The sound of a striking match echoes from the jagged walls of the cave - pitch black and cleaved into the cliffs of Cala Fuili, a pebbled beach near Cala Luna on Sardinia’s east coast. The small cavity is flooded with light, revealing several objects that look as if they don’t quite belong in this neglected cave. Soot marks are etched on the cave’s walls and some initials - CJ - are scrawled above a battered old wooden leg and a tombstone engraved with a skull and crossed swords. It’s the emblem of Calico Jack, the pirate we’ve been tracking, searching for the treasure he is alleged to have left in his wake.
Here among the scalloped bays and shimmering sands of Sardinia, I’m on a treasure hunt. A typical yacht charter cruising along a coastline