Sharon Returns for 2024
After 3 flights and 29 hours we were back aboard Phantomas moored at Augustus, Sicily. We had big hugs and a nightcap with our hosts, then hit the hay ready to get sailing the following morning. We headed for an anchorage near Taormina, where Tony had spent some time nearly 40 years ago. As we were to see, the Italian Coast is quite different to the Greek Islands. There are trees and greenery as well as gelato-coloured homes and buildings, steep rocky beaches with little houses perched on the edge which made us wonder how on earth they were built!
After mooring at Naxos Bay, we had a swim and then headed into Taormina for Tony to show us the sights, which were a little hazy after so long. The bus ride in was interesting with the driver taking our fare onehanded whilst navigating hair pin bends and oncoming traffic! It’s a pretty bay so we found a restaurant overlooking it to enjoy our first Italian dinner. We wisely decided on taking a taxi back to the mooring.
Next morning we headed towards the Messina Strait, a passage between Sicily and mainland Italy and on the way the captain proposed an overnight sail so we could get closer to the highlights of the Amalfi Coast. The crew agreed and after passing through the busy Messina Strait things got interesting. We saw a cargo ship do a 360 degree turn to avoid an even bigger cargo ship. After that we came across a cargo ship stopped still in the middle of the ocean. As the sun set, we could see the glow from Stromboli’s recent eruption and the blinking lights of fishing boats in the distance. We did 3 hour shifts through the night with Tony and I taking the first watch from 9.30pm to 12.30am. It was an uneventful night (which is just the way you want it to be) but I was woken and called to the deck with an excited cry “Tony’s caught a fish!” Why was this exciting I hear you thinking? Well, despite this being their third year on the Med, it’s only the second fish he’s caught, and it was a good sized tuna! Finally, before reaching the port of Agropoli, we came across a dingy floating all on its own! We approached it hesitantly, hoping not to find any nasty surprises inside, tied it on, had a quick dip mid ocean and set on our way again.
Agropoli was a lovely anchorage with a church placed high above the harbour, ringing its bell regularly. We swam and headed into the town to explore and find some drinks and dinner. We settled on pizza whilst watching the sunset from high on the cliff. The next morning, we went to report the found dingy to the authorities and after a false start with little English being spoken, they turned out to be very helpful. After another wander, some breakfast and food shopping we headed up the coast to Salerno. We arrived in time to swim and head ashore for a drink then to dinner where we were serenaded by some Italian singers! Not a highlight!
Our next stop was Positano, and it was a beautiful but very busy spot. The trip to shore on the tender was rocky and wavy from all the boat traffic and Paddy and I ended up very wet. Luckily it was a hot day, so we dried out quickly. We also lost power halfway in and discovered that a rope had wrapped around the prop. Thankfully Tony got it out easily and there was no harm done. The shopping was lovely but looking at a shirt I liked at 240 Euro, this was way out of my price range, so I settled on a pot painted with lemons which are seen everywhere in Positano. We enjoyed an early dinner on the waterfront and got back to the boat before the sun set.
Boat traffic along this section of coast is insane! The drivers don’t slow down or give your boat a very wide berth, so it was a bit like a washing machine on the ocean as we made the journey to Sorrento, our last overnight stop. We had been keeping in touch with friends from Esperance, Robbie and Sue Johnston and their daughter, Kate and partner Tyler. Amazingly they were staying in Sorrento, and we were able to have them join us for an afternoon cruise, swim and drinks. It was a pinch me moment for Sue and I to meet half way around the world! After dropping them back to shore we anchored up and watched the parade of boats pass by.
Our last leg was to take us to Naples so we could catch a train back to Rome and fly onto Amsterdam to join our Afgri Tour for 3 weeks through Germany, Austria, Belgium and France. As excited as we are to do this tour, we have both loved the relaxing boating lifestyle Michele and Tony have created for themselves. We are thankful to have been lucky enough to join them again and see some of the sights of the beautiful Italian coast. Who knows, where we might jump aboard Phantomas next time? But we know the warm welcome and hospitality of our hosts will be waiting for us.
