Monte Vesuvius seen from the Castel d'Ovo on Sat, 20 Sept After three weeks of sailing, “My Lotty” arrived in the marina of Castelmare 35 km south of Naples. The incoming thunderstorms forced us to seek shelter. Waves and wind speed were too high for staying in a bay. We made the right decision. In the early hours of Saturday, a violent thunderstorm hit the marina and rattled the boats. Torrential rain fell for three hours. There was an upside though – we did not need to wash

The beautifully restored Atrium in one of the wealthy Households in Pompeii Herculaneum was - compared to Pompeii - an intimate experience. The crowd - not only from cruise ships - discovered Pompeii. I guess the site made it on several "bucket lists". More visitors contribute to longer queues. But there is more. "Smart" Italian bureaucrats installed a ticketing system that requires first and family name for each visitor (sic!). Wonder what purpose this serves. Security - not

Herculaneum's Seafront - 300 People were killed in the Shipyards where they took Shelter It is more than 20 years ago that I visited the two places. Was on the way to a risk conference in Capri and arrived early in Naples. Given that Pompeii was just 25 km away, I squeezed both into an afternoon. It was too much though for the short time available. The experience was overwhelming - I forgot most of what I saw. What I remember are the few visitors in Sept 2002, Pompeii's fast

Pozzuoli's Amphitheatre id huge and has 2/3 the Capacity of the Roman Colliseum After three weeks of sailing, we finally arrived in Pozzuoli, where Apostle Paul ended the sea leg of his journey. After a few days rest, he walked for three weeks on the famous Via Appia to the Roman capital where he was to be tried for his alleged crime of bringing gentiles to the Temple in Jerusalem. On the way, he was welcomed by many Christian followers. They had heard of his arrival. The emp

Procida's beautiful Port viewed from Terra Murata, its fortified Upper Town If you want to understand a place, you must visit. Nothing beats the experience of walking around the site you want to understand. The thought went through my mind this morning when standing on Cumae's Acropolis, Italy's oldest Greek colony. The Greek who came to this part of the world for several centuries before settling, recognised its ideal location. A steep cliff overlooking an inlet could serve

A Fishermen from Ischia going out to fetch his daily catch - sadly he returned empty handed Our Captain Marco found the perfect bay to stay for the night. There was no swell. We had a good night's rest. The bay was also shielded from any radio signal - no messaging in this "Funkloch" as we said in ths Swiss Army. A southerly picked up shortely after 8 am - time to set sails and move around the island to visit Cumae, the oldest Greek colony on the Italian mainland. Founded in

Rocky Waters south of Capri at 06.45 am Rocky start this morning. The wind had turned. A heavy swell run into our bay. The light sleepers got kicked out of bed by 6 am. The heavy sleepers by 8 am. Time to lift anchor and sail over to Ischia in the hope of finding calmer waters. The fresh wind allowed us to sail. Nothing better than gliding silently through the sea. The only sound were the waves and the cracking noise of the ropes. Paradise! Silently gliding on the Sea fro

South Coast of Capri Island with the Main Town on the Ridge After a quiet night before Amalfi, we set sail for Capri today. During the summer months, the island is visited by up to 50’000 people a day. 90% of them day trippers. They arrive by 10 am and leave by 4 pm. Not surprisingly, the restaurants and bars in Centro Capri have no tables available, the queue for the cable car is three hundred meters long, noisy leisure boats ferrying people to the Blue Grotto leave the port

Amalfi today at 5 pm - People were queuing on the Pier for their Return Trip to Salerno It is change-over day today. After a fabulous week which took us from Messina to Salerno, Team 2 left this morning at 8 am to return home. Team 3 boards at 3 pm. Within minutes of the safety briefing, "My Lotty" lifted anchor. We are off to Capri and hope that the waves allow us to visit Amalfi on the way. The weather improved since yesterday and the waves are back to 1/2 meter high. Am

Paestum's Temple of Poseidon was built a two Decades before the Parthenon in Athens Last night we could not stay in Agropoli. A bad weather system with lightning and thunder storms was moving in from the west. We needed a more secure anchor place. Luckily, Captain Mario had booked a berth at Marina d'Arechio near Salerno - just in case. Here, we were safe when gales started blowing. It rained all night - we hardly noticed. Paestum from the Air - the City had 50'000 inhabitant

View on the Spanish Castle and the Old Town of Agropoli, at the back the Old Harbour Every 29th and 30th of June, Agropoli celebrates its Patron Saints, Peter and Paul. A procession of believers moves from the town to the old town at the top of the rock and back again. At first glance, it looks like any of the many processions in Italy. Until you discover a group of maybe 30, mostly young people, who march in Renaissance costumes, following their drums section and waiving fla

Elea is visible from far away - the medieval Tower was built over the Foundations of the Temple of Athena. The ancient Townwalls included about half the visible Ridge. We are off to Velia today or Elea, as the ancient Greek called the town. It is a good two hours sailing north of our anchor place at Palinuro where we stayed overnight. Bidding Farewell to our ancient Greek Harbour of Palinuro Approaching Elea from the sea makes you understand why the Greek chose this place.

Spanish King Philip II (1527 - 1598) was never able to balance his State Budget Yesterday was a full day. Four islands in 24 hours : Climbing Monte Vulcano after sunrise, swimming in the waters of Lipari and excursion to its charming capital in the afternoon, Panarea for dinner and Stromboli for the eruptions! Stromboli Eruption a few Minutes past Midnight Yesterday’s beautiful events stretched into the morning. At 6.30 am we bumped into a fisherman checking his Gamberini tra

View from the Top of Monte Vulcano (196 m above sea) towards Lipari. To the left is Salina Island, to the right in the distance Panarea and Stromboli, the active Volcano This will be an easy blog. Most of what there is to say I said already in 2021 when we visited Vulcano on our way from Syracuse to Athens. That year, we were following Genovese Trade Routes and visited the Aeolian Island to learn about Obsidian glass. We also discovered the Monte Vulcano, an active volcano un

The majestic Greek Theatre in Tyndaris has been partially refurbished and hosts many musical and theatrical performance every summer Last night, there was a big party in Milazzo. After dinner, we went ashore to find out what people were celebrating. The entire town was on the beach promenade. Families with small babies. Couples dressed up elegantly. Elderly women in their Sunday gowns - their hubbies in shorts. Teenage girls and boys trying to impress each other. On stage, th

View over Messina from the Santa Maria di Montalto. The Sacrario di Cristo Re on the left, the Straits of Messina in the Middle, the Port with the St Salvador Fort to the Right It is change over day today. Crew 1 leaves and returns to Switzerland, London and New York. Crew 2 arrives from Geneva, Zurich and Singapore. As always, everybody has to clear the boat by 8 am to give the "My Lotty" team time to resupply and do a deep cleaning. We used our spare time to walk up to the

Sunrise over the Straits of Messina at 6.55 am At 5 am this morning, Captain Mario started the engine. We wanted to get to the Straits of Messina before the wind picked up. Today's plan was to visit Scilla Castle on the Calabrian side, then anchor for lunch at Capo Pelore, Sicily's most eastern point and to sail after lunch to Messina at 3 pm, right on time for our walk through town. We made good progress. By 9 am we reached the Straits, announced our position to traffic cont

Taormina's Clock Tower is a time less Symbol of the Towns 2'400 Years - with an equally time less Mount Etna at the back After a good night's sleep on the open waters south of Taormina, protected from swells by an invisible underwater ridge, we got up early this morning. The goal was to beat the Cruise Boat crowd. Coming from Messina and Catania, they arrive by coach at around 11 am. If we managed to get to Taormina by 9 am, we'd have the charming town for 2 hours to ourselve

The Neighbourhood between our Marina and Catania's Town Center was once wealthy but is now a bit run down Walking from Catania's Yacht Harbour to the town center is quite an experience. We passed through a decommissioned, old customs building, walked through an ugly car park, crossed under the battrered arches of Sicily's Ionian Railway Line and finally ended in a rough, but once wealthy neighbourhood. The contrast between the beauty of the buildings and how badly they a

Syracuse Yacht Harbour at 07.15 at Sunrise Clear blue sky but a rather windy morning. Driven by the Mistral, a northerly wind is blowing through the Straits of Messina. It blows at > 20 knots. Waves south of the Straits are now at 1.5 meters. At breakfast, we decide to delay the departure to after lunch. We would get terribly soaked if we leave now. In the afternoon, the wind is supposed to die down. We will use the spare morning for things we have to do anyway. Whilst we do