ELBAN ESCAPADE - Alan Murphy (1989) The only thing we knew about the Island of Elba before deciding to sail round it was the famous Napoleonic palindrome, "Able was I ere I saw Elba" Rod Heikell's Italian Waters Pilot revealed that Elba is the largest island in the Tuscan archipelago between Corsica and the Italian mainland. Very mountainous, its deeply indented coastline provides a number of beautiful anchorages and harbours. Although only 17 miles long by 11 miles wide, it has 75 miles of coastline, ideal for the trailer sailor. Our Swift 18, Tiger Lily is fitted with a few creature comforts to make life habitable for her crew of four (myself, wife and two 17 year old daughters). Although only 18 feet long, she is not too crowded for Mediterranean cruising because life is spent mostly outside the boat either enjoying the sun, the warm waters or the picturesque harbours. During the road journey we sleep aboard after transferring sails, lifebuoy and other such items from boat to car (a 1.7 litre Renault 21 estate). It took us less than three days to trail Tiger Lily overland from Le Havre via the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Punta Ala on the Italian mainland. The modern marina at Punta Ala lies on a headland a few miles south of Piombino and within sight of the historic Isola del Elba. Punta Ala with its fashionable restaurants and designer clothes shops is a large holiday complex containing golf course, race course and holiday homes. Both marina and boatyard offer excellent facilities with spotless showers, toilets and a good chandlery. Guarding all this are the 'Vigilantes,' a kind of private police force. The cost of these high standards is reflected in the fees charged, perhaps making Punta Ala more suited to the large numbers of 60 foot runabouts which occupy much of the marina. The meagre needs of the trailer sailor seem to have got lost within the bureaucratic machine. Having paid a £40 craning fee, Tiger Lily was quickly and efficiently transferred from trailer to water and allocated a pontoon berth for the night (another fee). It's expensive to leave the car and trailer inside the marina compound, but we found they could be left outside a the top of the hill and under the eyes of the Vigilantes patrol who guard the approach road. Although it was a very pleasant place to start and end our sailing, with marina berths costing £12 a night it was not the place to stay too long. Elba with its majestic mountains was clearly visible on the horizon and we were keen to get sailing. It took us 5 hours to sail the 16 Miles to Porto Azzuro, a small port on the eastern side of the island and anchor at the head of the bay west of the town. On venturing into the harbour in the inflatable we found the waterfront crowded with boats of all sizes and the quayside bustling with strollers enjoying the Mediterranean evening. Our plan was to sail clockwise round Elba, so next morning we set out for the south coast of the island. The southern coast has three deep bays and a number of smaller coves. The SE headland, Punta dei Riparti, contains a number of disused iron ore workings and hides a pretty shingle beach just west of the tip. The cove was an ideal lunchtime stop since it was easy to anchor within swimming distance of the shore. On rounding the next headland we came to the first of the large bays, Golfo Stella. In the northwest corner is a little breakwater protecting local boats on permanent moorings. We anchored for the night at the end of the breakwater in an idyllic situation. The second large bay, Golfo della Lacona, has a long beach at its head and a very convenient anchorage on the western side. A few miles further west is Golfo di Campo with its harbour and town, Marina di Campo. Larger vessels moor on the inside of the breakwater but the smaller ones can moor bow or stern to the town quay. The town has many shops and restaurants and there's a good sandy beach within walking distance of the harbour. Marina di Campo is a base for prison service vessels (Guarda Custodia) and being a busy fishermens' harbour it was common to see anchor tangles, a traditional Mediterranean foible. The western side of Elba offers little in the way of sheltered coves or anchorages. The 16 nautical miles round to Marciana Mariana in the northwest almost circles Mount Caparnne which at 1018 metres is the highest peak on Elba- We found the tiny cove at Golfo di Barbatoia was buoyed off and it was only possible to anchor in about 7 metres of water. Away on the horizon at 23 nautical miles distant could be seen the conical island of Montecristo whilst the flat island of Pianosa 7 miles away was barely visible through the sea haze. During the passage to Marciana Marina the mountains of Corsica and the island of Capraia could also be seen towering out of the horizon. At Marciana we managed to squeeze ourselves in between two much larger boats before using the rocky beach over the breakwater for swimming. After taking a local bus up the narrow winding road to Mariana Alta overlooking the harbour we found the cable car which ascends Mount Capanne It takes about 15 minutes to reach the summit; on a good day you can see all of Elba, the mainland, Corsica and most of the other islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. However, we had chosen a partially cloudy day and saw only the tops of clouds and the numerous microwave dishes which litter the summit. To the east of Marciana lie three bays, each with attractive daytirne anchorages. In the southerly one the crew set to work to scrub oil from Tiger Lily' s hull someone must have been pumping their bilges in the harbour. It was now time to reconsider the original plan of sailing down the mainland coast to the Island of Giglio. We liked Elba so much that this plan was abandoned in favour of making a second circumnavigation of the Island. Thus we headed straight on to the little harbour of Cavo on the NE of the island. We found it quite choppy during the night - perhaps it was the wash from large ships passing through the nearby Piombino Channel. Rio Marina, a few miles down the coast from Cavo, has a Monday market and therefore we left early in order to catch it. There are working iron ore mines and a loading jetty just north of the harbour The town is quaint picturesque and slightly Victorian but everywhere seems to be covered in iron ore dust - Warning: Don't sit down in white shorts! After a long trip back to the mainland in light SE winds the crew revelled in the shower at Punta Ala whilst the skipper checked the car and trailer A meal out in one of the restaurants completed our first week of 89 nautical miles. A fellow trailer sailor's car and trailer (Dave Evans of Triskell II) had appeared in the car park. Before leaving England we had compared our cruising plans and knew that Dave might now be on the north coast of Elba. Setting out early the following day, we sailed the 23 miles round to Porto Ferraio taking lunch on the move (not our usual custom). On entering the ancient harbour Triskell's red hull was quickly spotted and Tiger Lily tied up alongside. A very pleasant evening was spent over several cans of local beer, exchanging tales about our Italian experiences and making a joint exploration of the town quay. Dave was bound for Corsica and next morning we gave him a cheery wave as he headed out of harbour. We then took the opportunity to visit Napoleon's house which stands on the hill behind the harbour. The house and rooms are more or less intact but the original furniture and pictures were dispersed. Many have since been recovered to provide an interesting Napoleonic museum. Having enjoyed a little bit of history, we then proceeded to a late lunchtime anchorage in the most northernly cove in the Golfo di Proccio. During the middle of the afternoon dark thunderclouds began building over Mount Capanne and Tiger Lily made a hasty retreat to the shelter of Marciana Marina. Lightning was illuminating the clouds but it seemed that the tall mountain was drawing most of the storm since we didn't see much rain at sea level. Our sail round the western end of Elba was again accompanied by the wind changing quite abruptly from a following to a head wind--that's what a 1018 metre mountain does for you! On our second call at Marina de Campo the harbour was comparatively empty, but it soon filled up after 4 pm. Next day, on venturing out to the edge of the bay (about 2 miles) into a strong headwind, it became too choppy and we returned to the comfort of the harbour and its pleasant beach. Later on the wind picked up from the north and began to jostle the boats together. Being one of the smallest, Tiger Lily was in danger of becoming squashed between two large fishing boats and it was necessary to move to another quay. Conditions were no better the following morning and the crew decided to get the bus to Porto Ferraio. However, the skipper discovered that a shackle on our second stern anchor had worked loose and the anchor now lay unattached at the bottom of the harbour. By using a mixture of sign language and sketches a local diver was persuaded to recover it. The skipper learnt the wisdom of wiring shackle pins. On leaving Marina di Campo, the gentle sail eastwards dulled the navigator's concentration (or was it the can of beer?) causing us to miss the hidden shingle cove west of the headland of Punta dei Riparti. Lunch was delayed until we found another delightful cove just round the headland. The changeable wind shifted yet again and we were forced to beat into Porto Azzuro where Tiger Lily enjoyed yet another evening anchored at the head of the bay. It was now our last day on Elba and after making a very early morning start, we motored in a flat calm to the little cove at Capo Ortano for breakfast. Being Monday again, it seemed right to call at the market at Rio Marina for souvenirs before saying good-bye to Elba. The North wind Force 3/4 produced a lovely broad reach eastwards back to Punta Ala. Tiger Lily was going so well that it was decided to carry on the extra 7 miles eastwards to the fishing harbour of Castiglione Della Pescaia. Despite the wind shifting westerly and creating quite a swell at the entrance, we were able to moor conveniently in the new yacht basin. An exploration of the shipyard facilities revealed that Tiger Lily could be craned out for about half the price charged at Punta Ala. It was also possible to store cars securely in a shed guarded by an Alsatian and to chain trailers to various pieces of fencing. Although tempted to use the local bus to go and fetch the car/trailer for Tiger Lily's recovery, we settled on the luxury of Punta Ala rather than the more primitive shipyard facilities at Castiglione. The return passage of 8 miles to Punta Ala started with a gentle following wind. However, this was not to last and we were soon being headed by a very light westerly. It was time to use the main 4hp engine but just 2 miles from harbour it developed a carburettor fault and began leaking petrol everywhere. The wind had now died completely and the final couple of sea miles of our holiday were accomplished using the inflatable's 2hp engine mounted on Tiger Lily's stern ladder. With the mountains of Elba standing out on the horizon we sadly prepared for the road journey home. Next morning Tiger Lily was craned out, washed down and secured on the trailer. By 12.45 pm we were on our way, ascending the twisting road out of the marina and heading north to join the Italian motorway at Livorno. Just two days later, despite a tyre blowout in mid France, Tiger Lily was parked at Le Havre awaiting the P&O car ferry. After a six hour Channel crossing (not bad for an 18 footer!) and a slight delay m satisfying the UK customs officer about Tiger Lily's pedigree, she was safely parked at home During the holiday Tiger Lily covered 1,800 road miles, 189 nautical miles and was afloat for 16 days -not much of a daily average, but we like to enjoy our glasses of wine anchored in beautiful coves and bays. This year's holiday was somewhat more expensive than our previous experiences in Spain and Yugoslavia--mostly due to dearer food, road tolls and craning fees. The marina expenses were cheaper because we only paid gratuities whilst in Elban harbours. Most of the time the wind was fairly light and variable and only two days were lost due to strong winds. The mountains created large wind distortions. Several times we found different winds on opposite sides of headlands. There also seemed to be a marked diurnal change, the wind reversing direction about 4am and 10am. Our 1989 holiday was more troublesome with the temporary loss of the second anchor, the main engine fault and a tyre blow out. Even so, we all voted it as one of our best holidays and the Island of Elba as our favourite cruising area. Elba offered beautiful scenery, character and history, the harbours were cheap and unspoilt, provisions were easy to obtain and the sailing were excellent. What more could anyone ask for?