smime.p7s
Description: S/MIME cryptographic signature
37:21.7N 10:18.9E
40:54.9N 12:56.8E
After 24 hours of sailing/motoring we arrive at the stunning Lucia Rosa bay on Ponza for some swimming and relax.
Back on 23rd June in Sicily were I joined Roberto who just said goodbye to his family I found myself on naughty Girl whose engine decided it was not happy and neither was Roberto… We had it dismantled and discovered that a few pieces were faulty so have had to order them and guess what ? They will take about 5 days (not included week-end of course…) to get there - hence our planned schedule to sail slowly to Naples to pick up some friends on Friday is going to be reshuffled big time - but such is life on a boat…
We were extremely sorrrrrry not to be able to honour our schedule and pick up some dear friends close to Naples to sail with them to Rome. First time we were not able to do this and very frustrating for us and for them, even if they have been wonderful and totally understood that it was waaaaay beyond our control...
While waiting for the pieces to arrive, we are doing our best to occupy ourselves and visit places that are nice around Milazzo (which is not very nice except for 1 or 2 bits). For example we rented a car to visit the city of Palermo which we both very much enjoyed.
In particular :
Il Palazzo dei Normanni which is home to Sicily's regional parliament and that dates back to the 9th century.
Unfortunately we were not able to visit this place as it was closed to visitors at that very moment…so we were not able to visit the apparently magnificent “Cappella Palatina” - a pity.
La Cattedrale di Palermo which is a prime example of Sicily's unique Arab-Norman architectural style and very peculiar, yet interesting !
The Quattro Canti corner - The origins of the Quattro Canti date back to 1600, when the Senate of Palermo decided to create a new street, Via Maqueda, to intersect with what is now Via Vittorio Emanuele and divide Palermo “into four noble parts”. Piazza Vigliena was thus formed at the intersection of these two streets. In 1608, they decided to architecturally unify the four buildings that bordered it. A very special corner for sure !
Il teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele which when inaugurated in 1897 was the biggest opera in Italy and the third biggest in Europe (behind that of Paris and Viena). It still welcomes some very important operas.
Numerous churches, some magnificent, some a bit less. We saw numerous weddings on that day which means we were able to enter many more churches than normally as in general they are closed in the afternoons !
Coming back from Palermo and given the busy traffic and the bad road - a lottttt of tunnels with “so to say” roadworks but in effect just parts of roads closed for no apparent reasons…and probably for ever... - we decided to stop in Cefalu - were there is a very beautiful “passeggiata” on the seaside and which has charming narrow streets. Its stunning UNESCO classified Cathedral hooked to the rocks of the same colour is very impressive. We had a nice dinner-aperitif there and witnessed an extra-ordinary sunset.
The day after we used our rented car to go to the "Capo Milazzo" - and from there we walked in the marine protected area of Capo Milazzo down to the "bains de vénus” a beautiful rock pool where I very much enjoyed swimming - beyond the rock pool of course !!
We also acted as real “tourists” and took the ferry (no comments…) to go to Lipari Island (by now we knew the ferries schedule by heart…) after Tanya’s great yoga session. Yet as we were getting ready Roberto learnt that the engine piece he ordered had arrived in Milazzo and he thought it might be a good idea, to speed things up..., to drive this piece to Messina - the place where the other engine pieces were to arrive. So we delayed by one day our planned trip which allowed me to do some washing and cleaning of the boat !
Our trip to Lipari - the biggest and busiest of the Eolian Island was actually very nice - after trying to walk (and Tanya did NOT like it in the middle of the day) we took a bus to go to a very nice beach (Spiaggia bianca) so that I could have a swim, then we visited the castle, the 2 harbours and wandered (and I did some shopping…) through the village.
On the Sunday we were invited by an ex-colleague and friend of Roberto and his wife to visit them in their family summer house in Messina. We spent a nice time with them and saw from their terrace - the Messina strait and the very particular “sword fish” fishing boats which I love to watch. Except this, not much to see in Messina…
We spent time enjoying some Sicilian food and drinks - e.g. the “real” granita, the cornetti alla ricotta, the cannoli Siciliani, the gelati, seafood pasta, etc. - how much weight we put on, hmmm we do not know…yet.
Roberto was sweet enough to almost everyday take me out in with “Mini" (our dinghy) for a swim - for my mental health sanity :)
We invited onboard for an aperitif the captain of a beautiful wooden sailing boat which we visited (very “old fashion style and dark inside). The guy is the captain of this boat for a couple of weeks only as his regular work is to serve as the captain of a motor mega yacht based in Montecarlo. It happened that he knew a lot of people Roberto knew and in particular Roberto’s mentor at medical University - what a small world !
And finally we did some work on the boat and each of us for ourselves !
So you see we tried to make the most of our almost 2 weeks in Milazzo but we are SOOOO happy to go sailing again, even if on a rushed trip !
We were extremely sorrrrrry not to be able to honour our schedule and pick up some dear friends close to Naples to sail with them to Rome. First time we were not able to do this and very frustrating for us and for them, even if they have been wonderful and totally understood that it was waaaaay beyond our control...
Pour des raisons personnelles la co-capitaine Tanya à voulu rentrer en Suisse. Cela n’a pas empêché - et heureusement - Roberto d’embarquer son frère Paolo et sa femme, Marina et un des fils, Lupo à Catane pour une “virée” dans les îles éoliennes !
Pendant cette semaine, ce “club des 4” ont, d’après ce que j’ai compris en retrouvant Roberto vendredi passé (23 Juin) :
- Mangés comme des “papes” - car Paolo (comme Roberto biensûr) est un chef hors paire ! Roberto a définitivement gagné au change à ce niveau là :)
- Mouillés à Scilla à côté de ces bateaux très particuliers qui font la pêche à l’espadon et mangé de l’espadon frais - MIAMMMM !
- Vu entre Vulcano et Milazzo une miriade de dauphins, grands et très petits, magique il parait !
- Nagé dans les bulles de gaz de soufre près de Panarea
- Vu le Stromboli en activité - les laves qui tombent dans la mer de nuit…un vrai spectacle !
- Mangés des “tonnes” de biscuits aux amandes et de cannoli siciliani - enfin surtout Lupo !
- Essayé de se baigner dans des zones sans méduses…
- Evité de tomber définitivement en panne de moteur, malgré les problèmes de moteur...
… et mis les voiles 2 x - miracles !!!!! ::::))))
La bonne nouvelle c’est que tout ce petit monde a passé une très bonne semaine, et la mauvaise c’est que moi, la co-capitaine je n’ai pas eu l’opportunité de partager ces beaux moments avec eux mais “c’est la vie” et il y aura d’autres occasions j’en suis certaine !
Pendant cette semaine, ce “club des 4” ont, d’après ce que j’ai compris en retrouvant Roberto vendredi passé (23 Juin) :
- Mangés comme des “papes” - car Paolo (comme Roberto biensûr) est un chef hors paire ! Roberto a définitivement gagné au change à ce niveau là :)
- Mouillés à Scilla à côté de ces bateaux très particuliers qui font la pêche à l’espadon et mangé de l’espadon frais - MIAMMMM !
- Vu entre Vulcano et Milazzo une miriade de dauphins, grands et très petits, magique il parait !
- Nagé dans les bulles de gaz de soufre près de Panarea
- Vu le Stromboli en activité - les laves qui tombent dans la mer de nuit…un vrai spectacle !
- Mangés des “tonnes” de biscuits aux amandes et de cannoli siciliani - enfin surtout Lupo !
- Essayé de se baigner dans des zones sans méduses…
- Evité de tomber définitivement en panne de moteur, malgré les problèmes de moteur...
… et mis les voiles 2 x - miracles !!!!! ::::))))
La bonne nouvelle c’est que tout ce petit monde a passé une très bonne semaine, et la mauvaise c’est que moi, la co-capitaine je n’ai pas eu l’opportunité de partager ces beaux moments avec eux mais “c’est la vie” et il y aura d’autres occasions j’en suis certaine !
moored in front of Stromboli volcano, magnificent!
After two (one to get to Portopalo (south of Sicily and one to cross from there to Malta) long pretty uncomfortable navigations - meaning a swell coming from the side of the boat and little wind coming from the back - we were pleased to arrive in Marina di Valletta in Malta. Leaving PortoPalo we saw the recently (2017) build luxury charter yacht RHEA full sails out - beautiful ! Entering the marina is beautiful as the marina is located below the majestic historic fortifications of Valletta City, the Capital of Malta.
Our dear friends Ingrid and Jean-Luc - who landed on that same day and who are regularly sailing with us joined us on that same evening.
The next day was spent :
1. Grocery shopping - well I should say - given that Roberto discovered that Greens Supermarket delivered food on the boat till midnight - ordering online our food which we asked to be delivered between 9 and 12 pm (and we were indeed delivered at 11 pm…) !
2. Visiting la Valletta which is recognised by UNESCO for its historical - marked by the Order of Malta - and cultural value and which is Malta’s capital was very interesting! We saw many buildings with baroque character. The Roman Catholic Co-Cathedral of St. John’s the Baptist is mind-boggling. It was started in 1572 and finished in 1577 and is considered to be one of the best example of the high Baroque architecture anywhere in Europe and easy to believe that is true ! The Grand Master’s palace - one of the first building built in Valletta in 1571 and which host currently the President’s office and the House of Representative is well worth looking at, although we could not visit the interior.
Walking in the alleys of the Upper Barrakka Gardens - namely colonnaded gardens - is beautiful as from there is a wonderful view of the island of Malta.
3. We then took a small wooden boat (like the ones you see in Asia) to visit the Vittoriosa peninsula and in particular to wander its empty narrow streets, the first house build on the peninsula, and wander Vittoriosa’s waterfront.
The next day we motored (no wind) along the beautiful south/south west coast of Malta which has impressive sheer drop cliffs as high as 250 meters made of yellow, white and sometimes red coloured rocks and that appear as natural forts. We stopped in the nice bay of Il Bajja Foramer Rhin for lunch and then passed in front of both the crystal and blue lagoons around Comino island (yet did not stop as it was Sunday and full of boats !) then we crossed (very short crossing) to the island of Gozo - we moored in the very busy (lots of passengers boats) Mgarr Harbour from where we visited the impressive Citadel of Victoria. The Cittadella contains churches and other historic buildings, and from there is an impressive view of both the rest of Gozo island and of Malta island !
The next day we had a gentle sail on the west coast of Gozo and stopped in the breath taking bay of Il- Gabla Tal-General. The bay is partially “encircled” by the fungus rock - a 65 meter high rock on which grows specific plants with apparently a lot of virtues... and still protected today. From there we took our dinghy to pass through a cave in the form of a long tunnel that leads us to an interior salted lake. Quite special I must say ! After lunch we had a walk on the cliffs and visited the Dwejra tower. The building of the tower was completed in 1652. The main reason why the tower was built was to act as a watch post to supervise any Ottoman fleets in the vicinity. However another factor possibly influenced this decision – the presence of the General’s Root plant (Scientific name: Cynomorium coccineum) on the nearby Fungus/General’s Rock which was thought to have special Medicinal powers, curing any type of disease including syphilis. To prevent thieves from climbing, the sides of the rock were smoothened in 1744 and the only access was by means of a wooden box which ran on two ropes by means of four small wheels. One can still observe parts of the mechanism used for this purpose. Theft was punishable by death sentence. The General’s Rock is now a nature reserve, so access is still strictly limited.
We then had an exhilarating sail back to Malta island - in one of the only bay protected from the forecasted heavy wind - namely Ir-Ramia a’Ghan Tuffieha close to “Golden Beach".
As forecasted the next day was very windy - gust at 35 knots which means that Roberto wanted to stay on the boat and Tanya too for private reasons. Yet, Jean-Luc and Ingrid were taken ashore with our dinghy and visited Mdina and the Neolithic temples of Hgar Kim and Mnajdra. They were pleasantly surprised and satisfied by their visit !
The day after was less windy, yet gray and rainy which did not stop us from taking our dinghy to explore walking the rocky surroundings. In particular the beautiful “Quarraba bay” close to Golden Bay with its crystal clear water and sand like rocks.
The next morning was sunny and without wind so we could finally see the crystal clear waters surrounding Knotty Girl ! We decided to head in the direction of the “blue lagoon” on Comino island before everyone else does… Well even if we arrived relatively early we were not alone… we moored on Crystal bay were a couple of boats were already anchored when we got there and which proved to be more beautiful than the “blue lagoon” itself in terms of scenery ! Jean-Luc and Ingrid went to the blue lagoon as “explorers” and spotted a nice place for us to anchor our dinghy and have a swim without jelly fishes… hurray !!!
Yet as time passed, the bay became just too hectic with boats of all kinds, sizes, shapes, number of people on them, boards, kayaks, etc. so we left to motor to Grand Harbour Marina in Malta - a stunning natural harbour. We enjoyed the scenery there and had a wonderful and sweet last evening and dinner (kindly offered by our friends) on the Vittoriosa Peninsula.
Overall a nice place to discover : Rich history, interesting language, a mix of cultures, an interesting architecture, beautiful rocky landscapes, clear waters.
I forgot to say that during their first gentle sailing day, from Brindisi to San Foca di Melendugno, our friends Rebecca & Francois were lucky enough to see dolphins ! We had not seen any since we started sailing on May 1st !!
On our way - motoring - to Santa Maria di Leuca we stopped to visit the charming town of Otranto were we entered its amazing Cathedral, built by the Normans in the 11th century, and that incorporates Romanesque, Byzantine and early Christian styles with their own. Covering the entire floor is its "pièce de résistance", a vast 12th-century mosaic of a stupendous tree of life balanced on the back of two elephants.
We wandered in the old town and Rebecca and I managed to do some shopping :) In Santa Maria di Leuca we then initiated them to the world of exploring caves in the rocks with our dinghy called “mini” - they took tons of pictures and I believe they enjoyed the experience !
The next day we had a 75 miles crossing to do to reach Crotone from Santa Maria di Leuca and it was a very “sporty" crossing - and for first timer to that type of sailing - not the easiest. Poor Rebecca, she was brave and stoic while suffering a lot from seasickness, yet not complaining about it but suddenly very silent… yet happy to be arriving in Crotone! François proved to be a very skilful helmsman under watch from our amazing Captain Roberto. In Crotone, Rebecca and Francois invited us to the “Porto Vecchio” restaurant close to the harbour (chosen by Roberto) were we ate good yet veeeery little fish and not very well prepared fish. They had a musician to entertain the people waiting with an aperitif, a good musician yet a bit too loud a musician...
Given we all agreed that to do another crossing the next day might be pushing it a bit too far for Rebecca, they both took a train to join us to Marina di Roccella Ionica. The crossing was long and “sporty" again, but the waves smaller than during the previous crossing. As we went out of the harbour we saw a helicopter land on a pad on one of the gas platform even with 22 knots of wind ! During this crossing we encountered relatively big waves and wind at the beginning, then no wind at all, then a 180 degree wind change - no time to get bored even if it was an 8 hours crossing. On average we went at 8 knots + which was good given that we were in a hurry as the marina of Roccella Ionica told us that they could not guarantee us a spot in the marina if we arrived after 6 pm - so we did arrive at 6pm sharp like Swiss people do ! Rebecca and Francois welcomed us there with a bottle of Prosecco and delicious pre-cooked pasta and salad - what a treat!
The next day, we had a very good gentle sailing day where Francois proved again to a very good, very focused helmsman and Rebecca felt good that day - thanks partly to the coca-cola I offered her :) - and was therefore able to be her full self : funny, witty, joyful and amazing! She would show her state level but putting her two (x2) thumbs up :) which made us laugh !
In order to not do too many miles we had to stop along the coast - yet unfortunately, this coast is very straight and therefore does not have “real” bays and hence there was still a little “swell” from the previous windy days, which meant that as a result of this Knotty Girl was moving a bit. To diminish that movement, Roberto suggested to put our second anchor - which Roberto, with the help of Francois - who appeared to be a very quick learner - and myself did and it did help, yet since we were not far from a route quite frequented by ferries and big boats, we often were moved by the waves they made, including during the night and hence none of us - but in particular Rebecca and Francois - got much sleep that night so we decided to leave quickly when we (Roberto and I) got up (François and Rebecca were up much earlier than us and were waiting for us on the deck).
The crossing from this anchorage to Taormina was all motoring as the average wind speed was about 3 knots BUT it allowed us to be able to very well scrutinise the sea and we were so lucky to see : A good number of dolphins, then a small stingray and a small whale !!! It was fabulous !!!
We anchored in Naxos - very close to Taormina were our friends decided to spend 2 days (as we mentioned to them that Taormina was a charming place) before having to go back home. It was their first sailing experience and it was amazing to see how eager Francois was to learn from Roberto the sailing world and how Rebecca enjoyed the experience despite her sea sickness - when she was well she could even sometimes crochet which she did with an impressive speed, an interest of her we discovered during our trip ! Roberto and I very much enjoyed their company and introducing them to the sailing world !
What a perfect introductory day to sailing for our friends Rebecca and François. We had about 8 to 10 knots winds from the side, no waives and sunshine. Francois who knows winds, yet who never sailed sailing boats (but does kitesurfing) understood rapidly how it works on Knotty Girl and after an excellent briefing from Roberto found himself at ease at the helm ! In addition 5 minutes prior to arriving a San Foca, we saw 4, 5 dolphins which we had not seen (except one briefly) since our departure May 1st ! They were thrilled !
Not much to do in San Foca except eating a nice ice cream and having our first outdoor dinner - Roberto cooked the fresh orecchiette that we bought in Bari in the street. With one of its own tomato recipe and good wine, we all enjoyed this delicious dinner.
Not much to do in San Foca except eating a nice ice cream and having our first outdoor dinner - Roberto cooked the fresh orecchiette that we bought in Bari in the street. With one of its own tomato recipe and good wine, we all enjoyed this delicious dinner.
On our way to Monopoli to Bari, after motoring a while, we decided that finally we could put up the sails. As I was preparing to unroll the Genoa I suddenly saw our main sail flying in the air… Roberto who had not seen it yet did not understand me shouting “we have a problem with our main sail” ! Yet, quickly when he saw me pointing the flying main sail he understood what I meant… and what we realised it that the piece that joins the main sail to the boom had broken and thus the main sheet was flying from side to side. Immediately we put ourselves in the position that allowed us to roll the main sheet in and continued motoring and Roberto called our new friend from “Vieste” Luigi who organised for representatives from Montefusco Sail to help us with the repair In Brindisi given that it was based in Lecce (which is closer to Brindisi than to Monopoli). As we could not do anything in Monopoli we took the opportunity to wonder in this very charming and lively (enfin!) town in Les Pouilles. We had a “rich" aperitif on its main animated square - Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Given that the day after the day we stopped in Monopoli a couple of friends were expected onboard in Brindisi, we left early (5.50 am) the next day (which meant I had to do my online YOGA lesson while motoring which was quite challenging, yet interesting !) so as to be early in Brindisi to have the sail repaired. 5 minutes after our arrival in Brindisi, the guys from Montefusco Sails arrived and the work of taking down the main sail started… Roberto mentioned that they would “try” to bring it back on the same night, which I doubted very much so I thought we may had to say one more day in Brindisi, but I was WRONG ! Around 7 pm on that same day, we say the Montefusco Sails guy arrive on the pontoon with our sail - exceptional and only in Italy would this happen. So the work to put the sail up started… at 08:30 pm the work was finished, we offered them a beer and as we were both exhausted Roberto and I decided to go out to eat in the Marina.
The next day at 08:30 we welcomed Rebecca and Francois who proved during this first day sailing very hands on and motivated, wonderful !
Given that the day after the day we stopped in Monopoli a couple of friends were expected onboard in Brindisi, we left early (5.50 am) the next day (which meant I had to do my online YOGA lesson while motoring which was quite challenging, yet interesting !) so as to be early in Brindisi to have the sail repaired. 5 minutes after our arrival in Brindisi, the guys from Montefusco Sails arrived and the work of taking down the main sail started… Roberto mentioned that they would “try” to bring it back on the same night, which I doubted very much so I thought we may had to say one more day in Brindisi, but I was WRONG ! Around 7 pm on that same day, we say the Montefusco Sails guy arrive on the pontoon with our sail - exceptional and only in Italy would this happen. So the work to put the sail up started… at 08:30 pm the work was finished, we offered them a beer and as we were both exhausted Roberto and I decided to go out to eat in the Marina.
The next day at 08:30 we welcomed Rebecca and Francois who proved during this first day sailing very hands on and motivated, wonderful !
We arrived in Trani on the 16th of May after a full day motoring and were lucky to have a spot there as, given the weather, not a lot of boats went out and visitors’ places for a boat like ours are not many given the size of the harbour. We loved being there as the marina is situated at the heart of the old town - when entering the marina you have a magnificent view on the Romanesque Cathedral and its impressive bell tower on one side and a view of the Arch leading to a beautiful viewpoint of the city. The castle is also interesting - it was built like many others by Frederick II. While wandering along the harbour street we saw a few fish stands with fishes and shrimps super fresh as still alive !!! . We decided to buy some fresh shrimps and cook them on the same night. We did so following a recipe from the Chef of El Fico bar who is a friend of our new friend Luigi (who coordinates works for boat owners in this marina and happens to be a racing sailor and hence Roberto got along with him very well and they happen to know a lot of people in common in the sailing world and to have done a number of similar races !). In this “Fico bar” we discovered a new cocktail based on gin which I loved and hence which Roberto will have to make me now as we were granted the recipe… :)
Luigi proved indeed very helpful as the next day he organised for a specialist to come on the boat and fix some air conditioning issue which we were all happy about - even if till now we used the air conditioning as heater more than as refresher…
Going out of the harbour and as it was SUNNY - yes the real SUN came out - we saw a couple of the “trabucco” perched on the rocks - so interesting ! We sailed along the coast to get to Bari. We went into the Bari Porto Novo which is a bit away from the city center - we basically have to cross the truck terminal, take a “navette” with all of the truck drivers to get into town). The next day from Bari and after our ride in the “navette”, we rented a car to visit the peculiar city of Matera - a must see if anyone is in the region. Its history dates back to the Palaeolithic era. The terrain is made of calcareous rocks which formes natural caves where initially troglodytes lived. Later on the cave were enlarged and stone structures were added to the city and were occupied by the Romans, Byzantines, Saracens , Aragones and Bourbons before being abandoned for a long time. After the 1980’ Matera was renovated and restaurants, and hotels were built in those “sassi". The scenery is absolutely mind-boggling and totally charming. We visited a lot of the tourist recommended spots (e.g. Materasum Ipogeo, Cathedral, some churches, etc.) - definitively a spot I would recommend to be visited, even by a gray day ! In the evening we had a very nice dinner (except for the music that was too loud) with an “old” - he had not seen him in 20 years - friend of Roberto and his younger wife Antonella in the Ruffiano restaurant in the center of Bari. On Sunday, we worked on the boat - I FINALLY finished to clean the steel on the entire boat and believe it or not there is A LOT of steel on this boat yet it is shining now and one needs sun glasses to look at it :::))) Roberto and Alessia checked the motor diesel and now are preparing the engine for our dinghy “Mini to Knotty Girl”.
We visited the old town of Bari which honestly is Ok but not exceptional except for the Cathedral of San Sabino and the Basilic of San Nicola - a Roman style basilic very well known for its number of pilgrims coming in every day and after seeing it we understand why !
I was happy as I ate the best ice cream of the trip so far - from Sandrino (Il gelato at naturale) - MIAAAAAAM :)
Tomorrow after Alessia’s departure, Roberto and I are off to Monopoli and then to Brinsidi to pick up a couple of friends which we very much look forward to welcoming onboard.
Luigi proved indeed very helpful as the next day he organised for a specialist to come on the boat and fix some air conditioning issue which we were all happy about - even if till now we used the air conditioning as heater more than as refresher…
Going out of the harbour and as it was SUNNY - yes the real SUN came out - we saw a couple of the “trabucco” perched on the rocks - so interesting ! We sailed along the coast to get to Bari. We went into the Bari Porto Novo which is a bit away from the city center - we basically have to cross the truck terminal, take a “navette” with all of the truck drivers to get into town). The next day from Bari and after our ride in the “navette”, we rented a car to visit the peculiar city of Matera - a must see if anyone is in the region. Its history dates back to the Palaeolithic era. The terrain is made of calcareous rocks which formes natural caves where initially troglodytes lived. Later on the cave were enlarged and stone structures were added to the city and were occupied by the Romans, Byzantines, Saracens , Aragones and Bourbons before being abandoned for a long time. After the 1980’ Matera was renovated and restaurants, and hotels were built in those “sassi". The scenery is absolutely mind-boggling and totally charming. We visited a lot of the tourist recommended spots (e.g. Materasum Ipogeo, Cathedral, some churches, etc.) - definitively a spot I would recommend to be visited, even by a gray day ! In the evening we had a very nice dinner (except for the music that was too loud) with an “old” - he had not seen him in 20 years - friend of Roberto and his younger wife Antonella in the Ruffiano restaurant in the center of Bari. On Sunday, we worked on the boat - I FINALLY finished to clean the steel on the entire boat and believe it or not there is A LOT of steel on this boat yet it is shining now and one needs sun glasses to look at it :::))) Roberto and Alessia checked the motor diesel and now are preparing the engine for our dinghy “Mini to Knotty Girl”.
We visited the old town of Bari which honestly is Ok but not exceptional except for the Cathedral of San Sabino and the Basilic of San Nicola - a Roman style basilic very well known for its number of pilgrims coming in every day and after seeing it we understand why !
I was happy as I ate the best ice cream of the trip so far - from Sandrino (Il gelato at naturale) - MIAAAAAAM :)
Tomorrow after Alessia’s departure, Roberto and I are off to Monopoli and then to Brinsidi to pick up a couple of friends which we very much look forward to welcoming onboard.
42:00.1N 15:00.1E
Given the we and in order to ensure our beautiful Knotty Girl remains as safe as possible her owners decided to do some sightseeing, which we did, we decided to spend 3 days in Termoli !Termoli’s Cathedral is very nice, but except for that not much to see there, particularly also as most shops were still closed, we decided to take the ferry (I know we have a boat but given the grey weather and the fact that we did not want to spend 6 hours motoring to go there) to visit the Tremiti Islands. We were lucky as that day it did not rain there and we know it did in Termoli. We went to San Domino islands, the most visited one of 5 in total (apparently as we did not see so many people except a couple of groups of tourists but nothing frightening yet…). We walked from one side of the island to the other one through a very nice “pinède” and we saw interesting wooden platforms on rocks - probably used in Summer to sunbathe along beautiful bays of clear water. We saw a TCI camp of small huts getting ready to welcome it first customers - most likely in June. The main square of the island was having some work done - as always last minute before all the tourists come in ! These islands are mainly known for their natural beauty - nature, sunshine (Really ? :) - and crystalline clear waters.
The next day, we rented a car - it was a very rainy and grey day, which obviously made it that some of the sites we visited did not appear in their full splendour. In particular we crossed the Foresta Umbra were on the guide it says that beautiful walks can be done and we could imagine that would be the case, yet given the weather we did not even go out !!! We also saw Peschici, Vico and the amazing Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo, one of the oldest and most important religious site of the Gargano and one of the most impressive religious site I have even seen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage and a place extremely visited by Pilgrims from all nationalities.
42:28N 14:13.7E
We arrived today in Pescara after almost 5 hours of smooth broad reach SAILING . But guess what ? It is pouring rain… again… but what is happening this year along this coast ? Rain ? Cold ? Grey sky - well well well I am glad we are going south so hopeful the sun will come out at some point :)Going down the Adriatic side of Italy is good as their is a light current going south, hence our speed over ground is almost always bigger than our actual speed - yeeeee !!
BUT this coast - at least so far is absolutely FULL of fish farms and isolated fish nets ! No wonder there are no more fishes in the sea… !!!! In addition that makes sailing and motoring not very relaxing as we are constantly on the lookout for those buoys & flags (for fish crates). Definitively I would not want to sail at night in this area unless of course we go very far from the shore (which is what we did when we went down the Portuguese coast for the exact same reason !).
Yet, we did have 2 sunny days and during one of them we were able to do an anchorage (ohhhhh we were glad to be at anchor - which is difficult along this coast are there are very few protected bays) in Bay Porto Novo and it felt like real spring !!!
Apart from that we had to stop in other harbours - Porto San Giorgio - not much to see there..., Porto San Benedetto - not much to see there except for South Harbour Wall (along the sea) full of big rocks sculpted by different artists and seeing for dinner (on Knotty Girl) one of Roberto’s ex-crew member, on his racing boat “Ready for Sea” whom he had not seen in about 10 years and who is a sailing instructor in this town (he came with his very nice girlfriend).
We then sailed almost all the way to Marina di Pescara where we moored “à l’anglaise” which I much prefer :) and were we went out for dinner to taste both the arrosticini (specialty from les Abruzzo were we just arrived - sort of brochette of lamb - very good; and the Olive all'ascolana (big olives filled with meat and fried) - from the Marche region which we had just left also very good ! We were lucky as it poured rain just after we arrived there and stopped raining just as we went to the local restaurant in the marina !
We now just arrived in Marina Sveva after a bit of sailing and a lot of motoring - grrrrrr.
One interesting feature of this coast is that practically all marinas have a silting problem and that makes entering them for a boat like ours that needs 2.3m at least, “interesting”: very narrow channels marked by small red buoys or need to follow a “pilot” dinghy to guide you in, and of course, unusual in the Med, you need to take the tide into account. Despite all precautions we exited Porto San Giorgio with the depth sounder screaming “2.1m, shallow water”: we must have left a deep groove in the fortunately very soft mud there!
