Rocello Ionica
Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Sun 31 Aug 2014 07:59
Rocello Ionica 31st August – 4th September
We headed out of Otranto with a single reef in the main and motored south but with an increasing wind we were able to unfurle the genoa and sailed well for a while. The day passed quickly with the sun shining and with three people standing a 3 hour watch each the journey was very pleasant. We decided we were making good progress and left Crotone to starboard around dawn keeping well to the east of the various gas and oil platforms. The long line of red lights were very confusing from a distance but proved to be wind turbines on the low hills stretching for several miles along the coast around Crotone. We had to put in a second reef for several hours when the wind increased to force 5 but by the time we were nearer to Rocello it had dropped to a F3. We were finally tied up around 1400 the following day 31st of August.
Our friends Steve and June had left the day before so we had just missed them again. We enjoyed our stay at Rocello Amanda and Jacky cycled into the town along the very pleasant bike track and purchased fresh supplies. Robert did a supermarket run by bike and topped up with essential stuff like beer, wine and kitchen roll! We sampled the delicious pizza at the marina restaurant we shared a half metre with two different toppings – it all brought back memories of when Rob and Jacky had been there 5 years previously. We stayed for 4 days and ate at the pizza place again plus had a takeaway! Jacky’s spaghetti with clams and mussels was the best she has ever eaten!
With a good window in the weather we decided to move on and so left on the 4th with a view to sailing to Siracusa where we hoped to meet up with June and Steve on Piper. We made a reservation over the phone and sent a text to June so they would know we would be coming. Normally we don’t like to arrive somewhere in the dark but it turned out to be fine as the bay at the entrance to the marina is huge and the lights were easy to follow.