Rome 2003 comes to an end
Tuesday, November 11th, 2003Rome Puerto Turistico
The day our daughter Janey left, the sun came out and since then we have had beautiful sunny days, but still on the cold side. We spend our days packing up the boat ready for lifting next week, going into Rome for the day or just riding our bikes enjoying the shops and coffee bars on the wharf.Puerto Turistico di Roma is 20 kms from Rome, only three years old, at the end of the Tiber River. Here they have built a 1200 berth marina with up market nautical fashion shops, restaurants and coffee bars.On Saturday and Sunday, this is the place to shop and parade in all the latest fashion from Grandma to the babies in the latest stroller. What intrigues us is that the cloths are very nautical and most of them have never been on a boat! It has also become a popular place for cruising yachts to winter over.
This year there are over 50 live-aboard wintering over yachts and they have set up quite a community amongst themselves. Every morning on VHF radio on channel 72 a volunteer on one of the boats brings all the info for the day. Starting with the weather, medical assistance, anything for sale and finally activities for the day. This can go on for one hour, but it is informative and brings people together.
Activities are anything from yoga, art, bridge, Italian lessons, talks on different cruising areas, progressive dinners from boat to boat and cocktail parties etc and these are held in a conference room on the wharf. This is a unique situation in the Med and one has to remember that these people are here for five months and no one knows anyone when they arrive, so great friendships develop. Nationalities are 40% English/European, 30% American, and the rest Canadians, NZers, and Aussies.
Going by train (a very cheap form of transport), we have had several days in Rome and love just wondering around enjoying all the history and not too many tourists. Rome is a vibrant living city where pedestrian crossings mean nothing, vespas and smart cars are in there 100’s and the aroma of coffee is strong. They sure know how to make coffee here.
We have been very pleased with our yacht, a Beneteau 473 (a big 47 feet), finding her the ideal size. She is spacious en
ough down below for extended living, but not too large for two people to handle.
She sails very well in all conditions, something Ian was concerned with, and has an excellent sail wardrobe with extras in a staysail and spinnaker. The big 75HP engine also makes life very comfortable. The only disadvantage is that we are in the upper rating band when it comes to berthage, where they rate us by length and beam.
Since Janey and Dara arrived it’s been nothing but wind and rain, and very cold (understatement!!!). This morning, ahead of another mistral out of the Rhone Valley, we came into a port just outside of Rome called Turistico di Roma.Winter has come with a vengeance (Lithgow pun intended) and with wind outside now at 40 knots and seas you can’t imagine, we are now here for the duration.This week we sailed north Sardinia and south Corsica enjoying having Janey and Dara onboard. This is a very beautiful place, but only for the summer months. These islands are of the same distance from the equator as the Bass Strait - the only similarity being the wind!Our trip across from Olbia, Sardinia was another overnight fast trip. Wind from the west, it was very comfortable flying a spinnaker and having extras onboard. The entrance into this port was interesting with breaking following seas and sharp right-hander to avoid the beach, don’t blink!
Storm bound in Bonifacio, we were lucky enough to have the fleet assembling for the around Corsica race, a distance of 250nms, and 26 yachts had entered, from a Swan 70 ketch, an Open 50 which had come 4th in the last Route de Rum, Eric Taberly’s old Pen Duick 3 which won line honours in the Sydney Hobart many years ago (Cable will give us the details), various Beneteau 47.7, 40.7, 36.6, a Beneteau Figaro (36ft) and several Mini Transit’s plus a number of cruising yachts.They even tried to talk us into entering, but with forecasts of 40 to 50 knots we were quite happy to sit in port and observe. Ian is envious and wishes he had his Volvo 60, as it’s ideal conditions.
Bonifacio is a beautiful historical place, but has a reputation for blowing, in fact 250 days a year according to the brochure. Our days are spent exploring the old cliff top village.
it with Janey and Dara. This is the Emerald Coast, currently out of season, but with a bit of luck we will get some nice days and enjoy this beautiful waterway that lives up to its name - Emerald.