Left Gaeta at 7 am and headed south. It was sunny and the sea was calm and after two hours we were in the Bay of Naples. Mt. Vesuvius was in cloud but we had a good look at Sorrento and the Isle of Capri. The sea was kind to us all day and at 3 pm we arrived at Camaretto 100 miles north of Sicily after passing some truly majestic coastal scenery. The fuel and berthing service was excellent – we are beginning to like Italian marina arrangements. We had eaten our snacks on the way so it was bread, cheese and pate for lunch and a crash out. We took a walk later and again the shops were just opening their shutters for the evening. We found a small supermarket and bought the few things we needed including our snack for the next day.
This is not Mt Vesuvius but a near neighbour that was not covered in cloud
Leaving Capri in our wake
We have realised what it has been about Gaeta and Camaretto that we have liked and that is they are the first places we have been to that have not catered for tourists. They have been local people and we have wandered among them sharing their lives for a few short hours.
We had the chicken we had bought in Gaeta and very nice it was too with strawberries. Michael won Scrabble.
Near Gaeta
June 7
At 7.15 am we were away from Camerotto and the day was cloudy. We saw much fishing activity and a large group of fishing boat together with two planes circling overhead. It had said on the radio that there was a naval exercise going on somewhere but they were not naval boats so we passed on not knowing what was happening. We began to see the volcanic island of Stromboli which is still quietly smouldering and the distant outlines of the toe of Italy and Sicily. Between these two is the Strait of Messina through which we would be going. The sea became heavy and we had to slow down considerably. Silueta was lurching about and a few things on board were thrown around. We are used to this and know that we just have to sit it out and hope it gets better rather than worse.
We had read in the pilot book that the Strait can be a notoriously difficult place for a boat as it is just one and half miles wide and has whirlpools and strong currents. So we wondered what was ahead of us. In the event it turned out amazingly well. The sea died down and it was completely calm as we passed through the Strait seeing swordfishing boats on the way. We remembered that when we had our boat in Poole the channel leading into the harbour was frequently rough because of all the water streaming through the narrow channel between Sandbanks and Studland, and this we realised was the same situation as that.
We arrived in Reggio Calabria on the toe of Italy at 2.30 pm and once more our fuel and berthing requirements were dealt with most efficiently. We had not eaten our pizza snack because we had not been able to in the heavy sea so we had it for lunch with salad, cup of tea and crash out.
Our plan had been to have a meal out and a rest day here tomorrow but we find it is a large town and the centre is 15 minutes walk away and somehow we would have to cross the traintrack to get there. Also the harbour is somewhat commercial so we have decided to press on tomorrow.
It has been interesting to read the pilot book over the last few days because it has pointed out the places that were notable in ancient roman times and also that were mentioned in roman mythology. We saw for instance the island where Pliny the younger had stood and watched Vesuvius erupt and destroy Pompeii in AD 79. Tomorrow we should see Mt. Etna on Sicily, cloud permitting. Also tomorrow we leave the Tyrrhenian Sea in which we have been since we left Corsica and enter the Ionian Sea and we will be facing our final destination of Corfu from then on. It has to be said that at no stage on this trip has it been hot. The weather has been like an English summer.
So it was avocado prawn, a tin of chicken in black bean sauce with rice from the stock cupboard and nectarines.
Total miles so far 1140 nm
Hours at sea 73.9
Average speed 15 nm per hour