Essential spot for Med boaters' bucket list - pt.2

[MapisM]

Some of you folks might remember that two years ago I posted a thread titled Essential spot for Med boaters' bucket list after visiting (off season, in May) a secluded bay along the E coast of Sardinia, called "Cala Goloritzé".
Even if we were boatless at that time, and myself and swmbo had to walk for 4 hours overall to reach the spot and come back, it was definitely worth the effort.
These are a few pics that I already posted back then, for those too lazy to click on the above link...

Now, we just had the opportunity to return to the very same spot (and see also several others along the same stretch of coast) in a much more comfortable way, courtesy of a very kind forumite and his beautiful boat - many thanks again M for the opportunity!

So, I thought to post an update, also because in the previous thread there were questions posted about the possibility to anchor there, to which I could only give partial answers.
But now we went there by boat, and in the peak of the season, so I can confirm first hand the following:

1) there are buoys delimiting the beach access (buoys that you can't see in the previous pics, because in May they were not deployed yet), but they are much closer to the beach than we were told back then (500m).
In fact, they were at around 100m from the beach - maybe even less.

2) the beach access is indeed restricted also to small ribs, of which there were several around this time, but all anchored outside the buoys limit.

3) as a result, also with a big boat, anchoring reasonably close to the coast is definitely feasible, and we did - in a nice sandy bottom, where you can see the anchor perfectly, as if there weren't some 15m of water above it!
Btw, the general limit is 300m anyway, when there are beaches anywhere along the coasts, though most of the ribs were actually much closer.
To give an idea, I added a red circle in the first of the following pics, also taken from the old thread, to show approximately the position where we dropped the hook to enjoy a swim and a coffee with a view - bliss!

4) of course, we did take some other pics from the sea, though I forgot to grab my proper camera and there's only so much a mobile phone can do, but I hope you'll enjoy the view anyway... We sure did, in flesh! :encouragement:

PS: with apologies for the lack of drone video footage.
So far, I resisted the temptation to buy the thing, but in spots like this I must say that it would have been fantastic to have one handy...

 

[scubaman]

I can so feel the heat of the sun and the coolness of the water from these pics and the ones on the earlier thread. As much as I've enjoyed our cruise on these northern waters, there's no denying that boating in the med just makes all the sense in the world. Just stunning!

Would have been a great place for drone shots .

 

[Pinnacle]

Looks fantastic - even more so when you are suffering from a bout of non-boat-ownership!

 

[AndieMac]

Are you folks on passage now for Mikes migration to Antibes?

Are the sea caves deep enough to swim right into? How far have the small boats travelled to get to the beach area?

Sorry about all the questions, but I like to know what's going on

 

[rafiki_]

Looks utterly stunning P. Must be fantastic to approach from the water.

 

[MapisM]

Sorry, late follow-up due to lack of data connection in the last few days.

Yep, that stretch of coast is indeed stunning, with steep rocks raising straight from blue waters, small beaches here and there, and a very wild landscape, with zero coastal roads or houses anywhere in sight.

In fact, also in reply to your Qs, it is actually a great area to visit with small boats, because there are many secluded bays which are just good enough for up to 20 feet or so ribs.
The two places from where to reach these spots along Orosei gulf are either Santa Maria Navarrese (just round the corner from the southern cape of the gulf, about 9Nm from the above spot) or Cala Gonone (the first village on the northern side, but whose marina is very small and usually full of local boats.

And yes, some caves are definitely large enough to swim inside.
We actually didn't, but I saw people swimming there - and some other caves along the coast were also large enough for small ribs to stay moored inside and enjoy the shadow!

Data connection is still poor ATM, while we are still heading north (with the Giglio island of Costa Concordia fame in front of us as I'm writing!), but I will post a few other pics asap, together with some indications on the other interesting spots along the very wide and long (17Nm) Orosei gulf.

Time being, I will just link another old pic, taken in a spot where we passed along, not far from the above one.
Unfortunately, there were a few ribs inside that sort of boat parking, so we didn't have a chance to try a MYAG-style anchorage...

 

[MapisM]

I will post a few other pics asap, together with some indications on the other interesting spots along the very wide and long (17Nm) Orosei gulf.

Well, there wasn't exactly an overwhelming number of request for what I envisaged...
But a promise is a promise.

WIth regard to pics, actually those I made with my cellphone were disappointing to say the least, when seen on a big screen.
So, I thought to just put together a brief collection of them, together with a few (also mediocre) clips.
Not something that will get an oscar nomination for sure, but hopefully good enough to give an idea of the area.
It packs in 2 minutes a cruising day, heading N from Santa Maria Navarrese and following the Orosei Gulf coastline.

Besides, you can see the nicest spots marked on the map below with an anchor icon, together with their coordinates.
Maybe this might be useful for anyone thinking to cruise that area...
...and trust me, the real thing will not be as disappointing as my pics! :encouragement:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thanks to Mapism for posting the video. I have to say that the Orosei gulf is one of the most stunning and scenic coastlines I've seen in the Med with an awesome backdrop of high mountains and crystal clear azure water which begs you to jump in for a swim. The beauty of this particular coastline is that most of it is inaccessible by road and therefore almost completely unspoilt save for a few trip boats and local RIBS. We were lucky enough to pick a calm day and it was possible to drop the hook off a few of the more jaw dropping coves. The amazing thing is that the Orosei gulf is not that far from the overrated, overcrowded and over expensive Costa Smerelda and although it lacks sheltered anchorages, the surprise was that there so few cruising boats about even in August

Agree wholeheartedly with Mapism. If you're passing or visiting Sardinia by boat, the Orosei gulf is a must do

 

[AndieMac]

Well, there wasn't exactly an overwhelming number of request for what I envisaged... ........

Since when do you need a request to post something?

The video was nice though, lovely old ketch sailing past the cliffs, the water looked amazing.

Can you keep posting here as a log of the trip, I'm keen to see all the ports and anything else you find interesting along the way.

 

[scubaman]

Can you keep posting here as a log of the trip, I'm keen to see all the ports and anything else you find interesting along the way.

Yes please!

So glad to have had the change to sample the beautiful Sardinia. Looks just stunning! Thank you for posting.

 

[MapisM]

Sorry folks, but I'm afraid I can’t post a full trip log, because unfortunately myself and swmbo had to come back home a few days ago, for family reasons.
Therefore, we missed the last legs along mainland IT and Elba, which I suppose Deleted User and his remaining crew are enjoying right now, after staying put during the weekend in Argentario peninsula because of the rough sea – apropos, fair winds to them!

Besides, after realizing that I forgot to grab my camera, I assumed a "non-photographer" mindset, so to speak – i.e. I enjoyed the experience without thinking too much of reporting it. And the few cellphone pics I took are not really worth writing home about.
Bit of a shame actually, because some places were definitely worth documenting – not to mention a couple of close encounter with dolphins: the first with a small family which came to wawe us goodbye right after leaving CF (a nice touch! ) and the second while crossing from Corsica to mainland IT, with a much larger pod, not far from a fishing vessel – probably waiting for some leftovers…

Anyway, just to give an idea of the route, below is a printout from the Garmin software that I used to keep track of our trip.
A tad more than 400Nm, which will be well above 500 by the time Deleted User & c. will have completed their journey.
A very enjoyable cruise indeed, which gave us the opportunity to visit again some already known places and explore several new ones in great company.
Many thanks again M! :encouragement:

 

[AndieMac]

Thanks for the update P, best wishes for everything at home.

 

[MapisM]

Thanks C, thought appreciated!

 

[BartW]

waw, what a great trip,
thanks for the overvieuw

Q to P and M,
there are quite a few long stretches in open water,
never had trouble with hiding for bad weather / big waves ?
especially without stabd ;-)

last weekend we had to escape from Dubrovnic Region to Tivat, through the night, through the storm,
for a 3-day bora in that region.
20...40kn wind coming from over land (N-NE)
but along the high clifffs on the coast it was OK-ish,

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

A tad more than 400Nm, which will be well above 500 by the time Deleted User & c. will have completed their journey.
A very enjoyable cruise indeed, which gave us the opportunity to visit again some already known places and explore several new ones in great company.
Many thanks again M! :encouragement:

Thanks M, excellent company. We made it to La Spezia yesterday afternoon with close to 600nm on the log after a windy night at anchor on the S coast of Elba. Unfortunately after being weatherbound in S Stafano we didn't have the time we wanted to explore Elba so we'll have to leave that for another time

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Q to P and M,
there are quite a few long stretches in open water,
never had trouble with hiding for bad weather / big waves ?
especially without stabd ;-)

We had a few stretches with F4-6 on the beam but nothing worse than that. Yup you're right it would have been nice to have had stabs but my strategy is to cruise at 9-10kts when the sea is relatively flat and speed up to 20kts+ when it isn't to reduce any rolling. Having said that I will have to revisit the stabiliser issue again this winter. We anchored overnight more often than going into a marina and I'm very pleased with our new Rocna anchor. It held very solidly in every anchorage we visited even on those nights when the wind got up and I'm now very confident in its capability. One of the best mods I've done to my boat

 

[MapisM]

We made it to La Spezia yesterday afternoon

Glad to hear that eventually you finalized your plan.
Shame for having "lost" some days... Elba coastline indeed deserves some time to be fully appreciated.
But it ain't too far from your new home berth, and just a short hop from N Corsica.
I'm sure you'll have other opportunities, as you said! :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

Q to P and M,
there are quite a few long stretches in open water,
never had trouble with hiding for bad weather / big waves ?
especially without stabd ;-)

That's a very good question indeed, B.
Deleted User answered it already, and I can only confirm everything he said.

But for myself and S it was also a great opportunity to compare a bit the different behaviors between our old tub (for which it's easy for us to guess how she would have behaved in similar conditions) and a much larger, more modern and overall completely different P vessel.
And I must say that we revaluated the very traditional timber D hulls a bit, both while cruising and at anchor - for several reasons, on top of the obvious one of stabs.
Sorry but I'm a bit in a hurry ATM, because I have a plane to take later (flying - guess what - to see a boat!), but I'll post our impressions ASAP.
In fact, I'm curious to hear if anyone else ever experienced the same.

Mind, we are very firmly in the "first world problems" field, anyway! :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

Following up on my previous post, to answer BartW question in more detail (even if a bit o/t):

1) yes, at 9 or 10 knots the difference that stabs can make is like day and night, but we are all aware of that by now.

2) one thing I noticed, that somewhat contradicted what I previously thought, is that indeed in some conditions, even when cruising at 20+ knots, the stabs could be VERY useful.
We had a bit of beam to stern quartering sea, towards the end of our crossing of Cagliari Gulf, with some short and steep waves.
Up to that moment we were pootling, but as the waves built up M decided to cut the final part of the leg shorter and we made it at 25 knots or so.
The boat managed that perfectly and comfortably, but still rolling a fair bit. Not as much as at D speed of course, but still something that any stabs would have ironed out completely.

3) both myself and swmbo (who are obviously very familiar with the behaviour of our boat, so it's easy for us to imagine how the cruise would have been on her in any given conditions), had the impression that stabs aside, with our boat the ride would have been a bit smoother, in spite of the significantly smaller size.
Ok, our usual D cruising speed is around 8 knots, while we cruised at somewhere between 9 and 10 when pootling with Deleted User boat. And of course, the lower the speed, the smoother the waves impact. But I believe that there's more than that.
With the P hull, we could feel also smallish waves slapping against the hull, through sudden boat movements, even if very small of course.
That's something we never feel with our boat, whose reaction are much smoother/softer.
I believe that's mostly because of the sharper bow entrance at the w/line, and the round chines.
Though probably also the deep keel helps, together with the sheer mass (which in absolute terms is lower in our boat, but definitely higher in proportion to the hull size).

4) the previous difference is clearly perceivable also at anchor. In Porto Vecchio we were anchored in some sustained W wind, and even if it was blowing from the land, our distance from the shore left enough fetch to build up one foot or so waves. The boat was stable as a rock, with zero rolling, but while swinging around, the hull sides were occasionally hit by these small waves. And in those occasions, it was possible to feel some very small movements onboard.
Nowhere near anything that could be called uncomfortable, by any stretch of imagination. But I can't remember to have ever had such impression on our boat.

5) wash noise: here the difference really is impressive. I can't tell how much it's due to the P vs. D hull, rather than plastic vs. timber, though I suspect it's mostly down to the latter.
Anyway, the wash noise is always very perceivable onboard - and not only in the bow cabin. It has never been a problem for myself and swmbo, who are both good sleepers, but our boat is MUCH more quiet, in this respect. I can remember one night at anchor when the wind turned in the middle of the night, and it took some boat pitching, with waves of a couple of feet if not more, to wake us up. But the slapping noise was still much lower than what can be felt inside a GRP hull with even the smallest chop.

Worth mentioning one thing that (imho) makes this comparison interesting: Deleted User boat is not just an average 20m GRP planing vessel. It's a pretty solid one at that, heavier and beamier than most.
In other words, nothing of what I said is meant as a criticism to that builder/model. I'm pretty sure that no other plastic P boat of similar size would have performed better than her, with regard to the above.

Otoh, at least in these respects, traditional timber D hulls do have an edge, I believe.
Would I still buy one, knowing how demanding they can be at times in terms of maintenance? Maybe not.
But I'm pretty sure that I would miss her in some ways, if and when I would move to a frozen snot...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

one thing I noticed, that somewhat contradicted what I previously thought, is that indeed in some conditions, even when cruising at 20+ knots, the stabs could be VERY useful.
We had a bit of beam to stern quartering sea, towards the end of our crossing of Cagliari Gulf, with some short and steep waves.

Actually I have to disagree with that. Yes stabs would have been nice to have rather than useful. You have to remember that owners of planing boats are accustomed to that kind of motion and by definition anyway when you're running at 20-25kts its for a relatively short period so any discomfort or inconvenience is temporary. For me the stab question on a planing boat comes down to 2 issues. First will having stabs allow you to cruise at D speeds in a wider variety of sea conditions? The answer is obviously yes but then you have to ask yourself will the cost of the fuel saved by cruising longer at D speeds be more than the cost of the stabs and the answer to that is probably no unless you keep your boat for a long time and do a lot of cruising. Based on this issue alone I wouldn't buy stabs for my boat because I dont do enough cruising and I always have the option of speeding up and shortening the journey anyway. The second issue is stabs at anchor and for me this is the more important consideration because when you are at anchor you are usually there for several hours and then comfort does become an issue. So for me I would buy stabs for zero speed use at anchor and any beneficial effect at speed would be a bonus

wash noise: here the difference really is impressive. I can't tell how much it's due to the P vs. D hull, rather than plastic vs. timber, though I suspect it's mostly down to the latter.

Yes the slap slap of wash at speed and particularly at anchor in windy conditions is particularly irritating on a plastic boat. I had hoped that having a boat with a midships master cabin would reduce this effect for me and the SWMBO but I was disappointed to find out that the slap slap at anchor is just as bad in the midships cabin as the forward cabin. But there is a solution! Ear plugs. In this respect I would be interested to know why this happens. Is it because of the hard chines of a planing boat and are round bilged plastic boats better? Or is it just because of the grp construction which is just very poor at suppressing noise