2010 Cruisin', Boozin' and Snoozin' ..... May - Oct 2010

27 May 2010 - 08 October 2010


View Balvenies 2010 Voyage in a larger map

Mark on guitar with Liam.....sleeping??? 

So another cruising season has come and gone.  The seasons in the Mediterranean are reasonably short, but this year seemed very short indeed.  We started out later than planned from our last winter port in Valletta on the small island of Malta.  We had been busy painting the coach roof and wanted it finished, it was worth staying for and it looks just great.  Then the season ended sooner than we had hoped too, September and October saw the start of unsettled weather coming through, with the odd front bringing cooler days, longer nights and thunder storms. 

We had a choice - join many of our cruising friends and carry on out of the Med, into the Atlantic, visit exotic Morocco, explore the Canary Islands cross the Atlantic Ocean and be in the Caribbean in time to enjoy a rum punch while listening to steel drums sitting under a palm tree with the sand between our toes by Christmas.  Sure sounds appealing, still does - but there is always next year!!

So here we are, in the lovely town of Cartagena on the southeastern corner of Spain.  We will stay here for the European winter which we hope will be reasonably mild.  We will spend our time (in between boat jobs of course) exploring this wonderful country, trialing as many tapas bars as we can find, improving our somewhat appalling command on the Spanish language and taking as many siestas as necessary to blend in with the locals!!

But now a recap of 2010 ....... This is Cruising the Summer of 2010 -

Picnic in Corsica with the "Windies"

Before we left Malta we thought long and hard about the route we would take through the Western Med.  Several yachts that had travelled through Italy the summer of 2009 and said how extremely busy it was, that the anchorages were poor and often rolly, marinas expensive, how affected the weather is by the fierce Mistral wind, how expensive eating out was... the list was long with few positives.  Then when we were back in Auckland over summer we met with friends George and Merima off Moonshadow who had also cruised Italy in 2009, they agreed with most of the above but their advice - "don't miss it".  

So we took their advice and from the moment we arrived on the east coast of Sicily and anchored under Mt Etna and the stunning hilltop town of Taormina we never once regretted it, Italy was absolutely outstanding and we loved every minute (even the wet ones!!).  Nearly every stop was a highlight:  the bubbling live volcano, smelly mudbaths and beach happy hours at Vulcano, the opportunity to visit ancient buried Pompeii from Agropoli, the beautiful Amalfi coast towns clinging by their toenails to the steep to cliff faces surrounded by vivid green and yellow lemon trees, the pastel painted houses of Procida crumbling down but oh so "Italy".  Then we hit the busy part, crazy Ponza on a long holiday weekend with the armada of incoming boats seemingly endless but there was always room for one more.

Most expensive drinks with "Panthera"

We sailed overnight west to Sardinia, still Italian,  but with a definite independent island feel to it.    On long hot summers days we found deserted bays with clear water and sandy beaches, contrasting greatly with the wealth displayed in the compact area around Porto Cervo, where super yachts easily outnumbered little yachts like ours.  We had a day inland, astounded by the Stone Age ruins we visited, intrigued by the overgrown forests of cork trees. Maybe we should have explored more of Sardinia, we just touched the north east corner and it was beautiful, many anchorages in some sheltered waters, an excellent spot.

It was time for a change of culture and language and we hopped across to Corisca and dusted off the French phrase book.  The well preserved ancient walled towns of  Bonifacio, Porto Vecchio and Calvi and the frequent coastal battlements gave us a great sense of their history.  Our inland travel revealing the lush mountainous interior, sandy banked rivers, stone age ruins - this gem of an island had it all.  Combined with some gin clear waters in appealing bays Corisca was yet another highlight.

Time for a mudbath with White Rose and Sundancer II

Back to Italy visiting the Tuscan Island of Elba, some great anchorages, cute villages, sweet scented pine forests, good weather.   Time for the mainland again to our most secure anchorage weather wise of the season at La Grazie. This Cinque Terra area was jam packed full of interesting excursions - the famous Cinque Terra (Five Villages) coastal walk, a day out by train to Pisa, just a short hop over the hill to Porto Venere and a visit from our friends Helen and David.  Unfortunately the weather changed here after a dreadful long night of thunder/lightening storms and torrential rainfall, it was unsettled for a couple of weeks after and never returned to those long settled summer days.

The Italian Riviera was next, sophisticated Santa Margherita made an excellent base for a few days, nearby famous Portofino as quaint as all the postcards.  Our Italian sojourn was nearing its end, a few days in San Remo just 20 miles from the French boarder was an excellent way to end.  The covered market one of the best I have ever seen in any country.  Sadly it was arrivederci to Italy, we couldn't stay forever.  We enjoyed everywhere we visited, the locals were always welcoming, the food in general every good and pizzas and pasta dishes very affordable, drinks ranged in price from average to outrageous but they normally gave free nibbles with them to soften the blow!  Italy oozes history and  culture, it is a wonderful unrivaled country.  The people have a style and spirit that matches it perfectly.

Celeb spotting in Monte Carlo

I must add that we were extremely lucky for the most part with settled weather.  The west coast of Italy is all a lee shore and any westerly winds leave you with few places to run.  Any strong winds further out in the med will affect the swell so you need to look at a large weather picture on a daily basis.  That said, there are places to tuck in from most conditions but you need to always have a plan B, and often a plan C too. 

I can't move on further before I mention one of the most important factors of why all the above was also so enjoyable.  We cruised in company the entire time, not always with the same boats as we all go different speeds and have different agendas but there was a group of us going roughly the same way and boy did we have fun.  I hope I don't miss anyone but to the following - you made an excellent season even better.    Sundancer II, White Rose, Blue Banana, Eye Candy, Gone with the Wind, Threshold  and Panthera.  Once we left Italy we were on our own except for a couple of rendezvouses with Baracca.  Thankyou all for making our season extra special.

Next it was on to Monaco, what Italy oozes in history and culture, Monaco oozes in wealth.  Our 3 nights in the marina were a highlight of a different kind, never did we think we would be able to afford to marina Balvenie  in Monaco and spend time in this pocket sized Principality.  The wealth displayed just in the cars parked in Casino Square was enough to knock our socks off, then there were the dozens of enormous super yachts parked in a row in the marina, and one look in the estate agents window  indicated 8million Euro as a  'cheap' one bedroom apartment - this is definitely not somewhere the likes of us retire!!!!  But it was fun, not ostentatious or stuffy - just for rich people who like to enjoy showing their wealth.

Porto Cervo with Eye Candy and GWTW

It is was time to cruise the French Riviera and the Cote d'Azur, famous names that just roll off the tongue.  We started in Villefranche a popular anchorage near to Nice, a small scenic town ashore.  Relatives Neil and Barbara stayed a couple of nights and we had a chance to explore inland, visiting tiny rural villages located so close to the busy coast but a million miles away in reality. From Nice westwards the coastline was extremely busy much more built up than I had envisaged, huge apartment complexes lined the foreshore, marinas every few miles, very few nooks and crannies to anchor in, and often a swell from one direction or the other would sneak in.  Then there was more unsettled weather, it was only the beginnng of September but we never experienced those famous unbearably hot calm days on the French Riviera.

I fell in love with France over 20 years ago when I first backpacked there, and have returned several times since.  I had been looking forward all season to cruising its coastline, soaking up the culture, practicing my French and sampling the French cuisine.  Now I felt a traitor to France, this coastline didn't reflect the France I loved and we both missed Italy.  The cost of living was high, fruit and vegetables seemed especially so, eating out cheaply was almost impossible, happy hour drinks and coffees were almost affordable dependant on where you were!!  The weather wasn't kind to us, Mistrals kept howling.  We could see no value in heading along the coast further westwards and into the eye of Mistral territory so we took the opportunity of a short lull in the winds and headed south overnight to Spain's Balearic Islands.  We had spent only 12 nights on the French coast.

Can Mark get beer out of Threshold's steering system???

Our stay in the Balearics was slightly longer, just 3 weeks.  We spent time in Menorca and Mallorca and explored them both.  We enjoyed sleepy Mahon and found Palma a classic, interesting, very European city - with a central market to rival San Remo.  We only stayed one night on Ibiza, it is more of a beach/party island, and although still warm enough when in the sun and out of the wind, summer was on the wain.  There are many anchorages in the Balearics, most of them small calas (coves), often deserted ashore or maybe with a tourist development.  It is more of a summer destination than a touring one so we didn't experience them at their best.  More adverse weather, this time an extensive system lasting days was heading our way.  We considered marinaing in Ibizia for a few days to sit out the weather but heard rumours of yachts our size still being quoted 300Euro a night, and this was now October!  So here we are, back to the top where we started, Caribbean or Cartagena. 

Looking lopsided in Portofino

We have been in Cartagena on the south eastern corner of Spain over a week now and were feeling quite settled, until this morning.  I managed to tune into the "rum runners net", a HF Radio net our friends have started up and are checking into as they move westwards, Gone with the Wind and Moonshadow were about to arrive in Morocco, Beyond, Stardust and several others about to join Cristata in the Canaries.  Today we are feeling somewhat left behind, but we have Spain to explore and much more - that rum punch will just taste all the sweeter next year!!!

Countries and Principalities visited -  5   Malta, Italy, France, Monaco and Spain
Island Groups visited -  7   Sicily, Aeolean Islands, Bay of Napoli Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, Tuscan Islands, Balearic Islands
Nautical Miles travelled -   1742  (Distance had we gone in a straight line was 767!!)
Nautical Miles motored -   929   Only about 20miles was due to adverse headwinds, balance due to no wind
Nights at sea -   3   Ponza-Olbia,   French mainland-Mahon,   Ibiza-Cartagena
Nights tied up for free on a buoy -   4   Porto Pollo, Pollenca, Porto Petro
Nights tied up for free at a dock -  14   Scario, Agropoli, Olbia, Final Ligure, San Remo
Nights tied up in Marinas -  7   Amalfi, Monaco, Pollenca
Different Anchorages visisted -   60
Strongest winds -  46 knots at anchor in France, 28 knots at sea downwind across the top of Corsica
Fastest speed -   8.6 knots flying across the top of Corsica
Sleepless nights -  less than five (more than one is too many!!)
Rainy days -   Lost count really, but not that many that rained ALL day and this is Europe!!
How much did it cost? -  Done all the numbers and it averaged out at 385Euro per week (this season was 19 weeks).  That includes stocking up the food and drink supplies in Malta before we left there, and starting/finishing with full diesel tanks.  Our biggest expense was eating/drinking onboard 1888E closely followed by eating/drinking out 1545E, diesel ranked next as we did alot of motoring 1300E,  next came sightseeing/local transport 580E, Marinas 372E, small repairs/maintenance/spares 340E, phone/internet 240E, the rest is made up of odds and ends - souvenirs, clothing, laundry etc  

AND THAT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2010

Enjoyable Elba ..... Aug 2010

Cafe time in Poggio, stunning vista

29 Jul - 08 August 2010

After our stormy early morning departure from Corsica the squalls cleared, we raised sails and enjoyed a peaceful, comfortable sail 40 miles east to the Italian Tuscan Island of Elba. The Tuscan Island group comprises of 6 islands, the largest marine park in the Mediterranean. Elba is the largest, about 150kms long, a popular destination, just 50kms from mainland Italy and an absolute gem.

We arrived in the southern anchorage of Marina di Campo early Thursday afternoon. Except for small local craft on moorings it was deserted. We anchored in the middle of the bay, tidied the boat a little, then took a well earned afternoon nap! We spent 4 nights in this lovely spot, the small town ashore was a delight to wander around, there were few cars - everyone was on bicycles, it was just great. Friday came, and so did the yachts, the bay filled up and it stayed that way, it was the beginning of August and maybe everyone had started their summer holidays.

Street art on the walls in Poggia

We caught the bus one day over the island and up to the capital of Portoferrario. We read in summer it can be a hectic place with a million visitors each summer, most arriving by ferry into this main harbour. It was a sunny saturday and we expected chaos, but it was so deserted we wondered if there was a ferry strike. We enjoyed a leisurely pizza lunch al fresco, rambled through the old town area, went up to Napoleon's villa where he stayed while in exile, took in the outstanding views and saw all there was to offer.

Pink houses on Poggias town square

On another day we shared a car hire with Liam and Annie. We headed west along the southern coast and then up the western side of the island. It was time to turn inland and find a spot for our cafe latte, driving high into the hills we passed Marciana a small pleasant town, but kept going higher to Poggio just one of the cutest little villages ever, and what a view. Definitely the best choice yet for our morning cafe. We stayed up in the mountains awhile, the air was cooler and the scent of pine just wonderful. We had packed a picnic lunch so found a designated picnic area inside the forest, set out all our goodies and nibbled away. With the rest of the island still to explore we headed along to the east coast, then continued up to the north east corner, from there Italy was just a stones throw away. Stopping in Porto Azzurro on our return for a cooling afternoon drink in the town square completed our tour and we were back in Marina di Campo by 7pm. A great day out on this beautiful island.

Group "family" shot at the It Pizzeria

Our evening was spent ashore at the It Pizzeria, owned by a Italian/Australian family - Mum, Dad, 3 daughters in their 40's all working together in the family business every summer, what a challenge that would be!! They treated us very well and we had a lovely evening in their waterfront restaurant.

Time to move on, we had enjoyed our short stop by car at Porto Azzuro so motored the 14 miles around to the eastern end of the island and anchored in the protected harbour. Gone with the Wind had moved on to the mainland, but just to keep the antipodean numbers up, Sundancer II rejoined us from Corsica, and also Panthera, a New Zealand owned catamaran - at last some kiwis!!! The six of us had a great meal ashore at San Guiseppes, we voted it our best pizza this season. The town is quite touristy, most were Italians, but again there was a really relaxed, friendly, holiday atmosphere. After 7 nights on this island paradise it was time to head back to the mainland.

Enjoying a seafood antipasto

It's nearly 100 miles to the famous Cinque Terra area on the Italian mainland. There is not a great choice of anchorages enroute but we decided to break our journey and stop a night anchored off the small town of Castiglioncello. We departed Elba in company with Sundancer II and Panthera, there was only a light wind but with skippers persistance we managed to sail over half the 41miles. The anchorage afforded little shelter from the east or south - but we had little wind, then just before dark an annoying roll developed, to finish things off a beach bar came alive with the sound system kicking into life at 11pm through till 2am. Not one of our better nights sleep. By 7.15am we were out of there, we tried to sail in the light winds but motored most of the 48miles north in flat seas. Finally we arrived into the best protected anchorage we have encountered this season in the small bay of La Grazie, tucked inside the larger bay of Le Spezia.

Cruising info for Marina di Campo and Porto Azzurro on Elba:-
Anchorages -
Marina di Campo 42 44.699N 10 14.504E 8.5m sand, just a little roll sometimes
Porto Azzurro 42 45.602N 10 23.648E 9.5m sand. (Sundancer II were slightly in front of us and got their chain wrapped around a huge piece of machinery on the bottom. We had had changeable winds and had moved direction frequently. They eventually cleared it with Mark in the water directing them around the obstruction.)
Castiglioncello 43 24.020N 10 24.969E 9.0m sand Didn't go ashore
Communications - yippee, back in dongle land!! but .... it didn't work. Topped up just 5Euro in WIND shop in Portoferraio which got it back into action. Phone signals good.
Ashore - Dinghies can be left on beaches in both or tie to wall in harbour/marina. Both towns had everything you need. Good supermarkets in both (Marina di Campo best one by bus station/tourist office). Got diesel from marina in Porto Azzurro, didn't note price.
Sightseeing - Our bus to Portoferraio was 4.50Euro each return, slightly more if you buy ticket from driver. There is also a one day pass valid for all the island. The tourist office is right by the bus station in Marina di Campo. They gave us a list of car hire places. Our car (small and only 2 door) was only 45Euro from 9am to 7pm and we put in 15Euro fuel. We collected it from Centro Noleggio, on the main road out of town about 10mins walk, the office is a wooden shed with a postage stamp sized sign, in a carpark with several pushbikes and motorbikes parked in front.

Reunion time at Ponza ..... June 2010

24 - 28 June 2010


***The previous day there had been about 7 yachts and no tenders in here***Pizza in Ponza with Liam and Annie, Andrew and Clare***Ever wondered where to stow your dinghy for a change?? This yacht sailed in with it hanging up the mast - amazing!!!***The glorious sight of the 5 masted cruise ship leaving at dusk***

Once we cleared Ventotene we had a gentle downwind sail for 6 hours to cover the 24 miles to Ponza. The main harbour at Ponza shows a large no anchoring area to allow for the regular ferries from the Italian mainland to maneuvour, there were several yachts in there already and it didn't look like there was room for one more so we headed around the rocks just a short distance and anchored off a beautiful sandy beach in clear water with 7 other boats. It was Thursday night and we knew the weekend was likely to get busy so we were happy just to sit back and watch it all unfold. And unfold it did, Friday afternoon the Italian invasion began, superyachts, megayachts, mini cruise liners, a 5 masted yacht cruise liner, enormous motor cruisers, ribs of all sizes - one in particular was 60 feet long with 3 250hp outboards!!!, regular yachts, trailer sailers, runabouts, basically if it could float it seemed to have arrived in Ponza. The inner harbour area that we thought was full must have had close to 50 more boats in there, and our anchorage was overflowing, it was truly an amazing transformation.

Somehow everyone fitted in, there wasn't the chaos we had experienced in Croatia last year, all these boats were privately owned and no one wanted to hit anyone else, it just all worked, and everyone was considerate of each other - maybe Italy in the "busy season" might not be as bad as we anticipated. The Coastguard were keep busy trying to keep enough room clear for the ferries, but each time the ferry left it just all filled up again, until the next time!! We learnt that it was a long weekend, with Tuesday a holiday and Monday taken as an extra day off by many so maybe its not normally quite this crazy.

Along with the hundreds of Italians heading for Ponza there was one Australian catamaran. Our great friends Liam and Annie on Gone with the Wind were finally catching up with us after spending another winter in Turkey, we have been sailing with them on and off since Darwin in 2006, and spent many an anchorage in the Red Sea in their company, and a couple last year in Croatia. The farewells in this carefree cruising life we lead are way too regular, you meet wonderful people, spend time and priceless experiences together then part ways as we are often heading in different directions. But the reunions when they happen, well they are just the best. It was a big night with Blue Banana and Eye Candy also there, many a sundowner followed by many more moonuppers lasting well into the wee small hours!!!

The small town of Ponza was cute, not much there really but some small well presented shops, some busy restaurants and not much else really. Even though it was very busy it still had a real holiday feel to it, we squeezed our dinghies on the dock and all had a great pizza con vino evening out.

There looked to be some other spots around the island that would have been interesting but we had our anchoring spot and we weren't going anywhere until we left for Sardinia!! We had a good weather forecast to move across to Sardinia 155 miles west so in company with GWTW and Eye Candy we left busy Ponza to the locals and continued heading westwards. The wind failed to fill in until late in the afternoon, then it increased in early evening and built overnight and at one point we were cracking along at 8 knots in the full moonlight in flat seas with 23knots hard on the wind. Unfortunately the seas soon got lumpy due both to the wind and a shallow shelf we were going over so we buttoned off and put a reef in until daylight. The great thing about doing overnighters around the summer solstice is that its still light till around 10pm and then the skies start to lighten again at 4.30am, excellent. We had Olbia on the North East coast of Sardinia as our destination but couldn't quite lay it, so instead of tacking or motoring we just made landfall further down the coast at Porto Brandinghi - we thought we were going to Sardinia but we had arrived in paradise!

Cruising info for Ponza:-

Anchorages - Ponza 40 54.274N 12 57.907E 9m sand with weedy patches
Communications - Vodafone and TIM signal ok but we couldn't get WIND for dongle. Could get it further out in anchorage (better line around headland to aerial) and ashore so took laptop and dongle in and sat and had a coffee
Money - ATM on main waterfront ****Can't remember limit here but limit in Sardinia is only €250 per transaction, some machines worse at €200****
Provisions - Lots of minimarkets, fruit/veg shops, 3 butchers. Conad supermarket on waterfront round to right, through the tunnel and along a little. Also deli along there with best bread so far in Italy and yummy ricotta tarts
Formalities - Coastguard buzzed around but never stopped by

Island hopping in Italy ..... June 2010

22 - 24 June 2010

***Mama's home cooking, dining ashore with Peter and Bridget in Ischia***More fortresses - headland at Ischia***And another fort across the way at Procida at sunset***Get your do-up here!!! Waterfront Procida***

The low passed by and headed for Croatia so we moved on from Procida just a few miles to the island of Ischia. Squeezing in the tiny permitted anchoring area was not so easy but once settled the vista of the Castello on headland made the move worthwhile, ashore the island was green and lush and looked lovely. White Rose and Eye Candy had arrived before us and had gone ashore, only to come back a long time later having not been able to find anywhere they could leave their dinghies. White Rose had organised a water taxi so we got ready pronto and joined them for an evening shore excursion. Ischia is said to rival Capri for its natural beauty and it really was lovely, many trees, flowers, pedestrian areas and many Neopolitans looking seriously glamourous relaxing in all the cafes and bars. We found a cute little restaurant promising Mamas traditional cooking (Mama looked about 90!), the service, company, ambience and atmosphere could not be beaten, just a shame Mama had never learnt to cook!!

Early next morning we were awoken by two elderly fisherman, quite possibly Mama's husband and brother, through sign language it seemed they wanted us to move so they could lay their nets in the anchorage. Bleary eyed I explained as politely as possible in my non existant Italian that we were in the designated anchorage area and that we would be staying there, they looked at us in amazement and eventually rowed away - we went back to sleep!

Time to head ever westwards however the wind did not come out to play and we motored 26 miles in some rather lumpy seas out to the next island of Ventotene. Its a small island lying north/south and not providing great coverage, but there was no wind forecast so we found a spot in what we thought was sand amongst 17 other yachts, dropped and set the anchor. We jumped in for a swim, there was the most fish life we have seen in the med, the surrounding area is all marine park and what a difference it makes it was great to see life under water again. We also noticed we were on rock not sand, but hooked nicely to a big boulder and not likely to go anywhere. By dusk we were the only boat left at anchor, all the others had gone into the tiny Roman natural harbour which looked like it would only fit about 4 boats, conditions were pleasant albeit a little rolly so we stayed at anchor, and didn't even go ashore to the small village..

We awoke at dawn, bouncing up, down and sidewards in choppy seas. A 15knot breeze had filled in from the northeast, with a fetch on it all the way from the Italian mainland. We started lifting the anchor immediately, dreading the moment it would snag on the rocks. We should have had more positive thoughts as it came up without a problem, Italy continues to treat us well. We cleared the island, put the sails out, bore away and had a very pleasant downwind sail 24 miles ever westward to the next island of Ponza

Cruising Info for Ischia and Ventotene:-

Anchorages -
Castello d'Ishia (Southern Bay): 40 43.694N 13 57.760E 9.6m weed and sand, zoom chart right in to see the non anchoring area. We paid €2.50 each, each way for the water taxi. Other boats did manage to find places to leave dinghy but its not very easy
Ventotene: 40 49.756N 13 27.854E 9m sand, weed and rock. We couldn't tuck in any closer as it was all buoyed off for swimming areas. There were about 20 yachts in the Roman harbour, bit lively coming out into the nor'easter as its a tiny entrance. Good half way point to Ponza but wouldn't stop there again, maybe further down around the island a little would have been better.
Communications - No WIND signal for dongle in either, poor Vodafone and no TIM on phones Money - ATM's on Ischia
Provisions - Good supermarket on left side on main road in Ischia towards main town
Formalities - no, no,no!

Amalfi Coast to Procida ... June 2010

18-22 June 2010



***Capri looking somewhat gloomy and not so appealing so we passed it by*** The anchorage at Positano on a calm day with no swell*** Positano from sea level with the housing clinging to the hillside***Procida's colourful waterfront***



Stocked up with Lemoncello, Creme Lemoncello and an abundance of free lemons, it was time to move westwards along the Amalfi Coast.

This time though we were at sea level looking up at the houses clinging to the cliff and could see the road tettering on the edge. Having done the bus trip this certainly felt like the safer option - not nearly as far to fall!! We had light winds again so motored along the coast passing Positano which looked as spectacular from the sea as it had from land. We left the mainland coastline and headed across to the island of Capri, known for all the rich and famous who holiday or own exclusive property there. We had heard on our cruisers net that a night in the marina was 800€ so we decided to give that a miss, we looked at anchoring but there wasn't much room and there were lots of tripper boats coming and going from the famous "Blue Grotto", plus it was Friday afternoon - it would only get busier.



The skies were clouding over, the weather was at last changing after our great run of clear skies and light winds, so we decided to save Capri for another time and head for an anchorage we could sit out the expected low that was coming our way. We put the sails up and headed north across the Bay of Naples to the offshore island of Procida. We were just one of 7 yachts in the Corricella Bay overnight on the southern side of Isola di Procida. Ashore looked like a movie set, a dominating stone fort sitting proud on top of the headland, higgledy-piggledy terraced houses falling over each other down the hillside in an array of pastel colours, the local fishing fleet tied up along the quiet harbourside and the scene completed with the church and belltower.







Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny, the low due through late in the evening. By late morning we estimate we had around 200 boats in the anchorage, most of them small power boats out for the day from Naples, picnicing, swimming, sunbathing, posing (well we are in Italy!!!!) and just generally having fun. By evening just 10 of us remained, amazing. The predicted wind and rain came through, it was the first clean rain we had had in months and it washed layer upon layer of Maltese dust out of the rigging and down the mast until at last Balvenie was clean again. Unfortunately the wind also kicked up quite a swell, life onboard got quite rolly from time to time, good excuse to spend more time ashore.



It was time for New Zealand to play Italy in the qualifing round of the Football World Cup, unfortunately the skies opened about 1/2 hour before kickoff so our arrival in the low key local bar was delayed. We just couldn't surpress our amazement when, on arrival, we discovered the All Whites were 1 goal up over Italy. We didn't make too many instant friends, but they were very tolerant of us and happily found us somewhere to sit in the packed out little cafe, their mood certainly improved when Italy scored, drawing the match. At the end they all wanted to know why New Zealanders were visiting their little island, and thought we had done very well sailing all that way. We got to be regulars there over our few nights at anchor, watching many a football game!



We had a good look around this little island, ashore it was pretty ramshackle nearly every house in desperate need of a 'do up' but its just got that feel of a functional lived in place with a laid back lifestyle, why stress about a new paint job!!!! Over the north of the island, all of 10 minutes walk, it was more orderly, there is a large new marina, tidy promenade and regular ferry services to Naples, quite a different feel to it completely.



Cruising Info for Procida:-

Anchorages - Corricella 40 45.322N 14 01.460E 9.5m sand and weed

Communications - WIND dongle ok, TIM and Vodafone on phone ok

Money - ATM's over in northern town

Provisions - small minimarket and bakery up hill by church, better provisions over in northern bay

Formalities - of course not!

Aeolian Islands to Agropoli ... June 2010

09 - 15 June 2010
***Another beach, another party - we love Italy***A few puffs of smoke from Stromboli at dusk***How many times have we watched the sun set in the west at sea??***It doesn't actually look too rolly out there***

Three boats leaving the same anchorage, heading for roughly the same destination, well there aren't too many sailors, particularly ex-racers, that wouldn't automatically call that a race!!

We left the island of Lipari with White Rose and Eye Candy. We were all heading for somewhere on the Italian mainland, via the active volcano of Stromboli. The plan was to arrive at Stromboli after dark and potter around in circles and admire what is supposed to be the worlds oldest lighthouse as it blew its top at frequent intervals, with red hot rocks being thrown out and tumbling down the mountainside and sizzling into the water (at a safe distance from the boat!!) So off we set with a southeasterly forecast of around 15knots, should be a good overnight downwind sail. Balvenie in predictable style was the first to start sailing, the wind was only just filling in and of course it was coming straight from Stromboli, so while we sailed off in the wrong direction and tacked our way north we lodged a protest against the others motoring straight on!

As we were approaching Stromboli big puffs of smoke spurted out the top every 15 minutes or so. Dusk turned to absolute darkness, it was a new moon and, as a good friend would say, it was as black as the inside of a cow. We could barely make out the shadow of Stromboli as we arrived, neck and neck with White Rose, but where was Eye Candy? A quick radio checkin confirmed their position 8 miles northwest, further protests were lodged for them missing Stromboli up close and personal, and cutting corners! It was show time, there were spurts out of the top, all bright red for a couple of seconds, but at that point we were busy putting two reefs in the main, as we were getting bullets through from 6knots to 28knots and we couldn't see them coming, not a good thing with full sail up. All in all it was a huge disappointment, boats last year just couldn't pull themselves away from the brilliant display, but that was then and this is now. Never mind - been there, done that , but didn't get the photo!

With Eye Candy way out in front so therefore now disqualified by us, we headed north, and eventually made landfall at the small town of Scario. We had motored the last 6 hours as the wind had died completely however it had left a very very lumpy sea and finding a flat anchorage was impossible. We anchored off Scario and initially sat with our bow to the swell which wasn't too bad, but then we went beam on, gunnel to gunnel, this was no fun at all. Eventually we decided to go into the small harbour and tie up for the night, we wanted to enjoy Italy and if it meant paying for harbours, well we would just have to do it. As it happens our arrival went unnoticed, we slipped in, tied up had a stroll ashore, a lovely dinner out with White Rose (who were still out at anchor but with a stern anchor also so making things a little more bearable). There was no harbourmaster or office to pay so next morning we let the lines go and slipped out just as quietly as we slipped in. Maybe tying up in Italy wouldn't be so expensive after all!!

We motored north, no wind but still in some rolly seas, around a couple of headlands, flattening out a little after each one, then we tucked right in the northern side of Cape Palinuro, an almost empty anchorage, clear water and most importantly - no roll. Palinuro town was quite an amiable sort of place, with hardly a mention in the Lonely Planet it was well off the international tourists radar, it had a beachside holiday feel to it. An enjoyable stopover to relax, watch the beginning of the Football World Cup and hunt down another WIND shop. Yes, you have guessed it, the trusty dongle which hadn't worked in Vulcano due to no signal, but then also didn't work in either Scario or Palinuro where there was a signal. You may think we are obsessed now with the internet but really we are not. However it is like anything, when you can have it and you have paid good money for it then you want it to work!! We found an excellent assistant who spoke English and after parting with more money were back in working order.

We got back up to date with boat jobs, watched some football, did some swimming then ran out of excuses to stay in this great calm spot. We headed 30 miles further north, the seas a little rolly but there was enough breeze to allow a pleasant sail on this sunny sunday afternoon to Agropoli.

Cruising Info for Scario and Cape Palinuro:-
Anchorages:-
Scario at anchor .. 40 03.26N 15 29.92E outside harbour, 8m mud ,would be great with no roll
Scario Harbour .. We tied right at the beginning on the left, laid mooring lines, nudged bottom getting into berth (so around 2.3m) fine once in. Water and power did not work where we were but did further into harbour. Boats a few days behind us went in and paid 35Euro per night inc p/w
Cape Palinuro North .. 40 01.957N 15 16.723E 12.5m, sand. Much better protection than it looks
Communications:- Signal for WIND, Vodafone and TIM
Provisions:- Small deli type store at Scario on waterfront. Palinuro had small supermarkets and everything you need
Money:- Scario didn't notice ATM. Palinuro in main street but maximum 200Euro
Formalities:- still none in Italy

Aeolian Islands, Italy's Volcanic Island Chain ... June 2010

04-10 June 2010

***From the rim of Vulcano looking down into the anchorage of Porto Levante, Stromboli is in the far distance***Right in amongst the steam at Vulcano***Time for a relaxing mud bath***Peter, Bridget, Mark, Amanda, Helen and Ian on top of Vulcano *** Vista from Vulcano***

After our early start from Naxos, long day up through the Straits of Messina and into the Tyrrhenian Sea we pulled into the eastern anchorage of Porto Levante on the stunning island of Vulcano at 7.30pm. This compact anchorage is set at the bottom of Gran Cratere, an active crater still steaming away up on the rim, clearly visable above the anchorage. It last erupted in 1890 so we hoped it would stay settled for a couple more days so we could enjoy the area. We finally found a spot in shallow enough water that we would be able to swing in and settled in for the night. Not an easy task as its a small area, half filled with local moorings and the seabed drops off dramatically - we didn't want to get blown back to Messina during the night. One poor latecomer came heading at speed into the moored boats area just on dark, only to stop very quickly and noisily as they ran aground onto a rocky ledge. No amount of forward, reverse, bow thruster, sails up with the 6 burly blokes onboard hanging off the boom was going to shift them and eventually in the dark they put their anchor light on, surrendered to their fate and went to bed. They were gone in the morning (never to be seen again) so just enough tide must have come in to free them from the rocks clutches.

Next morning we went ashore with Peter and Bridget off White Rose and Ian and Helen off Sundancer II for the climb to the summit of Vulcano the Volcano. It was certainly a good workout with some very steep sections, made more difficult as part of the base was lose scree but it really was worth it. The skies were blue and it had warmed up, maybe the snowing on Mt Etna had finally cleared the spring air and summer was coming after all. The views were great, northeast across to smouldering Stromboli, and west out to even more coneshaped islands rising out of the very blue med. Parts of the rim were alive, so much steam in places that you couldn't see through it, bright yellow and lime green deposits of sulphur were in abundance, and bubbling puddles of mud just to remind us of home. Then of course there was the smell, you sure could tell it was volcanic, it does a great job of clearing the sinuses!

The weather was settled so we stayed another day, more Australians arrived! Andrew, Clare and friend Colin on Eye Candy popped up again, just in time to join the rest of us for a relaxing theraputic wallow in the warm, muddy, murky, slimy waters at the Mud Bath. Not everyone could quite bring themselves to partake, sliding down into the slippery and smelly unknown, but for those of us that did, well we had a great time. We scooped up all the gooey mud, plastered ourselves and laid back to let nature take its course. The baths are adjacent to the beach, so once rejuvenated by all those natural minerals we took a dip in the salt water, taking care not to burn our toes on a hot jet spurting out! All in all it was fun outing, and it got me in for my first swim of the season. We later had a swim off the back of the boat, even though the water temperature was still a chilly 21c, we headed towards shore with snorkels on and floated in awe, watching the air bubbling up from the bottom catching the late afternon sun, it was quite magical. I now know just how a goldfish feels surrounded all those bubbles!! We were rewarded for all this activity by an excellent gelato, siesta and then cruisers happy hour ashore on the beach. What a great stopover



We moved on a couple of miles north to the next island of Lipari. We had hoped to anchor off the town and go ashore to visit the highly recommended museum there but it was very deep water close inshore and there was much wash from the ferries so we abandoned that idea. The settled weather was continuing so we headed south around the island onto the west coast and pulled into a deserted bay along with Sundancer II. We didn't expect to find empty anchorages in Italy in June, what a treat. We went ashore to see if we could walk over to the town, but after a big climb to the top of the hill no obvious way down was apparent, so we abandoned that idea and went back for a swim instead. We were later joined by White Rose and Eye Candy, more cruisers happy hours followed!


Cruising Info for the Aeolian Islands:-
Anchorages - The Italian Waters Pilot recommends the Aeolian Group as fair weather anchorages only. We felt they were as good as any, and there are choices to move if the wind changes direction. They are really worth the stopover.
Porto Levante, Vulcano: 38 25.040N 14 57.658E 4m sand
Valle Muria, Lipari: 38 27.550N 14 55.944E 9.5m sand
Communications - We had Vodafone and TIM coverage on our phones at both anchorages but no WIND for our dongle at either. But could get WIND at Vulcano East anchorage apparantely and probably ashore.
Sightseeing - €3 entry fee per person to climb Vulcano and €2 per person for the mud bath
Money - Don't remember seeing an ATM but I'm sure there would have been one
Provisions/Fuel - A couple of reasonable supermarkets, excellent butcher and good fruit and veg shops all ashore in Vulcano, small place all easy enough to find. Fuel Dock over in Lipari town at location in Cruising Guide which White Rose used. €1.32 per litre
Formalities - still none in Italy