Away at last - 12 September 2021

When we chatted to our new neighbour last night, a charming Italian guy who lived in Dubai, he warned us that he planned to leave early today, and hoped he didn’t disturb us. As it was, we were well into our final preparations for departure before there was any sign of him on deck. Last night we had tidied things away below deck so that there was nothing that would move with the boat’s motion, so this morning we were able to focus on making everything ready above deck. It seems so long since we did this that we had to resort to the check-list to ensure that we did not forget anything. 

By about 9:30 we were ready to slip our lines and make our way cautiously out of the marina. The river in Bosa is quite shallow and tricky, but we had our tracks from previous entries and exits to follow. We had checked with the marina staff that none of the sandbanks had shifted in the intervening time. After being here for nearly two weeks and more than a week of living on board we were finally at sea. In a strange way I was sorry the leave Bosa, it had become to feel like home.



We were treated to a couple of quick glimpses of dolphins during the day, always a bonus. These seemed to be solo creatures rather than the larger pods that you sometimes come across. We also saw quite a few sea birds in feeding frenzies, so we assumed that there must have been shoals of fish close to the surface beneath.

Surprisingly quickly we settled into the long established practices of watch keeping. Marine law says that you have to have an adequate watch at all times, so we tend to assign a watch keeper for an hour and then swap over. This gives the off-watch person time to do other things, and potentially relax from the concentration required for watch keeping. Even when, as today, we used the autopilot for much of the time, it is still necessary to keep an eye out for other vessels and fishing pots etc that have been left in the sea.

Quite quickly your body starts to resume the automatic processes of maintaining balance on a moving platform. Initially you have to give it some thought, but after a short time it becomes natural.

We have moved about 35 miles down the coast to a huge bay at Oristano. The last time we were here we anchored close to the town, but today we picked up a mooring buoy safely behind a headland and close to a historic ruined port. After the usual fun and games of getting lines attached to the buoy, we were able to just sit on deck, relax and lap it up. There can be few finer things, in my opinion, than sitting on your boat, having travelled to where you planned, and enjoying the sunshine. As we did this we could hear the strains of opera music (not sure which one) coming from another boat. Only in Italy!

We had read dire warnings about the fines for those who do not pay for the privilege of using the buoys and negotiating the various web sites was not entirely straightforward, but we succeeded, and now have a clear conscience.

When we arrived the buoyed area was full of boats, 40+, but by the time darkness had fallen, the number was just 3.

Early start tomorrow, as we have a bit further to go. We are heading towards Cagliari, where we hope to meet some friends in a week or so. They will join us for the crossing to Sicily.  The neighbour from this morning said that he was originally from Sicily and when I asked for recommendations, he said "the food”.

 Steve (and Tricia)

Distance today             35 miles

Total distance 2021:     35 Miles

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