Corsica, on arrive!

We started at 5 a.m. with a full Flower moon and the wind about 10 knots outside the anchorage. Bob raised the anchors, 1 by hand, the other by electrics, then off we motored until the sun came up. There were some minor swells and waves but comfortable. When the sun came up, we double reefed the main and were sailing at 6.5 - 8 knots. It didn't last though as the wind started to slow so we motor sailed then motored. We were alone on the sea as the only 2 nearest boats were 25 and 40 nautical miles away. We could still see the French coastline after 25 n.m. and 3 1/2 hours but we didn't see Corsica until 5 1/2 hours later (and only because it's so mountainous and with snow!) and it was another 7 1/2 hours before we docked! 3 times we saw an interesting fin out of the water that looked like it was waving at us and I finally figured it must be a seal flipper. More vilellas in huge patches floating along and 2 dolphins paid a visit. Strangely, no birds. At 1500 hrs. Captain Bob announced that after traveling North we were now at our most Southern point to date! Woohoo!
The sun was setting and we could see conspicuous buildings on the land. A Club Med ship and a square rigged cruise boat set off from Calvi. The lights on the coast twinkled on, the lighthouse flashed and we motored into Calvi, Corsica, after almost 17 hours. Arriving to a new harbour is always challenging but doing it in the dark is even more so. It's easy to confuse lights in the town and harbour with navigation lights but our chart, Bob's sense of direction and following a distant boat ahead made it relatively stress free. We docked with the help of a boatload (12) of Czech🇨🇿 kids on a scout sailing trip! It was Saturday night at 10 p.m. and the music and lights on the harbourfront were at full volume and power! The dj /bands were playing English speaking covers, even Abba! We both showered then fell into bed after a long day and a sleepless night before. Lovely to be in a calm harbour. 😴Read more