Pompeii, Ferry, Containers, and Arrival in Mondello!

Let me begin by apologizing for the lack of postings. I lasted posted Thursday afternoon, and it now being Tuesday, much has transpired. Between now and then, I had problems getting an internet connection, and my laptop battery completely died out. Like fish, I like news served fresh. Anyways, I now write to you from the yacht club in Mondello, Italy.

What I’ve been up to:

Friday: Having arrived safely in Naples, I slept until about 0700 and left along with my Uncle Frank. He headed to his job as a surgeon at a hospital. I hopped the Metronapoli into Piazza Garibali, where I then took the 45-minute train (called the Circumvesiano or something like that) southwards to Pompeii. I then strolled around Pompeii until about 1300, at which point I headed home (back to Naples) to my uncle’s apartment. Once there, we had the typical Italian lunch (pasta, some ham sandwich, a giant piece of melon, and plenty of vino). My uncle was quite proud to show me his webcam that he uses to talk to my Uncle back in New Jersey. Being an old person, my uncle can’t really type well, let alone type in English, so I ended up typing his broken English into his laptop. Kind of an odd situation. As is par for the course, we all took naps. I woke up around 1645 for another quick bite to eat and to say goodbye to my wonderful aunt, who had done all the cooking during my stay there. My uncle and I then got into his little Mercedes for adventure in Naples’ traffic (i.e., a 4 mile drive to the ferry port that took about an hour). After struggling to figure out exactly from which dock the SNAV boat to Palermo departed, I wished him well and boarded the boat.

The overnight boat to Palermo was alright. As a competitor at the regatta, I had received a 30% discount on my trip (35 euro). I had purchased a spot on a “reclining chair,” (vs. a cabin, etc.) which was very underwhelming. These tilting seats actually drop backwards about 3” from their near vertical position, leaving those wishing to gain a night of sleep squirming for an uncomfortable position. The boat left promptly at 2000, and through some contortion of my own and resting one foot on the windowsill and one foot on my bags, I managed about 5 hours of shuteye. I unfortunately was not alone in the room of reclining chairs and was forced to cope with the snoring of one of the other fiver persons in this odd room.

Saturday: The boat arrived in the port of Palermo at roughly 0700. There I received my first welcoming experience of Sicily. That is, a 25 euro cab ride lasting 15 minutes and covering about 8 miles. I decided not to get too pissed off, as I was tired and had been delivered to the yacht club of the regatta.

I immediately dropped off my bags inside the club, and realizing I was the only American who had arrived, set off on a mission to find the shipping container. As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’re able to get our boats to these regattas by packing them in a shipping container and sending the off via barge to almost anywhere in the world. While Jesse Falsone (the guy who had handled the arrangements) had assured us all that the container had arrived, I wouldn’t be satisfied until I saw it. Anyways, about 3 blocks away from the club (in what the street signs identified as a piazza, though certainly nothing like the piazzas in Rome or Florence, more like a cul-de-sac), was in fact our container. I was relieved (with Jesse’s name on it). I broke it open to find the contents intact (though my rear bike tired developed a flat, sadly).
John, myself, and a few other U.S. East Coast sailors spent the rest of the afternoon unloading the container and getting it measured. At major regattas, all boats go through a few checks to ensure that they are in compliance with key class rules (minimum weight, sail shapes, mast lengths, etc.). This generally takes some time and is a bit of a hassle. That morning (right when I had arrived), a storm front rolled through, dumping quite a bit of rain on the area, and kicking the breeze well up into the 20+ knot range. Come nightfall, it was gusting well into the 30s. Launching would have been a bit dicey (with the waves crashing directly onto the north-facing beach), but it would have been great sailing.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Andreas Schluter. Andreas is Olav’s cousin and provided the four of us with housing a college friend’s summer villa in Sicily. It’s about a 20 minute car ride from the yacht club but is very nice – a true shore villa on the Mediterranean, complete with a view of waves breaking on the shore and a family of stray cats that require constant feeding. These Palermo inhabitants really have a rough life. Most (~ 1 million) live in Palermo proper but keep a summer home about 10 minutes away in Mondello (where the regatta is). This house is great. It has marble steps as well as backyard sink and grill – perfect for cleaning your freshly caught fish before throwing them on the grill. Saturday night the 3 of us (Olav arrives Thursday) found a cheap Sicilian pizzeria (3 euro pies) that had an entire room of very long tables – idea for very large families. We (not surprisingly) were seated at a much smaller table. My pizza had an assortment of toppings, including mozzarella, prosciutto, and mushrooms.

Sunday: John, Andreas, and I awoke and headed down to the club to get stuff done. The rest of the Americans (East Coast and West Coast) startled to trickle in, so it was nice to begin to see some familiar faces, as well as meet some of the other competitors. The Aussies are particularly funny, and I even met a couple of nice guys from Poland. They won the Polish national championship and thought it would be worth the 1500 km drive (700 miles?) down to Italy to try their hands at Worlds.

John and I managed to get the boat out around 1400. Yesterday’s storm had left some breeze around (8-10 knots), so it was good practice. Additionally, it had left quite a bit of storm swell around as well, with wave heights between 6 and 8 feet. I hadn’t been in waves that big since Santa Cruz back in 2004. It felt good to get back into 8939 (which we hadn’t sailed in since the Gorge back in July) and figure out any kinks (like the fact that our guys and sheets are both 7/64” red Spectra).

The water here is crystal blue, and one can easily see down about 15 feet. This has led me to actually fear falling into the water, as the Palermo bay is inhabited by the nastiest looking jellyfish I’ve ever seen. About the size of basketball, they blob around between 1 and 6 feet below the surface of the water, waiting for the feet of young 505 sailors to come their way. Needless to say, I’m going to try capsizing. John and I even tried to run a few over with our centerboard to see what happens. Nothing does.

Dinner was a welcome BBQ at the yacht club hosted by the regatta. I dined on pasta, a few types of fish, and some risotto. The wine was excellent.

Monday: Monday was the first day of the European Championships. They serve as the Pre-Worlds as well. John and I woke up early and left the villa around 0800. Our first stop was the nearby supermarket. This was a true supermarket, not the usual bodega-type operation I had become accustomed to in Naples or Rome. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open until 0900 so John and I continued along to the club. (Andreas had a work commitment in Palermo, so we went our separate ways for the day.)

We arrived around 0830 to find the club busy with sailor prepping for the day. The breeze had significantly dropped off from the previous day, and we left the dock around 1100 for the 1155 start in about 4-6 knots of breeze. The postponement flag went up.

After about 2.5 hours, the race committee started the first and only race of the day in about 6 knots of breeze. I had the lovely time of being cramped up sitting on the centerboard cap upwind. The breeze was from the north with a persistent right shift going on throughout the race. Downwind was a mix between trying to run dead downwind in the puffs and going high trying to keep the kite full. A strong current exists out in the bay going from left to right; it’s definitely a knot or two and has an effect on the racing. The first race was a bit of a mess from a competitive point of view in that most of the sailors didn’t really know anything about the current. The RC did a rather poor job of moving marks (i.e., they didn’t) since the wind shifted so much throughout the race. Additionally, at one point they even pulled the wrong windward mark (i.e., pulled the WW mark rather than the offset). Hopefully things will be straightened out a bit more for today’s racing. At least the RC is being intelligent about not running races in no wind conditions. Both the West Coasters and Aussies have commented on the light conditions. Even the East Coasters have commented that Annapolis has the same amount of breeze (and it’s much cheaper there!).

Anyways, after a good first beat (went up the middle, played the shifts and puffs well), we rounded the first mark in ~ 15th. Our downwind speed on the first run left much to be desired, and we finished the race in 41st out of about 55 boats. Another 30 are registered. The Creamsickle / General Lee finished in 8th, and the Killer B’s finished in 12th. Jeff Miller of the West Coasts finished in 3rd. The German Boys (Jans & J???) won the race.
It’s 0930 now and time to go rig.

Quickly, other brief comments on Italy:

• Camo is somehow in fashion. I’ve seen it on a bikini as well as some girl wearing a camo sweater. I don’t think there is anywhere to hunt around Naples or Palermo, nor is there “Southern Pride.” I find this odd.
• Fiat makes a vehicle called the Panda. VW actually makes two models smaller than the Golf (the Polo & something else).
• Euros are annoying. The coins are worth too much. It’s too easy to sit down and lose 10 bucks in a sofa. Fortunately it looks like the greenback is making a comeback ($1.35 per Euro now vs. $1.60 a month or two ago).