With the peak holiday season comes the busy period in any location. In August in the Ionian islands the Italians arrive ‘en mass’.    Alongside them the Brits arrive pale skinned and pastey from the British climate along with the other Northern Europeans----white faced with high factor suncream and hats.  There is generally a calm sense of arrival when yachts tie to a dock. Anchors are prepped to deploy, warps (ropes) at the ready.  In a bay where it is necessary to tie stern to the rocks, northern Europeans generally arrive, recky the bay, choose a spot, choose the rocks to tie to, ready their ropes, deploy the anchor and then someone slowly swims to the shore----lines are secured---all done in military fashion.   Then follows 30 minutes of adjustments and boat tidying before considering a swim, drink or food.

 

Well------ the Italians have a great capacity for enjoyment. The Italians arrive into the bay, unused sails still neatly stowed away, engines full speed, not a suncreamed white face in view, moreover, beautifully pre-tanned groomed bodies. They appear to be drawn to the busiest, tightest small gap in the bay--- in the middle of the action, regardless of the lovely wide open spaces available.

 

The anchor is dropped as quickly and where ever the skipper fancies as he does a hand brake turn into the small space, reversing at speed with calls of ‘pronto’.

Tanned, groomed men and women dive off the stern of the yachts, ropes in hands with dives worthy of competition score cards.

Athletically, they swim to the shore ,abruptly stopping as they near the rocks-----you know those spiky things under your feet !! The yacht then dances around in the wind ricocheting off the very close surrounding yachts, engine turned off with the group on deck talking loudly and gesturing to the bronzed couple on the shore---presumably debating which is the best rock to tie to.

The ropes are eventually secured to which ever rock looks pretty, never mind the wind direction and the remaining crew jump into the sea, swim, have lots of fun, loud laughter, immediately eat and drink heartily and later-------- one of them might think to tighten the tension on the anchor chain!!!

 

We might do it all by the book, but the Italians certainly know how to enjoy themselves--- and of course how to squeeze a 5 metre wide boat into a 3 metre wide space!!

 

Huge generalisations here of course as we have Italian friends who would calmly secure their boat, but I’m sure this story will bring a smile of ‘Italian’ recollection to their faces too.

 

Love to all

 

Tina and Tony x x x x