Cala Santa Maria — Isola Santa Maria

About This Anchorage

Isola Santa Maria closes the north-east corner of the archipelago, a low granite island with a handful of private houses, a small chapel and some of the best sand in these waters. Cala Santa Maria, on its south side, is the practical alternative to Porto della Madonna: a wider bay, an easier approach, a park buoy field and shelter from the same Maestrale, at the cost of a little of the lagoon's magic. Crews who arrive in the afternoon and find Porto della Madonna full end up here, and rarely complain. The island's beaches — Cala Muro and the long sand at the island's western end — are among the archipelago's quietest, and the Passo degli Asinelli between Santa Maria and Razzoli gives a sheltered dinghy route through to the lagoon. Like everywhere in the park, the bottom is protected: use the buoys overnight and keep off the Posidonia by day.

Hazards

• !Open to the S and SE: good Maestrale shelter, but a Scirocco makes the bay uncomfortable and eventually untenable
• !Posidonia across parts of the bay floor: anchoring on it is prohibited and fined; use the buoys or verify sand visually
• !Passo degli Asinelli: the channel toward Razzoli is shallow and best taken by dinghy, not by a keeled yacht
• !Private property ashore: much of the island is privately held and landing outside the designated beaches is not permitted

Skipper's Tips

• →This is the fallback when Porto della Madonna is full — and it is a good one, not a consolation prize
• →The dinghy run through the Passo degli Asinelli into the lagoon takes minutes and is the best way to see all three islands in an evening
• →Wider swinging room than anywhere else at this end of the archipelago — worth choosing deliberately if you are a big boat
• →Watch for the wind backing into the south overnight: shelter here is from the NW, and the change is what catches crews out

Nearby Anchorages