Philip Mikal - Early Stage Startup Founder

Philip J Mikal

Hong Kong Maritime Museum - Stanley, Hong Kong Island

The grocery delivery to provision our boat arrived in the late afternoon. After a quick breifing, SV Jacar� left Ajaccio, Corsica. Winds were rather lite, so I motor-sailed us south down the coast about four hours to Propriano. Propriano has a beautiful natural harbor that while once was quite successful, fell victim to ongoing pirate raids. The local government has rebuilt over the recent 15 years, but the town maintains it's unfinished appearance. Here we had our first taste of the wonderful Corsican ice cream at La Gelateria De La Marine, just a few steps from our boat.
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Continuing our sail south, we hit the only rough seas of the trip head on in about 20 knots of wind. I navigated closer to shore for calmer weather just in time for an early evening swim and drink of local vodka in the Golfo di Murtoli. Murtoli is a popular destination for cruising yachts in the south of Corsica. Some neighboring Italian men, also anchored in Murtoli, swooped in on their dinghy and tried to charm Meryl and Christine while I was below deck!
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It was a quick trip from Murtoli to Bonifacio, which everyone agreed was the best stop on our trip. Bonifacio enjoys a superbly isolated location at the southernmost tip of Corsica. The town is hidden by a peninsula that creates a natural harbor. Sailing in, Bonifacio slowly reveals itself from the dazzling white limestone cliffs and is unlike any other town in Corsica. As we came in early in the afternoon, the harbormaster gave us a great slip. Literally steps from dozens of restaurants and shops. After getting settled, the 148 foot MY Atlantic Goose arrived, causing quite a stir.
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The main part of Bonifacio is basically the marina and the haute ville. The haute ville is a maze of narrow streets built into the top of the cliffs overlooking the marina. Most restaurants seem to serve pizza, which I continued a trend of eating almost everywhere we went. More suprising was that every pizza was great - Corsica's close proximity to Italy has left it heavily influenced by their neighbor's taste in food. We spent two full days in Bonifacio. The second was mostly exploring the town and a dinghy excursion to some neaby caves and snorkeling off the southern cliffs. If you are ever in Corsica or Sardinia, I highly recommend spending at least a day here in one of the most romantic towns in the Med.
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We tried to catch an earlier flight out of Ajaccio with no luck and finished our boating journey walking around the old town. Most of it was closed in the afternoon and we sat to drink Perrier with mint at Fashion Coffee. Before heading to the airport, we strolled around shopping for clothes while I had yet another ice cream.
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...finishing up in Monaco & Cannes.