A Ride of a Lifetime: May 2016

20 May 2016

Pastel delights

Not even the start of the Maxi boat Volcano Race could tempt us to stay tied to the concrete. We finally left Gaeta mid May in the pouring rain and lumpy seas to set sail for the island of Ventotene, about 25 nautical miles away. We anchored in Cala Nave, just south of the old Roman harbour. Thankfully the sun shone the next morning so we launched the dinghy and played at being Romans.

Approaching Ventotene harbour

The small Roman harbour

Harbour and galley sheds

Weathered pastels

We entered the small Roman galley port excavated from the tufa stone in 29BC with the galley sheds and store rooms dug into the rock behind. A testament to Roman engineering. The village behind the port, a delightful pastel coloured backdrop, wasn't built up until the mid 18th century when the Bourbon's were in charge. A little further round there is a side channel created by the Romans for mooring and dry docks. From here we ventured through an ancient cavernous tunnel which brought us out to the black sand beach we were anchored off. Strolling back around the headland we came across an ancient fish farm and shallow sea salt pools. With an increasing easterly wind and swell, sadly we had to cut short our exploration of the island and return to the now bouncing boat.

Cala Nave

Running repairs

Ancient fish farm

At anchor in Cala Nave

Ponza pastels

We had a pleasant sail across to the island of Ponza in the afternoon and anchored in the harbour. A stunning setting surrounded by Ponza town, another delightful palette of pastel colours. Unfortunately, the following morning, we were politely asked by the coast guard to move round to the adjacent bay. New rules since we were here last. Anchoring is now only allowed in the harbour between 19.00 and 10.00!

Ponza harbour anchorage

Ponza town hiding behind the rocks from our new anchorage

Irrisistable turquoise waters

We upped anchor and motored round to the next bay. A beautiful setting with Ponza town just peeping through the dramatic vertical rocks. A great place to relax while we waited for a weather window to cross over to southern Sardinia. The crystal clear water proved too tempting and we had our first swim of the season, albeit short! We also had a quick peek under the boat to check on the winter growth which thankfully wasn't too bad.

Ponza

16 May 2016

Here come the Finns!

No more trips. No more excuses! It was time to start getting on with all those jobs we'd been putting off and start thinking about leaving. We started to re-varnish the saloon floors and give the boat a thorough top to toe clean up. We weren't in North Africa this winter but we still seemed to get our fair share of red rain! Oil changes had to be done and places found for things we'd hidden away in store over the winter months. Frustratingly the outboard engine needed attention and we had to seek professional help. This ended up delaying us but also meant that we were still in Gaeta for the Finn Gold Cup! This is the premier competition in Finn class racing, the "heavyweight dinghy" in the Olympic games sailing events.

Procession starts in the marina

Opening ceremony

Finn boats lined up on the dock

Getting ready to launch

On the move

In the water and off to race

Returning after a hard day racing

Coming ashore

The marina turned into a buzz of frenetic activity and male testosterone. 81 competitors from 26 different countries were signed up to compete. We joined in the fun and followed the procession to the opening ceremony which preceded six days of racing. It was a logistical nightmare getting all the racers and their boats launched and then back ashore again with their own trailers. A mixture of tricky light airs and winds of up to 25 knots tested the sailors. The highlight for us was going out on a marina RIB to watch the final races and see Giles Scott of Great Britain take home the Finn Gold Cup for the 4th time. This has only been topped by Sir Ben Ainslie who has won the Gold Cup an incredible 6 times. Good luck in Rio, Giles. Now that the Finns have departed it's time for us to go sailing ourselves...