Corsica to Elba, Isola di Montecristo...
SV Eleonora
Michael A. Andronov
Tue 20 Sep 2022 15:34
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42:45.356N 010:18.256E UTC 0530 We are in the ‘middle’ of crossing from Corsica to Elba. At least, I think so!  44 nm behind, about the same distance ahead... Depending where we would like to stop... But it is later to decide... Ahead of us -- about 15 nm – the island... We have seen a lot of them, appearing from the water... Fist – a bit as mirage, with no clear understanding – is it the island or the clouds? Then slowly taking the form of the land, and becoming the island – closer, closer.... This one – looks like a perfect pyramid, rounded on the corners... Not too green, yellowish stones, shining under the Sun.... We have seen a lot of them... I remember the first crossing of the Caribbean chain, and my surprise as Monserrat island already gone, but the Guadeloupe – has not appeared yet.... Then it was the
first time ‘we made quite a distance’...The island which has just appeared – also ‘a milestone of quite the distance’.... Not so much on map projection... But also in time', and somewhere inside me... The Isla di Montecristo... Yes, the island which for the reasons totally unknown, A. Duma picked up and described in his famous novel... Through
my teenager times I’ve read the Count de Monte Cristo several times...
Today, I’m passing the island... Does it mean that the time made the circle and
I’m in ‘teenager’ mind set again ? Right timing...  Due to popularity, and getting tired of protecting the island from
the people – ( some still consider the real treasures are hidden somewhere
inside) – and protecting people from the island -- the harbors are
not really friendly, and the coast guards are tired from rescue missions
.... the authorities have resolved both in typical
way: -- stepping on the island is prohibited; -- stopping / anchoring near the island is prohibited; -- the wardens has authority to pull away anybody, who
violates above.... -- all is prohibited, unless.... : -- you are taking ‘official’ tour on the
island; -- you have the special permission from Elba authorities to visit the island... In short, the very simple rules, very similar to famous russian mem; “ It is not allowed, but if you really want it... you may.... “ No, we are not stopping, we are passing by... Our destination is Elba, and the island happens to be on our way... We are a bit faster then we planned... and our Elba land fall is -- as usual – wrong... Right in the middle
of the night... And the it looks to be tough night:-- there is no moon; Who the hell switched it off ? -- As the sun went down and it is getting darker – the weather is changing... The clouds start to cover the sky, and progressively lower and lower... The wind – though the following wind – is getting a bit stronger... Accelerating and propelling us even a bit faster... Far on the horizon.... On a port side, a thin line of lights indicates Corsica... Ahead of us – the lighthouses provide some clues where the Elba is... ( about 20 nm to go... ) On the starboard side – the line of lights indicates the ‘mainland’ of Italy.... In addition to those ‘mainland’ lights... There is a lot of lightning all over the sky... But no a simple whisper of thunder... Suddenly the VHF waked up... Major thunder storms, and gales/gusts all over the Ligurian seas, Italian coast, Adriatic sea... As confirming they are serious – the wind is picking up and we are racing towards the land even faster... We are nearly passing the Isla Monte Cristo... The darkness taking it away... we should be near the ‘Devil point’... as Duma described it... ( For fun, I guess, the map has all names of points, caves, bays... as mentioned in the novel...) Suddenly, I can see the light on the island. Grabbed binoculars... The shadow of the cave, and the bright electrical light inside... Well protected and covered... visible within the small angle we were passing by... Ok, the island gone! ( So, somebody took the risk and was tossing the chances to find the hidden treasures... Good luck! Or is it the soul of Edmond Dantes himself ? ) No time to check. We have a bit of a challenge now... As always, the wind does not follow the forecast! ( It should, right ? But it does not... ) Consequently, all the anchorages of the South shore of Elba – open to wind and swell... On the Eastern side – the wind is changing from to the Easterlies... And those lightnings in the sky have stopped being nice and funny a while ago... With constant repeat over VHF ‘securite, securite... gale warning’ – they are more and more annoying with each mile we are closer to Elba... I still remember the recent encounter with squall on Corsica... But this time – the wind will blow us into the shore... not away.... Another point – all papers are saying that Elba is famous of compass anomalies, due to the great amount of iron deposits... And finally – it is so dark, the clouds are getting lower, and it is impossible to see anything ahead... Literally, we are moving -- faster and faster – into the opening black wall... The ideal solution – to approach the land at early morning light... but it is about 0100 am, and it means we have to wait about 4-5 hours, sailing near by... But what if promised gale/squalls materialized? What would be the strength? What distance we should try to keep ? And where is that damn land?! The main sail is dropped... The smallest triangle of the yankee is opened... We still doing about 2 knots... The wind growing, the swell growing... The good part is – we got the Internet!!!! Now we can contact the Navily regarding the anchorages... ‘Due to the current forecast... protection is poor... ‘ To make the story short... I’ve picked up the Logona bay... For a few simple reasons – it has the widest entry ( forget about protection... ), it has the flattest and longest sand bottom... Though it is Saturday/Sunday night, and the bay may be full of boats on anchor... I hoped that the weather was bat long enough, and people left... So, using the radar and GPS ... we entered the middle of the bay, and as soon as we see 10 m depth – dropped the anchor... Mission accomplished... we landed... Elba... 0400 Sunday morning... Another hour took to verify that the anchor was actually holding... The wind changed... now the swell was coming on a beam, rolling the boat so much, that I just put the bed on the floor in the saloon... Was concern about the dishes in the cupboards... Surprisingly, nothing has has been broken in the morning... The was a noise from some boats around... Could not see them... But there was some lights from the beaches around... So, the boats were not too close... So, the passage is done. Tomorrow is another day... Everything is fine and in order. Talk soon. Michael. |