Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday - 7, 8 & 9 April 2025 - Bari and Cala Ponte

Monday and Tuesday were days of preparations and checks. We discovered that the wind instrument wasn’t working, so shortly after 8.00am on Wednesday, the riggers arrived. In a very short time the guy up the mast had replaced the wind reading wand and it all work. As a bonus he noticed that the radar dome was half hanging off because a bolt had come out. The rigger went off to the chandlery shop to get a suitable replacement blot, but when he went up the mast again, he found the old bolt lying in a pocket around one of the lights. The chances of that happening are minuscule. Sometimes you just get lucky. So now we have all the instruments working and a radar, which is not in danger of falling off at the slightest provocation.


Also one of the essentials of life is to go to get focaccia, so we had something easy to eat while on the move. Suitably stocked up we set off a little before noon.

Bari is a large port. Car ferries, cruise ships and cargo ships come and go very regularly each day, so we have to keep a careful look out and not be in their way. Today there were no ship movements as we made our way out. After three days of high winds, I expect the rowers were pleased to be out in the flat water in the harbour. Outside the harbour, though, there was a significant swell still, and little wind, so we rolled our way twenty miles down the coast to Cala Ponte, the dead swanky marina close to Polignano a Mare. Although the skyline of Bari is very grand, it’s quite flat, so doesn’t come out so well in photos.


The sky was blue, so it was a glorious day to be out on the water, out first trip since mid November.

We would be too lucky, however, not to have something to challenge us on day one. Today’s delight was that the bow-thruster failed to function, as we arrived. It’s rather disconcerting, because it makes parking rather easer. Fortunately, in little wind, we could slide into our slot without it.

It wouldn’t be Italy without one of the small motor boats in the marina blasting out their music for half the world to hear. You just have to love and embrace it.

Polignano a Mare is a beautiful cliff top, Puglian town. The white washed houses cling to the top of the cliffs. In summer it is heaving, and small boats take tourists to the spectacular caves. Today the marina is only about half full, which gives the place a quite, refined aura.


Distance today -       20 Miles

 Distance this year - 20 miles 

Tricia (and Steve)

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