16 June 2010

Oops, it's been a while since I posted the last blog, and in that time we made the journey from Porto Lotti to Viareggio in mixed conditions. We thought we would spend the day anchored off somewhere in the bay of La Spezia, but wherever we tried to find shelter, the wind found us and rocked us around too much for comfort. Eventually we put the anchor down near a small port, but even that had quite a lot of movement and once we'd eaten we realised the anchor was dragging, so decided to head off down the coast. By this time it was quite overcast so sunbathing was out and we were happy to be moving into port. En route to Viareggio, the sky got darker and darker and it was clear we were heading not just for a shower but for a downpour and sure enough, the heavens opened and deposited the equivalent of Queen's Valley onto us - fortunately we'd had the sense to move below shortly before this happened! As we came into port, so the downpour ceased and by the time we were moored up, the sun had come out again and everything was sparkly and bright! Funny old weather.
With a trip home on the cards, we spent the next 24 hours tidying up and getting ready to leave Zaffina. Frank went up to the office to make the appropriate arrangements and immediately got whacked with a 172 euro fine. Apparently, we should have registered on our arrival in Italian waters and had failed to do so. We went home terrified that the Italian authorities would find some other infringement and decide to impound our lovely boat, and spent the next few days back in Jersey with this worry on our minds. We still managed to enjoy our time at home, catching up with as many people as possible and celebrating baby Lily's Christening.
On Wednesday evening, we met up with Amanda and Ian at Gatwick and flew back down to Italy together. It was lovely to be back in the heat and we were delighted to find Zaffina in good order, where we had left here! Moored a few places away from us was an old friend - the Magellano, Azimut's new model which we sea trialled in Tunisia at the end of last year. Two boats from us was another Azimut 62, this one belonging to the trainer of the Italian football team, but he wasn't on board; apparently he has some pressing business in South Africa at the moment!
Not only was there no problem with moving on with Zaffina, but the powers that be had decided that we hadn't, after all, broken any rules and we didn't have to pay the fine. Better still, they provided us with plenty of paperwork to say that we have conformed to all their regulations, so if we run into trouble again we have proof that we are legit in these waters!
The weather meant that we weren't able to leave Viareggio until Friday so we hired a car and went to check that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was still leaning (it is) and had a quick visit to Luca. On Friday, we made the break and set sail, in reasonable conditions, for Elba. Amanda wasn't wild on the sea (ie it wasn't flat calm) but managed to survive the crossing and we slipped into Porto Ferraio in the afternoon. It is a beautifully sheltered port, a horse-shoe of pastal coloured buildings ringing the harbour, with the town rising behind to an imposing fort.
The weather has been changeable since we've been in Elba, brilliant sunshine followed by thick cloud or a thunderstorm, and our plans to spend a couple of days here before moving on to Corsica have been scuppered. We have been all the way around the island though, stopping for a night in the very pretty Porto Azurro on the opposite shore and spending a perfect afternoon in a gorgeous anchorage before returning to Porto Ferraio two days ago. Then the wind came up again, and we've been here ever since, with storms and torrential rain last night followed by brilliant sunshine, but still with that wind around, today.
Fingers crossed we'll be moving on to Corsica on Friday, by which time Amanda and Ian will be in Florence before they return home to the UK on Saturday evening. I think our fingers may remain crossed for the whole summer, judging by the forecasts!