Gunkholing the Maddalenas

La Maddalenas, Sardinia Italy

Lying at the southern end of the Straight of Bonifacio, the La Maddalena Archipelago is a group of seven islands (known as the seven sisters) and 55 tiny issolatti (scraps of land). A geomarine Italian national park, La Maddalena spans more than 20,000 hectares of land and sea, and meanders along 112 miles of stunning granite coastline chiseled by the wind and currents.

We have a friend who loves La Maddalena and misses cruising there, and others who feel it is overcrowded, and overrated. We trust the sources of both opinions so we were confused about what to expect. But we know that different times and different situations influence views, first impressions are often dispelled with a closer look. So off we went to explore the La Maddalena Archipelago and see for ourselves.

When we turned Berkeley East into the first cove that we had selected, shock and disbelief was our reaction to what we saw. We had expected a lot of boats, it was nearly August after all, but there were a gazillion of them, everything from small inflatables to super yachts. Our second option was the same, jam-packed; we were beginning to grasp the overcrowded judgment. For a moment, we wanted to turn and run, but we brought out the cruising guides to search for alternatives instead.

Nearly two weeks later, we were still gunkholing around La Maddalena. Gunkholing is a boating term meaning wandering through coves that are shallow and difficult to navigate due to rocks and other obstacles, like a gazillion boats. We weren’t in a hurry, we knew it would be congested everywhere given that all of Europe was on holiday, and having Berkeley East at anchor in the islands was a better alternative for the sweltering August days, and hot August nights.

The Maddalena islands are a short distance from Sardinia, but just as Sardinians feel culturally distinct from the rest of Italy, the 10,000 island inhabitants, called Maddalenini, have always seen themselves as a world apart from Sardinia. The archipelago’s position in the Strait of Bonifacio made the island group a strategic military locale. From 1972 through 2008 there was a U.S. Naval Support Activity base, as well as a NATO base, in attendance. Abandoned military buildings can be seen on many of the shores.

We discovered gunkhole after gunkhole, all packed during the day with boats rafting together and super yachts squeezing in to be closer to shore, Italians baking on deck in the sun.

There is very little to do in the archipelago. Swimming, paddle boarding, long walks on the rocks, boat watching are the default activities.

Most boats would leave at the end of the day, going back to marinas for the night, and a sense of peace would fall upon the anchorages. Those left would gather on the decks of their boats to watch the sun set over the horizon. We came to appreciate the unique beauty of La Maddalena; it is understandable why a gazillion Italians choose the turquoise lagoons for an escape.