Gaeta to Isola Capri
Posted at 10:06 PM, Nov. 5, 2006
Currently sitting in the yacht harbour on Isola Capri after sharing some red wine with the locals at a bar along from the marina. It is Sunday evening 5 November. Daylight saving started last weekend in Italy so it now is fully dark by 1730 hrs but at least it is light by 0600 hrs and sunrise if there is one is around 0730 hrs.
W e never did make it to the marina at Gaeta and in fact never even made it to look around Gaeta. We duly moved off the pilot boat berth at Formia in the morning of Thursday 2 November to keep the local police happy and managed to squeeze into another spot on the seawall (free berthage) amongst various commercial boats. Shortly after the frontal system arrived and it blew hard at 40 knots all day, rained hard also and the temperatures plummeted – the Italian indian summer had just ended. Late ion the afternoon the rain eased so we went for a walk around Formia stocked up on foodstuffs and did a few chores around the boat. Friday the 3rd weather looked a lot better, wind around 10 knots, sunny but very cold (around 2 degrees) and as we motored out of Formia we realized that it was cold because there was more than a dusting of snow on the higher peaks behind the town. The plan was to sail across to Isola Ischia about 35 miles out of Gaeta. Wind on the nose but light so we motorsailed. Virtually exactly at the half way stage engine gave a huge stutter and lost all revs. Eventually found we had a huge heavy duty green plastic bag around the prop which yours truly had to spend a fair while diving with the snorkel to cut free but eventually task completed after about an hour. At least the water temperature was a whole lot warmer than the air temperature.
Arrived into the marina at Ischia late afternoon to find they had no berths so we ended up anchoring off the beach outside the marina along with a French boat who we had caught up with coming across from Gaeta. Wind shift during the night saw us moving at around 0200 hrs and then again across to the nearby island of Procida where we anchored off the town of Chiaiolella at the entrance to the small fishing port/marina. I can only describe this as a foul anchorage for the reason shown on the photo below!!
A foul anchorage off Chiaiolella, Isola Procida
The islands of Ischia and Procida are at the northern end of the Bay of Naples only a few miles offshore while Capri 15 miles to the south of Procida is at the southern end of the Bay of Naples and close to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast with Mt Vesuvius in the background. This group of islands have a long history and were colonized about 750 BC. They all seem to have had their fair share of Roman aristocracy inhabit them for better or worse and with the exception of Procida are mountainous (peaks up to 2500 ft).
Casamiciola, Isola Procida from the south - a riot of colour and contrasts.
We spent the evening of Saturday 4 November in the marina at Porto Ischia with only 200 mls under the keel but at least by contract with the previous night it was calm. Procida the town was a riot of colourful buildings, numerous ferries coming and going and the call to prayer as the large and attractive church right on the waterfront rang the bells every 15 minutes. On the same walkway there were two other Hanse owners with their boats and they both came along for a chat in Italian. We walked up onto the ridge to the town of Casamicciola with the narrow streets, cascading terraces of grapevines and lemon trees and back down to the port though narrow walkways amongst houses and shops. No shortage of limoncello in this part of the world – and thanks to Alan and Judi we have a special bottle from Sorrento on board. Another claim to fame for Casamicciola is that Henrik Ibsen spent a summer here in a villa writing Peer Gynt.
Waterfront view and church Porto Procida from cockpit
This morning we motored over to Isola Capri with no wind, beautiful sunny day, clear skies but still cool but warmer than it has been over the last few days. The marina at Capri is said to be impossible to get into and the prices are reputably horrendous. We arrived to find plenty of spare berths and with a 15 metre boat we found the prices quite reasonable all things considered. The price for Savarna in the high season (which is most of the year would be EUR240 a night). Capri looks stunning and we spent a couple of hours walking around the town this afternoon. I am sure Pam will be there again tomorrow with her credit card. Some of the fashions are mind blowing. The town is high above the port and accessed by a funicular running from the port. The town is amazing with numerous narrow alleyways barely two shoulder widths wide, no cars and a mixture of shops, apartments and restaurants. Tiberius lived here for 10 years so the stories of orgies and brutality persist. Many famous people have lived here including Gracie Fields, Friedrich Krupp and Axel Munthe. So tomorrow we plan to take a tour around the island, visit the famous Blue Grotto and then leave for the Amalfi Coast in a couple of days.
All well on board, boat systems going well, thinking about buying a heater!
Cheers
Keith