Sardinia Summer 2015

[Monique]

These are the ones we have.
http://www.asbikes.co.uk/electro-bike-mk3-9-p.asp
Bought our first ones (two) 5 or 6 years ago.
Then we bought two more a couple of years ago.
They are cheap Chinese imports but the quality is good enough.
We've had a couple of failures/breakages but fixable.

The early ones came as two models - 24v and 36v - we chose the 36v ones and don't regret it.
They have changed slightly over the years - mostly all good improvements - batteries have stayed the same so all ours are interchangeable.

They are not the lightest of bikes around but IMO really great value.

IMO, the most important thing to consider when buying electric bikes is that they must have an option to operate without actually pedalling.
Ours have three position rocker switch which naturally sits under your thumb when riding.
Switch between OFF - All Electric - or Assist
With it set to all electric then you can use a twist grip similar to a motorbike
With it set to assist, it helps you pedal.
Mostly, I use the "All Electric" mode and help it by pedalling.
The salesman/owner of As Bikes said this is a technique he calls "blipping".
Basically you ride the bike conventionally and "blip" every now and then.
That way you can get as much as 25 miles out of a battery (on the flat)

If you are going to use them on the boat - a couple of points
1
THEY DON'T WORK AFTER THEY HAVE FALLEN INTO THE WATER - completely dead.
We haven't done so but we do know of someone who has.
2
If you buy them be sure to pay extra for the pannier bags that fit over the back wheels and the canvass handle bar bag.
Using this arrangement, we very often empty a complete shopping trolley into two bikes.
We then cycle the bikes right down to the boat before offloading.

They also sell storage bags that the whole bike fits into when they are folded.
We only have two of these bags and are regretting that we didn't buy two more bike bags.

So - Yes we would buy them again - indeed - we did!!

BTW AS Bikes aren't really into doing deals - you might get some of the bags and some carriage thrown in if you are buying two bikes but generally speaking they don't discount.

As I have said above - these bikes are some of the best things that we have bought for the boat.
We use them everywhere.

Thank you to Bart, MapisM and Hurricane. I will look you up when passing through Sardinia in July. Expect a lovely big "raggy" in your raft. We carry more wine than any of you... storage space for 144 bottles. Boat name is Eleuthera, a 53 foot Amel Super Maramu.

 

[MedMilo]

Yes, excellent video and what a great passage. Lovely and flat, sun shining and some lovely marine life to keep you company! Thanks v much for posting. I did more or less the same route a few years ago in my Sq 58 - left Cala D'or at lunchtime and arrived in Alghero at lunchtime the next day. Pootled the whole 240nm at 10 knots (apart from the odd 10min blast at 20 kts to keep the engines happy) and arrived in Sardinia having only used just over a quarter of the tank! We then spent 3 seasons in Sardinia though soon had to get used to heading out even when Windfinder was all green (ie around 20 knots of wind)! Just became the norm and if needed the marinero's were always around to help get us back in at the end of the day...

 

[MapisM]

Boat name is Eleuthera, a 53 foot Amel Super Maramu.

That rings a bell. Been already there sometimes in the past, by chance?
Regardless, looking fwd to catch up. Anyone holding twelve dozens of bottles is always more than welcome!

 

[crazy4557]

These are the ones we have.
http://www.asbikes.co.uk/electro-bike-mk3-9-p.asp
Bought our first ones (two) 5 or 6 years ago.
Then we bought two more a couple of years ago.
They are cheap Chinese imports but the quality is good enough.
We've had a couple of failures/breakages but fixable.

The early ones came as two models - 24v and 36v - we chose the 36v ones and don't regret it.
They have changed slightly over the years - mostly all good improvements - batteries have stayed the same so all ours are interchangeable.

They are not the lightest of bikes around but IMO really great value.

IMO, the most important thing to consider when buying electric bikes is that they must have an option to operate without actually pedalling.
Ours have three position rocker switch which naturally sits under your thumb when riding.
Switch between OFF - All Electric - or Assist
With it set to all electric then you can use a twist grip similar to a motorbike
With it set to assist, it helps you pedal.
Mostly, I use the "All Electric" mode and help it by pedalling.
The salesman/owner of As Bikes said this is a technique he calls "blipping".
Basically you ride the bike conventionally and "blip" every now and then.
That way you can get as much as 25 miles out of a battery (on the flat)

If you are going to use them on the boat - a couple of points
1
THEY DON'T WORK AFTER THEY HAVE FALLEN INTO THE WATER - completely dead.
We haven't done so but we do know of someone who has.
2
If you buy them be sure to pay extra for the pannier bags that fit over the back wheels and the canvass handle bar bag.
Using this arrangement, we very often empty a complete shopping trolley into two bikes.
We then cycle the bikes right down to the boat before offloading.

They also sell storage bags that the whole bike fits into when they are folded.
We only have two of these bags and are regretting that we didn't buy two more bike bags.

So - Yes we would buy them again - indeed - we did!!

BTW AS Bikes aren't really into doing deals - you might get some of the bags and some carriage thrown in if you are buying two bikes but generally speaking they don't discount.

As I have said above - these bikes are some of the best things that we have bought for the boat.
We use them everywhere.

Yes, They truely are great bikes Mike. You kindly let us have a blast up and down Cala D'or marina last summer and they are brilliant. Surprisingly nippy, easy to use and great for loads of shopping I'm sure. Not sure about the cool factor though

 

[Hurricane]

Yes, They truely are great bikes Mike. You kindly let us have a blast up and down Cala D'or marina last summer and they are brilliant. Surprisingly nippy, easy to use and great for loads of shopping I'm sure. Not sure about the cool factor though

Yes, I remember it well
Good to meet you then.
And you are correct - the bikes score a fat zero for "coolness" but 10 out of 10 for practicality.

 

[Monique]

Yes, I remember it well
Good to meet you then.
And you are correct - the bikes score a fat zero for "coolness" but 10 out of 10 for practicality.

I like the "practical" aspect... sorry for the dreaded thread drift...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thank you to Bart, MapisM and Hurricane. I will look you up when passing through Sardinia in July. Expect a lovely big "raggy" in your raft. We carry more wine than any of you... storage space for 144 bottles. Boat name is Eleuthera, a 53 foot Amel Super Maramu.

Blimey, its going to be Forum Central in Carloforte this summer. Those 144 bottles are not going to last very long especially not with my SWMBO around

 

[pks1702]

Great video.

Can you tell me where you order seas like that :encouragement:

 

[AndieMac]

That rings a bell. Been already there sometimes in the past, by chance?
Regardless, looking fwd to catch up. Anyone holding twelve dozens of bottles is always more than welcome!

That's ringing a bell with me also, I was thinking last year around CF with you folks, or with you folks in a different hemisphere? It's all getting a bit confusing?!
The Amel's seem a regarded choice by the long distance passage makers, they certainly make our local waters from European departure ports.

Hope the re-launch and run back to CF goes well, and of course kindest regards to our lovely S as well.

 

[Hurricane]

Popped out yesterday to one of the anchorages that MapisM recommended.

We have met a couple here on a sailing boat who are en-route to Sant Carles - it seems that the word is spreading!!
So, we invited them out for the day to see how motor boaters do it.

The weather was great - very light winds and "wall to wall" sunshine.

We still have to remember that this is early season so the water is cold.
Also, we have had mistrals blowing from the north for over a week and so any wind is also cold.

After leaving Carloforte harbour, the wind crept up to about 7 knots - from the south.
So, rather than go round the south of San Pietro island, we decided to head over to the north side of the other island (Sant Antioco).
To an anchorage that MapisM calls Salina.

Here is a chartlet showing where we went - only 3.5 miles from Carloforte.

There were several options but this one was the first and seemed great - so thats where we stopped.

Tucked in behind a small headland in an attempt to keep out of the very slight (5 knot) wind that was blowing.

This was the view the other way.
You can see just how clear the water is - the bottom consisted of some rocky patches with good areas of sand.
It was dead easy to drop the anchor into a sandy patch.
SWMBO decided to take a plunge straight away and check the anchor.
We always do this if we can - one great thing about most of the Med anchorages is that most of the time you can see your anchor clearly.

This is the view out of the bay - the town of Carloforte can just bee seen - just to the right of the bow.

As said above, it is still early season and it was cold unless you could sit in the sun and out of the wind.
We had the bimini up so it was quite chilly on the flybridge.
The cockpit was in the shade.
But boats naturally face into the wind so the bathing platform was out of the wind and in the sun.
So we lifted the Jetski off and did something that we've not done before.
Moved the cockpit table down to the bathing platform - and had a long lunch - in the sun.

And afterwards, it seemed silly not to check out that the Jetski had made it safely from Spain.
In fact, there was a small problem - an electrical glitch - nothing happened when I first pressed the start button.
After a bit of fiddling, it sprang into life though.

I decided that I wanted to have a look at the props to see how the polishing had worked so I jumped in with a mask - Brrrrrr - no wetsuits remember.
Anyway, I had a quick feel of the props and rudders - quite weird - smooth to touch - not a barnacle in sight - great.

Then it was back to base - here's the entrance to Marina Sifredi where we are all staying.
A great day out.

BTW
MapisM is due here in Carloforte sometime over the next couple of days so - I will then be able to check all my facts.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Popped out yesterday to one of the anchorages that MapisM recommended.

I was eyeing up that anchorage when we were in CF a few weeks ago and a local (actually Andrea from Sacirn) told me to be careful of an uncharted rock in the bay. Not sure whether there was something lost in translation but maybe keep a good lookout if you go there again?

Very brave of you to swim in the water. I have become such a wimp over the years in the Med that I don't go in unless the temp exceeds 25 degC:

 

[scubaman]

Lovely pics of a very lovely looking place. Sorry, but I just have to ask about the kink on the route about midway on your way over/back. A towel swept over by the wind, perhaps?

Please keep the pictures coming!

 

[Hurricane]

Lovely pics of a very lovely looking place. Sorry, but I just have to ask about the kink on the route about midway on your way over/back. A towel swept over by the wind, perhaps?

Please keep the pictures coming!

We wanted to put the boat onto the plane and by then, there was a 15 knot wind on the bow so we turned her round (stern into the wind) whilst we folded the bimini away.
We then opened the throttles and JW managed 31 knots WOT - our bimini does handle that kind of thing but it always looks alarming so best to fold it away.
15 knots of wind plus 31 knots of boat speed - works out to be a bit of a blow!!

Interesting that you noticed the track.

 

[Hurricane]

I was eyeing up that anchorage when we were in CF a few weeks ago and a local (actually Andrea from Sacirn) told me to be careful of an uncharted rock in the bay. Not sure whether there was something lost in translation but maybe keep a good lookout if you go there again?

Very brave of you to swim in the water. I have become such a wimp over the years in the Med that I don't go in unless the temp exceeds 25 degC:

We were watching the depth carefully when we arrived - SWMBO on the bow.
The bottom did jump suddenly to 3m deep which kind of alarmed me.
The Navionics charts show that it is deeper on the north side of the bay so we turned left and found our patch after about 100m.
Maybe it would have been different if we had turned right towards the south of the bay.
The nice turquoise sandy bits were a lot further in and later we could see people standing waist deep in that part so that would definitely have been a bad idea!!

I'll have to ask MapisM - see what he thinks.

 

[MapisM]

Hope the re-launch and run back to CF goes well, and of course kindest regards to our lovely S as well.

Many thanks C, likewise also to A & A.

Yep, the re-launch as such went well today, onboard as I'm writing.
Still a few bits and pieces to check/fix before heading to CF, hopefully on Thursday, but overall business as usual.
Otoh, I must admit that I'm getting a bit envious of that Hurricane chap.
I just looove his swim platform table, among other things.
Waterfront lunch doesn't get any better than that, I reckon!

 

[MapisM]

I was eyeing up that anchorage when we were in CF a few weeks ago and a local (actually Andrea from Sacirn) told me to be careful of an uncharted rock in the bay. Not sure whether there was something lost in translation but maybe keep a good lookout if you go there again?

We were watching the depth carefully when we arrived - SWMBO on the bow.
The bottom did jump suddenly to 3m deep which kind of alarmed me.

Actually, I'm not aware of any real danger in that bay. In fact, I did anchor in that area in 3m of water, if not less.
Though generally speaking, the rule is that when along the coast there are beaches, you shouldn't drop the hook at less than 300m of distance, and I believe that such distance is pretty safe for anything but big sailboats, with 4m draught if not more.

@Deleted User: my guess is that A (who surely knows the area at least as well as myself, if not better) might have referred to the very shallow area marked as "secca delle saline" in the pic below. Actually, that's also rather close to the shore, therefore you wouldn't think of going there while cruising. Otoh, it's not unheard of boats moving from one to the other of the two bays in the pic (which are both good fog anchoring), passing close enough to the cape to regret it badly...
In fact, I'm told that it's not reported in all charts (though it is in both my Navionics and Garmin).

 

[Hurricane]

I just looove his swim platform table, among other things.
Waterfront lunch doesn't get any better than that, I reckon!

Actually, as I said above, we've never thought of doing that before.
We were just looking for somewhere our of the wind but in the sun.
We weren't even sure that the table woul fit.

See you soon

 

[AndieMac]

..........Otoh, I must admit that I'm getting a bit envious of that Hurricane chap.
I just looove his swim platform table, among other things......

You're envious! Ha, I reckon both of you have got life sorted out, seemingly endless boating holidays.

The swim platform table arrangement puts a new spin on "total waterfront"

 

[Hurricane]

Been a bit quiet on this thread over the last few days.
It is the Girotonno festival at the moment - everything you can imagine about Tuna.
My thanks to MapisM and his wife who are wonderful hosts - they have/are inviting me to join them on some of the "live cooking" events.
Then afterwards on board their boat - I am so grateful.
They have introduced me to a lot of their friends who all take the time to explain things to me in English.
I try very hard to understand and reply in Italian where I can (single words!!) but I'm far too old now to learn another language.

Yesterday, they invited me out for a short cruise on their boat so, armed with my camera we set off.
MapisM spent the whole day showing me all the little anchorages round the lovely island of San Pietro.

I will just "bash" the following photos in - maybe with a few comments.
There are too many pics for a single post so I will follow this one with a reply post.

Leaving Carloforte

In the Channel between San Pietro and Sardinia itself

Then on to the southern beaches/anchorages

There are some simply stunning places to drop the anchor and swim

We stopped here - dropped the anchor and enjoyed a lunch.
I have to admit that I let the UK side down a bit.
MapisM and his friends jumped in for a swim - and I chickened out - still a bit cold!!
I had brought all my swimming stuff but I thought - what the heck - I'll come back later in JW - plenty of time to swim.

to be continued...........

 

[Hurricane]

Continued
After lunch it was off to a bay that Deleted User has asked about - he wanted to know what it was like for anchoring.

Apparently it is OK but not really safe for the anchor (I may have got this wrong)

There was an ominous looking rock though - MapisM explained that although it looks shallow, when the water is this clear, it can be much deeper than it looks.
Looked scary enough to keep me away though!!

We were now at the western tip of the island so it was just as quick to go back by continuing round.

There are a few great swimming spots on the north if the sea conditions let you get near.
Personally, I thought this was too close!!

This cave is a favourite.
Again, I was worried that MapisM was taking us too close - remember he has no thrusters on his boat and the engine controls are all manual - no electronics.

And in we went

I said earlier in this thread that it is currently the Tuna festival.
This is where they catch the Tuna

But you have to take care in this area

Then it was back into the San Pietro Channel and home to Carloforte

Here's a video showing just how clear the water is in this part of the Med.



And full screen link
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=KHylMJckLwQ

Hope you enjoy this post