The Tuscan Archipelago is Europe’s largest marine park — seven main islands scattered across the Tyrrhenian Sea. The water between them is some of the clearest in Italy, and the anchorages that empty of engine noise feel almost unreal at sunset.

Elba is the third-largest Italian island and still has barely a high-rise in sight. You do not visit it by coach — you anchor off a granite cove, swim off the transom and watch the sun drop behind Monte Capanne. That is the whole itinerary.

Local sailors will tell you the real secret is the wind: the afternoon breeze off the Tyrrhenian arrives almost like clockwork, gives you a few hours of perfect sailing, then eases at sunset. Plan your hops around it and you look like a genius.

A modern 41-footer does not heel hard, does not roll and does not rush. Your morning coffee stays in the cup, your guests stay in a good mood, and the skipper gets to look like the calmest person on the Tyrrhenian.

Piombino sits right at the mouth of the channel to Elba, which means you can be at anchor off a Tuscan island within a couple of hours of leaving the dock. Few marinas in the Mediterranean put you this close to genuine island cruising.