Here is a telling story about Corsica and Corsicans. Their flag is a black head in profile with a white headband. The head belonged to the leader of the Moorish troops that attempted to take over the "then" country of Corsica centuries ago. The Corsicans fought off the invasion, caught and beheaded the leader and paraded his melon around the island on a pike. "Don't Mess With Us," it seems to say. The flag is in essence a "state" flag since Corsica is a French province, although any Corsican will tell you that it is much better than the French mainland. Corsicans are a rough and rowdy lot - when a McDonald's opened in Corsica it was promptly bombed. No one was hurt but the message was received and McDonald's cleared off the island.

The Corsican Flag.

We departed for our night passage from the port of Alghero, Sardinia in sloppy seas left over from a Mistral. The swell was coming in large from the northwest, with the breeze blowing force 5 from the east. This made for an uncomfortable ride and some startling views of big swells rolling at us from the leeward side.

We had taken aboard two friends on break from college; both Larson and Gav managed to get their sea legs despite the rocky conditions. We managed to boat a couple of tuna and the weather finally shook out into a more normal pattern. Our plan was to meet up with some cruising friends in Girolata, a tiny village nestled in a rocky cove on the west coast.

The rising sun revealed the island thrusting steeply up from the turquoise sea in craggy confusion. The coast is all cliffs, spires and steep mountains brushed with shades of green and brown. Absolutely breathtaking. Perhaps it is this incredibly rough country that gives Corsicans their fiercely independent character. After all, a diminutive Corsican pretty much conquered all of Europe a few short centuries ago. Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica, and attended military school there before thrashing most of the armies in Europe.

We took a mandatory mooring at Girolata since there is no anchoring allowed. The mooring was both bow and stern. If the place was full, we would have been squashed in with 75 boats in the tiny harbor. As it was, we were one of perhaps half a dozen boats in the harbor. We met up with our friends on Cenou whom we haven't seen since Portugal eight months ago. Claude, Rike and their two daughters sail a catamaran similar to Zia. Our girls had a lot of catching up to do with their friends from Cenou, Celine and Anouk.

The adults took a scenic but rough hike up the side of the mountain to take in the views.

Zia and Cenou in Girolata.

We moved on the next day to explore some of the stark and deserted coves on the western coast. There is not much in the way of protection on the western coast of Corsica, so we were fortunate to have a weather window that allowed us to cruise the area for almost a week without having to run for cover.

Our guests Gav and Larson found a great side benefit of the steep sided coastline. They introduced us to the "sport" of cliff-jumping. We all gave it a whack, but I should say that Christy seemed to have better form than I, since she didn't scream like a baby all the way down.

Gav shows his jumping form.

We cruised the area for a few days, finding scenic deserted bays with very challenging anchoring conditions. The water was deep right up to the shore, and the bottom was often rock or gravel. We found ourselves relieved to anchor in anything less than 40 feet. Fortunately the calm weather held until we set a course south for the city of Bonifacio. An easy overnight sail would bring us through the straits of Bonifacio which separate Corsica and Sardinia.

Straits of Bonifacio.

Bonifacio is well protected with good shelter from both breeze and pirates - a huge castle and a fort, with a clear field of fire, loom over the entire harbor. It has influences of France, Italy and Corsica, and bistros offer up a wide selection of food from pastas and pizzas to crepes and even rabbit. Our young guests departed on one of the frequent ferries back to Sardinia, but not before polishing all of the stainless on board to a brilliant shine. We do so love having such able crew!

Bonifacio is a good choice as a home base for cruising the area between Sardinia and Corsica. Porto Cervo, the Maddelenas, Lavezzi and plenty more are scattered like jewels, all within an easy day's sail. The prevailing easterlies compress and venturi through the funnel of the straits, generating more breeze than the surrounding area.

A word of caution before sailing into Sardinia in the summer months. We had been warned about a cruising tax imposed by Sardinia on boats over 14 meters that visit, even for just a day, in June through September. The tax would have amounted to 500 euros or almost $700. We were assured that although the tax is on the books, they almost never enforce it. We took our chances and had no problem but until the tax is repealed, theoretically it could sting you.

To wind up our Corsican tour, we sailed around to the east side of the island to Porto Vecchio. This would be our jumping off point for the island of Elba off of Italy's northwest coast. The wind was blowing in the mid 20s and it was at just the right angle for an exhilarating afternoon of sailing.

Porto Vecchio, Corsica

We were pleased to find a good bottom at only 15 feet, so we anchored outside walls in the bustling harbor. A local hotel was broadcasting a strong Wifi signal across the bay so, along with a nice anchorage, we were treated to a few days of high speed internet. Porto Vecchio is one of the larger cities in Corsica, offering well stocked chandleries and plenty of great French restaurants. We loaded up on French food and wine, since our next stop would take us out of France for the foreseeable future.

The Corsicans we met were friendly and engaging. We get the impression that they appreciate the tourist dollars but they are not willing to sell their souls and sacrifice their lifestyle for tourism. Although we didn't get the chance to go into the interior, we have heard that it is a wonderful place to visit. We have our sights set on getting back to Corsica while we are still in the Med. It offers up pretty much everything that we like in a place, and we can even deal with not having a McDonald's.