his legacy is everywhere on this glorious island from roads and agriculture to the design of the local flag, napoleon bonaparte transformed elba when he was banished here in 1814 famously, he didn't stay for long it was 200 years ago that he escaped, bound for waterloo and on to a more permanent exile in st helena but the locals still revere the celebrity prisoner who, for just under a year, was formally recognised as the king of elba inviting: the pretty harbour of portoferraio in elba, an island which lies just 12 miles off the coast of tuscany  in this anniversary year, there are plenty of pageants and parades in his honour yet, as i sit bobbing on the waters below his villa, i can't help thinking that napoleon must have spent his later years wondering why he ever left for there is something magical, something other about elba half the size of the isle of wight, this fish shaped island has 3,000ft peaks, coral reefs, beaches of every complexion and italy's lowest crime rate though just 12 miles off the coast of tuscany, it bears little resemblance to the chi chi tourist trap of chiantishire the vast majority of visitors who make the one hour ferry crossing from piombino are ordinary italians (we don't meet a briton all week) with a tiny airport, it has been spared major development, and half of its 85 square miles area is national park many beaches and bays can be reached only by hiking, biking or, better still, by boat that is why elba is perfect for a sailing holiday, whether you are a sailor or not a comfortable six bed, 40ft yacht can be a lot cheaper than a hotel or villa you'd be hard pushed to find a view to match the one from our deck as we sit back, beer in hand, and watch the sun set behind monte capanne blissful bobbing: lovely porto azzurro is an ideal place to drop anchor, perfect for pizzas and people watching  kent based nautilus yachting has yachts all over the med and has been organising charters around elba and the tuscan archipelago for years we settle on a bavaria 40, a popular cruising yacht with a flip down bathing platform at the back little sailors: robert's children adored life on board  the only question is: who will do the sailing? nautilus can organise a skipper for £90 a day but having been messing around in boats since childhood, i want to take charge you might almost call it a napoleon complex (my wife does) so i have to go back to school the basic requirement for renting anything larger than a day boat is the royal yachting association's day skipper certificate, within easy reach of the average dinghy sailor it involves a five day practical sailing course plus a detailed theory course you can do the latter online, but you must live aboard for the practical part sunsail runs flotillas and courses all over the world, and i join the fleet on the solent it proves invaluable; after five days mixing with ferries, container ships and hovercraft in one of europe's busiest sealanes, i am more than ready to steer a course for elba and you don't have to worry about tide in the tyrrhenian sea we pick up the boat at puntone di scarlino, a mainland marina 90 minutes by car from pisa airport cleverly designed, it has three double cabins, two separate shower/loo rooms   plus a shower on deck   and a solar panel for extra power setting off in napoleon's wake, we are swimming off elba's eastern shores three hours later i had feared that our three children would soon start moaning   or being sick but they adore life aboard we keep the sailing to an hour or two each morning before dropping the anchor in a pretty bay, swimming and exploring in the rubber dinghy (every boat comes with one) i had hoped to spend a night or two on the quayside in a pretty little fishing town such as marciana marina on elba's northern coast, but there's no chance in mid august (unless you know the harbour master) so we anchor off towns like porto azzurro and go ashore for pizzas, ice cream and people watching, then head back   by torchlight   to our haven, far from the nightlife favoured spot: the gulf of biodola has a three mile crescent of sand   as well as elba's smartest hotel  elba's capital, portoferraio, is well worth a visit walk through the old town to the ramparts at the top napoleon lived up here and his villa is now a popular museum you don't need to eat on the waterfront; the best local food is to be found in the back streets a few miles further along the coast, we find our favourite spot, the gulf of biodola this three mile crescent of sand, where the trees come right down to the water, is home to elba's smartest hotel, the hermitage when daddy's attempt at spaghetti al pesto results in a thumbs down followed by a mutiny, we jump in the dinghy and, five minutes later, are at the poolside buffet more adventurous sailors would, no doubt, sail right around the island, taking in the wild western shores some would trek up to the mountain town of capoliveri or strike out for the other islands in the tuscan archipelago   or even reach napoleon's native island of corsica pottering along at our child friendly pace, we only do half of elba and i never do find the place where napoleon hatched his escape plan never mind it means that, unlike him, we will have to return british airways (0844 493 0787; bacom) flies to pisa from £82 return nautilus yachting (01732 867 445; nautilusyachtingcom) offers seven night yacht charters in the tuscan archipelago from £1,149, excluding flights sunsail (020 3393 0924; sunsailcouk) has day skipper practical courses at port solent from £459 first sail (0330 223 2533; firstsailtrainingcouk) does online skipper courses from £285
italian elba napoleon
the small italian island of elba is a perfect setting for a sailing holiday . sailing breaks can mean access to coves and bays only reachable by boat . famously, elba played host to napoleon during his first time in exile 