Toulon to Corsica

We arrived back in Toulon on the evening of the 12th after a long train journey. Eurostar to Paris, across Paris on the Metro and then down to Toulon on the TGV. Apparently there had been a fire on the metro and the direct line between Gare du Nord and Gare de Lion was closed. Complete chaos greeted us when we arrived - armed police everywhere, Ticket machines not working, escalators, paltforms and trains crammed. The good news is it was free. The bad that carting large quantities of luggage through a very crowded metro is not fun!
We stayed a day (Wed) in Toulon provisioning, adjusting the rig (done very badly in Port Napoleon) and I thought it in danger of collapse! and other odd jobs.

The weather forecast for Friday is really dire - up to gale force 9! so we decided to go find somewhere to moore nearer Corsica so as to get a 22 rather than a 26 hour passage. We set off at 8.00 and at 13.00 called Cavaliere-sur-mer for a place - only to be told that it was full. Called around every other sensible marine in the area - and they're all full. Welcome to the French Riviera!

With the only anchoring now available we had to find a good sheltered bay. Winds forcast to be W to NW so fortunately the three large bays at the tip of the St Tropez peninsula were all good candidates. When we got there at 1500, they were of course packed but we knew most of the motor boats would disappear as evening approached so we set down a temporary anchor in deepish water and went for a swim.

Overnight, we had much more swell than I expected (it was diffracting round the point). It was uncomfortable and a bit sleepless but not dangerous. In the morning we moved round the point to a much more sheltered spot - and waited for the wind to get up!

And get up it did! It got stronger and stronger through the afternoon and evening till it was clocking over 35 Knots - and that was in shelter. We got no swell or chop but did get thrown around all night but our wonderful spade anchor performed flawlessly so we got a surprisingly large amount of sleep. I always have a hand held GPS on anchor watch by the bed which contributes hugely to my ability to let go. At 7.00 the wind suddenly died in 10 minutes to almost nothing.

We measured the journey to Calvi in Corsica as exactly 100 miles. At our average of 5 knots, that's 20 hours. We wanted to gett to Calvi early in the morning to ensure we got a place so we left at 10.00 on Saturday. At first there was very little wind. We put up all sail but even so we were only making 1.5Knots so we hoisted the Iron topsail.

We were 5 miles out when I spotted something yellow about a mile away which looked like an inflatable or possibly a liferaft. We couldn't just go by in case someone was in trouble so we diverted only to find that it was a towing toy for power boats and empty. We called the coastguard anyway just in case and they seemed pleased to be told.


As soon as we cleared the shelter of the coast there was a heavy swell left over tfrom the previous days storm. After about 3 hours the wind ros rapidly and was soon getting up to 25 Knots on the starboard quarter. With a 3M Meter swell it was just too uncomfortable so we reduced to part jib anda double reefed main and that's how we stayed the whole journey. I thought we were in for a nasty night as big waves would keep coming out of the darkness and slapping us in the chops. In the event though it was lovely. There was a full moon making easy to see everything, the wind dropped to a comfortable 18 Knots and the swell died away to about a Meter. We even had a completely unexpected partial eclipse of the moon!



By 0200 Corsica was clearly visible and remained so all the way until we arrived in Calvi at 7.15. The only excitement was dodging a couple of thunder storms which caused the otherwise steady wind to change rather unpredictably. As expected, there was no help with mooring until they clocked on at 8.30 so in a heavy wind we set too. Not our finest hour!

It was a horrible arrangement with a very heavy rope attached to the bottom of the buoy and a strong wind blowing us off in a tight space. We tried and failed 5 times - including dropping the boat hook which luckily floated. We were both tired and tetchy and ended up shouting at each other. L came up with the brilliant idea of tying the dinghy to Rosa's bow with her in it with a rope. I manovered up to the buoy, she passed it the rope through the loop and back up to me. A quick tie and it was Job done.

They moved us later but gave us help. It was well worth doing though as it ensured we were given a mooring and at a reasonable time. It was also a good thing we had telephoned 24 hours in advance. The place is packed!

Rhone to Toulon

We took a week to return Rosa from a canal boat to a sailing boat again. Sounds like a lot of time but there is a surprising amount to be done. There are obvious big tasks to be done such as re-masting and putting the sails back on but there are also a host of smaller ones. Food and other storage has to be re-done so that things done fall off or out when we’re sailing. Extra fenders, side blankets etc. have to be cleaned, deflated and stowed or flogged. Navicartes have to be replaced with Pilot books and charts. After 300 hours, the engine needs a good service, and so on, and so on.

We finally set off at from Port Napoleon at 10.00 on Thursday morning. The weather was hot, humid, cloudless and wind-less. We had to thread our way through over 20 huge ships in the Gulf of Fos. Fortunately, they were all at anchor. However this is surprisingly hard to tell in the Med as with no tidal currents, they lie any old way. Our new AIS system was helpful in confirming that the ones we had to go close to were indeed doing zero knots.

As we neared the mouth of the Gulf of Fos to turn East towards Marseille, a bank of fog rolled in and we were out of sight of land. Vis was still about a mile so the few sailing boats about presented no hazards. The AIS soon picked up two invisible ships moving through the murk one of them coming quite close to us. It was very disconcerting to know it was there but to be completely unable to see it! Eventually, it loomed out of the mist safely behind us.

The wind started to pick up slightly so we put the sails up and stopped the engine. It was only then that we heard the foghorns on both ships – just shows the importance of turning off noisemakers and using ears in fog.

The wind soon blew away the mist and we sailed along the coast with Marseille gradually getting clearer ahead. It really is very spectacular – set in high hills with its church on a high peak with a golden statue on top.

Rod Heikell’s pilot did its usual great job of getting us in. We had called ahead to SNM – a yacht club that manages some of the pontoons in the Old Harbour and they had reserved a space. There were excellent facilities – water (rather low pressure) and elec at each berth plus showers, toilets and pump-out at the floating club house. They have WiFi but it is very limited range and we could only pick it up inside the club house. It might have been possible to see it from a close-in berth but we didn’t try.

I dithered about what to do next – to L’s annoyance. First I thought we would spend just the night, then changed my mind to a few days and then changed my mind again to go to Port Miou. We did a bit of shopping mostly Chandleries and a bricolage (hardware store).


We then went round Abbey St. Vincent. Very impressive – huge early gothic but with only a few tiny windows set up high. Without lighting it must have been permanently dark. The church is built upon a much older one which is still underneath it as a crypt. Building started in 390AD and was itself built on an earlier pagan site.

We finally left at 1400. There was 20 – 24 Knots of wind so we put 2 reefs in as we were afraid of much larger gusts. It soon became clear that we had started during a prolonged gust and the base wind was around 15 knots on the nose. We shook the reef out and tacked to the Eastern edge of the bay. By now it was after 16.00 so we reluctantly put the motor on and arrived at 1800. The scenery is really spectacular – huge white limestone cliffs falling straight into the dark blue sea pierced occasionally by deep Calnques. The pilot led us to expect to anchor and take a line ashore at Port Miou but in the event there are now laid mooring buoys and a launch to take your line to the cliff and then collect €19.00. Bit of a bummer really.

Port Miou is a calanque - a deep water-filled ravine in the cliffs. Very spectacular but the water is seriously cold. We took the Dinghy to the end expecting to find a bar or restaurant – but there was absolutely nothing other than hundreds of boats moored each side. A kind French neighbour in a cat was going home and returning next morning and he brought us croissants and fresh bread the next day.

We decided to anchor for the next night – avoiding paying. That’s easier said than done round here where mostly the cliffs fall sheer into 50 Meters of water. The few places that have bays tend to be either completely sewn up with laid moorings owned by men with their hands out or are reseved for swimmers or are so exposed to the wind and sea that they aren’t safe for overnight use. In the end we settled on an area called the Rade de Brusc which is a nice 30Km sail from Port Miou and sheltered from the forecast South to West winds.

The scenery is if anything even more spectacular.


The cliffs are even higher and deep red. Further along, they are lower but deeply pitted and eroded into fantastic shapes.

There are two places where in Rade du Brusc where anchoring is possible – East and West of the port entrance. We tried the Eastern one first as there were only a very few boats there but despite trying four times, we couldn’t get the anchor to set properly. In the end we pushed off to the much more crowded Western areu underneath a small island – and set first time. I guess we found out the reason for the crowdsL

Overnight the wind built up to a good force 6 which made for a slightly disturbed night. It’s amazing how the rocking of the boat lulls you off to sleep – and how the slightest noise has me leaping out of bed thinking the anchor is dragging. L finds it very wearling!

The morning forecast promised force 7 with severe gusts by midday so we up sticks and set off for Toulon. As soon as we rounded the island, we had to push through a strong head wind (6 gusting 7) and heavy seas for a couple of Km. Then we turned the corner and ran before it under Jib alone doing 7Knots over the ground when surfing down waves. Rather fun actually. By the time we reached the entrance to the Rade de Toulon and turned back west again, the force 7 had arrived and I was very fearful about how we were going to moor. We called ahead and they came out in a Rib to guide us in. It’s really surprising how much shelter a forest of masts and a few buildings makes. In the event, it was a doddle to moor.

I had expected to have to stay with the boat while L went back to the UK to help with our new Grandaughter – but to my surprise, they had no problem with me leaving the boat for a month – although we had to pay €734.00 for the privilege. Toulon Vielle Port is a good deal less attractive than I had hoped. It’s surrounded by modern concrete blocks with restuarants on the ground floor – some of which offer Karaoke. There is no possibility of an Internet connection on the boat and the showers and toilets are miles away and not fit for a pig. Pretty naff really for that price! With hindsight, we would have been better staying in Marseille.

So now it’s off to UK and a break from Blogging. All will be resumed when we return on 12 August.