Lady Bear Family: Summer of the Bears

Our second trip this year
We started up the coast from Rome towards the island of Giglio where the big cruiser if any of you remember the Costa Concordia that crashed into the rocks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster

We anchored and then took the dingy around the bay to the town where the Concordia lies. Spent sometime on shore in the pretty fishing town of Giglio.

Sailing passed the island Giglio

A beautiful island, coming back from the town we got as close to the shipwreck as we could with the dingy to visit and get a closer look at the Concordia ship

We visited Elba, Corsica and Sardinia. There were ups and downs as always with sailing. The winds the wrong direction or nothing at all. But we managed some great sailing days. I started the trip with a tummy bug and felt useless for 24 hours. We only spent 3 nights in total of the 5 weeks in marinas. The first being on main land .......... Italy just by Elba, where we had one night in a marina to get water and electric and big shopping. The rest of the week we spent anchored outside in the bay. This was a great spot as we had beach, shopping, internet and the marina close by with free ice making machine. This is where we turned into night ice pirates for our RUM!! Sneaking into the marina in the dark to bring back buckets of ice. he he!!

We met a great French couple here with kids 11yr boy and 5yrs girl. They came to our boat a few times for dinner and we went to there holiday apartment for an evening, the kids enjoyed the beach together.

Our Spanish helper Montse left us here, her heart was left in Spain and she didn't enjoy the fact that internet on a boat including water is a luxury.

The wind was strong and the waves were rolling as we sailed out into the blue again towards Corsica. We made good time as the wind was perfect.

Bastia, Corsica, our hi light. Second marina two nights here as it was so good.....see photos.

The American couple left us here and we continued down the Corsican coast. The longest stretch of golden beach I have ever see, with pine forests and hi blue mountains in the distance. Beautiful!!! see photos.

We reached Sardinia lots of rocky islands. Very expensive they almost want to charge you for anchoring there.

We had another night of rescuing someones boat in a really big thunder storm Once again people go off and leave for a long evening out, while the weather changes.

The boat nearly collides into a large ferry, Dave got it back to the anchorage and all seems fine we go to bed to be woken by the boat owners who want more help as their engine won't start as they have floaty toys off the back and the rope got caught in propeller.

We weighed anchor and pulled them off the rocks. The wind was howling it was dark and the tow rope was dragging on our out board engine and dingy. I tried hard to prevent this as Dave pulls and pulls their big boat. We eventually managed to get them clear of the rocks when two coastgaurd boats came along to help out. I untied them and we were free again, but its too late our tender had capsized. The howling wind blew hard around our ears as I tried to rescue our deck cushions, I watched them blow off into the dark one by one. Nothing I could do......!

Enough of Sardinia! We went back to Corsica and Bonifacio. Amazing place crazy busy though....see photos.

We found the most blue, clearest water and great beach where Artie learnt to jump in the water. Artie is great at swimming now. Plus hes been learning to juggle.

Dave spent a whole day mending the out board motor so we could go shopping. Spent the last few days on another great beach with a great little park and round about that Lolly loved.

We set sail back to Rome.

30 hours night passage. Dolphins swam around the boat. We watched the stars rise and the plough moving around the sky. Saw the moon set and change from orange to blood red.

Got to Rome late afternoon for some sleep.
At the marina in Rome we fed swans in the moon light with bats flying around our heads. Nice end to our trip.

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Meeting friends

Marina where we became ICE PIRATES!!

New friends from Brittany

Captainess Maddy

We met an American couple Stephine and Ed, who came sailing with us from here to Elba and Corsica for a week. They were great fun and helpful.

Elba was expensive so we anchored outside the big main town which is very pretty , there was a CO-OP can you believe it

Yes that's me! Swimming to the beach

We had an adventure one night here. The winds picked up ( Elba is very windy, so is Dave's bottom).

It was dark and windy only the lights of the town to light the night when our neighbouring anchored boats started blasting there horns. We looked out to see a big catamaran careering through the anchorage. So there went Dave and Ed off like a shot into the dark to rescue the boat, no one was on it. In the dark they managed to find the lights how to turn the engine on and find the windless for the anchor.

Two hours later they still couldn't get the anchor to set. The owner came back after they're long evening out having dinner and getting drunk and very ungrateful which didn't leave Dave in a good mood. Ed said he had a good time though!