Nick Bamford cruises Italy en route to Venice
Nick Bamford witnesses the force of nature first hand as he sails from Sardinia to Venice
ead for the volcano!’ This H
terse instruction to my partner Richard as I handed him the helm and switched off the autopilot on discovering a failed alternator, both amused and alarmed new sailor Steve, whose learning curve on his first night at sea was nothing if not steep. It was 0100 and we were experiencing one of the most awesome sights of our entire trip from Sardinia to Venice – motoring past the Sciara del Fuoco – the steady eruption and lava stream from Stromboli glowing in the night in the Lipari Islands just north of Sicily.
The arrival of my 65th birthday had prompted us to move my Sigma 362 Such Stuff to pastures new after 10 seasons based in Alghero, Sardinia. When your boat is based in Italy, the destination at the top of any bucket list has to be Venice, traditionally known as La Serenissima. We allowed nine weeks for the 1,300-mile trip, and invited friends and family along for various legs of the voyage, which ended with a family reunion in Venice.
FINAL PREPARATIONS
There was little evidence of wind in the forecast for our 24-hour passage from Such Stuff’s berth at Portisco, where I had moved her ahead of the voyage. Our destination was one of the Pontine Islands, Ponza, around three quarters of the way from Sardinia to the Bay of Naples. Having removed and cleaned out the fuel tank at the start of the season, I had a quick look at the primary fuel filter. This proved to be a prudent decision – it was full of the most appalling black gunk. I cleaned it, reprimed and bled the system, and we set off keeping a careful eye on it for the first few hours. After a glorious moonand starlit night passage and a brief dolphin encounter the next morning, we arrived safely in charming Ponza although the €130 a night fee to berth on a pontoon, without even a loo or shower, removed some of the gloss.
The Bay of Naples gave us the impressive sight of the first of four volcanoes we would see during the trip. Vesuvius is infamous for having erupted and destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79AD. We moored in the delightful harbour of Casamicciola on Isola d’ischia, and caught the ferry to Naples to explore the spectacular ruins of Herculaneum, before sailing to Castellamare di Stabia, our base for visiting Pompeii, with its preserved streets and houses and plaster casts of the many victims from the disaster.
After a crew change in Sorrento, where we picked up first time sailors Christa and Steve, we headed to the beautiful yet rugged Capri for a lunchtime swim before sailing down the coast to Amalfi and the marina. Here, the charming harbourmaster boarded Such Stuff and, to my initial consternation, ushered us all aside as he reversed the yacht at some speed through a gap no more than a couple of feet wider than the boat and, with the help of a couple of welldrilled assistants waiting on the pontoon, moored her briskly and efficiently. This was a service I have not seen before or since, and it was with some trepidation that we awaited for the bill. They airily dismissed us till the next morning when we were charged €90 for our overnight stay – not cheap, but expected in that part of Italy in July.
From Amalfi we sailed to Acciaroli, via a night anchored off the delightful seaside village of Pioppi
We motored past the Sciara del Fuoco, taking in the steady eruption and red-yellow lava stream glowing in the night
before our dramatic night passage past Stromboli. Arriving in Lipari at 0500 we found a berth and a kind man to help us into it, and the marina’s excellent service continued with the provision of a reconditioned alternator fitted by lunchtime.
POWER PROBLEMS
Volcano number three was on the adjacent island of Vulcano which offered a spectacular, if rather smelly swim stop the next day amidst its sulphurous fumes, before we headed into the Straits of Messina, for a night in Messina, then on past Taormina and the ever-smoking Etna to Riposto, where Christa, Steve and Richard left the boat, replaced by an old sailing friend, Tim.
His experience was very much appreciated over the next week or so as we covered the miles around the toe and heel of Italy before heading over to Croatia.
These were long days with light winds, which soon highlighted a further problem during our last passage from Santa Maria di Leuca to Otranto: a reluctant, faltering engine. I managed to coax it into life sufficiently to run at low revs to get us into harbour, but clearly it was in no state to embark on a long night passage across the Adriatic.
The next morning I went in search of an engineer and tracked down the magnificent Giuseppe, who stripped down the fuel system, removed a load more gunk, and then sealed the fuel pump which had been leaking air since I had prised it apart on my initial examination. Soon the old Volvo sprang into life. We set off for a glorious Force-3 on-the-beam sail that became a calm overnight motor under a starlit sky, and arrived in Bar, southern Montenegro the next morning.
The bulk of the mileage was now behind us, and for the next six weeks we enjoyed a very leisurely maritime stroll up this glorious coast, taking in some of the magnificent scenery, harbours and anchorages.
With Richard now back on the boat, our exploration of this incredible array began with a gem, Šipanska Luka. This delightful quiet village surrounding a sheltered bay offered a very safe anchorage along with bars, shops and restaurants ashore. Mali Ston is a place you’re not likely to get to by boat as it is many miles up a narrow inlet, so we walked Croatia’s version of the Great Wall of China across the peninsular from Ston to Mali Ston.
This coast has so many beautiful towns, and we found Korcula, Hvar and Milna to be like Dubrovnik, just smaller. The larger Split, with its extraordinary Diocletian’s Palace, blending a Roman ruin with Renaissance buildings, and Zadar with its sea organ creating magical sounds with the rise and fall of the waves were also charming. There are so many secluded anchorages that even in August we were always able to find a quiet spot.
The swelteringly hot weather broke briefly while we were in Zadar, where old friend Graham joined us for his first ever sailing trip. There was a Bora forecast – the cold north-easterly wind which blows down from the mountains in this area, sometimes at gale force – not conditions for a complete novice.
But, two days later, we were able to escape and enjoy a brisk beam reach in a Force 4-5 towards the island of Mali Lošinj – yet another delightful small town set in a sheltered bay – and from there to Unije, with its selection of bays to moor in.
In over 40 years of sailing yachts I have encountered many kinds of mooring, stern-to and lazy lines, pilings and pontoons, but here was a new one: two buoys each with two lines attached to be secured to the four corners of the boat – except that someone had undone one of the lines so we only had three. As our fellow yachtsmen in the bay confirmed, this is a very challenging system with all four lines in place and a flat calm. We had a Force 4 crosswind and only three lines. The skipper of another boat proved a true friend in need, diving for the missing line and generally helping us before we were finally moored.
VENTURING TO VENICE
The Istrian ports with their mixed Croatian and Italian history offered a very different experience from the southern destinations. Pula with its Roman amphitheatre still offering gladiator fights, the beautiful town of Rovinj and the equally charming and characterful Porec, from where we headed once more across the Adriatic.
We had clearly seen the influence of Venice in the architecture all the way up the Croatian coast, and so it seemed appropriate that this unique city was to offer the climax of our trip. It was a calm 40-mile motor across, and from several miles out we were excited to make out the unmistakable shape of the Campanile of San Marco. Before long, paying unaccustomed attention in these shallow waters to the echo sounder, which is so often surplus to
We were able to enjoy a very leisurely maritime stroll up this glorious coast, taking in the magnificent scenery
requirements in the Mediterranean once out of harbour, we were motoring up the approach channel of the Porto di Lido and round to the Canale di San Marco, the canal looking more or less exactly as it had when Canaletto painted it 300 years ago. Navigating this maritime maelstrom required eyes all round our heads.
We had a week in Venice, staying in the Vento di Venezia marina on the peaceful island of La Certosa, which offered welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of this tourist Mecca.
We met up with family, and had a couple of trips round the lagoon, visiting several of the smaller islands surrounding Venice including Murano, famous for its beautiful glass, Mazzorbo and the strikingly colourful Burano.
The plan had been to end the trip in Monfalcone, 60 miles up the coast, but a combination of less than ideal weather and a faulty cooker led to a decision to leave Such Stuff in Venice for the winter. This decision proved not to be as expensive as we had initially feared. It did, however, mean we returned to Venice the following spring for the fit-out. It can be a hard life!