16th to 17th July - Levanto to Santa Margherita to Genoa (The end of the trip)
Bali Hai
Neal Stow
Fri 17 Jul 2009 21:16
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The 16th July was yet another day of motoring along
the coast. We hoped to spend the night in Portofino with the jet set (and
also Mirabella V who had again been following us) but when we arrived we
discovered that there are only 8 visitor berths in the small harbour. So
instead we carried on to Santa Margherita which is yet another lovely Italian
Riviera town.
We took the dinghy ashore and then the bus to
Portofino for a drink. Apparently there is a replica of Portofino in Las
Vegas and I imagine that it is difficult to tell which is which as the original
could easily have been created for Disneyland. Disappointed with what we
found we headed back to Santa Margherita for dinner followed by a wonderful
gelato.
The 17th July was to be the last day of the trip
and during the 14 miles to Genoa we at last managed to get a bit of sailing in
for Mark and Stacy - although it was hardly and exhilarating sail.
The weather was quite gloomy in Genoa when we
arrived but the town looked attractive - a bit like Barcelona the marina is
located in the middle of the old town. We have a one year mooring in
Marina Molo Vecchio (the "Superyacht marina" - Mirabella V was to arrive the
following week) and following the problems last year in Barcelona I was keen to
ensure a successful docking this time.
Our first attempt was perfect as we came in and
tied up. Unfortunately the location of the power box on the quay meant
that we could not lower our gangplank and so we were told to move the boat
across to the next spot. This was to be our downfall as, in moving
the boat, one of the lazy lines caught in the bowthruster and broke the
shaft.
So, yet again, the summer sailing trip ended on a
bit of sour note. However, the marina staff in Molo Vecchio are extremely
helpful and efficient and the boat is already scheduled to come out of the water
to be repaired next week. The town of Genoa also seems to be a great spot
to leave the boat and a base to explore the rest of Northern Italy.
Many thanks to Mark and Stacy for the last week, I
hope they enjoyed it (as they are so incredibly polite I will never know if they
did not). Thanks to Rob for another year of support in moving his second
home (hopefully he will be back with Joanne next time). Finally a great
thank you to Emma who was wonderful for the whole time - how she managed to put
up with me on a boat for 8 weeks I will never know.
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