2015
An early start from Helston as we leave for Bristol Airport …. Mixed emotions but very excited to be starting a new adventure.
On the radio just outside of Bristol we heard that the French Air Traffic controllers were on strike……..great….. so yep our flight to Nice was cancelled and poor 😉 us, as we were deemed stranded had to stay in the 4 star Cadbury Hilton (meal allowance included) for 5 nights courtesy of Easyjet…
What a treat it turned out to be…. We even had visitors – Ken and Jayne who called in returning from buying a new boat and Sheryl came over to share the indulgence, brill …..
Luckily our flight from Nice to Bastia was also cancelled so we rebooked and stopped over in Nice for the night then onward to Bastia….. home at last aboard Zig……
This area had experienced terrible winds this winter destroying 30 year old olive trees so we felt relieved to see our only damage was a torn asunder cover and broken Dan Buoy, which for some reason we hadn’t safely stowed….
The next few weeks were spent shopping, cleaning polishing and all the usual pre-season boating jobs and a lot of enjoying the last of the gorgeous French cuisine for a while.
The Le Capitaine had his boat nearby and several evenings he played guitar and sang with his friends which was amazing…….
Time to leave (Al a bit apprehensive about the Italian coast trip few affordable or safe anchorages and long passages) let go the lines and off we go again, lovely calm seas so motored until the wind picked up and then we sailed into an anchorage off Marina di Campo (which is the name of the town not a marina at all) On the Island of Elba. Took the bus the next day to Portoferraio which was a very busy port.
Planned to stay next at Isola Giglio where the Costa Concordia sank but salvage work was still being carried out so we carried onto Cala Galera a nice quiet sheltered anchorage.
A few days of strong winds forecast which luckily coincided with our plans to go to Rome whilst staying in Cittavecchia marina .
A cheap train trip to Rome and this time we managed to see the Sistine chapel and museums which were outstanding. We sadly didn’t meet up with Maz whilst her cruise ship was visiting.
Luckily we had enjoyed the Trevi fountain before as this time it was surrounded by scaffolding and empty…
Rome a lovely place to spend our 38th wedding anniversary.
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Some Boaties we met suggested we might try tying alongside in the Fiumicino River for a night en route which we did, it was a beautifully quiet place with a lovely plethora of birds…
A good sail into Anzio where we followed a fishing boat to avoid the sandbar….A pretty little town with some horrendous pictures of the devastation the it received during WW2..
Next stop Ponza largest of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago start of the volcano cruise, 60 euros a night!
Dramatic cliffs and rock formations and crystal clear water (18 deg though not warm enough for swimming yet ) motored next day to the next island Ventotene and stayed against the wall a pretty little village, very windy disturbed night but safe enough.
Lovely sail with a following swell and a beautiful dolphin display, arrived at Ischia to be told it was 80 euros a night! We declined and picked up an empty mooring just under the castle, spectacular.
Sailed across the Bay of Naples under the watchful eye of Vesuvius, sailed past the Island of Capri then down the stunning Amalfi coast to Salerno….
The wind developed strong unpleasant gusts off the high ground so we motored some parts. 
Salerno is a busy town and an ideal place to catch a train to Pompeii and Herculaneum (very cheap too) both sites were amazing and very thought provoking….
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An amazing experience. We were shattered at the end of the 2 days but well worth the tiredness.
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Motor sailed to Acciaroli and then onto Punto Iscolotti where there were free mooring buoys provided at Baia degli Infreschi!
Next stop more Volcanos.