25 October 2025 - Bari

 The hope had been that we would be able to stop off in Trani en route to Bari, but the weather forecast was not favourable for us to be there overnight. It is only marginal that we can get in and out, and with any sort of waves running in the harbour, the boat will be bouncing off the seabed, which we obviously want to avoid.  The weather forecast for Sunday was also for quite a lot of wind, so with the deadline of being in Bari by Sunday night we decided to head straight there and plan an excursion for Sunday when we got there.  The exit from the marina in Manfredonia has many (MANY) tiny buoys marking fishing gear, and it is necessary to keep a very sharp watch on both sides and to be ready to change course at a moments notice. 

The sailing conditions were near perfect, with the wind coming from the land, so flat water and a good breeze from abeam. In the course of the 9.5 hour trip we only used the engine for two hours, which included the warm up and cool down phases and the motoring out and into port. During the day the wind moved further behind the beam and there only a very short discussion before we got the spinnaker up.  We were flying along.  We later met some friends who were further ahead on the route and complained that they did not have any wind.  They were monitoring our progress and were obviously impressed by the speeds we were achieving.  They took about 2 hours less to do less than half the distance we covered.



There were a couple of times when the wind almost got too much for us to fly the spinnaker, but dropped enough for us to persevere with it. Evenually the wind direction changed as we neared Bari, causing us to revert to white sails only, and then when tacking became tedious, just lower everything and motor in.

Bari comes into view

It was an absolutely cracking day on the water.

During the passage, we received a message from the boatyard, saying "Antonio, (one of the brothers who own it) has organised a party,  don't make other plans". So for the second Saturday in a row, we were at a party, this time with the family and friends of the boatyard folks, plus their regular clients who were arriving back at the same time.  Apparently they hold these parties twice a year, at the beginning and the end of the season.  Antonio is a great host and wannabe DJ. He was rushing round between distributing food and playing the music.  The Italian friends were dancing and singing along to many of the songs.

With great sailing and a great party, it was a perfect finale to our sailing season.

 Distance today -          49 Nautical miles 

Distance this year - 1918 Nautical miles 

Steve (and Tricia & Chris) 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

29 & 30 September 2025 - Bar and Bari

Image
The alarm was switched off this morning, we were trying to get as much rest as possible before leaving. When we did stir, the preparations began in earnest, with some shopping and a rather disappointing trip to the marina office.  We were hoping that they would let us stay on our berth until the evening, when we planed to leave, but they were adamant that the rules said that if we stayed after 2:00, we had to pay for another night.  Of course we did not want to do this, and had hoped that there would be some flexibility or the ability to turn a blind eye, as the marina was not full. Alas no. So we went to the Harbour Master to check the boat out of Montenegro, then out for lunch, before pulling off the dock at about 1:45. Initially we went and anchored in the bay, but there was no protection from the swell and it was uncomfortable and not conducive to sleeping. After trying to rest, we concluded that we might as well get on with it, and sail through the whole of the hours of d...
Read more

22 October 2025 - Vieste - (updated)

Image
Another day of motoring, taking us to Vieste on the tip of the "spur" of Italy. First, however we had to negotiate the fishing boats.  This corner must be a prime spot for fishing as up to 15 fishing boats were visible in site. They move in unpredictable fashion, starting and stopping, presumably to deploy and recover their nets.  We kept our distance as there is nothing good that comes from getting entangled in their nets. We noticed that one of the fishing boats was called Kevin.  It's a perfectly normal name, but it seemed rather odd for an Italian fishing boat. Another sign of the abundance of fish in this area was our first sighting of dolphins since we arrived in the Med in August.  This was a pod of at least 10, and we were treated to seeing 2 spectacular leaps completely clear of the water. The scenery of this region is very beautiful and there are towns hidden in the folds of the land. The town of Perschici, from the sea.  Too shallow for us to stop the...
Read more

25 & 26 September 2025 - Bar and Podgarica

Image
After some days of being constantly on the move, we feel the need for a break, and the chance to restock the food supplies. We also need to prepare for our crossing to Italy, and be ready to leave when the boatyard are ready to receive us.  In case you need directions, this sign post points to various locations around the world, and gives their distance. Bar is offering good access to shops and markets, and we spent Thursday morning walking to a large farmers market, with a wonderful choice of locally produced fruit and vegetables. On Friday we decided to visit the capital of Montenegro, Porgarica. This entailed a one hour train ride in each direction, through the mountains and on a long bridge which spans Lake Shkodra. A fter  World War II , Podgorica was first designated as the capital of Montenegro in 1946. At that time, it was renamed Titograd in honour of  Josip Broz Tito , the leader of  Yugoslavia . It served as the capital of the  Socialist Republic of M...
Read more