Yacht Charter Elba – Capital of the Tuscan Archipelago
The main things that attract sailors to
the largest island of the Tuscan archipelago, Elba, are its Italian charm, the rustic appeal and the privileged position between the Tyrrhenian and the Ligurian Seas. Also, it happens to be the third largest island in
Italy after
Sicily and
Sardinia and an integral part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago, but that’s just one of the reasons crews come here.
The island of
yacht charter Elba is the only part of land remaining of an ancient causeway that used to link Corsica to the Italian peninsula, 50 km east of Corsica and under 10km from the Tuscan coast. The north shore faces the Ligurian Sea, the east shore the Piombino channel, while the southern one the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its highest point, Mount Capanne (1018m), in the west, offers the best views of the overall geography of the island.
The first thing you’ll notice once you set foot ashore together with your group will be a form of spontaneous vegetation the locals call “macchia” which is common to this part of the
Mediterranean. It’s made up of shrubs and aromatic plants mostly that form an evergreen blanket over the island. Also, some of the endemic animal species that you can find here include the mouflon and the wild boar.
The local vegetation is sustained by a Mediterranean climate, which covers most of yacht charter Elba, except for the Mount Capanne region where the temperatures during the cold season are lower. The rest of the year, air and water temperatures are pleasant with very few rainy days. The average temperature in winter is 14 degrees, 14 in spring and 23 in summer.
The first settlers of the island came here for the ferrous deposits. The first were the Ligures Ilvati, followed shortly by the Etruscans and the Romans who further developed ore mining in the region. When the Roman power faded, the island came under constant siege by Saracens and barbarians. From the 11th century on it changed hands between the various counts and lords that succeeded in Italy.
Interestingly, one of the most famous names in history, Emperor Napoleon, is linked with this island, a name that still draws tourists to these shores even today. Today, the island is rather famed for its wines and tourist facilities rather than its history. The most important city is Portoferraio.
The reason for
yacht charter Elba’s good sailing potential is its odd shape and the nature of its shores affords the skipper lots of places for anchorage as there are good natural bays around its entire coast, close in between, and those close to cities come with marinas as well.
Good weather throughout the year affords skippers to be sailing here even in winter. But there are some local peculiarities that you’ll have to be mindful of – like the local winds. The hot Scirocco comes in from the southeast, the cool Mistral from the northwest and the more dangerous Libeccio from the southwest and Westerly from the West. These have more power to raise big waves but they seldom blow along the coast.