Ponza

S/V Goldcrest
David & Lindsay Inwood
Wed 25 May 2011 13:45

We had a full day’s motoring to the next Pontine island of Ponza, another ancient volcano with amazing rock formations.  The day was enlivened by a visit from a little bird – we think it was a Bonelli’s Warbler, but they all look very alike in the book.  We arrived and then picked up enough fuel to get us across to Sardinia the following day, but have never had fuel squirted into the tank so fast, 80l in just a few seconds.  Minutes later the engine died, but Lindsay’s quick wits got us sailing onto a mooring buoy in the middle of the harbour – very impressive!  My first thought was we’d either picked up a load of water or petrol, but it turned out that the muck in the bottom of the tank had been stirred up by the super-fast fill and had blocked the fuel line.  A neighbouring Italian yachtie helped us diagnose the problem and warned us that the previous year a visitor had been charged €300 for using the mooring buoy we were on, so we moved off to anchor as soon as I’d blown the blockage out of the fuel line.  After an unimpressive pizza ashore, we had a quiet night at anchor surrounded by all the other boats who, like us, wouldn’t pay €50 for a pontoon berth, leaving all the nearby pontoons empty.

 

Ponza anchorage:

 

Ponza town: