06/21/2012, Alassio, Porto Luca Ferrari
We departed San Remo in full sunshine for a motor sail that followed the Italian coast passing green mountainous terrain that met the Mediterranean. It was a very pleasant sail as after the maintenance work done in Antibes, Trilogy is now performing well and the scenery very interesting. Scattered along the coast were small towns (all with a towering steeples) and terracotta tinted hilltop medieval villages, towering viaducts for road transport, a train line that followed the contour of the waters edge and on many terraced cliffs there are large hot houses. We have read that this area produces most of the flowers for Italy.
Trilogy was set on a course for Imperia which is relatively a new town, resulting from the 1923 unification of Port Maurizio and Oneglia. Maurizio was very stylish with beaches, excellent restaurants and complete with an old town and cathedral. Oneglia, on the other hand, had a industrial feel and was known for pasta and olive oil production. The marina and was located between the two towns.
As we approached the headland of Imperia, the old town looked inviting with pastel coloured houses clustered on the promontory. The cathedral towering above old town with beach umbrellas and bathers on the beaches.
The marina at Imperia was new and had many areas unfinished, however, the work that had been completed was impressive, although, a recording of an osprey feeding her chicks bellowing out of a loudspeaker every 15 minutes was slightly annoying. We imagined its purpose was to keep the seagulls away. The marina staff were very helpful and maybe trying to justify the highest marina fees we had paid to date.
During our journey we have noted that Sundays are a day for families to have lunch in a restaurant, trattorias or pizzerias. So the crew has adopted this European ritual, and when possible, we do lunch out on a Sunday too. We worked up an appetite by first exploring the old town before deciding on where we would dine. The old town was built with a maze of ancient houses, alleys, covered passageways, silent little squares, flights of steps and arches. It was interesting watching the women hang out their washing (from their windows or balcony) to dry above the pedestrians below.
The Basilica di San Maurizio dominated the old town, however it was only one of 5 impressive churches to be seen during the day. On the waterfront was a very sweet church with fluted marble columns with intricate vaulted arches. Late in the afternoon members of the congregation dressed in various maritime uniforms accompanied a wreath out to sea, to offer it to St Anthony, the saint of the church.
Overlooking the cliff face in the old town was the Convent of Santa Chiara. It was founded in 15th century as a convent for the daughters of the local aristocracy. Later it was opened to the Order of St Francis, and from then on the nuns of the Order of St. Clare have been been living there in strict enclosure. During the day, I attended a service in this church, which was conducted by the nuns and the singing was magnificent.
The church of San Leonardo was founded in the14th century. Under the church there is a small room in which one of the first hospitals for women in Italy was opened in the 16th century.
While descending the many flights of stairs to get to the beach, I came across a small fortified door inserted into the old city wall. This doorway (circa 1560) was apparently for use in case of emergency to reach the harbour below.
As an Aussie it is hard to accept that bathers are asked to pay a fee to enter most beaches. If you wanted to sit near the water you paid 11euros for a cabin, 2.70 euros for an umbrella and 15.40 euros for two reclining chairs. That is approx $45 for a couple to have a day at the beach! The fee was reduced the further away from the water your reclining chair was located. However, despite the fee, the way the beach was set up, complete with garden furniture, coffee table, full length mirrors and pot plants, made it look like a comfortable way to enjoy a day at the beach.
On Monday, we sailed on to Alassio, but before we entered the marina we visited the Isolotto Gallinara for a swim off the back of Trilogy. This small private island is about 3 kilometres from Alassio and has a church, a castle and a tiny harbour. It is now a nature park and the swim in the sapphire blue water, along with the sea birds, made us feel as if we were in a remote part of the Italian Riviera.
Alassio is the location we plan to meet up with Garth and Ros and we are are looking forward to their company for the next 5 weeks.
| Cruising Italy |
06/16/2012, San Remo,Italy
We bid a fond farewell to Menton and motor sailed along the picturesque coastline taking care to exchange the French for Italian courtesy flag as we crossed into Italian waters. We were also careful to observe the correct procedures as we were exporting Trilogy from France and wanted to be sure we were not breaching the regulations in any way.
So as we approached San Remo we called the harbour master on the radio to arrange for a berth and mentioned that we were an Australian registered sailing yacht seeking customs and immigration clearance. The confusion began when the Portosole harbour master advised that we must go to the old port where the Customs authorities were located. The next call to the old port received the response that we could not come into the port but must go to Portosole and then walk around to Customs.
With our yellow Q flag flying we berthed and walked around to Customs to be told that we should be speaking with the Coast Guard. The next hour and a half was spent with three less than efficient coast guard officers while they made multiple phone calls, consulted several manuals and then called in a more senior officer.
It came as a small surprise to learn that we needed two duty stamps and we were directed to the local tobacconist shop with a handwritten note from the Coast Guard explaining what we needed. Armed with the two 14 Euro stamps and back at the Coast Guard we were then provided with a folder titled 'Costituto In Arrivo Per Il Naviglo Da Diporto' which contains photo copies of our ship's papers, passports and visas. I take this to be a transit log that we must keep for when we depart from Italian waters.
We have given up on trying to get our passports stamped after three attempts.
It also turns out that San Remo is hosting a very big sailing regatta - the 60th Anniversary Giraglia Rolex Cup - so we have been treated to the latest racing yachts ranging from the super maxi 'Alfa Romeo', now owned by a Slovenian, a maxi from Saint Petersburg, TP 52s and Swan 43s and everything in between. Friday 15th is the last day with prize giving at the San Remo Yacht Club. We were also treated to a major fireworks display which would rival our New Year's Eve celebrations in Australia.
The old town part of San Remo dates back to the Middle Ages and seems to be built like a maze of very small alley ways to confuse the barbarian pirates that hassled the region. Many buildings span these alleys to form tunnels that are so dark they need artificial light during the day.
There is also a quaint Russian orthodox church (San Basilio) which has distinctive onion shaped domes similar to it's namesake in Moscow. It was built in 1912 by Russian nobles who holidayed in San Remo before the World War.
Along the waterfront is a dedicated bicycle road that follows the original route of the coastal railway much like the rail trails in Victoria.
| Cruising Italy |
06/12/2012, Menton, France
Although the locals are complaining that summer is late coming, its not being reflected by the large number of boats starting to zip in and out of the marinas, competing for increasingly scarce visitors berths. After our Antibes experience we decided to start calling ahead to book a berth. Our plan, after leaving Antibes, was to ease our way to the Italian border by overnighting at Villefranche, Monaco and Menton (where we planned to clear out of France) before crossing into Italy and clearing in at San Remo.
In the event Villefranche was full, as was the marina just out side Monaco. And we were too small for Monaco itself. So we settled for an overnight stay at Beaulieu and quick cruise around the Port of Monaco enroute to Menton. Monaco from the sea looks like a rather ugly concrete jungle, but the vessels in the port were beautiful. (Susan subsequently caught the bus back to do a nostalgia return and said Monaco was much more attractive from the land.)
Our arrival in Menton was marked by the arrival of customs officials who seemed to be under the impression we had just arrived from Australia. Quick clarification and checking of our boat's papers, that we had no cigarettes or alcohol (or not much) and less than Eu10000 in cash (as if) - everything ok and they departed with apologies about the lousy summer weather!
Menton itself is a charming Italian looking (and feeling) village right on the French/Italian border. The border itself is about a kilometre from the marina - we will pass into Italy while hoisting our sails as we leave Menton. The cuisine is Italian but menus are in French - with "provencale" tacked on for cover. French and Italian are heard equally and the road signs are in both languages.
Menton has been inhabited since the paleolithic period and is the site of the "Grimaldi Man" find of modern early humans. It has been Roman and part of the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Genoa and then later the Kingdom of Sardinia before electing in an 1860's plebescite to be French (apparently much to Garibaldi's disgust).
It was popularised by the Brits and Russians in the Victorian and Edwardian era (and still has hotels such as the Royal Westminster, Balmoral, Regency and Victoria along the waterfront). It is now mainly famous for a number of large gardens established during the Victorian period but recently staked another claim- a very large and impressive museum celebrating the life and work of the French poet, writer, artist, dramatist and film maker Jean Cocteau which opened in late 2011.
Our departure for Italy has been delayed by strong south westerlies (feels like a strong Perth sea breeze) which started to blow as we arrived and hasn't eased much for two days. But when it does we are off to San Remo (about 12 miles away) to clear into Italy.
| Touring France |
06/09/2012, Port de Beaulieu
We have been in Antibes for 12 days. As Antibes is a major yachting port we decided to stay longer than usual for Trilogy to have her first service and maintenance attended to before exiting France.
We also used the waiting time to take a day trip by bus to Nice (and home by train). Nice is the heart of the French Riviera and after Marseille it is the second largest city on the French Mediterranean coast and the fifth largest in France. We wandered around the impressive new city centre, the old town and inside a 17th century palais. We strolled along the Anglais Promenade, where we puzzled how the sunbathers could possibly be comfortable on the stony beach (no sand in sight), climbed the high point (once a fort) and looked down on a quaint old working harbour that somehow coexists with the tourist yachts and ocean liners. Nice certainly was nice!
We also continued exploring the old town of Antibes. You will see in the photo gallery an ancient lavarie where the women gathered to wash clothes, old 17th century towers and many tiny alleys that ooze with character.
In one of the old streets I discovered the meeting place for the local Rotary Club, which I attended last Monday. Once behind the big old door I stepped into a beautiful courtyard where the dinner meeting was held under the stairs. The entree was a slice of black pudding pizza, followed by veal liver steak plus mash and an apricot tart for dessert. Before and during the meal, wine was served and they finished the night with a shot of limioni.
We have also enjoyed the work of sculptor designer Sylvain Subervie who had many of his pieces displayed around the Port of Antibes for the Classic yacht regatta. It was interesting for me to become familiar with the different classes for old yachts; vintage (built before 1950), Classic (built before 1976) and Spirit of Tradition and Metre Classes.
While in Antibes we spent half the time berthed in the marina and the other half anchoring in a gorgeous bay that had old Antibes as the backdrop (fabulous when lit at night) and a sandy beach with pontoon where we could safely secure the dinghy when going ashore. I particularly enjoyed the anchoring off shore, as it meant several swims off the back of the yacht. It was a pleasure to give Trilogy a clean around the waterline. A good workout and lots of fun.
Also in Antibes Rick purchased a folding bike (plus basket) which is an Orbea made in Finland with 20-inch wheels and six speed gears. It folds up quite easily and fits in our huge bow locker.
Finally, finally, finally, the Beneteau maintenance and repairs are completed and we are ready to depart for Beaulieu-sur-Mer which is not far from Monaco.
06/03/2012, Antibes, France
We arrived at Antibes after a short motor sail from Cannes and listened to the Antibes Capitainerie (Harbour Master) tell each yacht that radioed to request a berth in the marina, that it was full. As we needed urgent repairs to our bowthruster and generator we decided to approach them personally to seek assistance. This was met with staunch resistance as the biggest regatta in Antibes for classic yachts was due to start and all available space was committed.
However we eventually persuaded a kindly mature age gentleman in the Harbour Police to let us raft up beside another yacht for a short time while we had the repairs carried out. This arrangement was quite short-lived however as a neighbouring yacht complained to the Capitainerie and we were told to leave. So we motored out to anchor in the bay which was actually very pleasant. We also got practiced at setting up the dinghy and outboard motor for transport to and from shore.
Sailing is a very big sport in France and we saw several groups of school children learning to sail in Optomist Class dinghies and in small catamarans. One group sailed close by our stern and they were laughing and singing and obviously thoroughly enjoying the 3 hours of sailing per week that they have as part of the school curriculum.
The regatta is called Les Voiles d'Antibes and it certainly attracts an amazing collection of beautifully restored classic yachts from the late 19th century through to a pair of Australian 12 metre yachts (South Australia and Kookaburra 111). Amongst the classics I spotted Cambria (a 40 metre J boat from around 1928), Altair (1931), Moonbeam 111 (1903) and Moonbeam 1V (1914), and at least 50 other large classic yachts dating back to 1892. This regatta is not for the impoverished.
While waiting for parts to arrive to repair the generator we watched the two 12 metre yachts conducting short match races which was quite a buzz as it reminded me of the heady days of the Americas Cup in Fremantle 1987.
There are some seriously large super yachts in Antibes, presumably for the regatta, including Le Grand Bleu, which was one of the largest private vessels in the world at 370 ft, previously owned by Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich, before he gifted it to his friend Eugene Shvidler.
On board it carries 50 crew, two 3600 HP engines plus a 74 ft sailing yacht and a 67 ft motor cruiser for those hard to access places. Inconveniently for M. Shvidler an even larger mega yacht was anchored nearby complete with helicopter.
We have now had the generator repaired by replacing the raw water impeller, and by clearing out the remains of the old impeller, but we are waiting for a relay for the bowthruster which has been promised for Monday. We have also managed to get a berth in the marina until Tuesday so we are hopeful that we can get most of the repairs completed before we have to leave.
Antibes does have some interesting places to see including a fabulous collection of Picasso paintings, sculptures and ceramics beautifully displayed in the Pucasso Museum in what was once the Grimaldi Chateau (1608) but was subsequently the town hall of Antibes before becoming the first museum to be dedicated to Picasso. He donated many of the paintings and art works to the museum and in 1990 Jacqueline Picasso donated another 22 items. I was particularly taken by a photograph of Pablo with hime holding a small owl. The two pair of eyes appeared almost identical.
| Touring France |
06/01/2012, Antibes, France
Following Cannes our plan was to go to Antibes where arrangements were being made to fix the bow thruster and service the engine and gen set. We hadn't counted on Antibes also hosting the opening regatta of the classic yachts at the same time. The harbour was fully committed to the large number of old yachts and there was no room at the inn. So we have anchored off, in a beautiful bay outside old town Antibes, waiting for a berth. It could be another day or another week, but a great time to be hanging around taking in the classic yachts' regatta.
| Touring France |
