Corsica

Typical afternoon wind

4–6 Beaufort · Mistral / Libeccio

Passage lengths

3–6 hours

Suits

Experienced skipper

Season

May–September

Mountains straight out of the sea, dramatic anchorages and weather that demands attention. Rewarding rather than relaxing.

Corsica is big and exposed, and a week only covers part of it. The south, between Ajaccio, Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio, is the usual choice and has the best shelter. The west coast is spectacular and far more committing, with long stretches and few alternatives if the libeccio swell gets up. The Bonifacio strait is a wind acceleration zone in its own right.

A typical week

1. Day 1 Ajaccio to Porto Pollo
2. Day 2 Propriano
3. Day 3 Bonifacio
4. Day 4 The Lavezzi archipelago
5. Day 5 Porto-Vecchio
6. Day 6 Back west along the south coast
7. Day 7 Ajaccio

Roughly 110 to 140 nautical miles over the week

Worth the detour

• Bonifacio's chalk-cliff harbour
• Scandola nature reserve on the west coast
• The Lavezzi archipelago
• Girolata, reachable only by sea or on foot

Watch out for

• The Bonifacio strait accelerates wind sharply
• West-coast anchorages are exposed to libeccio swell
• Distances are longer than the map suggests, do not over-plan the week

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