Sunday morning, end of October and we were both skinny dipping at dawn! (Too much detail? Tough!) The Indian Summer came late to this part of the world but was all the more welcome for that and we didn’t intend to waste a minute of it. We spent a luxurious and lazy day topping up our tans for one last time, lying on Zaffina’s bow cushions reading our books and then we zipped across to Beaulieu sur Mer in the dinghy for dinner on the quayside and a lovely trip back in the dark with the lights from the hillside reflected all around us in the water. All in all, it was a special day and one we’ll remember through the long cool winter months.
Yesterday started with another early swim before we popped back into Beaulieu to pick up some bread, still warm from the bakery, before we upped anchor and sadly said our goodbyes to the South of France. We passed below Eze and the lovely Chevre d’Or hotel, passed Monaco with its high rise madness, passed across the border and without ceremony found ourselves in Italian waters, the final country on this year’s itinerary.
It was an emotional trip; we spent a lot of time thinking about and talking about the last five months and the amazing experiences we have enjoyed on Zaffina, and then suddenly Varazze was in sight and we were fast approaching our winter port.
There should have been a guard of honour, a band or fireworks, but in fact it was all a bit of an anticlimax! We slipped into port, moored up effortlessly and then we weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves, so we opened a bottle of champagne.
And here we are at the end of a journey which started in Chichester on a grey morning back in May. We’ve covered around 3,500 miles and we’ve loved every day of it. We’re agreed that this has been the adventure of a lifetime and we wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and while we’re sad that this part is over, at least we’ve got next year to look forward to….and the year after that…and the year after…just watch this space!
Thank you for sharing the adventure with us, we'll be back in Jersey within the next few days.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
St Tropez - St Jean Cap Ferrat - 21-24 October
Ha ha, of course it’ll blow through…eventually. It lashed it down with rain, the wind came up to a 10, the roads flooded and we were stuck on Zaffina throughout the tempest. And then, miraculously, on Friday the sun rose into a blue sky and the temperature soared and St Tropez turned back into the chic resort we were familiar with. Better still, it was sale time – a special 3 day event when all the shops put their wares on stalls out in the streets at reduced prices and the entire population of the South of France crowds into the town! You could barely walk through the narrow lanes but the atmosphere was vibrant and exciting and we loved being a part of it. The strange thing was, with the weather the preceding few days, everyone was dressed for winter in thick jumpers, jeans and boots but now it was really hot and there were a lot of sweaty red faces around!
We stayed on our gorgeous berth until Saturday. Our superyacht neighbour had been replaced by an even larger craft and we were truly stuck in a bottleneck, unable to leave any earlier even if we’d wanted to. On our last night in port there was a magnificent firework display, which we watched from the bridge – no doubt they were celebrating our imminent departure! It was a fitting end to a fun few days.
Conditions were brilliant on Saturday and as we slipped out of port, we were buzzed by a helicopter with a cameraman sitting in the doorway taking photos (you can probably see them at flypictures.com, we haven’t checked yet – either that or they’ll appear in Hello! next month!!) The mountains in the distance had a new coating of snow on the peaks, something that hadn’t been there when we arrived in Provence, and they stood out brilliantly against the blue of the sky and provided a dramatic backdrop for Cannes as we passed.
We decided to stop for a spot of lunch between the islands of St Marguerite and St Honore, and after demolishing a chicken bought hot in the market that morning we fell asleep in the sunshine, lying on the bow cushions. Lovely! It was a bit cooler when we set off again in the afternoon, heading for a favourite spot – Villefranche, just to the east of Nice. There was a bit too much swell to anchor in the spot we had anticipated so instead we turned around the headland of St Jean Cap Ferrat into an utterly calm anchorage, which we shared for the night with just 2 other yachts. We ate dinner in the cockpit, gazing out over the calm sea at the luxurious villas of the rich and famous which dot the headland, and watching the lights appear on the nearby hillsides and the stars shining in a velvety night sky.
We stayed on our gorgeous berth until Saturday. Our superyacht neighbour had been replaced by an even larger craft and we were truly stuck in a bottleneck, unable to leave any earlier even if we’d wanted to. On our last night in port there was a magnificent firework display, which we watched from the bridge – no doubt they were celebrating our imminent departure! It was a fitting end to a fun few days.
Conditions were brilliant on Saturday and as we slipped out of port, we were buzzed by a helicopter with a cameraman sitting in the doorway taking photos (you can probably see them at flypictures.com, we haven’t checked yet – either that or they’ll appear in Hello! next month!!) The mountains in the distance had a new coating of snow on the peaks, something that hadn’t been there when we arrived in Provence, and they stood out brilliantly against the blue of the sky and provided a dramatic backdrop for Cannes as we passed.
We decided to stop for a spot of lunch between the islands of St Marguerite and St Honore, and after demolishing a chicken bought hot in the market that morning we fell asleep in the sunshine, lying on the bow cushions. Lovely! It was a bit cooler when we set off again in the afternoon, heading for a favourite spot – Villefranche, just to the east of Nice. There was a bit too much swell to anchor in the spot we had anticipated so instead we turned around the headland of St Jean Cap Ferrat into an utterly calm anchorage, which we shared for the night with just 2 other yachts. We ate dinner in the cockpit, gazing out over the calm sea at the luxurious villas of the rich and famous which dot the headland, and watching the lights appear on the nearby hillsides and the stars shining in a velvety night sky.
Port Camargue - Frontignan - St Trop - October 2009
We had a brilliant but exhausting time at the boat show and spent an extra day lazing in the sunshine at Eze to recover before heading back to Zaffina in Port Camargue where we ended up stuck for rather longer than expected. Every time it looked as though things were about to improve, up came the wind again and any hope of moving on was delayed. Fortunately, we had Mark and Terri Bond with us and not only had they had the foresight to stock up on Pineau on the way down, which made hours spent on board slip away gracefully, they also had a car with which to explore the surrounding countryside. The Camargue was lovely; everything we had heard about it was true, from the wild white horses and pink flamingos to the fresh produce and crisp wines. It wasn’t a bad place to be stuck!
We had a couple more days in port after Mark and Terri left and then decided to try to take advantage of a brief window in the weather. Sadly, it was all too brief as we discovered about an hour out of port. The seas came up suddenly and we were being pushed around to such an extent that we decided to turn around. Instead of going back to Port Camargue, we went instead to Frontignan, a tiny port where we were moored in the entrance canal, well out of the wind.
We checked the Relais et Chateaux guide to find somewhere suitable to celebrate Frank’s birthday, only to discover that the choice within taxi distance was somewhat limited. In fact, there was only one – Jardins des Sens in Montpellier – so that’s where we went. And what a great choice it was! The food was unbelievable, one of the best meals we’ve ever enjoyed with impeccable service and enough “between course” courses (you know those little amuses bouches that they tempt you with?) to fill us up without any real need for the meal itself! Still, it would have been rude to turn away such beautifully prepared food so we laboured through it all. I could feel the calories scrambling towards my waistline even before we’d paid the bill, but for once it was worth it.
Our second attempt to cross the Golfe de Lyons was more successful than the first, and although it started out as quite a bumpy ride, things improved about an hour into the trip and from then on it was plain-ish sailing. We managed to get a berth in Bandol, near to Toulon, which was a lovely port and so much warmer than the last stop. However, it was just a brief overnighter and the following morning we were back at sea before it was fully light, heading to one of our favourite towns, St Tropez.
When we arrived, we were told that the wind was due to rise quite considerably and so they would put us in the old port. Good news, this is prime position, although it does mean that you have an audience on the quayside as you moor up by dropping the anchor in the harbour and moving into place stern-to. Last time we were in St Trop, Roberto Cavalli’s rather gaudy crimson boat was moored along here, so we feel we’ve brought a little style to the port (if on a slightly smaller scale)!
The wind rose during the night as predicted and although we’re well sheltered, we’re still getting quite a bit of movement, despite the many ropes stretching from us to the wall and also onto the boat alongside, a Pershing 115. Still, if the forecast is to be believed, this should soon blow itself through and we may even see a little sunshine in the next day or two. And if not, St Tropez is shopping heaven, so I’m sure we’ll find some way to amuse ourselves!
We had a couple more days in port after Mark and Terri left and then decided to try to take advantage of a brief window in the weather. Sadly, it was all too brief as we discovered about an hour out of port. The seas came up suddenly and we were being pushed around to such an extent that we decided to turn around. Instead of going back to Port Camargue, we went instead to Frontignan, a tiny port where we were moored in the entrance canal, well out of the wind.
We checked the Relais et Chateaux guide to find somewhere suitable to celebrate Frank’s birthday, only to discover that the choice within taxi distance was somewhat limited. In fact, there was only one – Jardins des Sens in Montpellier – so that’s where we went. And what a great choice it was! The food was unbelievable, one of the best meals we’ve ever enjoyed with impeccable service and enough “between course” courses (you know those little amuses bouches that they tempt you with?) to fill us up without any real need for the meal itself! Still, it would have been rude to turn away such beautifully prepared food so we laboured through it all. I could feel the calories scrambling towards my waistline even before we’d paid the bill, but for once it was worth it.
Our second attempt to cross the Golfe de Lyons was more successful than the first, and although it started out as quite a bumpy ride, things improved about an hour into the trip and from then on it was plain-ish sailing. We managed to get a berth in Bandol, near to Toulon, which was a lovely port and so much warmer than the last stop. However, it was just a brief overnighter and the following morning we were back at sea before it was fully light, heading to one of our favourite towns, St Tropez.
When we arrived, we were told that the wind was due to rise quite considerably and so they would put us in the old port. Good news, this is prime position, although it does mean that you have an audience on the quayside as you moor up by dropping the anchor in the harbour and moving into place stern-to. Last time we were in St Trop, Roberto Cavalli’s rather gaudy crimson boat was moored along here, so we feel we’ve brought a little style to the port (if on a slightly smaller scale)!
The wind rose during the night as predicted and although we’re well sheltered, we’re still getting quite a bit of movement, despite the many ropes stretching from us to the wall and also onto the boat alongside, a Pershing 115. Still, if the forecast is to be believed, this should soon blow itself through and we may even see a little sunshine in the next day or two. And if not, St Tropez is shopping heaven, so I’m sure we’ll find some way to amuse ourselves!
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Barcelona - France - 3rd, 4th & 5thOctober
We only stayed the two nights and one day in Barcelona after all but we really filled our time there and thoroughly enjoyed it. The following morning we needed to restock the fridge and managed to find a thriving indoor market - fish, meat, fruit and veg stalls all crowded with customers, it was a hive of activity and all the produce was beautifully fresh so we grabbed all the provisions we needed, headed back to Zaffina and headed out of port. We discovered on departure that we had taken the long route into the port on our arrival, and in actual fact there was a short cut behind the cruise ships, so we didn't get the chance to wave at all the passengers this time!
As we moved on up the coast we had overhead entertainment in the form of an ongoing air display. It meant there were a lot of other boats around but we soon left them far behind as we cruised along the Costa Brava - what a beautiful coast it is! There were dozens of small inlets and anchorages and it would have been lovely to have the opportunity to nose into a load of them but we needed to press on. We did drop the anchor at lunch time in a lovely bay and enjoyed a couple of hours sunbathing on the flybridge where it was pleasantly warm but not as hot as the last few days. We moved on to a tiny port called Palomas for the night, where we were moored on the fuelling pontoon and had the whole area to ourselves. We ate by candlelight on board and in the morning the place was still pretty much deserted when we glided out of port onto a lovely calm sea.
Again the scenery was glorious and this time, when we found an anchorage and laid out in the sun, it was positively hot again! Frank dived straight into the azure water to cool off but once he'd told me that it wasn't as warm as Mallorcan waters, I declined the opportunity to join him but gave him encouragement from on board! The anchorage was probably one of the loveliest we have been in on the entire trip and it made our last day in Spain utterly memorable for all the right reasons.
We pressed on in the late afternoon as we still had a fairly long trip to port, the next one being over the border in France.
Neither of us were keen on Canet-Roussillon; it was large and impersonal and we certainly weren't inspired to stay there more than the one night, so in the morning we refuelled and took ourselves back out to sea.
What a change! The forecast had told us the wind would be behind us when in fact it was directly in front and there was quite a swell. It was the strongest head sea we'd encountered for several months and although Zaffina took it brilliantly, it was quite hard going. In fact, I nearly got bounced off the seat when we took the largest couple of waves whilst I was sitting on the loo! It's not often you have to hold on when you're having a pee!!
The whole trip was messy, we hugged the coast but whichever way we were facing, the wind was straight on, dying down for a time and then rising again. It was one of those trips when we were glad to get into port, and although we expected Port Camargue to be equally soulless as our harbour the previous night, we were pleasantly surprised by it. It is the largest leisure port in Europe with 5,000 berths and although we're moored just a stone's throw from the Capitainerie, it's across the water and apparently it's a 6km walk to get there overland! It was lovely to be in still, calm water again and we sat in the cockpit after dinner, just watching the lights on the water and savouring the whole experience.
This morning (Tuesday I think) we locked Zaffina, hired a car and drove to Eze (just outside Nice) and now we're in one of our favourite hotels, the Chevre d'Or, for a couple of nights. And we're off to the Genova Boat Show tomorrow to meet those nice people from Azimut!
Mark and Terri, if you're reading this, don't panic! We'll be back in time for your arrival.
As we moved on up the coast we had overhead entertainment in the form of an ongoing air display. It meant there were a lot of other boats around but we soon left them far behind as we cruised along the Costa Brava - what a beautiful coast it is! There were dozens of small inlets and anchorages and it would have been lovely to have the opportunity to nose into a load of them but we needed to press on. We did drop the anchor at lunch time in a lovely bay and enjoyed a couple of hours sunbathing on the flybridge where it was pleasantly warm but not as hot as the last few days. We moved on to a tiny port called Palomas for the night, where we were moored on the fuelling pontoon and had the whole area to ourselves. We ate by candlelight on board and in the morning the place was still pretty much deserted when we glided out of port onto a lovely calm sea.
Again the scenery was glorious and this time, when we found an anchorage and laid out in the sun, it was positively hot again! Frank dived straight into the azure water to cool off but once he'd told me that it wasn't as warm as Mallorcan waters, I declined the opportunity to join him but gave him encouragement from on board! The anchorage was probably one of the loveliest we have been in on the entire trip and it made our last day in Spain utterly memorable for all the right reasons.
We pressed on in the late afternoon as we still had a fairly long trip to port, the next one being over the border in France.
Neither of us were keen on Canet-Roussillon; it was large and impersonal and we certainly weren't inspired to stay there more than the one night, so in the morning we refuelled and took ourselves back out to sea.
What a change! The forecast had told us the wind would be behind us when in fact it was directly in front and there was quite a swell. It was the strongest head sea we'd encountered for several months and although Zaffina took it brilliantly, it was quite hard going. In fact, I nearly got bounced off the seat when we took the largest couple of waves whilst I was sitting on the loo! It's not often you have to hold on when you're having a pee!!
The whole trip was messy, we hugged the coast but whichever way we were facing, the wind was straight on, dying down for a time and then rising again. It was one of those trips when we were glad to get into port, and although we expected Port Camargue to be equally soulless as our harbour the previous night, we were pleasantly surprised by it. It is the largest leisure port in Europe with 5,000 berths and although we're moored just a stone's throw from the Capitainerie, it's across the water and apparently it's a 6km walk to get there overland! It was lovely to be in still, calm water again and we sat in the cockpit after dinner, just watching the lights on the water and savouring the whole experience.
This morning (Tuesday I think) we locked Zaffina, hired a car and drove to Eze (just outside Nice) and now we're in one of our favourite hotels, the Chevre d'Or, for a couple of nights. And we're off to the Genova Boat Show tomorrow to meet those nice people from Azimut!
Mark and Terri, if you're reading this, don't panic! We'll be back in time for your arrival.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Mallorca to Barcelona - 1st October 2009
Don't know what you were doing on the first day of October but I bet we were having more fun! We left Mallorca at 9am in sunshine and on a flat sea, but we weren't too sure what the trip would hold once we were out of the shelter of the island. The forecast was looking good, but as we left there was a gale warning for the following day, northeast of Menorca, which wasn't such good news. We then followed the coast up to Andratx, passed between Dragonera Island (yes, it does look like a dragon) and Mallorca and then branched out into open sea. The swell was non existent and waves were minimal as we set off into the great blue yonder. From there it was five hours until we reached the coast again but what a great five hours they were. The sea just got calmer and calmer and by the time we were approaching the Spanish mainland, you could almost see your reflection in the surface. Whilst we were still an hour out we had the most amazing dolphin encounter - a small school of 7 or 8 joined us and then held a competition to see who could jump the higest out of the water. The prize went to the one which kept doing backflips - not just once or twice which we would have found difficult to believe we'd seen, but eight or nine times...quite extraordinary!
Port Vells in Barcelona was rather nice, full of character and very welcoming. It was fun coming in as we passed several huge, towering cruise ships and amused ourselves by waving at the passengers and seeing how many waved back. Most of them did!
We spent a day in the city, almost walking our feet off but loving every minute of it. No, we didn't get our pockets picked in Las Ramblas,which we felt was quite an achievement in itself! Barcelona is lovely, beautiful long tree lined avenues, good shops (although sadly I only got to go in one) and spacious parks, and the Gaudi Church is something else. Last evening we dined at one of the many restaurants alongside the port, watching the street traders watching for the police and all packing up and disappearing within 30 seconds when they were given a tip off! We were sad to leave the city, but we're heading north again and with little wind forecast for the next few days, conditions are too good to stay still for long.
Port Vells in Barcelona was rather nice, full of character and very welcoming. It was fun coming in as we passed several huge, towering cruise ships and amused ourselves by waving at the passengers and seeing how many waved back. Most of them did!
We spent a day in the city, almost walking our feet off but loving every minute of it. No, we didn't get our pockets picked in Las Ramblas,which we felt was quite an achievement in itself! Barcelona is lovely, beautiful long tree lined avenues, good shops (although sadly I only got to go in one) and spacious parks, and the Gaudi Church is something else. Last evening we dined at one of the many restaurants alongside the port, watching the street traders watching for the police and all packing up and disappearing within 30 seconds when they were given a tip off! We were sad to leave the city, but we're heading north again and with little wind forecast for the next few days, conditions are too good to stay still for long.
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