Return to Cagliari :7 Feb 2007
December 2006/ Jan, Feb, March 2007
Phew! What a couple of months we’ve had. Back in the UK, our little car has done about 2000 miles whizzing up and down the country while we visit friends and family. Thanks to everyone for putting up with us, - Mum, Gary & Liz, Niall and Kim, Jeff and Lesley, Cliff and Karen, Steve and Chris, Ali and Chris, Jeff and Emma. We've had a brilliant time and shared some memorable evenings with you (and some that we don't remember very well!).
Congratulations to my sister Sophie and
her partner, Paul on the birth of Ella on 20 December.
We returned to Cagliari early February weighed down to the last ounce of our baggage allowance on the Ryanair flight; bags filled with books and clothes as well as chandlery items. It was nice to come 'home'. Roam had looked after herself very well, still floating in the glinting water from the sun and blue sky (didn't see much of that in England!). We didn't even manage to get back onboard before we were ambushed by Pat and Tony with a welcoming beer. Like I said, it's nice to be home.
As last year, we shipped some boxes of
supplies from home (we can't run out
of tea bags!) and once we had unpacked, the work began straight away.
(see job list) As
last year, our list of jobs seems endless and some are quite daunting and
complicated. Our locker lids in the cockpit are made of wood, but they have
suffered some serious wear and tear, some of the wood has rotted in some
vulnerable spots, so we had to do something. simply repairing and varnishing
was not a good long term solution, so we had looked around for inspiration
as to what to do. The best idea seemed to be to strip back the varnish and
cover the tops with Treadmaster, a non-slip deck covering. They make a
smooth pattern which would be kinder to our delicate backsides than the
regular diamond pattern for the deck. We could only find bright coloured
versions in Italy, so brought some back from the UK. Terry had stripped and
cleaned the lockers before I cut the shapes and glued them on, then Terry
applied varnish to the outside edge to complete the seal. And we are pretty
pleased with the result!
Next jobs: attach 2 mast steps to the top of the mast, replace the masthead light with new led bulb, check the rigging, install the battery charger, re-connect the alternator booster (a job that Moretta's cocked up last year and we had to abandon), install the pole for our wind generator (another very difficult job as the kit is not made for our type of boat), clean, mend and waterproof the canvas work; get hauled out and clean and scrape and paint the hull......and on and on.
Many of the jobs would have been impossible to complete without the skills, expertise, advice and support of the other live-aboards around us; particularly Tony whose patience seems endless. A huge THANKYOU.
In
between jobs, we got a short break and went up to Tempio to stay with Paolo
and Paula and their black Labrador puppy, Taz. Shrove Tuesday is a big
Carnival time in Italy and Tempio has one of the biggest in Sardinia. We
took the train and bus up to the mountain city and immediately felt the
difference in temperature - COLD! There was supposed to be a procession of
the Sunday, but due to the heavy rain, it was cancelled. Only the people
watching on TV knew this though, nothing was announced to the waiting crowd
and we could only get updates by mobile phone! The following day we had a
nice walk in the hills above Tempio with Taz and cooked a meal for our
hosts. On the Tuesday we had another walk in the morning and managed to get
ourselves a little bit lost in the woods.
We
managed to get back well in time for the main carnival. It was a very happy
occasion, lots of floats (mostly depicting the current prime minister, Prodi,
or his arch rival, Berlusconi in some satirical setting which was a bit lost
on us. The floats all play loud music accompanied by people dressed up in
appropriate costumes, dancing in the street. Copious amounts of
confetti are hurled around covering everyone and everything to a depth of 2
or 3 cms (which all became a gloopy mush later in the rain) The carnival
does has some annual rituals that have to be observed. the first float is a
effigy of king George, the second of his Queen, a peasant girl he married
(by the way- you know which models are women as they have their boobs out!). George, though has to be sacrificed and his effigy is burnt at the
end of the procession to symbolise the passing of all Sardinia's problems.
Once
back in Cagliari we went back to work again, including 5 days in the
boatyard. The water in the harbour here is so murky that you can't see the
hull further than about 12 inches down. We knew that the area has a bad
reputation and a feel around with a brush told us that our hull had turned
into something of a zoo (disappointing as Terry had used CopperPlus only 2
years ago but it seems it had completely failed, yet was supposed to last
for 10). When we were lifted out we saw that we really did have a problem
and that we would need to
start again. So after 5 days of scraping, grinding, priming and anti-fouling
Roam was re-launched with a clean bottom!
We've been hoping that we would be able to 'leave' Cagliari sometime in late March or early April to do some sailing, but frankly the weather has been awful. At one point the mountains surrounding the city were covered with snow - not the type of weather we'd been hoping for. The locals have said that this March has been very bad following a very mild winter. So, we're still here....
Full
Flight, however, have decided it is time to go. They have the incentive of
some visitors that want to go sailing. So on Sunday April 1st, we sadly
waved goodbye to Pat and Tony as they left on their voyage. They have been a
great help to us, we've enjoyed their friendship and appreciated their
advice; we really hope we cross paths with them again.
The
weather is beginning to settle down a wee bit - still chilly at night, but
some better days at last. Deborah, Colette and I decided we would shake out
some cobwebs and take a walk over 'Sella del Diavolo' ('The Devil's Saddle')
- a rocky headland about 4km away that has a distinctive shape to it at the
seaward end. Most of the land around here that
looks like it would be good for a walk is 'Zona Militare' and is fenced off
- even though it doesn't look as though anyone has stepped foot on it for
decades. We thought it was the same with the 'Saddle' but then found a tiny
roadside map that indicated there were paths over it! We had a great walk,
finding a surprising number of people at the top enjoying picnics. The
walk up was marked by frequent green dots painted on the stones, but the
walk back was not so obvious and it turned into a bit of a scramble at
times.
SAILING
AGAIN!
Well, at last
we've taken Roam out of the marina and done a bit of sailing. For
once some decent warm weather was forecast so we organised a bit of a rally
and went with Chinook, Constancia and Hejira down to the
anchorage at Pula opposite some Roman ruins. Our 'shakedown cruise' turned
into just that - a SW f5 came up (right on the nose), so the predicted 13nm
motor turned into a 22NM real sail. Unfortunately not everything was stowed
well enough for the conditions and we were having to tie down/re-stow/pack
away/ all sorts of
things as they flew around the cabin on each subsequent tack. We found some
great shelter behind the headland and of course the wind soon died away for
a peaceful night. the next day was gorgeous and sunny. We went ashore to
look at the ruins (not just Terry!) and a walk into Pula (3km) to the
museum. We had sun-downers on Hejira after a perfect day. What a
life! That night the wind changed again and made the anchorage uncomfortable
so we had an early start back to base - beating again into a N wind!
One
of the guys in the marina -'Bandana Bill ' (to distinguish him from 'Moody
Bill' of course) had been given the name of a wine merchant and had
suggested that we might like to try some of his wine. At the appointed hour
the guys all trooped up to the car park and managed to wipe out all the guys
stock with a promise that he would return the next day with the balance of
the orders. the 'cheap' stuff was 4.75e for 5l and the expensive stuff 8.50
for 5l. One day we ran out, so we called the number he had left us - he was
knocking on the boat 30 mins later - now that's service!
Our first
visitors arrived - Terry's sister Lyn and her husband Mark. We were
also expect Marcus and Glo from the US, but work commitments made them
postpone their trip. We had rented a villa and a car for the week for us all
in the nearby town of Capitana, just down the coast. The villa was lovely -
a pool and large cool interior. It was unfortunate that Lyn had a recurrence
of her APPV (type of vertigo) which left her feeling woozy and unbalanced,
so she was unable to take enjoy the week to the full.
More
departures from the marina...Martin the Finn on Constancia, a
Hallberg Rassy Rasmus 35 and then Martin, Colette and Jazz on Hejira.
They are both planning on returning next winter. Martin and Colette have
bought a plot of land and are having a house built! We'll miss their
excellent company, help and advice.
