June 11-13, The Return Trip and Villefranche Port |
Meanwhile, back in Bastia... Sunday we rested, I played with many photos, prepared the pages for the web so there would be something online before we left Bastia for the crossing back to mainland... in case I slipped off the boat. One never knows! I don't plan on it! Monday morning, weather was favorable enough even if the forecasts called for winds of Strength 4 to 5... That means about 18-25 knots (~25-32 mph)... blowing the right way at least which is why Alain decided to leave. If they had been from the North, we would have waited. |
We sailed away at around 8:30am under beautiful sky, very light wind and navigating with the motor like most of the rest of the times...
Above is the island of Giraglia, the last point on the Northern tip of Corsica.
Opposite the island, on the mainland is this tower. There are many along the coast. Remnants of old protection lookouts.
At about 8 pm, the predicted wind started picking up, some ominous clouds were building up... We put our rain gear on... The rain didn't come but the wind sure did and allowed us to sail for 8 hours at very good speed... Mind you, those swells were a little higher than 4 feet and we got a good shake up all through the night.
No sea-sickness but I do admit my tummy wasn't very stable for the rest of Tuesday!!!
The wind calmed down in the morning, the sea too, but the swells remained hitting sideways... and when we tucked the main sail which has the effect of stabilizing the boat's rolling motion, well, it was like a washing machine down in the boat.
Interesting experience... No fear but quizzy tummy!
Alain whistles along, sings ole navy songs and doesn't seem to be bothered but he does admit smoking his cigar once in a while to overcome sea-sickness.
6:30am we arrived at the port of Villefranche, next to Nice. Beautiful sight but very small port and very few places left. We managed to squeeze between two boats and caught a few zzzzzz of sleep before the Captainerie opened at 9am.
We didn't know if there was room or not... there was so we got docked and proceeded to have a quiet day and catch-up on our sleep.
Later on, a little tour of the city, a meal, a walk... but very heavy, hot weather, so we dozzed off early!!
The port of Villefranche where the sailboat is docked. That's where I am typing this page!! Yes, finally a port with wi-fi connection! Payable mind you but at least it's available.
On the other hand, with the kind of boats I've seen around, they probably have their own satellite internet connection and that's why ports don't provide wi-fi possibility!
The city of Villefranche and surroundings... hills and cliffs...
The very narrow streets in the old city... They create cool alleys for hot summer living.
And the old streets are even under the buildings... Here we saw a reception of some kind using the beautiful settings... With very effective lighting and look at the doorway! Maybe a wedding? We didn't ask... but very beautiful setup.
