At The Heel of Italy

When we left Taormina, we made it to the town of Roccella Jonica and stayed at the marina overnight.  After  hearing and paying some of the high prices in marinas, 20 euros did not seem like such a bad deal.  Along this stretch of coast there is a dearth of anchorages and marinas, so one is almost forced to stop in here.  Given that, they could charge a lot more and offer a lot less.  As it was, we enjoyed the layover and ate a great pizza at the nearby pizzeria.

1/2 meter pizza

We left the next day planning to do one of two things: travel the 45 miles to the southern cape that opens the Gulf of Taranto, or go the extra 80 miles across the Gulf itself to the cape that separates the Ionian Sea from the Adriatic Sea.  We went with plan B and are in Leuca resting and waiting to turn the corner and head into the Adriatic.

The decision was made because the forecast called for a WNW wind that would give us a beam reach across over night.  That forecast, like so many others, did not come true, and we sailed a broad reach for about 30 miles and then had to motor once the wind died.  At least the forecast did not go wrong by blowing a gale instead.

Right now it is Sunday and we are at anchor in the bay in front of the town where the locals and tourists are boating and swimming.  Weather permitting, we will head north along the Italian Adriatic coast and maybe reach Brindisi tomorrow where we will wait for fair winds to take us across to Croatia.

Branko