Month: August 2021

Sanremo was our last Italian port and Menton-Garavan was our first port in France. Wonderful to see baguettes, croissants and pate again! And lower marina rates.

We travelled this coastline in the fall of 2019. This time we hope to do more anchoring however anchoring now in France is more difficult with the new rules for avoiding the posidonia sea grass. Some anchorage areas are cordoned off with special bouys showing approved anchorage for boats less than 25 meters but you still need to avoid the sea grass. We downloaded the Donia app which proved to be very helpful when choosing where to drop the anchor.

Next stop was a motor to Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat. This was a very upscale marina but without the superyachts. After going into the marina you wished you had polished the boat and put on your very best sailing apparel. The shops along the waterfront did not cater to the common sailor. Still, it was enjoyable. No real town to speak of but lovely countryside. The whole penisula is full of uptown villas with lavish grounds. I’m sure the most common phrase used at cocktail hour in these villas was “I wonder what the poor people are doing today”. The bay in front of the town was filled with large to super yachts. It was the first time since the Amalfi coast that we had seen a large collection of super yachts.

The next day we motored onto Rade di Villefranche – this was on skipper’s bucket list. Just on the other side of the peninsula. We spent 2 nights anchored there. It was a busy anchorage during the day but thined out considerably by dinner time. We were able to take the dinghy into town and dock at the Villefranche old harbour. We picked up dinner at the fishmarket and wandered the narrow streets looking for boulangeries and cold beer. We also managed to get some chores done on the boat – sealing inspection ports, gelcoat, new dinghy lights and adding velcro for our sunshades. One night we started to hear some voices off in the distance. Listened further and then we saw it. It was a movie playing on the castle wall. We found out later that they run outdoor movies during selected summer nights.

A great anchorage! Thoroughly enjoyed it. Worthy of another visit.

We stayed in Cannes for 2 nights at the marina. We were closer to the town than two years ago. Close to some very large sailboats and motor yachts. We wandered the old town and visited the much Covid diminished market. Sea bass and bullots on the BBQ for dinner. Laundry day the next day – love the onboard washing machine especially during Covid. With this heat, every day seemed to be laundry day.

We anchored the next 2 nights. First night at Baie de Briande where we had rain, thunder and lightenting. There was a snack boat wandering through the anchorage but our boat was too small to warrant a stop.

Next night we anchored in 8M clear water at Isles de Porquerolles. A pleasant night with Cicadas chirping. The seas calmed later in the evening for a good sleep.

To be continued ….. travelling to Tulon, Marseille and back to Port Napoleon in Port Saint Louis du Rhone where Chinook has spent the winter.

After Pisa, we passed by the Apuan Alps, a mountain range in northern Tuscany that reach 2,000 meters high. The mountains appear snow covered but it’s the Carrara marble seen on the mountian side. It has been used for buildings and sculptures since ancient Rome times.

We made our way to an anchorage in a bay just south of Lerici and anchored under a castle wall. Picture perfect and a nice calm night for a change. Most of the boats left in the early evening leaving only 4 overnight.

The next day we sailed by Cinque Terre starting at Porto Venere and going north. These villages are postcard perfect. We could see from the water that these villages were teeming with tourists so we decided not to anchor to go ashore. We spent the night in Chiavari and stopped for a swim (28 degree water) before entering the port.

We looked into spending the night at Portofino however at 450 euros a night for a mooring ball we decided to pass. It is a beautiful village and is on the bucket list of many sailors.

We continued onto Genova. The harbour is huge with many cruise ships. It was a 20 minute entrance to the marina. We docked right in the porto antica next to a Pirate ship and an Aquarium.

We spent a very hot day wandering around Genova. Google maps (not our friend) got us lost a few times in the narrow streets but we made it to the top for a great view. A fun city! Many piazzas and old buildings in old Genova. Garibaldi street is where the wealthy families of Genova built their mansions. Most so them are now banks. The Deutche bank was closing but allowed us to the atrium which housed a fountain and lovely sculptures and paintings. We just had to lock up when we left. We had takeout of fresh fried fish and calamari from one of the old sciamadde shops near our boat.

After two great nights in Genova, we sailed on and anchored the next night at Capo di Noli (south of Malpasso) and and the next night at Capo Santa Corse (near Alassio). The later was the most uncomfortable night of our trip. The direction of the winds differed from the direction of the large swells. We had to use the gimbal stove for dinner at anchor! Nice landscape and good swimming.

Sanremo was our last Italian port. It was more of a city than town with more people and traffic than Genova. Everyone drives a motorcycle in Italy which is the preferred mode of transportation. The harbour was on the outskirts of Sanremo. Went to the fish market but not early enough as only one vendor left but were able to get some fish for that nights dinner. We first met a Dutch boat here which we would meet another two times. The nights are finally starting to get cooler – mid August.

Arrivederci Italia – Bonjour la France!

We had a good sail with only the jib to Portoferraio (meaning “Iron Port” in Italian) on Elba Island.  Napoleon was exiled in Elba in 1814 after his defeats in Europe and his forced abdication and made his residence in Portoferraio. He did not stay long and Waterloo was history.

We anchored in 16-20 kn winds at Rada di Portoferraio. It was a very large bay well protected from the swell but we were still subjected to the winds. Our anchor held well but we did see another boat drifting through the harbour amazingly missing the other anchored boats. We received some welcome rain but did not last long. Unfortunately, we felt it was too windy to leave the boat to head to shore to see Portoferraio. Beautiful town viewed from the Rada.

From Portoferraio we went to Marina Cala de Medici. Another uninteresting place (it did have the best all round grocery store we had seen in Italy) but a good marina. After that, to Porto di Pisa which also had a double narrow entrance like Roma. We docked at the back of the port with good access to supplies. Skipper found a great bike path into Pisa, some narrow roads as you got into Pisa. So, we got the bikes out, dusted off the rust, lubricated them up and down the passerelle. The next day we had a hot cycle into Pisa (15 km) and only got lost a few times.

We rounded the corner into the Piazza del Duomo there was the Torre di Pisa. It did not disappoint. The tower, the Cathedral, Bapistry and surrounding buildings were great but a lttle crowded. Most we had seen since Napoli. Except this time they were tourists. We did not have an EU vacciation certificate so we could not enter the buildings. This was the first time that the lack of the certificate hindered us. We tried to get one but usual bureaucratic fashion, there was no response from the Italian government even though we had gone to the site they recommended to get one. We found a nice spot for lunch before the cycle back. Well worth the trip.

Out new BBQ (Lotus grill) has been great for the hot evenings. We grilled octopus (very popular in Italy) for a tomato pasta dish.

We continue our way up the Italian Coastline. There was busy ferry traffic leaving Napoli but we had a good sail to Gaeta with 20-25 winds most of the day. We stopped at a small local restaurant in Gaeta for Tielle (octopus pie) and pasta con cozze. Nothing too interesting about the town.

Our sail to Anzio included a lot ot tacking with rough seas. The Anzio harbour had a narrow entrance and we docked along the city wall. This harbour also had WWII significance as this was the site of some further landings by the Allies including Canadian soldiers. One of our good friends father landed here in 1943 with the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil’s Brigade.  The town was rather uninteresting as the buildings were mostly post war since the war razed the town almost completely. We were visited by the Guardia di Finanza (Customs) in Anzio. They were friendly but took up a couple of hours of our morning with paperwork and delayed our exit to Roma.

The Roma marina is man made and we entered through 2 crescent-shaped moles designed to reflect any swell before it enters the marina. However, the waters were quite turbulent at the entrance but calm after we were fully inside. It was a steep passerelle exit from Chinook. The marina is quite isolated with nothing of noteworthy about it other than it was a good marina and relatively close to Roma, about 30km. A number of Romans keep their boats there.

During our sail to Riva di Triano, our excitement of the day was a Guardia di Finanza boat (with the deck gun manned) who jammed our radar and pulled beside us with their fenders lowered for boarding. Fortunately they left after a few questions and did not board the boat. Riva di Triano was a huge sterile marina with 1,180 berths, also in the middle of nowhere. We had dinner close by on the pier – tonnarelli allo scoglio which had become a favourite of ours.

Our sail to Port Ercole had light winds and large rolling waves. The extreme heat continued so afternoon dips in the sea were becoming regular. The Marina di Presidi had cold birra at the marina side bar which we welcomed. The town was quite small.

We had a lazy carefree sail to Punta Alla. The marina was full so we reserved a slip privately with payment in cash. We’re always skeptical of cash payments at the marinas. The marina was fine but our Italian slipmates were not friendly which we found was common for sailing during the summer months. Again, not a destination spot but a good overnight place.

After Amalfi, we anchored at Fiordo di Crappola (suspicious that is not a real name but it is the one Navily gave it)(near Positano). Many tourist and private boat traffic during the day but by evening it was quiet. We reset the anchor for the night in order to stay well clear of the ‘no boating’ zone. As with many of our anchorages, the wind changed direction numerous times during our stay.

The next day we sailed to Sorrento where there was good marina with helpful staff. We hiked along a narrow cliffside walkway to reach the town. Below we could see the marina and the busy seaside resorts filled with tourists baking in the sweltering heat. Another quaint town with narrow streets but his time laid out in a realtively organized way. We went back to town for dinner at La Cazzarola.

Enroute to Napoli we hauled out our Code D sail and toured the Salerno coast where more WWII landings took place. We arrived at the Napoli marina with views of Vesuvius and Castel Dell’Ovo. All this for only 185 euros a night! Electricity was extra but it did include great security. Napoli is a very busy and noisy city with lots of traffic but very few traffic lights or stop signs. Amazingly no traffic jams but watch out crossing the street. Quite a contrast from Sorrento.

We spent 2 nights in Napoli and hit all the sites: Piazza Plebiscito with the Royal Palace at one end and Basilica Pontificia San Francesco at the other, Teatro di San Carlo, Via Toledo, Galleria Umberto (a 18th century glass covered mall), Cathedral (Duomo di Napoli), Quartieri Spagnoli (very busy) and had our first taste of sfogliatella. The Basilica Pontificia San Francesco was an interesting copy of the pantheon roof. We had birra at MacDonalds (ice cold on a very hot day) and takeout pizza (of course, we are in Napoli) for dinner to offset the steep marina costs. Being in a larger city, it was expecially hot.