Santa Maria di Leuca to Brindisi (Italy)

Posted at 8:09 AM, May. 25, 2007

We are now at Brindisi on the SE coast of Italy, on the Adriatic sea, and a major ferry terminus for passengers to Greece and the signs say Albania also. There is also a small international airport here  with Ryanair flights to the UK for one pound plus about 19 pound in taxes.

We arrived here on Tuesday night 22^nd May after an 11 hour beat with up to 30 knots right on the nose. A hard day at the office! Good news was thought that Shelly found her sea legs and no ill health signs despite heavy seas and a but of a pounding. We left Santa Maria di Leuca in calm weather to depart the southern Ionian Sea and to head up into the Adriatic having identified a small fishing village that we could anchor off for lunch, an explore and a swim and then a few more miles up the coast to the medieval town of Otranto for the night. Overall about a 25 mile passage. We did not leave until around mid day after yet another gelato and instead of the benign conditions that prevailed at Santa Maria di Leuca we found a good 20 knot NE, which moved left all afternoon to end up as a 20 knot NW, as we got into the Adriatic. So spent all afternoon sailing along and close to the coast to pull into Otranto around 1900hrs but with the NW quite a swell rolling into the harbour.  A few other yachts there also. Had a rolly, noisy night and departed early morning for the 45 mile sail to Brindisi. Two other yachts headed out before us and both turned back!

It was a good sail though in trying conditions and a fine sunny day with lots of white water around. The no 2 reefing line frayed through en route and it has got me into completing the redesign of the reefing system. The one line reefing system in my view while good conceptually puts a lot of pressure on the mainsail cars and we have had several of the car bolts buckled as the reefing line “works” at the outer end of boom. I am going to run the outboard end lines back to the cockpit as in the traditional slab reefing system and then run a further line with a steel S that attaches to the mainsail reefing point at the mast, back to the cockpit through a spare jammer. That means two winching jobs rather than one but a far more secure system in that the amount of movement in the reefing lines will be significantly reduced. Will no doubt get well tested in the next few weeks. Also had a bang on the way and pretty sure we have some line around the prop as we are not getting full revs. Will go and anchor off tomorrow and dive under for a look – the marina does not look an inviting place to have a look and vis will be low.

At Brindisi it is possible to tie up at the town quay for no charge – but also no facilities which is ok for a night but does start to stretch the holding tanks after a couple of days. The advantage of the quayside is that you are in the centre of the action and only a matter of metres away from bars, cafes and gelaterias (in fact they are all combined into one). We found a great local trattoria called Skippers (great pizzas and pasta) for dinner just up a side street off the quay. Excellent and humorous service and a few extras thrown in at the end by who we presumed was the owner.

The town is quite an attractive place with the streets all paved and palm trees each side – somewhat of a surprise given the very unattractive visual impact when approaching by sea. We have now moved to the yacht club marina just beyond the town quay and on the other side of the harbour. The cheapest marina yet in the Med and with all services. A short walk and a foot ferry back to town runs continuously as and when required. The main marina to the north just inside the harbour entrance is apparently very expensive, is a lengthy bus ride from to town and has no cafes or other services there at all. And the only chandlery is in town also. The yacht club marina is small, plenty of depth and I think we were lucky to score a berth.

Shelly and Dean got a flight up to Rome yesterday afternoon and we then moved across to the marina where we are now. Got a text from them a while back and it seems they did the “shop till you drop” thing in Rome – and from personal experience that is not hard to do! We have had a quiet day looking around Brindisi, completing a few chores on the boat and catching up on 200 + emails that accumulated while we were offline over the last week. Had a few beers on board last night with an English couple who we have seen in the last 3 ports.

Tomorrow Ian, Barbara and Hilary join us along with Brad and Karen so it will be a full ship for the 3/4 days they are with us. Still haven’t made up our minds whether to overnight to Croatia or cruise quietly up the coast to Vieste with them. Will see what their preferences are!

I should mention that Brindisi is the town at which the Appian Way ended and part of the ruins at the end of the road remain as seen below. I had to check the internet to recall what the Appian Way was/is – but it transpires that from many years BC it was a major “road: from Rome to Brindisi that started off as a dirt road but ultimately was paved all the way and served as the principal supply route for the Roman armies over many decades.

Cheers

Keith