Sardinia Summer 2015

[pan]

Looks brilliant Hurricane, no doubt you & your wife will have a wonderful summer cruising, although does look a bit scary with the underwater rocks etc, even some way offshore, be careful not to ding a prop, I have heard of quite a few people doing a prop around Sardinia. You are an experienced skipper and careful anyway, so no problem.

 

[Pinnacle]

Looks like you had a nice day out, Mike!

 

[Hurricane]

Looks like you had a nice day out, Mike!

I bet you can't wait.
The only thing missing yesterday was the warm water.

 

[henryf]

I'm not liking the direction this thread is going. Holed up whilst you cower from freezing North winds I can live with but all this sunshine, dining on the bathing platform and crystal clear water is looking ominous !

I must take a bit of getting used to being able to see the bottom like that. I have had had quite small amounts of water under the keel in the past but the glory of the Solent is what the eye can't see the mind can ignore !

It does look like a wonderful trip.

Henry

 

[MapisM]

the glory of the Solent is what the eye can't see the mind can ignore !

Well, also down here, sometimes life ain't a bed of roses.
After 15m depth or so, we might struggle a bit to drop the anchor exactly above a sandy patch, when it's very small....

 

[MapisM]

My thanks to MapisM and his wife who are wonderful hosts

Thanks for your kind words M, 'twas actually a great pleasure, both for myself and S.
Looking forward to more of the same when we'll be back, hopefully (though actually this is something I'm sure of) with warmer waters!
Can't wait to give the red bullet a try, btw. Shame that this time we can only stay for a few days....

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thanks Mike for the new post. Question to Mapism really. Is there a recognised fairway into and out of CF because the whole area off CF looks very shallow? I must admit that when we entered CF for the first time, I found the navigational buoys off CF to be quite confusing against a setting sun and in the end I just followed a ferry into the harbour!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

@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).

Thanks Mapism I will try to remember that shallow patch. Yes I guess that must have been the danger that Andrea was referring to

 

[MapisM]

Thanks Mike for the new post. Question to Mapism really. Is there a recognised fairway into and out of CF because the whole area off CF looks very shallow? I must admit that when we entered CF for the first time, I found the navigational buoys off CF to be quite confusing against a setting sun and in the end I just followed a ferry into the harbour!

Yep, when entering the harbour in the late afternoon, you've got the sun straight in front of you, but I'm afraid I don't have a solution for that!
Otoh, in spite of the somewhat scary appearance of any nautical map, showing many patches of shallow water, the whole area in front of the harbour can only be dangerous for ferries or very high draught sailboats. Even in a couple of spots which are marked with buoys, there is at least a couple of meters of water.
I understand it's not reassuring to see such low numbers on the sounder, but if nothing else it gives the opportunity to take some nice clips - see the beginning and the end of this old video, btw showing a spot that Hurricane will be able to recognise by now...

 

[BartW]

Hope you enjoy this post

for sure I did !
as we have spend a week diving around CF two years ago,
this post brings back nice memory's !
Time fly's MapisM isn't it ?

 

[MapisM]

It definitely does, B. But as they say, growing older sure beats the alternative...!
And as you know, yourself and E would always be welcome to come back anytime, and for as long as you wish.
Btw, it could be an opportunity to catch up also with some other forumites this summer, maybe making a deviation while on your way to BA.
I don't think you would have direct flies from Cagliari, but I suppose is should just be a matter of making a stopover in Rome. Just a thought...
As an aside, did I tell you that the inverter works just perfectly? Thanks again for your support!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Y
I understand it's not reassuring to see such low numbers on the sounder,

Fortunately I read the pilot book before going to CF and it warned that it would be a bit scary to see the bottom so clearly on entering CF but all the same, I did start to wonder when I saw less than 2.5m on the sounder

 

[Hurricane]

Fortunately I read the pilot book before going to CF and it warned that it would be a bit scary to see the bottom so clearly on entering CF but all the same, I did start to wonder when I saw less than 2.5m on the sounder

There was a ferry entering as we arrived - so we followed it!!

However, I remember it being scary 6 years ago when we arrived but it all turned out OK then as well.
I asked MapisM the very question that you did.
I think that the answer is that it is OK except for one place - Secca Dei Marmi - which is well marked.
As we arrived back in from the north yesterday, I asked him again.
We came into the San Pietro channel between San Pietro and Isola Piana - keeping in the middle between the island and San Pietro - about 5m or 6m of water IIRC.
After MapisM had shown me it is a very do-able thing and then keeping the same distance from the San Pietro shore from the middle all the way to the Carloforte entrance seems very safe - thats where I took the video clips in my last post.

All in all, I learned a lot about San Pietro yesterday - lets hope I learned enough!!


EDIT
For anyone interested, here's an extract of the British Admiralty chart of the entrance to Carloforte.
You can see our concern and when you consider that the bottom is so clear, it can get a bit scary.

 

[brainstorm]

All this talk of clear waters and warm weather is making us very envious, having just had a long weekend in Chichester Harbour with Baltic temperatures , and winds of F 7 and 8! We are off to the West coast of Scotland on Thursday and expect more punishment of a similar nature! Can't wait for better conditions in Carloforte when we arrive later in June....

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I asked MapisM the very question that you did.
I think that the answer is that it is OK except for one place - Secca Dei Marmi - which is well marked.

Excellent! So we can send the invoice for replacement props to Mapism

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

All this talk of clear waters and warm weather is making us very envious, having just had a long weekend in Chichester Harbour with Baltic temperatures , and winds of F 7 and 8! We are off to the West coast of Scotland on Thursday and expect more punishment of a similar nature! Can't wait for better conditions in Carloforte when we arrive later in June....

brainstorm, dont feel too glum. When we were in CF in April, it was actually colder than the UK. Whilst our friends in the UK were having bbqs we were searching the shops in CF for fleeces to buy

 

[brainstorm]

Imagine then how cold we were in CF the first week in March this year. Will not be making that mistake again!

 

[MapisM]

All this talk of clear waters...

Well, as far as clear waters are concerned, Sardinia in general is quite remarkable, and the further you go south, the clearer the water is, as a rule of thumb.
Therefore, I'm sure that in tihs respect you won't be disappointed.
Below is a good example: an aerial pic showing exactly the spot where Hurricane, in his pics above, said that we were a bit too close, with our bow just in front of the rocks in the upper center part of the pic (btw, some guests onboard were wondering if I was going to ask them to deploy the fenders for docking - I kid you not...! ).
Now, the sandy patches in the upper part of the pic starts at about 3m (that's why you can go real close to the rocks), and the bottom goes rapidly down towards the bottom/right side of the pic.
In fact, in the bottom right corner, the depth is around 12m, if not a bit more...
...but you can barely say that it's deeper, looking just at the colour!

 

[Greg2]

Well, as far as clear waters are concerned, Sardinia in general is quite remarkable, and the further you go south, the clearer the water is, as a rule of thumb.
Therefore, I'm sure that in tihs respect you won't be disappointed.
Below is a good example: an aerial pic showing exactly the spot where Hurricane, in his pics above, said that we were a bit too close, with our bow just in front of the rocks in the upper center part of the pic (btw, some guests onboard were wondering if I was going to ask them to deploy the fenders for docking - I kid you not...! ).
Now, the sandy patches in the upper part of the pic starts at about 3m (that's why you can go real close to the rocks), and the bottom goes rapidly down towards the bottom/right side of the pic.
In fact, in the bottom right corner, the depth is around 12m, if not a bit more...
...but you can barely say that it's deeper, looking just at the colour!

Hmmm.....just comparing this with the pictures in my 'Whitsun week' post. Similar issue with varying depths on the East Coast in the UK but just one colour to contend with.....impenetrable muddy brown!

Great vid btw Hurricane

 

[AndieMac]

Excellent addition to a great thread already Hurricane, make sure you do the swim into the caves on the southern end of the island, a truly incredible experience, something you will never forget.
Maybe wait until MM comes back to the island later in the month (besides warmer water) it's certainly a bonus having all that local knowledge.
Our family also enjoyed very much socialising with MM's friends, lovely and welcoming, great fun at dinner parties!