Sundowner II log – 2006 update 23 – Gaeta - Maratea
Sundowner II log update 23 – Gaeta - Maratea
Once again best laid plans of mice and men and all that when in reality things turn out differently. For a start the work on Sundowner took longer than expected but we were allowed to stay a couple of weeks longer in the marina mostly due to the fact the world cup had started not that we were that bothered being rather footballed out because of the shenanigans at the theatre of dreams. But with the locals’ manic fervour and the arrival of Seb from Thailand also a visit from Sally as of last year we got caught up in it all and had the bonus of the Azzurri winning it - hopefully making for a happy Italian summer. Seb had arrived within two days of receiving his new passport from the embassy in Thailand rather than flying straight home on a temporary one.



We managed to leave the security of the anchorage outside the marina in Gaeta to visit the island of Ventotene just under 30 miles away and as a treat entered Porto Romano a beautiful small friendly harbour which was hand dug and created out of the volcanic rock by the Romans. We had the bonus of the arrival on the ferry from Formia of Jacci and her two girls Stefy and Cristina - Seb’s cousins. Along with the football, cocktails and tom tom drums at the Bar Mediterrania we also circumnavigated the island and anchored off the nearby sister island of Stefi for a swim. The cocktails served by Vieri in the Bar Med were so good that on the rather choppy trip back to Gaeta Seb decided to reacquaint himself with them and talk to god in the green deck bucket phone.

Back at the Gaeta anchorage Sally arrived for ten days to join in the football, beer and pizza fest and after Seb returned home we again visited Ventotene to watch the final in the Bar Med only this time the hangovers were cured by a long walk around the island and a swim to cool off at the nearby beach which just happened to have a bar. Sundowner managed a good few hour’s powerful sailing on the return trip despite the winter’s growth below. Sally left to enjoy the sights of Rome for a couple of days before returning home. But not before a rather good leaving party with the occupants of the two nearby anchored boats one Danish couple Henna and Jurgen and the others our by now good friends Ahmet and Serkan captain and staff aboard the large wooden Turkish skiff My Pegasus chartering out of Gaeta.
With a departure long overdue and no particular passage plan other than going south and returning in September for another winter in Gaeta Sundowner left as the sun rose on the 17th of July into a surprisingly choppy sea determined to sail. It was a long day in the light winds and with only 30 miles covered we decided to anchor for the night on the nearest landfall, the southern side of the island Ischia in a small protected harbour. After a peaceful night and an early start sails were hoisted with the intention of passing between the mainland and the Island of Capri and passing the Bay of Naples before heading south possibly direct to the distant active volcanic island of Stromboli and with news that Etna on Sicily was erupting again it might be possible to visit her also. We had been a bit ambitious and bought charts for Malta, south of Sicily, but we had left it a bit late if we wanted a leisurely return back northwards. After a few fruitless hours struggling with wind and sea we let the tide sweep us round the western side of Capri where we anchored for the afternoon to rest then around to the small Piccolo Marina but with the water being a bit deep and the anchorage crowded, also the early evening wind started to blow from the north so once again sails were hoisted and we headed directly south meaning an overnight passage. The rising cross seas made our course uncomfortable so we changed more to the south east it was tempting to hoist the big cruising shute sail in the moderate following wind but as it turned out it was as well we didn’t. It was a long dark uncomfortable night with the wind and sea moving around coming from the north east and at one stage in the small hours in the strengthening wind and rising seas we had to double reef the genoa the mainsail having been taken down earlier so as not to hinder the following wind upon the genoa the sea being too lumpy to goose wing them both. For a while in the dark early moonless hours we did start to question what the hell we were doing. With dawn approaching we started to round Punta Licosa taking a wide berth to avoid the hazard lights indicating obstructions below the surface. As the sun rose the wind died and Perkins struggled awake pushing his heavy load along taking all his effort to make 3 ˝ knots. So it was midday before we motored into the nearest anchorage of Palinuro and it was a pleasant afternoon amongst the holidaymakers with their pedalos and small motor boats on the crystal clear water. Being as we were on the north east facing side of the headland the wind obviously blew from that direction so we moved around to the protected south eastern side and as it was 6 o’clock the day trippers had left and just a few yachts were anchored in the tranquil bay. Rather than move on the next day was spent scraping the undersides and polishing the props and after eight hours snorkelling the wine tasted good and we had another peaceful night.
It was such a joy to head off early making at least 4 ˝ knots even the motion of Sundowner felt good with the water hissing through the hulls we felt so good that instead of heading south we just followed tight to the coast eastwards and up into Sapri where we refuelled and watered then anchored off the beach to chill out. Then early afternoon we up anchored and hoisted sails but the wind died so we motored along the coast pulling into the small harbour of Maratea, fully expecting it to be full and having made plans to anchor in the lee of an island further along the coast, but there was a transit quay with just enough space for Sundowner to tie alongside behind a fishing boat. Dry land for the first time since Sunday four nights previous. Along with the quay being free of charge there was also the bonus of a stage being set up for a concert by a famous female singer from Napoli and a small supermarket with internet access also a couple of friendly bars.
What had really attracted us to the harbour was the mention of a pizza but it had obviously gone upmarket since the writing of the pilot book and was full of fancy restaurants so we entered one with the intention of having just a small pasta starter and after being asked if we had booked we were sat down at a balcony table and immediately given a glass of champagne we knew now we were out of our depth and the menu showed our pasta alone would be 10 euros plus 3 euros cover charge each but we toughed it out even ordering a bottle of their cheapest wine at 13 euros, the most expensive being 180 euros. Sandra in her best Italian ordered our pasta with no meat or fish and the amused waiter informed her she had ordered pasta with no peaches and there was in fact no bottles of the cheapest wine so upgraded us at no extra cost – result! We were joined at the next table by a Swiss couple who spoke perfect James Bond and Miss Moneypenny English who ordered the whole menu and told us about one of their homes in crime free South Africa with its trustworthy servants and how racism is a thing of the past then as quickly as the conversation had started we were waved away with a “cheerio” - nice manners. Shortly after 007’s phone ran and she sat in fuming silence as he talked and ate. After enjoying the fresh pasta and wine Dennis thought it would be a good idea to go to the kitchen and thank the chef as we waited to pay our bill which went down well and as we admired the sculptures around the room a young man struck up a conversation and offered us some of his home made limoncella, he turned out to be the young restaurant owner and sculptor as time passed we joined the pasta chef and her kitchen partner outside sitting on the small wall for a cigarette, she was learning English so was pleased with the practice, the limoncella bottle was by now emptied and we were given a very nice bottle of wine for the boat also the till must have broken because our bill hardly covered the pasta. With shouts from the kitchen for the staff to return as the restaurant was very busy the Swiss couple emerged, strange looks on their faces as they took in the scene, we waved with a very polite “cheerio”.
After a morning swim feeling relaxed we took a walk up to the nearby town of Maratea to locate a bank as the pilot book suggested, the machine in the closest town of Fiumicello ten minutes away was not working, we then had what can only be described as a dangerous tortuous and exhausting trip up the steep twisting five mile road. The fast downhill bus ride back was nearly as scary so we recovered with beer and pizza in Fiumicello. Making the most of the free harbour we stayed another night only to be woken at 2am by scores of people using the area for a passeggiata.