Back to Eliza B - after a wedding, a funeral, many leisurely lunches and friendly dinners

Eliza B
Ron & Elizabeth HOWARD
Wed 24 Aug 2011 19:32

We left Eliza B slightly earlier than expected (at Livorno), thanks to a forecasted period of windy weather.  We were lucky to find a cooperative and friendly owner of a marina pontoon with a space who was willing to allow us to leave the boat with him while we came home.  The high winds started on the day we moved the boat across the harbour and we were pleased to get the boat tied up. 

 

Livorno is a very large and busy working port.  It is visited regularly by large cruise ships (it is not far from Pisa and Florence) and large cargo vessels. The third photo shows the ship which supplies the nearby prison island with essential supplies (and, presumably, inmates).  However, there is a very nice restaurant which we visited a couple of times.

 

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Livorno is encircled by a canal from the north-east corner of the harbour, it then goes around the old town (including an area called “Old Venice) and back to the other corner of the harbour.

 

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After we had tied the boat up in its new location, we went to admire the waves which we were leaving behind.  Elizabeth had booked us seats on an EasyJet flight from Pisa the following day (Tuesday) and we caught the local train from Livorno to Pisa.

 

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Thereafter followed a hectic month of visiting family and friends.  A funeral of a well-loved maternal aunt in Norfolk was followed by a beautiful wedding of a cousin’s daughter in Essex.  The wedding included the moment when the bride throws her bouquet over her head and, tradition has it, whoever catches it will celebrate their own wedding shortly after.  The picture shows all the beautiful young bridesmaids being pushed out of the way by a number of older guests.

 

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Many pleasant lunches and dinners followed during the month at home and we managed  to catch up with practically all our friends.

 

We arrived back at Eliza B on Wednesday afternoon (17th) after flying into Pisa from Gatwick. We decided to stay for a day to acclimatise to the high temperatures (in low 30’s) – and take advantage of another very nice meal at Ristorante Aragosta (shown above).

 

On Friday we set off up the coast for the twenty mile trip to Via Reggio.  Not enough wind to sail so we had to be satisfied with motor-sailing.  We stayed one night.  Compared with our previous visit, the winds were much lower but the prices weren’t.  We were now into high season and the marina prices were 30% higher.

 

Next morning we set off and managed 3 hours wonderful sailing in a wind which gradually increased from a force 2 to a force 4  on a single tack (gentlemen’s sailing) with Elizabeth amusing herself by tweaking the sails to get the best out of them.  It was just as fast as motoring but much more peaceful. 

 

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Having been fooled by the white ”snow” on the hill on our southward journey, we decided to visit the port of Carrara from where most of the famous marble is shipped. 

 

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We had to resort to engine to enter the harbour and Elizabeth tried to make contact with the harbour authorities – but no answer.  We got in, found an empty berth and were about to make it our own when the capitaine (In the red shirt)suddenly appeared and berated Elizabeth for not ringing ahead “as one always does in Italy – you can’t just arrive!”.  It was not the time to exchange our experiences but to apologise profusely and explain we had tried but to no avail.  He then helped us to tie up and announced there was no charge for the first night!

 

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Next morning (Sunday) we awoke to discover a very large cargo ship blocking most of the harbour while unloading hundreds of container trailers – it appears this is a commercial freight port for Sardinia – and I guess the worldwide demand for expensive high-quality white marble is not enough to keep the harbour busy.  We didn’t know if we could get out but after a while a number of other yachts decided to squeeze out and we followed very closely. 

 

Another pleasant sail in light winds until they we blocked by the land as we entered into the very long bay which reaches up to La Spezia.  We motored up the large bay – keeping well out of the way of the channels being used by the large freight carriers.  La Spezia is also a base for the Italian navy and there are restricted areas – as well as a very long breakwater across the whole bay (about halfway up the bay) so it is quite reminiscent of Plymouth (but with more sunshine). 

 

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We aimed for the top, north-west corner, next to the Naval base and reached Porto Turistico Benedetti.  It was still Sunday so there was no radio response and no-one on the pontoons from whom we could seek advice.  So we tied up to an empty spot and decided that we would check in the next morning and stay another night to allow us to explore the town.  La Spezia has some beautiful, ornate buildings and has orange trees to line the streets.  It also has some of Boris’s bikes and more statues of the local hero, Garibaldi (1913).

 

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However, today (Monday) has been so warm that we limited our explorations to St George’s castle, enjoying a pizza lunch and visiting the local supermarket (to top up our diminishing stocks of pink wine, cheeses and fresh fruit) before collapsing back on the boat under the sun-shade.  It is also too hot to cook for supper so we are eating salads. The trip up to the castle was worth it and we were rewarded by a magnificent south-facing view down the bay of La Spezia.

 

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Unless the Navigating Officer suffers a change of plan, we will be leaving here tomorrow morning, cutting through a break in the cliffs past Port Venere (where we stayed on the way down) and then continue our journey northwards toward Genoa.

 

(Unfortunately, this newsletter was composed on Monday but I couldn’t finish it until Wednesday since we were out of reach of electricity to drive the computer.) 

Ron.

 

Ron & Elizabeth HOWARD

Eliza B,  Moody 36 (1998)

 

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