The Italian island of Sardinia is only about 25 miles from Corsica so we popped over to the famous port of Porto Cervo in the north of the island. The wind was howling through the Bonifacio straits as we sailed south and LUSH came into her usual own, cutting up the sea like Moses. It was one of those absolutely cracking sails on LUSH and we all relished it.

I was excited returning to Porto Cervo as this was where Paul and I won the Swan World Championships in 2008 on yacht ZEN, a fact we reminded everyone of about a million times that day! Porto Cervo is one of the world’s most luxurious villages with designer boutiques, luxury spas and fine restaurants galore. This is home to the exclusive Yacht Club Costa Smeralda host to some of the Mediterranean’s most prestigious annual regattas.

Arriving into the port it was obvious the place was dead. I popped ashore to do a food shop while Eddie, Marie and Alvie wandered around the town. Paul stayed on the yacht getting on with a few of his jobs with the intention of coming ashore later, however there was no ‘later’. Returning to LUSH, Eddie had seen enough. The place was just too quiet so there was nothing for it but to return to Corsica. A three hour sail back and LUSH was anchored up nice and snug in the stunning bay of Porto Vechio. Another day in the office with Eddie, we laughed.

One Life… Live it… even if it is just for a couple of hours!

Audrey 🙂 xx

Out of everywhere in the Med I was most looking forward to revisiting Corsica. I had sailed there with my parents a few years back and longed to return. It is probably one of the most breathtaking, dramatic and magnificent islands we’ve been to. Only about 100miles from the mainland of France it is surprising how few yachts cruise there considering the volume of yachts in the Cotes D’Azur. We were there in early September which is a magical time of year for cruising.

Corsica is most well known for its superb walking trails and treks. The grueling GR20 trail is one of the worlds top hiking trails, stretching 180km from Calenzana in the north, traversing diagonally, to Conca in the south. This is reputed to be one of the most difficult long-distance treks on the continent varying in height in about 10,000 meters with exposed scrambles, and at some point’s ladders and steel ropes to assist walkers! The whole thing takes at least two weeks, and involves staying in refuges or camping along the way.

Needless to say we didn’t have this length of time to commit to such a thing, however Paul and I have already starting about returning here next year! Hopefully the latter comment in itself should give you an idea of how much we liked this place. Out of everywhere we’ve been, it’s top of the list to return. Now that we are factoring in flight costs in this decision it does narrow our choice down to Europe.   Whatever new island or place we next explore it will be sadly without LUSH as this magnificent chapter of our life is nearing the end.

This was actually our last week cruising on LUSH with Eddie and Marie before returning to Antibes (France) to do an overhaul on LUSH and handover to the new crew.

Coastal Corsica is breathtaking flanked by green foothills and dramatic rocky ridges and cliffs piercing the sky with miles of golden sand beaches below.  There are six citadels on the island, the most famous being Bonifacio. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to visit Bonofico with Eddie but the memory of this wonderful town is still etched in my head since I came with my parents. Bonifacio is hands down the most dramatic town to come to by sea. As you approach the harbour entrance you are greeted by cliffs on either side that seam to just keep going skyward with a fortress sitting precariously on the cliff edge! Awesome!

We did manage to have a beautiful few days sailing along the south east corner of the island and had plenty of BBQs on the beaches ashore much to EJ’s delight! The natural harbour of Porto Vecchio was an ideal spot to finish our Corsican adventures. It has a charming citadel and old town on the hilltop and is steeped in history. We strolled about the medieval streets and ate dinner alfresco. Actually I think nearly every meal we’ve had, either onboard LUSH or ashore, over the past two years has been alfresco!

One Life….. Live it…. alfresco!

Lots of love,

Audrey xxx