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JimB Sail newsletter
Once every few months we'll email you about site additions and cruising news - unless you unsubscribe, of course!
French Corsica, including Elba and the Bonifacio straits, offers excellent cruising. The west coast includes some of the most dramatic scenery of the Mediterranean. Add hundreds of coves with brilliant white beaches, many islets, little intrusive development, plenty of anchorages, good marinas, attractive old town centres, and you'll need much more than four weeks for a thorough exploration. Or allow two weeks to circumnavigate visiting just the highlights.
The sunny season is long, with only occasional interruptions of unsettled weather, May to early October. Summer winds around Corsica include periods of strong westerlys - an extension of the Mistral. These blow particularly strongly (F7 is quite common and F 9 not unknown) past the north cape of Corsica, and between Corsica and Sardinia in the Bonifacio Strait. Otherwise, brisk NW sea breezes are common on the west coast, making anticlockwise circuits of the island easier. Frequent winter Mistrals make winter sailing around W Corsica very uncomfortable indeed, with big winds and significant swell.
During peak season (French and Italian holidays; mid-July to late August) the cruising area between Corsica and Sardinia becomes over-crowded. Book ahead or arrive early to guarantee marina space. 
The shoulder seasons (the further from the peak the better) are still busy, but cruising is then much more relaxed.
On this page, harbours and anchorages are listed anti-clockwise from Bastia. This uses prevailing sea breezes best. Ports are busy in high season, and it's best to book ahead if your French is reasonable:
The coast from Bastia to Cap Corse is easily reached from the Tuscan islands, and can make a good one week tour for a short charter from Elba. North from Bastia there are several quiet sandy coves, good for lunch stops.
Bastia, Vieux port, is a delightful place to stop, with a lovely old town centre and a lively market, but it's never easy to find a berth. If you do find one, and feel like a really good meal, 'La Citadelle is recommended - not cheap, but very good. It's in the centre of the 'La Citadelle' on the south side of the old port.
Port Toga 3km north of Bastia has big supermarket nearby. If you have a day to spare, take the train over to Ajaccio and back to see some stunning scenery.
Macinaggio. Anchoring off is a possibility if the marina is full. This is a good spot to wait if the mistral is doing its periodic westerly blast past Cap Corse.
The West Coast of Corsica from Cap Corse to Ajaccio passes some brilliant white sand beaches and holiday country, then leads to some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the Mediterranean, often with a wind from aft.
Centuri is a tiny but very pretty harbour just around the top pf cape Corse. No room for visitors.
St Florent has a large marina. If full, there are reasonably sheltered anchorages just west, subject to some refracted swell. This is a pleasant holiday town with good nearby beaches. The main square comes to life in the evenings as families stroll around the cafés and restaurants.
L'Île Rousse has a marina with sheltered anchoring nearby.
Beaches. The coast from L'Île Rousse to Calvi is serious holiday country, with many coves and beaches between the two towns. Some are quiet, others are hidden beneath rows of brollies and chairs. Both towns are lively in the holiday season. These beaches are exposed to NE sea breezes which pick up most afternoons.
Calvi looks really beautiful as you approach it, and an interesting town, not to be missed. It's full of restaurants and cafés, but, as usual in holiday towns, the best value for money lies in the back streets, away from the sea views. The marina at Calvi is likely to be full in the season unless you arrive early, but there are plenty of buoys at a reasonable price (includes the use of toilets, dinghy mooring when going ashore and water). Alternatively, anchor outside the mooring field. Good shopping for provisions, chandlers and repair facilities.
Réserve Naturel de Scandola' 12nm SW of Calvi along the coast is a stunning a headland of amazing slabs of multicoloured rocks, clefts and caves rising straight out of the sea, rich with rare wild life. Just before the Reserve, there is a good, quiet anchorage at Galéria. Seals and dolphins are common around here, and some osprey.
Girolata is a tiny village only accessible by sea with some well-organised moorings. It's just south of the impressive Ile de Gargalu. In peak season, trippers crowd the place by day, but many disappear at night, leaving a quiet bay in a lovely stetting. The restaurants are nothing special.
Cargèse is a good visit, with a cemetery right by the harbour and two churches, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox facing each other across the valley. Uniquely (probably), they share the same priest. Take exercise by climbing to the village to a supermarket. Buy enough and they bring you and the shopping back to the boat.
Porto, at the head of the gulf just south, is an anchorage only in fair winds with some shallow berths, but again, stunning scenery - especially the needles of pink granite on the south side as you exit the gulf. It's misnamed on the map - cross off the "pollo" bit!
Sagone anchorage and moorings are quiet at night after the day boats and water skiers have gone.
Ajaccio is a good stop when going north or south. It has two marinas (crowded in high season) and an area for anchoring off the town. Wintering is feasible, with the airport close by; but book well ahead. From the north you approach around the Iles Sanguinaires – so called because of the reputation for taking lives. Anchoring is possible in settled weather.
There are several anchorages leading to the Golfe de Valinco, and in the Gulf, several more, so it is usually easy to find one sheltered from the wind of the day
Propriano at the head of the gulf is a holiday destination, with first class beaches nearby. It is quite likely to be full in season and can be expensive.
Porto Pollo, north side of the gulf entrance, is better, offering free hot water showers and a superb Spar supermarket. On the map, it's position is wrong!
Westerly winds through the Bonifacio straits, channelled between Corsica and Sardinia, often reach F7. This area is a popular cruising ground, sharing the extensive Maddalena and Lavezzi Archipelagos, together with a host of local anchorages on the main island coastlines.
Bonifacio, at the southern tip, is a 'must see', just for its exotic cliff-top setting above layers of limestone carved by the strong straits winds. The harbour is excellently sheltered, and the town above (big flight of steps to climb) is an interesting place to explore. Restaurants and cafés up top are much better value for money than the posh joints around the marina.
The Lavezzi Archipelago, east of Bonifacio, offers some challenging pilotage around the nature reserve (great for rock dodgers) a 3nm x 2nm mass of islands, islets, rocks and lovely small anchorages. The area is 'regulated' to control potential damage to the sea bed.
North of the Lavezzi, after the first rather muddy inlet, is a 20nm succession of spectacular bays and beaches until the Golfe de Pinarellu. Some are big, some small.
Golfe de Porto-Vecchio is the biggest inlet, with a marina, a brilliant turquoise bottom, lots of anchoring space, and some fine stretches of sand, although ugly developments spoil parts of the shoreline. The town of Porto-Vecchio is a lively holiday resort. Watching smart Italians displaying around the square of the old town is good entertainment in high season. Hundreds of makes of beer available at the noisy 'Pub de Bastion' in the NE corner of the old town.
If you're returning north to Elba after cruising S Corsica, use the east coast. It's less interesting but easier than beating north along the west coast against the sea breezes. After the Golfo Pinarellu, There are two marinas in the middle of nowhere in particular, thus reasonable value:
Solenzara is a thriving, pleasant small town with good provisioning and chandlers. Marina is suitable for economic over-wintering; travel lift.
Campoloro (PortoTaverna) is somewhat sleepy. The bottom is thick glutinous mud and the entrance can get blocked by decaying seaweed. Its main attraction is its proximity to the south of Elba and lower prices. Try the Cinderella restaurant.
Reviewed April 2017
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