It was a very challenging winter. We had to be annoyingly persistent to get Pantaenius (our insurance company) to pay what was due. If you remember the irritating alarm that we had sounding all the time for the six days that we limped home last season (the most annoying noise in the world), then I was close to the second most annoying noise in the world as far as Pantaenius was concerned. It should not be so hard to get what we pay for in our premiums.
However, the work was finally started in November and it appears to be substantially completed. New instruments are installed; new (and much more sane) cabling has been laid; new gauges are looking at us from the control panel. This translates into two words - “learning curve”. While the functionality is moderately enhanced due to the new technology, it is all hidden behind new user interfaces - where’s our UX-designer daughter Meredith when we need her!?!
It will be the sea trial tomorrow when we and the folks from the yard take the boat out onto the water and see if things really work the way they’re supposed to. We are nervous but confident(-ish).
It is great to be back in Brindisi. The town is not the most picturesque in this part of Puglia but our familiarity with it is helping us appreciate its dusty laid-back atmosphere. I can now drive reliably from one side of the town to the other! The old center is a maze of little streets barely wide enough for a car (or sometimes two). Add a one-way “system” to that and it’s a recipe for going round in increasingly crabby circles (me, not Lori, or so she says). But this year it all clicked - we can now get to parking places close to the center. Local folks look at us and say “what was your problem?”
For the first few nights we stayed off the boat in a little masseria about 15 kilometers from the boatyard. A masseria is a large farmhouse complex typically dating from the 16th - 18th centuries when parcels of land in Puglia were given to Spanish noblemen (I’m not sure why) who used these buildings to grow and store their food. Most of these buildings are substantial and some are fortified - I suspect the locals weren’t too happy about these foreigners living off their land.
These properties are great for agri-tourism. Our masseria produces its own wine, olive oil and preserves. It is rightfully well-known for its Italian farmhouse cooking and was a perfect place to de-stress after the winter.
Sorry, Clive, with this competition, you just didn't make the cut!
Our social calendar is already operational. We met up with our friends Peter and Jane and their friends Alison and Clive. Peter and Jane keep their boat in Greece in the same yard that we kept True Colors for the first few years. They are on their way to Montenegro and Croatia and we managed to have our routes intersect in Brindisi. A great dinner in a great seafood restaurant with much conversation and story-swapping. The good news is that we will be heading to Croatia just a little after them (all going well) and we aim to meet up somewhere in the islands near Split later this month.
Finally, we have two new crew members this year. Lori’s mom worries about us while we’re away and she gave us two medallions of appropriate saints to protect us on our voyages. (And, yes, we ARE wearing them, BJ) While we are most grateful for the spiritual support, we are hoping that these are the “Mother Teresa” kind of saints who aren’t averse to getting their sleeves rolled up and pulling on a line or two when the time comes.