Mama Mia

As has been throughout most of our summer, the sails remained stowed and we motored the short distance from Cavtat, Croatia to Montenegro.  King called a few marinas while in transit in hopes that we could tie up and check in with no fuss.  The .Montenegro Marina quoted double for Catamarans.  That was met with "no thanks", actually it was more like "tell your boss he charges too much".  Consequently, we decided to take our chances at the main port where the big ships check-in.  The biggest problem here is they have huge black rubber bumpers which I'm sure are great if you happen to be a very large black ship but not so great for cruising boats, especially white sailboats.  Getting our fenders located in just the right spots to fend off was shear guess work.  Fortunately, the wind was light or it would of been impossible.  What little wind we had died as soon as we were secured of course.  The only problem checking in was they required a  boat operator's license.  Of course, we don't have boat licenses in the states.  Any fool that can turn a key can drive a boat.....no matter, King was told "anything that looks like a license will do"  so King retrieved his RYA Inland Waterway certificate and stamp, stamp "Welcome to Montenegro!"

The cruise on to Koto more than made up for the not so glamours entrance.  A spectacular fjord that reminded us of Norway.  At the end sat our marina which overlooked the UNISCO designated old walled town of Koto.   During our 2 days there we strolled the castle and did a bus trip to Perast to visit the island and its richly decorated church that according to legend was built by fisherman dropping stones where a vision of the Virgin Mary was seen.  Unfortunately, the weather turned a bit wild after that so, while not nearly enough time to explore, when a small weather window appeared we decided to grab it.

The night view was spectacular!

you never know what might be lurking in the moat

The Lady of the Rocks in Koto Bay

After multiple calculations and much debate, King convinced me that it was actually shorter to cross directly to Italy vs sailing down the coast of Montenegro, Albania and back to Greece to cross.  The difference, of course, is one required an overnight and the other we could day sail.  I caved.  The wind was still howling when we untied from the docks and we were unsure what conditions would be on the outside of the fjord so checking out was tricky.  While we could checked out in Koto we would have to leave the country immediately so it was decided to travel to the mouth of the bay and spend the night in Herceg Novi to ensure the weather we were seeing on the computer matched what was happening at the mouth of the fjord.  The marina there had space but the wind was still howling when we arrived and would of made med mooring worth the price of admission.  We nixed that idea and found space to anchor just off the marina in 40 feet.  Within the hour the wind laid down to a whisper and we settled in for the night.

Hat, binoculars, pilot book, clothes you can sleep in....must be an overnight crossing

September 22 - Ostinato departed Montenegro at 0830.  Not much wind but confused seas made most of the day less than fun.  By evening, however, Ostinato finally found a more comfortable ride.  The wind was light so while the sails were up the engines remained on.  It was a non eventful crossing, which isn't a bad thing.  Ostinato arrived in Gallopolli at 1600 the following day.  We called all the marinas listed in the Italy pilot guide but none had room for us so what to do.   I had the yellow quarantine flag flying.  We had to check in.  Our only option was to find the Harbour Master's office.  King pulled Ostinato into the quay and I jumped off to tie her off.  I barley had the bow line on before men in uniforms started pouring out of the building and, with much hand waving, saying "you can not stay here!  Government dock"  I pointed to our yellow quarantine flag and responded "OK, ....where do you want us?"  After much murmuring and second teams running information back and forth to the building, fingers pointed to an empty space on the quay near the "old town" where the fishing boats were moored.  The men who were enjoying their evening fishing in that spot were not thrilled about our arrival but took their displacement in stride.  Here we spent the next 3 days checking in.  Yes, it took 3 days.....but it was a pleasant 3 days filled with catching up on lost sleep from the overnight and exploring the old city that was conveniently right at our back door.  The best part was hearing "Mama Mia" coming from the fishermen as they chatted while off loading the catch from their boats.  We really are in Italy!

September 25 - Our check-in at Gallapoli started the 8 day clock in which we had to apply for residency.  With the D-Visa, we acquired last spring in Miami, this would enable us to stay in Italy all winter AND travel other Schengen countries for a year vs the current 3 month limit.  King estimated if we day sailed it would take us 4 days of hard sailing to reach Marina Di Ragusa, the small beach town where we will winter.  The delayed stamping in also delayed the clock but it would still be a rush.  The first port, Crotone, was a 70 mile day so we were up at 0515 and off the dock at 0600.  Not enough coffee in the world to make that feel good.  While we left in light winds we soon found great wind from the NW providing a beautiful downwind sail resulting in our arrival at the marina at 1700.  The next morning we did it all over again to Roccella Ionica.

Off the SE coast of Italy near Roccella Ionica 

September 27 - A gale was forecast to be heading our way in the next few days.  If we were going to arrive in time it meant another over night jump or leaving the boat somewhere on Sicily's east coast and driving into Ragusa to file our papers.  In the rush to make a decision, we had forgotten about the Blood Moon. Lucky for us, we decided to jump and oh what a fabulous night! Between the eclipse and the fact that we actually got to sail, it was perfect.  Heavy dark clouds surrounded us all day but once the sun slipped below the horizon they opened a narrow path leading south with the moon lighting our way.  Best eclipse ever!

What a spectacular night to sail!



Our first glimpse of Marina Di Ragusa

September 28 - ......Marina Di Ragusa was a welcome sight.  The weather was sunny and the winds had turned with us as we curved around Sicily's southern coast allowing us to sail all the way in.  It was a perfect last sail of the season.  After topping of the fuel tanks we were led to our new home......in between two 45 ft Lagoon catamarans.  Once we were squeezed in, (med moored, of course) King got to work putting the passerelle out.  The quay was so high that we had to crawl to get off the boat and slide on our butts to return.  The quay was less expensive than the floating docks.....and close to the heads but this was not going to work.    No problem, the lovely ladies in the office found space for Ostinato on I-dock and we were soon settled in to our berth for the next 7 months.  Wow!

This year's neighbors are made up of Swiss, Dutch, Aussies, and Brits....and that's just on I pontoon.   As is the case with many marina's with a winter cruising community, there are lots of activities to keep us entertained over the winter including dinners, happy hours, Italian lessons, and trips to the symphony in Ragusa.  We also hope to spend lots of our time this winter exploring all of the wonderful cities Sicily and Italy has to offer.  So, while our sailing may be over until next May we plan to continue to have a few adventures this winter.  Stay tuned!

Porto Touristico Marina Di Ragusa 



The "run way"