Adventure An Italian Summer

Cruising Italy is spectacular, yet in summer it can be crowded, hot and expensive. Floris van Hees and Ivar Smits went looking for solutions

- Floris van Hees

Having just walked from the boat’s mooring in Paraggi to ritzy Portofino, Ivar drily commented, ‘I’m glad we’re staying around the corner.’ From the town’s historic church, we looked down on the small natural harbour around which the famous colourful town is built. Superyachts, fishing vessels, and boats ferrying tourists occupied every square inch of water.

‘Even if there was space, we couldn’t afford it,’ I pointed out. A mooring here for our 47ft classic Buchanan ketch Lucipara 2 would cost £300 a night.

But the joy of our first and free Italian anchorage was short-lived. Early the next morning, the coastguard paid us a visit. In firm Italian, they explained that we were not allowed to anchor close to the beach and told us to move immediately. We complied and sailed to neighbouring Santa Margherita Ligure, a charming town that oozes Italian flair. The marina charged £65 per night.

‘If the rest of Italy is like this, we should skip it!’ scoffed Ivar. But we vowed not to give up so fast. This cruising area promised to be spectacular. Instead, we managed to anchor next to the marina, which proved to be an ideal base for exploring the area. This corner of the Mediterranean is not blessed with wind, which was an issue for us. We are quite serious about being a sailing boat, and try to avoid emissions and fuel costs whenever possible. We don’t motor unless it’s absolutely necessary.

As we arrived in Caprera our jaws dropped. White sand, smooth rocks and azure blue water

The weather forecast was for no wind at all for the next 10 days, so we stayed put and explored the many paths to be hiked in Portofino’s national park and the culture of nearby Genoa.