Otranto
Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Wed 27 Aug 2014 17:57
Otranto Italy 27th- 30th August
We made a very early start from Othoni for our passage to Italy having booked a space on the ‘town quay’ with an ETA of around lunch time. The passage was marked with several wind shifts and some great sailing followed by motoring into a head wind! However the seas were reasonably low and we made good time arriving in the port around 1300 where we furled all the sails and waited to be directed into a space on the quay. Perhaps we were a bit too cautious as another boat overtook us while we were waiting for the go ahead from Antonio, the berth master and took the space meant for us! Once we were in all was well and we soon went off to have an explore. The harbour is dominated by a huge castle and inside its ramparts is a walled town with loads of small shops and bars etc. The bay has a double head with the left hand bay providing pontoons and fishing boat moorings while the right hand bay (northerly) has swimming beaches and a lovely promenade. There was no electricity on the town quay but a water tap was free to use. The showers were 3 E and not very nice so we made do with boat facilities! One evening we took a stroll into the old town and ended up at a lovely bar set in one of the squares where we enjoyed drinks with a platter of savoury starters known as ‘aperitivo specialie’. It was just lovely and obviously the thing to do as by the time we left there was a cue at the entrance waiting for free tables! The mooring charges were 40 Euro per night but we managed to negotiate a reduction for the last 2 nights at 35E!
We left the port around 0930 having bought some bread and croissants for breakfast; our passage plans were weather dependent with the option to stop at either Crotone, Santa Maria de Lueca or to keep going to Rocello Ionica.