ITALIAN HIGH SUMMER
We commence the month with a memorable night under the stars watching the greatest natural fireworks show on earth…. the ancient mariners lighthouse of the Med....Stromboli Volcano doing its thing under the stars which accentuates every molten item that spews skyward.
Most nights during the summer months tens of craft of all shapes and sizes from passenger vessels to yachts and fizz boats bob around on the northwest side of Stromboli Island to watch the show that seemingly goes off like clockwork. We had a great night arriving at dusk and watching until midnight before slipping around to the south end of the island to anchor in deep water for a uneasy night before being awoken at first light by a huge ferry reversing into a nearby dock at dawn.
Did not matter because at Stromboli you have to be alert to go at a moments notice anyway if the wind changes or you might have toxic volcanic fallout eating your yachts paint and sail covers never mind your lungs.
The following morning sailed away from Stromboli in pleasant airs so pleasant that B was compelled to setup a deckchair on the aft deck to read.
Next port of call is Salerno on the west coast of mainland Italy to visit Pompeii. Rather than going into Naples Bay where cruisers report tales of woe relating to theft of equipment wehave opted for Salerno to the south of the Amalfi Peninsula and elect to spend E90 (NZD$170) per night (ouch) for a few nights for peace of mind. So far the most we have parted with for berthage. Its hard to justify when we are only parking in the same water we have at our berth back on the Tamaki !! .
Salerno turned out to be a thoroughly pleasant experience abuzz with summer festivals and live acts on their tree shaded foreshore promenade and boulevards.
The marina was on the edge of town and we walked through a stunning established park with marble paving, tall trees and fountains to get downtown. Each evening this park was full of young families until after midnight and we got the impression this was the social nexus of the local community.
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| Salerno vista |
Elsewhere in the city the maze of mostly carless but Vespa infested back streets in the old city quarter were filled with a mix of established service retailers; bakers, deli’s, mini mercato’s (mini supermarkets) etc side by side with an array of stylish retail and service shops selling typically Italian high spec goods. It was a really nice place that we felt very comfortable in from the time we arrived until departing.
Got the impression people from the established northern cities might have recently discovered Salerno as a go forward place in the sun with lower property prices than some other big Italian cities.
A friendly elderly Italian gentleman who introduced himself to us on the dock corroborated this. He had been to NZ and new all about the Americas Cup and the Luna Rossa challenge back in 2000. As a former Executive Director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce we had a good chat. Were just about to invite him aboard for a beer when his friends called for him to rush away and board a big fizz boat along the dock. He apoligised for rushing off…it was 7pm on a Friday evening and alongwith his wife and two other couples they were cruising the 30 miles down the Amalfi Peninsula to the Isle of Capri for dinner where they had a table booked for 10pm. Had to acknowledge the dash and style of these 60 year olds.
We ourselves went out for a meal later that evening and selected a restaurant at midnight and the town was just getting going. Yes everything is late late late in Italybecause they close up shop at lunchtime and don’t reappear until 5pm. The banks go one better, or worse and don’t even open again…..until next morning.
Took a local regional train for the 30 minute trip to Pompeii to visit the historic Roman-era volcanic excavations and rate the visit as well worthwhile. Amazed at the size of the site. P had visited in 1971 but could not recall it being so vast.
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| Street scene Pompeii...note cart track ruts |
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| Unearthed artwork |
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| Could this be an ancient fast food outlet Pompeii style |
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| Impressive pillars |
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| Grand buildlings once |
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| Mummified remains and other artifacts |
Next day caught a bus to Amalfi on the peninsula and pleased we opted for the bus rather than hiring a car because the narrow winding road renowned as one of the best marine drives on the planet meant we could both enjoy the views and what’s more parking fees at Amalfi would have exceeded the car hire rate.
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| Seaview of Postiano |
At this point being early August we started to meet an ever increasing number of craft of all shapes and sizes and the associated wake generated by these craft going in different directions creates wave patterns that are at times worse than natural sea conditions.
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| Approaching Isle of Capri |
A few days later on the north side of Capri passing the entrance to the Blue Grotto we started to encounter confused sea bolstered by backwash from the islands cliffs and were about to move offshore when a giant speedboat maybe 90ft long with two heads behind a windscreen and nothing else but wide open decks came screaming round the northwest tip of the island close in travelling g at a zillion knots creating a wake of tidal wave proportions. Moments later Musketelle copped it riding the first wave so high the bow buried itself all the way to the mast diving down into the trough to meet the second wave. Normally not a problem but on this occasion conditions had until now been relatively benign and hot so we had most hatches open and the large bow hatch whilst closed had not been latched and the momentum simply flipped it open enough for half the Med to come pouring in for a split second.
B saw it coming and got to the forepeak cabin in time to watch the woosh of incoming sea. We don’t do seawater below…….it makes everything sticky and nothing dries. The only remedy is to rinse and wash everything in freshwater. One saving grace was we had a big plastic cover over the forepeak bedding. Won’t tell you what she said.
We X the Bay of Naples
A good breeze whisks us across the bay from Capri to Isola di Procida on the north side of the bay. Being close to Naples we think this is where Neopolitans come for day breaks from the city. Lets just say the island was nowhere near as sophisticated as the islands and peninsula to the south we just visited.
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| Isla Procida near Naples |
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| Procida town basin |
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| Procida, Musketelle is the yacht anchored at left |
We all know Italy as that elongated peninsula hanging on to Europe with its instantly recognisable foot and heel shape and you might also recall it has the island of Sicily further south, but not much else. The big revelation is that Italy has a large number of small islands off its south west coast culminating in its other big island Sardinia.
Next Stop Sardine….oops Sardinia
We head for the north east corner which reputedly has the best cruising grounds with places like La Maddalena Islands, Porto Cervo and the Costa Smeralda.
Most yachties will have heard of the Costa Smeralda as for decades numerous major international yacht races and regattas have been hosted here and back in 1987 an Americas Cup challenge even eventuated.
We sail to Sardinia with limited knowledge of the island and its role in history but with volumes of data spilling from numerous publications including the trusty Italian Waters Pilot we spend the passage time keying up.
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| This is our arrival in Sardinia and we like it, water clean and sky clear |
First port of call is Olbia (pronounced Olvia) the major town in the region with a major ferry port and an even larger marine industry servicing infrastructure larger than anything we have seen anywhere to be truthful. We counted 30 major boatyard facilities on the starboard shore as we entered Olbia and many had travel lifts and or fixed lifting gantries. More of an emphasis on motorboats rather than yachts in the up to 40m range.
Whilst we were impressed by this infrastructure we were not impressed by the local communities lack of management of the harbour waters with raw sewage clearly entering in places and this is a major mussel cultivation harbour too. Mussels were the local delicacy in the local restaurants and they were being consumed in volume, but not by us thanks. We ended up staying 5 days capitalising on the excellent wifi internet signal. Each evening we got to walk the town along with the throng of promenaders and be kept awake by high volume live summer shows on the foreshore each evening funded by the town council.
Costa Smeralda Immersion
This place is clearly the playground of very high worth individuals from around the planet who want to flaunt their wealth among others of similar standing.
Numero Uno is to have a big big boat either motor or sail but in reality the biggest are motor vessels (read ships) and a chopper aboard helps turn heads. Jet propulsion RIB’s are also flavour of the summer season in 2011.
You can practically inhale the extravagance everywhere. Everything is platinum…. ashore platinum coloured cars, afloat platinum coloured boats that at night turn into light emitting floating palaces both above and below the waterline. And the Pirelli model women wear platinum tinted sunglasses..
Along the shores we spot houses that blend into the rock hewn coastline surrounded by perfect lawns and gardens. Through the binos we spy maids, butlers and gardeners in requisite uniforms as if on some movie set. The big boats are all staffed by young guys and gals but luckily for them white polos and beige shorts seem to suffice although the odd formal epaulet is sighted.
The reason these people are here is because without doubt this location has some of the best summer weather in the Med and its proximity to other boating hotspots in the center of the Mediterranean. Access to services on mainland Italy and the south coast of France are clearly major pluses. These big boats are less than 24 hours steaming away from places like Genoa, San Remo, Nice, Monaco or Marsailles.
To more important things......Put a Ring Around It
The last Saturday of August the 27th had a big ring around for P to watch a certain rugby game between the Wanabee’s and the AB’s in Brisbane…the last major game before the RWC. He had it all planned to go ashore the day before and line up a sports bar for the following day. We were near Porto Cervo Sardinia and that should have been a breeze. Yep a real breeze….came up on the Friday and stymied getting ashore from the anchorage we were in. Not to worry go in a little earlier on the Saturday, but you guessed the weather was worse so near impossible to motor ashore in the dink let alone risk leaving Musketelle alone on a lee shore in developing seas out of the north.
The weather forecast was predicting a severe gale up in the Gulf de Lyon bordering France and Spain. What’s more Force10 (50+knot) winds are due to hit northern Corsica just a hundred miles to our north so we braced for gutsy conditions.
Power Down
If that was not enough we went to turn on the trusty generator on the Friday evening to desalinate water and charge the batteries. The Generator started fine but the power management system would not recognise AC input when we turned on the Battery Charger.
This is a big worry because now we only have the main engine and its alternator to charge the batts and heat water but we cannot desalinate.
Whats Wrong ?
The problem might be the generator not charging, the battery charger kaput, the charging interface system malfunctioning or a simple wiring issue.
Our big problem is whilst we are happy dealing with 12volt issues we are not equipped or comfortable with 230volt which we prefer to leave to professionals.
Since 2007 the battery charging system has worked like clockwork and we are very concerned. We sleep on the problem Friday night as the gale blows and kick into action on the Saturday with the rugby match now very much out of mind.B analysed manuals and systems drawings which is very complex including a high tech Xantrex Heart Interface electronic monitoring system while P dissected the system physically checking connections and removing the Charger/Inverter unit that does the grunt work. Saturday ended without a solution and facing a reluctant return to Olbia to seek professional assistance on the Monday.
Sunday dawned with the gale still raging around us and a ‘renewed will’ not to be beaten. So we were up early re-analysing and breaking down the component parts that make up the system and B to her credit came up with a thread of an idea reviewing some old notes she had prepared back in Sogut last October when we had battery problems. She deduced that this current problem had to be between the AC Master Control Switch and the AC Master Charging Circuit Breaker/Polarity sensor.
So P opens up the panel to observe these switches and C/B functions and whacko !! finds a loose connection behind the AC Master Circuit Breaker that is rocking the breaker off which had been previously missed. Tightens the offending screw holding the wire connectors to the C/B stud, checks the wires and moments later we were back in action charging batteries and making freshwater by desalination. Phew!!
We sighed with relief at the outcome compared with the worst case scenarios that had naturally been exercising our minds….like a new generator or a new battery charging and inverting system.
Time to Move On
So weather permitting with watertanks full and batts charged we will now not be going back to Olbia but heading further north to enter the Bonafacio Straits separating Sardinia from Corsica and point the bow west for our next country, and the Spanish Balearic Islands.
Thus bringing our 6 week visit to Italy to a close literally on the last day of August which is also the end the northern summer. We arrived in Italy at Santa Maria Di Leuca on the heal of the main land and are departing the country from from the north west tip of Sardinia. We reflect on a very enjoyable time in Italy amongst the population at play and relaxing on their annual summer break.
It was suggested that August is the worst time to cruise Italian waters but we both agree it was not a major problem apart from some close proximity anchorages which made for entertainment more than issues. We leave recalling Italian women’s obsession with sun tanning and blokes driving boats hard and fast.
September heralds Autumn in the northern hemisphere but hope for a bit more good weather and plan for continuation of daily dips until we get back to warmer southern latitudes in the weeks ahead.
September also heralds the 2011 RWC in NZ and we (read P) are on the lookout for suitable venues to watch selected games with others attracted to the 30 player oval ball code. Blacks thicker than Blood !!
