David's Diary: Monday, June 10, 2002

Bastia, Corsica

Over the last two days we have rounded Cap Course, a place where the wind often blows more than gale force. We stopped overnight in the harbour at Macinaggio, arriving in a downpour. Summer has not quite arrived in the Mediterranean. Yesterday we made the short trip from Macinaggio to Bastia down the east coast of Corsica.

Our generator still will not start. We have been sent to Propriano and Calvi, where mechanics tried to fix the problem. Jeanneau now wants us in Bastia. The mechanic won't arrive until this afternoon, so we spend the morning exploring the town. The imposing facade of Eglise Jean Baptiste dominates the old harbour.

Eglise Jean Baptiste

Jocelyn, Karalee, and I walked up to the church. It is by far the largest one we have been inside on Corsica. We wandered around taking in the many side chapels, the ceiling, and the altar. We then headed to the wide Place St. Nicolas, a large square that dominates the newer part of the city next to the commercial port where ferries rush in and out all day long.

Our mechanic shows up in the afternoon and like the other two mechanics that have looked at the generator he is puzzled at what the problem is. But unlike the other two mechanics, this one speaks just enough English for us to communicate and rather than giving up at the first sign of trouble he perseveres. He makes a minor valve adjustment and that's enough to get the generator going again. We don't know if all our generator problems have been solved, but we are glad that the generator is starting once again. We plan to start anchoring out a lot more and the generator will let us be independent from the dock.