Acciaroli to Scario – Sailing in Southern Italy

August 6, 2013

After a nice breakfast on deck in the sunshine enjoying the views across the harbour to the delightful hamlet of Acciaroli, we cast off the lines and motored south east across glassy waters in windless conditions. We were on a bee line to round Cabo Palinuro and then on to a small town further down the coast where we would spend the night. Where possible, our summer cruising here in the Mediterranean is all about relaxed, stress free travel. We limit our passages to short hops each day always scouring the pilot guides and internet for interesting looking stopovers along our course.

Less than 30 nautical miles away, Scario sounded like just such as place. The tourist guides described it as being very picturesque with old world charm and assured us we would ‘enjoy the amazing panoramic view into the wide bay of the Gulf and towards the mountains of Basilicata and Calabria, which seem to rise directly from the sea. On days of clear visibility you are even able to see the famous statue of Christ in Maratea. A beautiful church with its separate bell tower – a campanile – is to be found on the main piazza of Scario. From there you can promenade under palm trees above the small, contemplative port and take part in the typical Italian village life in cafés, bars and restaurants.’ Yep! That sounded like our kind of place.



Sailing south along the Italian coast from Acciaroli

As we approached Cabo Palinuro, the previously low coastline gave way to dramatic cliffs of considerable height rising vertically from the sea. In the very calm conditions we were experiencing, there was no need for us to give these headlands our usual wide berth for safety. It was very enjoyable being able to cruise in close and get a good view of the numerous sea caves and prolific birdlife present on every rock face. The sea was so calm, a number of small boats and even some yachts were anchored right next to the cliffs themselves with their crews swimming in and out of the caves.



Very calm conditions approaching Cabo Palinuro



Definitely a good weather only anchorage.

The water certainly looked very inviting. So inviting in fact that when we rounded the cape we too elected to anchor between a big rock outcrop and golden sand beach for a swim and some lunch. It’s great to be able to just stop for a while if you want to when you find a nice spot. We’ve met a number of cruisers who are following gruelling sailing schedules, aiming to see the whole Med in one summer. The fact is there are only so many days in a season and, as long as you actually keep moving, we all see the same number of places. It’s just that with our style of cruising we see the places those others sail past on their quest to tick all the boxes of the more famous spots in this part of the world. That’s way too much like hard work for us.



Time for a swim and some lunch before continuing south.

Suitably refreshed after a dip and bite of food, we got underway again but with the added bonus of a nicely building afternoon breeze. The engine was soon silenced and we were scooting along under full sail on a nice broad reach. We held this point of sail for a bit over five miles before rounding a large aquaculture fish farm where we turned and headed for our stop at Scario.



We were running wing on wing towards Scario as we passed another
stunning hilltop village this fellow traveller motoring to windward.

The wind was now astern so we switched to running wing on wing with main and headsails out on opposite sides of the boast. We have found Alcheringa sails very nicely in this sail configuration and were able to ride the swinging breeze the final seven miles almost right into the anchorage.

There is quite a nice looking small harbour at Scario but, as is common in the summer months, it looked a bit crowded. Instead we chose to anchor off the village, well sheltered between a lighthouse on the point and the main breakwater in six metres of water with good holding. Where possible, we much prefer to avoid marinas and save the money for more pleasurable activities. It’s also much quieter and more private without being squeezed in rubbing fenders with neighbours on each side all night.



Acciaroli to Scario – 27.7 Nautical Miles – 6 Hours 31 Minutes 
Average Speed 4.3 Knots – Max Speed 6.5 Knots



We had no problems anchoring for the night outside the harbour at Scario

Alcheringa resting nicely at anchor off Scario in Southern Italy.

 

After enjoying a cold, post passage Peroni beer while securing the boat and lowering the dingy, we headed ashore to explore the waterfront. We are very happy to report Scario lived up to both our expectations and the tourist guide descriptions. We did indeed ‘promenade under palm trees above the small, contemplative port and take part in the typical Italian village life in cafés, bars and restaurants.’ As we strolled amongst the wealthy Romans and Neapolitans who move into their villas on the hills above the village each summer and modest numbers of other holiday makers, we even followed the suggested order and partook of excellent coffee in a café, explored further before sampling the fine products available at one of the character filled waterfront bars and then settled in at one of many harbour side restaurants for an excellent dinner of fresh local seafood. We even watched one extremely excited young fisherman race up from his small boat struggling under the weight of a massive sailfish on his way to show his catch to his no doubt delighted family.

Karen and her parents, Trevor and Joy, ready for our seafood feast at Scario



Note the Ormegiatori  (local concessionaire) on the dock ready to stuff another
fistful of Euros into his bag once the power boat manages to squeeze
its way into a very narrow space inside the harbour at Scario.

Before making our way back to the boat we stopped in at a deli and topped up our fresh bread, antipasto and wine supplies ready for the morrow.

On this occasion, Scario's sea air had not quite been clear enough for us to ‘see the famous statue of Christ in Marate’ whatever exactly that was, but we were happy for it to wait until tomorrow. All in all we had experienced another simply outstanding day sailing the southern Italian Coast.


The waterfront at Scario viewed from our anchorage.

 

AN APOLOGY

Since returning to Australia at the end of last European summer’s wanderings around the Med, we have been extremely busy, catching up with friends and family, finishing and publishing our first book, ‘Stuff it. Let’s go sailing anyway’, mounting a very successful exhibition of Karen’s artwork and buying a new boat to sail the western Pacific and South East Asia.  We’re now working at finalising the story of our adventures in the Med in this blog and getting it all back to current so keep checking back for new instalments.


To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook

If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.

 

 

In Hemmingway's footsteps? - Salerno to Acciaroli

August 5, 2013

After all the fireworks and celebrations of the previous night we still managed to get a reasonably early start on our way south. Departing Salerno also meant we were leaving the Amalfi Coast behind and, after the spectacular views of the last week, we weren’t really sure what to expect on our passage down to our planned anchorage at the town of Acciaroli.



Sunset over the Tyrrhenian Sea

The high mountains and steep cliffs faded away in our wake as we motor sailed in very light winds  out into the Tyrrhenian Sea away from the now much lower coastline. Even from our vantage point further offshore cutting across the wide bay towards Punta Licossa, we could see the beaches were still crowded with row upon row of the sun lounges and beach umbrellas we’d become used to. However, there really wasn’t a lot to look at until we rounded close to the headlands of Punta Licossa and Punta Del Ogliastro then skirted the coast the rest of the way to Acciaroli.



Salerno to Acciaroli – 35.6 Nautical Mile – 6 hours 48 mins

Average Speed 5.1 Knots – Max 6.4 Knots

Here we found a nice little fishing harbour and marina. We initially anchored in a spot outside the harbour, but still protected by its breakwaters, just off a nice sandy beach. Two other yachts were already happily resting there so we though all would be fine. Karen and her mum, Joy, were quickly splashing around in the very clear water but before long a Police boat approached the yacht and informed us that we and the other boats were anchored too close to the shore. A young male officer was quite aggressive and although his English was limited  it was clear he was suggesting we would be given a big fine. Fortunately a female officer on board was much more helpful and indicated all would be OK as long as we upped anchor. We asked if there were berths available inside the harbour and were surprised to find out that mooring  against the outer wall for up to three days was free unless we wanted ‘services’.

The choice between a large fine or a free berth was a pretty simple one and a few minutes later we were demonstrating to Karen’s mum and dad how a true Med mooring works. We lined ourselves up at ninety degrees to the wall reversing towards a gap between two berthed boats, dropped our anchor to the harbour floor at what we judged to be the right distance out and backed in. On went the stern lines and out came the breath of relief that all had gone smoothly again. We thought as the berth was free it would be worth paying a few dollars to have power and water but when the Ormegiatori  (local concessionaire) asked for 90Euro per night we very quickly declined. And people say there are no pirates left in the Med.



Even the Google earth pic shows how clear the water is at Acciaroli

Our next small concern was when our helpful, female Police Officer turned up on the dock and wanted a copy of our ship’s papers and the captain’s passport. We keep copies on board for just this purpose but, unlike previous requests by officials, when Rob passed over a copy of Alcheringa’s British registration and Marc’s passport, she was not satisfied. Marc may have been the registered owner of the boat, but as he was not aboard she wanted a copy of Rob’s passport. When we said we didn’t have a copy available for her to take she said no problem and photographed the ID page with her phone before toddling off with a smile and ‘Grazie, have a good day.’

The issue here is that we had now been back in the Euro Schengen immigration zone since leaving Gibraltar in early March and were well and truly over the ninety day stay permitted by our visas. Technically, we were now illegal boat people and certainly hoped that she was not going to then check it against some sort of central data base or we were possibly going to be in some trouble. The boat is British flagged and with Marc being a Brit, he has no such issues which is why we always provided his passport details over as captain. This was the first time it hadn’t worked so we had our fingers crossed the photo of Rob’s passport would go no further than a filing cabinet at the local police station.



Alcheringa med moored inside the harbour at delightful Acciaroli

The guide books told us ‘The small, fishing village of Acciaroli has become famous due to Hemingway’s visit in 1952.  Here, the author experienced an encounter with his own creation. He met "his" old man in the person of the fisherman Antonio Masarone. "Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated."  Almost every day, Antonio Masarone and Ernest Hemingway went fishing at sea.’

The locals are very adamant that Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning ‘Old Man of the Sea’ was inspired by a local fisherman he befriended by the name of Antonio Maserone. Different people will point to different old hotels saying ‘That’s where he stayed.’ There’s even now a very upmarket ‘Hemingway Bar’ but unfortunately what doesn’t exist is any actual proof that the famous writer ever actually even visited the town let alone gain the inspiration for his classic story here.  There are reportedly no witnesses to his visit still alive and all the tales of his wandering the harbour and drinking in the bars are said to have been handed down from the past generation. Seeing  the tale is set half a world away and Hemmingway reportedly wrote the tome in an eight week period in 1951, the year before his reported stay, it may all be a case of not letting facts get in the way of a good yarn but we have to say if he did indeed spend some time in this charming little hamlet we can certainly understand why. It is absolutely delightful. Even inside the harbour, the water is very clean while outside, at the popular but not overcrowded beach, it could be easily classified as pristine.

A high, medieval tower guards the harbour filled mainly with working fishing boats. An equally old church has clearly provided a spiritual haven for many generations of fishermen. Behind the harbour, we spent the afternoon exploring the narrow streets lined with old stone buildings, impressive villas, small piazzas and, of course, any number of tavernas and restaurants.  The locals were clearly in summer mode and the streets were alive with people socialising in the sunshine. We stocked up with some fresh produce and while headed back to the boat, were treated to a truly spectacular sunset over the Tyrrhenian Sea.



The medieval tower and church stand by the harbour.

Wandering the streets of Acciaroli was fantastic.

Yep, Italian teenagers are techno addicts too.

What a way to put a full stop on an outstanding day.

Regardless of the fact or fiction of the Hemmingway connection,  Acciaroli can rightfully lay claim to being a very inspiring and, thus far, unspoiled piece of Italian life. We loved it - and even got away without being arrested and or deported, always a bonus.

AN APOLOGY

We're sorry the blog is currently a long way behind. We returned to Australia at the end of last European summer’s wanderings around the Med, and since then we have been extremely busy, catching up with friends and family, finishing and publishing our first book, ‘Stuff it. Let’s go sailing anyway’, mounting a very successful exhibition of Karen’s artwork plus buying and starting to sort a new boat to sail the western Pacific and South East Asia.  We’re now working at finalising the story of our adventures in the Med for this blog and getting it all back to current so keep checking back for new instalments.

 

 

To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook

If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.

 

Sailing the awesome Amalfi Coast – Part 2

August 4, 2013

 As much as we loved Amalfi, the expense of the marina was enough to have us moving on the next morning for some more coast hugging around to nearby Salerno. Once more the scenery was incredible, as was the number of boats of all shapes and sizes buzzing back and forth. The beaches were more crowded than a Tokyo subway at peak hour. Out on the water the four of us on board were feeling very relaxed and thankful we weren’t in there competing for a couple of square metres of space.

 

There was not one single dull spot during the two hour run to Salerno. Instead every minute provided postcard scene after postcard scene. We've included a selection of photos Rob took as we made our way along the coast which provide a few glimpses of what we enjoyed. 

 



Yet another crowded beach on the Amalfi coast.



How's the monastery clinging to the cliff top at Salerno?
Check the pic above to see how high up it is.



Amalfi to Salerno– 9.3 Nautical Miles – 1 Hours 58 Minutes
Average Speed 4.7 Knots – Max 5.8 Knots

With just a very gentle north westerly blowing Salerno was a perfect stop. We were able to anchor all on our own quite close to a beach in the centre of the city but behind the protection of the huge harbour walls.



The view of Salerno we had from our anchorage



No need to spend the money in one of Salerno's marinas when we could
anchor well sheltered, just off the beach in the centre of town

We had planned to take the dingy ashore for a look around but it soon became obvious that we had unwittingly grabbed ourselves a front row spot for some serious celebrations building up. On one end of the sand a very serious beach soccer venue was being finalised complete with grandstands, flood lights, big public address system and cheer squads. At the other end near a small fishing marina what was clearly going to be religious celebration was about to get underway. Within half an hour we were surrounded by small boats anchoring to watch whatever it was that was that was going to happen.



They really got into the beach football at Salerno

A while later the football crowd got going to our left. To our right what sounded like an alternating mix of prayers and hymns began blasting out from a good sized PA system as a decorated fishing boat appeared from the marina complete with a large icon of the Virgin Mary on deck. It set off to the south across the bay and disappeared from our sight. The prayers/hymns ashore continued but were periodically drowned out by the cheers when one football side or the other found the back of the goal net and about an hour after watching the boat head off we saw and heard a large amount of fireworks being set off on the south side of the bay. Ten minutes later another lot went up a little closer and then another closer still. The pattern continued over and over again along the shore. The boat carrying the Madonna was heading back our way and as it passed each bay or marina another set off fireworks would explode in the sky. Being broad daylight it seemed a bit pointless to us but what would we know.



What overcrowding? The Madonna was on board so they had to be safe right.

We weren't really sure about the point of banging off so many fireworks in daylight.

Eventually it reached the main harbour at dusk and a massive amount of gunpowder was expended in the skies from the big breakwater we were anchored beside. Now it was getting impressive. It was getting darker as the boat returned to the marina and the Madonna was transferred to a stage ashore. Of course this was marked by another huge display of fireworks to drown out the constant Gregorian Chant like drone coming over the PA.



The religious celebrations on shore went on for hours

After more speeches and prayers, the Madonna was hoisted aloft for a tour of the city at the head of a procession of the following faithful – and some of the footy crowd now the games were over. Enough fireworks exploded over the roofs in various areas as the parade passed to ensure climate change will reach Italy sooner rather than later.



The fireworks went up over Salerno well into the night..

By now we were starting to hope it would all come to an end. We’d had a very hard day lazing about doing very little and, as the clock ticked towards the witching hour, we were all more than ready for some shut eye . They’d saved the biggest till last however and the sky over the Cathedral lit up and boomed away for the big and long finale but thankfully, just before Sunday became Monday, things went quiet in the town and we hit the bunks.

It’s safe to say we’d now seen enough fireworks to last us until New Year’s Eve at least.

 

Sometimes we’re so busy out doing things we don’t have enough time to write about doing things and our blog slips a little behind time. We’re working at getting it all back to current at the moment but to stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook

If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.