12th May

After three miles we turned the corner at the bottom of Sardinia and headed north along the east coast. It was a bit cold and I sat at the helm with a blanket wrapped round me. Otherwise it was the best conditions so far; a decent beam breeze, flattish seas and even large patches of blue sky. We passed a fishing boat called Alice going the other way. There was a military helicopter flying circles ahead. As we got level we were intercepted (again) and ordered four miles off shore. At least the wind direction didn't make this detour too onerous. The wind increased even further and we had long periods when we were moving at more than 7 knts despite our dirty bottom. Ten miles out from our destination the wind suddenly vanished so we slowly motored in. It was a long day but, eventually, after sailing 62 miles we tied up in the marina at Santa Maria Navarrese