Sail to the Med: Côte d’Azur

Vicki and Andi Dunkel run sailing and diving holidays around Europe on board Isicia II, a classic 51 foot Beneteau First yacht. This year their route takes them from Scotland to the Mediterranean and here is the last travelbite from their ship’s log for this year:

We picked up our guests in Nice and sailed the short trip around Mont Boron into Rade de Villefranche, which has to be one of the most stunning anchorages along this coastline. The bay is well protected and offers great diving along both sides of the headlands.

Villefranche is a historic village on the north-western slopes off Mont Boron, and it has lovely cafes and restaurants tucked away along its narrow streets.

Our plan for the week is to sail as far as the Porquerolles islands, stopping off at Cannes and St. Tropez on the way.

Although it is autumn the weather is still warm and pleasant and all the busy anchorages are now quiet and tranquil in contrast to the busy summer months.

Just south of Cannes we anchored off the 17th-century Fort Royal on the north shore of Ile Ste-Marquérite, famous for the imprisonment of the Man in the Iron Mask.

In the morning there was not a breath of wind and the sea was like a huge mirror. We lifted our anchor and made our way towards St Tropez, along the red volcanic rocks of the Esterel massif and we were joined on our port side by several groups of dolphins. In the afternoon the wind started picking up and we enjoyed some exhilarating sailing in the Golfe de St Tropez.

During the following days we did some exciting sailing around the Porquerolles, the wind had been constantly blowing from the east making it easy to get there, but it took a hard graft to get back the following day, towards Nice.

Îles de’Hyères, commonly referred to as just the Porquerolles, include four islands. The islands have quite a colourful past - from early colonisation by the Greeks and Romans to the Middle Ages, when they were ransacked by pirates and corsairs. They now offer dazzling scenery and tranquil anchorages.

The following two days we needed to tack our way back to Nice. After a demanding day on the helm, what better way to relax than a scuba dive.

Back in Villefranche we prepared our scuba tanks and regulators and drove with the dingy along Cap Ferrat.

The water is still in the low 20s and the visibility around 20 meters, perfect conditions for an Introductory Dive (for people who never done any scuba diving before).

There was a multitude of fish, breams, wrasses and scorpion fish - we even saw a baby cuttlefish! After the dive we settled down in the cockpit with a nice drink, enjoying the sunset over the Côte d’Azur.

We had a fantastic crew, the weather was great, the sailing was exciting - what a week to end our 2006 season!

Isicia II is now going on dry dock in preparation for the 2007 season. Our 2007 route will start here in the French Riviera, then along the Italian Riviera crossing over to Elba and Corsica before heading back over to Rome.

Our next stop will be Capri and the islands off Naples before crossing over to the Aeolian islands off Sicily and finishing in Palermo.

To find out more about holidays on Isicia II (suitable for all experience levels) visit www.sailaway.eu.com or call (+44) 07904 267 561.

	The Fort Royal on the north shore of Ile Ste-Marquerite is famous for being where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned
	Groups of dolphins swam alongside Isicia II earlier in the day when sailing in the Golfe de St Tropez
	Rade de Villefranche is one of the most stunning anchorages along the Côte d’Azur