Post Lock down France
May 28th-June 10th, 2020
Set free after lockdown
Wing on Wing sailing approaching our first anchorage after the Lock down, Ile Saint Honorat. We've been here before but are happy to be back :-) This is a monastery on the island. Very nice protective anchorage. Great hikes on the islands
Breakfast outside Cap D'Antibes
Very popular with paddle boards here. Lots of them
After we got out of lock down we have explored Côte d'Azur, French riviera, from St Tropez all the way to the border of Monaco. So many pretty anchorages. We have also biked along the coast to explore more.
On our bike ride we found this little fort
Anette swam back to the boat to cool off some. Water temp is now very pleasant, 21 C.
This is at the beach in Antibes. We have an old pictures from the early 80's from exactly the same spot. That time we were there with motorcycles and tents. Now we came with our boat and home. Fun to be back
We visited the Swedish church in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Anders brother, Hans, will be stationed here for a year from September. We were Lucky to meet the current pastor, he invited us in and offered rose wine
Beautiful sunset in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Our last anchorage in Mainland France for now. Behind us you can see Monaco.
We will now set sail for Corsica, ETA around 6am Wednesday.
We have a really good weather window.
Another fun and lovely Anniversary together, 32 years it is (but really we've been together 42 years). Midnight during our passage to Corsica during our change in shift we celebrated a little with a small Jäger and a big hug The crossing was amazing. Really fast beam reach the whole way. Averaged 7-9 knots.
In the evening we went to a restaurant, first time in almost three months. Perfect timing for our Anniversary.
What a treat, we saw Dolphins!
Hmm. I don't think we navigated that wrong But I guess Google Fi thought so and connected to Tunis
Pretty good speed...
Cozy inside the hard dodger during your night watches. We were lucky with a almost full moon during the whole night
Safely anchored in Saint Florent, Corsica
View over Saint Florent bay from the fort. You can see Horizon at anchor
Good timing since the restaurants just reopened yesterday. Wonderful Anniversary dinner with all local food and wine
On our way from Saint Florens to Calvi. on the north coast of Corsica. Snow capped mountains behind us
Calvi is an amazing town. It's built on this rock as a very safe fort. Walking the narrow streets it's just amazing
Horizon is at anchor in the bay
I hiked up to this monument, Notre Dame della Serra that is overlooking the city
Cute salamander on the trail
Amazing flower gardens
Sailing along the northern coast of Corsica and celebrating The Swedish National holiday! Very special
Here we approach the strait between Corsica's northern tip and the small island of Giraglia
What a sleigh ride. 20-25 knots of following seas. We were surfing along . Huge waves. This shows 11.3 knots of speed, we actually recorded 14 knots
The small island of Giraglia
Racing through the northern strait
Suddenly we're through, we're now on the lee side everything became so quiet...for a while...We suddenly got crazy downwinds from the opposite direction coming over the mountains
After the crazy downwinds calmed down we enjoyed the beauty of the lush green east coast of Corsica.
We celebrated in Jäger that we had rounded the northern strait of Corsica,
Since we try to avoid using propane, I tried to bake bread on the electrical stove top. It turned out really good :-)
Dramatic skies during our sail down the east coast of Corsica
These old signaling towers are all around the coast of Corsica
Lots of pretty rock formations along the coast
Anders is happy eating his favorite M&M. Beautiful long sandy beach behind him
This was an amazing anchorage, Anse de Rondinara, on the east south coast of Corsica. Very sheltered from all weather. Crystal clear water and great hikes. During the Covid-19 season, no crowds either
Up hiking. Our anchorage is behind
View from the top. It's like a peninsula
We had good lively sailing through the notorious Bonifacio strait, the most southern part of Corsica
Approaching the city of Bonifacio. From a distance it's really hard to see the inlet to the harbour
The lighthouse on the port side of the inlet
This is the cliff on the starboard side of the inlet
Safely inside Binifacio inlet
Spectacular views, just look at the cliff walls, sailing in to Bonifacio. It's an amazing and must visit place. Unfortunately we were not allowed to go ashore since we are Americans. Even though we told them that we had been in France during the Lockdown and we have already been in Corsica for a week with no problems. Anyway it was a great experience and a stunning place
Now we left France, finally after 70 + days....Italy here we come :-)