We waited around the Bay of Naples for a full week while Suzuki sent the wrong part for our outboard motor to the mechanic. But at last the right part arrived and we were ready to depart. As mentioned before, this bay is not for the faint of heart sailor. The powerboats in the summer chop up the water to the point where it is difficult to find any peace and quiet. But then, that is also part of the season. We are in "high season" now and everybody who owns a boat in the Med - and there are quite a few of them! - are out there on the water. The bad news is that August is the month that everyone takes off in Europe - usually for the whole month! So things are gonna get a lot worse before they get any better!

We were pretty excited about the weather forecast on our departure Friday from Baia. It was calling for 15-20k southerlies eventually turning to the prevailing north and westerly. But to get any southerly this time of year we considered quite fortunate. So you can imagine my angst and impatience as we waited at the fuel dock for the tanker truck to come to fill up the station's diesel tank. The fuel station was out of fuel! So we waited and waited, and as we waited all I could think about was the miles of sailing we were NOT getting in as we sat at the dock.

Finally the truck came and finally we filled up. We left the fuel dock midday...things weren't going quite as planned! We motorsailed south through the steep chop for a couple of miles till we could turn the corner and head north. That little fetch managed to salt up Will and Ruth's beautiful wash job on the boat at the fuel dock. But when we finally turned the corner we were able to click off a few good miles on a favorable breeze before the wind switched around to the west. We even got a couple of hours in on the spinnaker, which was a nice change.

But then the nor'westerly filled in about dinner time and we had a couple of choices. We could either motor dead into it, or try motorsailing, or try sailing. We didn't want to motor right into it. I have found that is just a very rough, bumpy, and slow ride. You are just slamming into the waves while bobbing like a cork. With all the 'vertical sailing' you do, you net out about 2 knots! You might as well watch grass grow for all that is getting accomplished.

Motorsailing was out of the question. We were worried the oil pump might not be able to get any oil from the pan to lubricate the engine with the boat leaned over so far. So left that option #3 - sailing. That ordinarily isn't a bad option. But we were tacking dead into the wind so our velocity made good (VMG) was only 70% of our true boat speed. That means if we are sailing at 6k, then we are really only making about 4k towards our goal. That makes for a very long night - which is precisely what happened!

Ruth and Will woke me up at 2200 - two hours before my shift at midnight - because they were sailing with lightning all around them! There were two huge lightning storms - one off the starboard quarter and another off the port beam. We were surrounded! Fortunately there wasn't any above us, and the closest strikes I saw were 2-3 miles away. But even that is way too close for comfort. The wind was too strong to rely on Otto for steerage, so I had to hand steer. Again, ordinarily no big deal. But when you have metal wheels, well, let's just say I wasn't putting a lot of confidence in the leather covers in the event of a direct hit!! For about an hour it was quite nerve wracking!!

Eventually we were able to sail away from that storm. Six hours later we were able to see it still going on in the distance! Meanwhile I now had an extra-long shift. But I got my paybacks when I woke Will and Ruth up in the middle of their sleep to put another reef in the main!

And so it went all night - pounding into the waves making very slow progress. But that is just the way sailing is sometimes, I guess. When daybreak broke it was a moral victory, but that was about all. The waves were even larger in the daytime when you could get a real good look at them. We could feel their immensity at night. But to feel AND see them in the day was daunting!

The three of us just huddled in the cockpit trying to make each other feel better and not let our tiredness grate on each other. There weren't a whole lot of other options available at the time (or I am sure we would have chosen something else!)! The day wore on...and on...and on. We decided to change plans and make for a safe anchorage nearby. By 1700 we had dropped the hook off the mole (harbor breakwater) at Santa Marinella and had a very quiet, and much appreciated, anchorage.

But one night's sleep doesn't make up for that kind of 24 hours. So I suspect we will be a few days recovering from that experience! We'll need all of those days because our friends Michael, Joyce and Alexandria (13 yr. old) join us for a week on Wed. We are plenty excited! Just think - English-speaking people other than your own family to talk to!!