifacio Strait! Since we started out at daybreak, and were graced with good wind, at least for some of the way, we arrived well before nightfall and 38 miles farther east. The following morning it looked ok to go through the Bonifacio Strait, light southwesterly wind with following sea, perfect for crossing over to Corsica! We had been warned about the violent weather that sometimes prevail in the Strait, as the wind funnels down between Corsica and Sardinia and increase in speed. Halfway out into the Strait, we heard someone hail Stress Relief and XTC on VHF channel 16? It was our friends on the Dutch boat Mrs. Jones! We were heading to Corsica to visit with them, but since they had to come down to Sardinia, we changed our course and followed them to a real nice and very protected cove on the island of San Stefano.

San Stefano is a very small island on the northeastern corner of Sardinia, and part of a group of islands called "La Maddalena archipelago". San Stefano is not inhabited per se, except when the tourists arrive by ferry to the only hotel complex on the western shore, or when boats arrive in the only bay with good anchorage, Cala di Villamarina, where we stayed. The eastern part of San Stefano is occupied by a Nato and Italian navy base and were off limits to us. Almost straight across on the main island of Sardinia, the town of Palau was visible. The island of Maddalena was not far from the north side of San Stefano and to the east lay the island of Caprera. Numerous ferries hurried between Palau and Maddalena many times a day, and United States navy launches also chugged by with people for Palau or over to Maddalena. San Stefano seemed to be nothing but rocks, and at one time there were active quarries on the island. Everywhere we saw evidence of it! A huge unfinished statue, the heads and arms done, sat in one quarry, and a controversy exist of whom the statue could be.

We were able to tie up along one side of the quay, as the other side was used almost daily by smaller ferries arriving with material and food for the hotel. We stayed along that quay for two weeks, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Our friends, Rene and Wendy from the Dutch boat, were only able to stay with us for a few days. We were thankful for the time we had together, as we really enjoyed their company. It was sad to say good-bye to them and see them leave our bay! Our days were lazy days, with walks along the dirt roads, or snorkeling along the shore line. Tom's lady friend Val, got me interested in shells, and I soon started my collection. My green, orange and red urchin shells are beautiful, as are the others I picked for their intricate design and color, but what kind of shells they are, I have no idea! We met navy men from the base and tourists from the hotel, Dan explored the island on his moped and the waters around the island in the dinghy, but when we started getting night visitors, that left little oval packages for us, we knew our time on the island was coming to an end.

We had heard tales of the rats that was supposed to live on the island, but to begin with we didn't see any signs of them. I had seen rabbits and their droppings along the gravel roads I walked, but never a rat! One night, while we were watching a movie, I heard a noise in the cockpit. We had the door closed to keep the mosquitoes out, and when Dan opened it to investigate, he thought he saw something scurry off! Later on that same night, I heard the scratches of toenails on top of the boat. From that night on, until we left, we had visitors every night. Dan, and Tom's cat Scottie, even cornered a big rat on the bow of our boat one night, and Dan knocked it into the water. That didn't deter the rat from returning the next night! We never left any food outdoors for them to eat, but I guess they still needed to come onboard to make sure!

Before we left San Stefano, Val returned to the United States. I was sad to see her leave, and I surely would miss our long conversations while shelling. On Wednesday, June 27 we left San Stefano behind and set course for Porto Vecchio on Corsica. Almost twelve hours later we finally arrived in Stignolo Bay, where we threw over our anchor. We had sailed the entire day, sometimes zig-zagging, and of course the wind came almost on the nose. We wanted to go farther north, as the following day we planned to cross over to mainland Italy, and according to the wind predicted for that day, it would be better if we started from farther north! Since we basically only spent one night in Corsica, we didn't have time to see anything of the island, more than the view we had from our anchorage. Like Sardinia, it looked like the island had high mountains farther inland, and it was pretty green! During the night the light wind changed to stronger wind from the southwest and that would be good for crossing the Tyrrhenian Sea, we hoped. Of course they had warned of strong northwesterly wind, possibly gale force, on the Lion Coast, but would that affect the wind where we were?