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...

Getting ready to start the last race

And they're off

Starting the downwind leg

Racing for the finish line in the medal race

For a taster of the final day of racing, follow this link  2016 Finn Gold Cup - Final day video

Finn Gold Cup

Giles Scott receiving his race medals

Local jaunts

USS Mount Whitney

We had trips planned further afield but there was still plenty to see on our doorstep. We managed to arrange a tour of our huge 189m neighbour the USS Mount Whitney. She is the command and control ship for both the US navy Sixth Fleet and the commander and striking force NATO. A group of marina cruisers, including our friend "6" who was visiting from London, were all vetted in advance and with passports in hand we crossed the border into American territory. As per naval protocol we were told to halt at the gangway, stand at attention and face aft. After yet more security checks we were finally given our visitor and foreign national badges and were ushered into the bowels of this huge military monster.

View from the Bridge

On guard!

and the Bridge

The Captain's cabin

Inside the USS Mount Whitney

We were led along a maze of surprisingly narrow corridors and up steep ladders and finally emerged outside again on the Quarterdeck. We were then taken up to the Bridge and met the armed guard who was on her 5 hour shift. We took a peek inside the Commanding Officer's cabin and introduced ourselves to Captain Sardiello who welcomed us inside. It was surprisingly large and with an open coal fireplace! Our next stop was the dark inner sanctum where no cameras or phones were allowed. A room with a lot of computer screens and a large table. No doubt the scene of many big decisions.

Gaeta old town harbour front

Following the fascinating tour a few of us went for a coffee and warm up at Bar Bazzanti rumoured to serve the best coffees in the gulf. Not only good but also a great price at 1 euro each. Rejuvenated we continued on our wander round the picturesque old town.

Gaeta's 13th century cathedral bell tower

SS Annunziata church, Gaeta

View from Monte Orlando down to Serapo beach

Rather him than me!

Another local jaunt took us back up Monte Orlando but this time on the "cliff" walk. We started by entering the Sanctuary of the Holy Trinity, a monastery complex, and carried on through to the extraordinary Montagna Spacatta (split mountain). Legend has it that the mountain split at the exact moment Jesus died on the cross. We continued on up enjoying fabulous views out to sea and of the vertical cliffs. We spotted some adrenaline seeking rock climbers attempting to ascend the sheer rock face. The walk took us up to the Carolina gunpowder magazine which was built by the Bourbon family in the 18th century and was in use up until the end of the Second World War.

Spot the climbers!

Montagna Spacatta

Carolina gunpowder magazine

Fortified walls on Monte Orlando

Serapo beach with Monte Orlando in the distance

Fontania beach with the ruins of a Roman villa just visible

The Little Bar Café, Gaeta

We also managed a long walk along Serapo beach and on round to the smaller Fontania beach where the remains of a grand Roman villa are just visible under the gently lapping waters. We discovered a lovely street bar just behind Serapo beach. At weekends the road is closed to traffic and if the sun is shining the locals descend in their hordes to the Little Bar Café. It's a real sun trap and we joined in the fun sipping our bright orange Aperol Spritz's watching the world go by. Aperol is an Italian aperitif made of bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb and cinchona among other ingredients. It is also currently Manchester United football club's Official Global Spirits Partner! Cheers!

Aperol on the rocks!

Noisy neighbours

Ride of a Lifetime in her alongside winter berth

We are enjoying being in Italy and getting to know Gaeta, our base for the winter months. It is a lovely, vibrant old town built on a peninsula lying midway between Rome and Naples. The town was originally a small settlement of fishermen and farmers dating back to the seventh century and the old medieval quarter is dominated by the strategically positioned imposing Angevin and  Aragonese Castle. We have a very useful alongside berth in the small, extremely friendly, family run marina which is very conveniently situated in the centre of town. The marina is full of predominantly Italian boats but there is a cosmopolitan smattering of cruisers based here for the coming months to keep us company.

The marina in Gaeta

Our 189m neighbour, USS Mount Whitney

Gulf of Gaeta 

Not long after we arrived in Gaeta the 189m US navy and NATO command ship USS Mount Whitney docked just outside the marina. It is alleged to be the most sophisticated command, control, communications, computer and intelligence ship ever commissioned. It is surrounded by a security net and 24 hour patrols. We now have a huge and noisy next door neighbour.  The bugle sounds reveille at 8am every morning followed by the Star-Spangled Banner. Throughout the day there are constant ringing bells and loudspeeker announcements. We had armed guards patrolling the pontoons last year in Tunisia. We now have a huge warship watching over us. Not sure whether we feel safer or not!

View down to medieval Gaeta from Monte Orlando

Serapo beach

Bougainvillea in Gaeta old town

Rising above the old city of Gaeta is the beautiful wooded  Monte Orlando. It is a protected area with various woodland trails that lead up to the mountain top and the Mausoleum of Lucius Plancus, a Roman consul in the 1st century BC. In need of some exercise we set off up the “dormouse” trail and followed the path passing the many ruins of the formidable military fortifications of the Bourbon era. There were stunning views back down to Serapo beach on one side of the peninsula and to medieval Gaeta and the Pontine islands in the hazy distance on the other. We still have the "cliff" walk and the "ornithological" route to look forward to another day...

The Mausoleum of Lucius Plancus

                               Church of St Francis and the Statue of Religion, Gaeta             

Medieval Gaeta

Gales, gales and yet more gales....

Gulf of Arzachena

Gulf of Arzachena

Once we'd crossed the Bonifacio Straits into Sardinian waters we needed to find a safe haven for a few days as strong north easterly winds were expected. We decided on the very sheltered Porto Palma on the south of the island of Caprera in the Maddalena archipelago. This bay, needless to say, was firmly in the national park where you are charged not only to pick up a buoy but also to drop your own anchor in their pristine waters. It was the end of the season and with the weather deteriorating we decided to risk it. 


We found a great spot in the north eastern corner of this lovely bay and had fun watching the dinghies from the two sailing schools zip by. There were noticeably more yachts here than in Corsica and the anchorage was filling up fast. Unfortunately our time in this lovely spot was cut short the following morning with the arrival of the park warden. We paid our dues and were allowed to stay for one more night as long as we were gone before they arrived at 10 the next morning. 

Cala Gavetta marina, La Maddalena

Moored up in Cala Gavetta marina

La Maddalena promenade

The predicted wind speeds were forecast to increase. To avoid paying to sit out the storm at anchor we sailed south a couple of miles to the Sardinian mainland to a bay in the north eastern corner of the Gulf of Arzachena which looked like it might afford a good lee from the north easterly winds. It proved to be a great little spot with good shelter and a supermarket just up the road where we could replenish our dwindling supplies. With the wind and rain fast approaching we raced ashore to Baia Sardinia, a rather bizarre purpose built high end tourist resort on the edge of the Costa Smeralda. It served its purpose and we were soon back on the boat before the heavens opened. The storm was now due to pass overhead with an overnight shift of gale force winds. We had already sat out two days of bad weather but with the forecast winds increasing to 50+ knots with non stop torrential rain we decided we'd had enough. We donned our waterproof clothing and braved the elements for the hour long journey back up to La Maddalena island and the safety of Cala Gavetta marina.

La Maddalena harbour

La Maddalena

We stayed put for a few days and enjoyed re-exploring La Maddalena. We'd stopped here briefly ten years ago so it was nice to refresh our memories. It also coincided with the Rugby World cup and an important Welsh game. We dressed up head to toe in our waterproof gear and made a dash for a port side bar that was showing the game. A good result but the weather had deteriorated further during the match. We stood in the doorway watching the road turning into a river. There was no sign

The roads turn to rivers

of a respite so we just had to go for it and wade back. At least the boat got a good clean! Thankfully by morning the sun was shining again and finally the winds were starting to drop.

Cala di Volpe

Waiting for favourable winds, Olbia town quay

Unfortunately the weather was very unsettled and there were yet more gales forecast to come our way. We decided to move before the next one arrived and had a lovely sail down past Porto Cervo to Cala di Volpe, a wonderfully protected shallow inlet. In the summer it is full of the jet set in their super yachts and noisy toys but in October there were only a couple of other yachts for company. We enjoyed a day of calm and were able to dive under the boat to do a final bottom clean before it started howling again. We ended up staying put for a week and sitting out two more gales. We were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to be able to make the 200 miles across the Tyrrhenian Sea to our winter destination of Gaeta lying between Rome and Naples on the Italian mainland. With easterly winds forecast and our food stores again depleting we dropped down to Olbia town quay to wait for favourable winds. It was a convenient spot right in town but sadly there have been a lot of thefts from boats in broad daylight so one of us always stayed on board.

Yet another gale heading our way

Approaching Gaeta by sea

Yet another gale blew through and with a small window we set sail as the westerly winds were abating. It was a bumpy but extremely fast crossing and we dropped anchor in Gaeta harbour with an hour to spare before the start of the Wales v Australia game! We had hoped to stop in the Pontine islands before tying ourselves up for the winter but they will have to wait for some calm seas in the Spring. Yet more rain and wind was on its way so we decided to call it a day and head into Gaeta marina.

Gaeta harbour