Bay Sail

From: Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
To: Nora, Sardinia, Italy

Today we left Cagliari. The wind was very good to start with: 10 knots on the beam(the side of the boat). Another Belgian sailboat was leaving the harbor just before us. Racing time! I’m not very competitive — unless I’m sure I’m going to win. I lost no time getting our sails up, then darted forward to hoist the gennaker(a large light sail that is used when the wind comes _from the side_ of your boat), increasing our speed even more. We left them eating our bubbles.

The wind was coming from behind us a little while. We exchanged the gennaker for the spinnaker(a large light sail that is used when the wind comes _from behind_ your boat) and dropped the main. After half an hour, without warning, the wind shifted 180 degrees, now coming from straight in front of us. I groaned, we furled the spi, shifted our course, and tried to make the best of it. Close-hauled(sailing with the wind coming from almost the front of the boat) the rest of the way. The wind kept turning slowly, so every ten minutes I could shave 3 degrees of the course, bringing us slightly closer to our destination.

About two hours before sunset we tacked(turned so the wind comes from the other direction) and headed to the shore. I decided to anchor in Nora bay. It looked protected.

We arrived after nightfall in Nora bay. It seems that there’s an archeological site nearby, but we couldn’t make it out in the darkness.