Nizza - Marseille - Cannes in unsettled weather

My next crew Robert, his son Konsti, Richard and Gusti arrived in Nice and we set sail southwest for Iles Lerins with a forecast of a westerly 5 bft on September 5th.  For the first 4 hours it was nice sailing with lot of tacking, but near Cap Antibes the wind got stronger and very gusty up to 35 knots and unexpected high waves. For my new crew it was a rather tough test on their first sailing day, which they mastered professionally. A bit tired we anchored northeast of Ile Maguerite and then moved into the canal between Iles Lerins in the evening.

Next day we sailed further southwest to Saint Tropez with slight easterly winds and finally anchored in Anse des Canebiers, where Robert and Konsti prepared an exquisite Cote du Boef and made the whole crew very happy.



September 7th we motored west and took a nice swim at beautiful Baie Briande. In the afternoon we sailed to Bourmes Les Mimosas where we moored in the nice marina. The weather forecast for the next days was rather grim, so we decided to stop for 2 nights and visit the picturesque village of Bourmes up in the mountains and had a nice dinner in the marina at La Brasserie du Port.
With strong easterly winds we sailed next day at good speed around Ile de Port-Cros, through Seche de Ribaud, passed Cap Sicie, navigated through the shallow Passage du Embiez and finally anchored on sand northeast of Ile Embiez in Pointe du Canuvie.

In the morning of September 10th we motored further west and passed the beautiful calanques, through Plateau des Chevres and then north into the Bay of Marseille, where we finally moored in the port of Iles du Frioul. Next day we motored into Marseille Vieux Port, which was completely full for a planned regatta and then sailed back east to Cassis, where we had a extraordinary dinner at the small restaurant La Defonce. Next day Robert and Konsti had to leave for their flight back to Vienna. Gusti, Richard and I stayed in port for two more nights because of very bad weather. So we visited La Ciotat and Marseille by train.

In the night to September 14th we had a very strong thunderstorm and the steering console AP20 for my Simrad autopilot died after 12 years of good service. After some fiddling with electronic circuits I was happy to replace it with a hand held remote device AP21. The streets in Cassis were a mess of mud and debris. Water in the port was of bright yellow color. So we left Cassis, motored into Calanques d'En Vau, Port Pin and Port Miou, and sailed back east with strong westerly winds and finally moored in Vieille Darse  in Toulon, where in the evening we had to look for two hours for an open restaurant in this dead looking city and finally found Le Bistrot de l'Opera  for a well-aged cote de boeuf.

September 15th we sailed further east with nice southwesterly winds and passed Caps Meridonal, Benat, Ladier, and Cap Camarat and anchored again in save Baie des Canubiers east of Saint Tropez. After a quiet night we continued east tacking in rather strong northeasterly winds in 2nd reef and spent the night at anchor south of Ile Maguerite. Next day we rounded Île Saint-Honorat and moored safely in the old port of Cannes and had a luxury dinner at restaurant Mantel. After a day of sightseeing Gusti and Richard left for Vienna and I waited for my last crew to arrive for our final cruise to Licata.



We sailed 70h and logged 320sm in 13 days.

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Sailing Cote d'Azur with my 2 year old grandson

On August 23rd my grandson Jonas arrived in Port Golfe Juan on board with his parents Isabella and Matthias. After provisioning we motored next day into the Bay of Cannes, where we observed great fireworks at night. Next day we anchored south of Ile Maguerite for two days of swimming, which Jonas enjoyed very much.

August 27th we moored in the Port of Cannes and had a nice dinner at Au Martin Pecheur. Next morning we bunkered some food at the beautiful Marche Forville and then anchored in the bay of Thoule sur mer, where Jonas and his parents enjoyed the beautiful sand beaches for two more days.

On Sunday, August 30th we rounded Cap Antibes and anchored in Anse Garoupe, where Jonas played at the sandy beach. Next day afternoon we continued to Port Vauban, where we had to wait for two hours until the portmaster was able to show us our mooring place which we reserved 2 days ahead. In the evening we took a long stroll in the beautiful city of Antibes.

Next morning we sailed with a nice southwestery breeze along Nice airport and city. After a heavy shower we dropped anchor in the bay of Villefrance. September 2nd we moored in Nice in Port Lympia, enjoyed the city and had a wonderful dinner at Le passe-plat near the port.

Next day we bought some delicacies at Nice market and then Jonas, Isabella and Matthias left for Vienna and I waited for the next crew to arrive.

We sailed 19h and logged 49sm in 10 days.




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