One nice thing about our new boatyard is that, after the work they did over the winter (which we thought was pretty routine), they insisted that we take the boat out for a sea trial so that they could check the engine temperature after its service and other comforting things like that. These guys are professionals and know how to look after boats.
We set off only four days behind schedule (which is some kind of record) and headed south for Santa Maria di Leuca. The wind was not supposed to be too favorable (10 knots on the nose) but turned out to be 15 knots on the nose - not in any way uncomfortable but more work and slower. One good sign, however; we saw our first pod of dolphins.
In the end, we decided to put in to Otranto. Using our agent we managed to wrangle one of the very few spots on the quay. There is not much space here at all and I would not like to rely on finding a spot, even at anchor, under most circumstances. Of course, the wind for parking was >12 knots and across our beam. Just perfect (sic) for the first stern-to moor of the season. It turned out to be not pretty but also not embarrassing (so that’s a good start).
Otranto is a nice small medieval town that is negatively impacted by tourism - cheap trinket shops abound and the restaurants are merely average.
We could have lingered here a day but decided to push on down to Santa Maria di Leuca to get back on schedule. Leuca is right on the tip of the heel of the Italian :”boot” and it turns out to be a very idiosyncratic place. Firstly, there are these serious villas overlooking the water built mostly in the 19th century and in whatever style took the fancy of the owners. There are Tuscan villas, some with Moorish influences and some in styles we’ve never seen before.
Secondly, this is the location of the highest lighthouse in Italy which shares its location with a church in honor of St. Peter who is supposed to have made his first landfall in Europe at this point.
Finally, it is situated at the end of an aqueduct bringing water here. The Italian dictator Mussolini liked projects like this and built two flights of steps up from the harbor to the lighthouse along the side of the cataract that ends the water flow. This doesn’t turn on very often but it’s apparently quite a sight. There is also a Roman column that Mussolini had moved from Rome (presumably to add more historic grandeur to the concept). Honestly, it just looks odd.
Only two days in and we have our first contact with Europe’s migrant crisis. Across the other side of the harbor the Italian coastguard brings in a yacht that is about two-thirds our size and unload about 25 or so men. There are police, customs, coastguard and medical services. With an efficiency that can only come from practice they process the people and move them off in a bus presumably to some staging point on their way into the EU. One of our neighbors goes over to take a look at the boat; it is completely stripped down with no instruments whatsoever. Apparently the skippers navigate by cellphone. The migrants have probably come from Turkey and are part of the “luxury” end of the spectrum of people smuggling. Not scary; just sad.
We stayed here for three nights in order to avoid some more awkward weather and then headed north up the inside of the heel to Gallipoli.
This is not the “Gallipoli” of the First World War - that is in Turkey. However the name of both towns is Greek in origin and is a throwback to the time that all of this area was under the influence of the Ancient Greeks.
This is a town of the size of Brindisi but with a very well-preserved old city on a promontory into the Ionian. There is a tourist impact, of course, but it is better managed than in Otranto. There seems to be much more of a balance between locals and visitors and this makes the experience quite enjoyable. Nice, if not exceptional, restaurants with an emphasis on local seafood; a good laundry (a must for sailors) and a conveniently-located marina.
The trip so far has been colored by stronger-than-expected winds from inconvenient directions and at the wrong time of the day (when we have to leave or park), Our next few legs are long and we need to hit the right weather pattern in order to make a concerted drive towards Sicily.