The East Coast of Italy

by Chantal & David · Published July 30, 2023 · Updated January 3, 2024

We set off from Vlore, Albania on 10th July at 8:45am, for the most part we had a wonderful sail on a beam reach in a NW3/4 for 52NM reaching land at a place called San Foca. We had chosen this place as Navily (our waze app for the sea) said we would get better protection from the swell than in Otranto our next stop!.

They were right, to a degree, sadly however we got pipped at the post by all of 10 minutes by another yacht and were not quite brave enough to tuck in behind a break water there sufficiently to also let us do the same. Suffice to say, we didn’t get off the boat and didn’t have the best of nights!

The following morning, giving up on our rolly polly night, we set sail early, and headed southward to the beautiful medieval city of Otranto. We had stopped there in 2014 in horrendous conditions to find no room at any of the marina concessions so had spent the night on the fishing boat quay, unable to get off, lit up like a christmas tree, and smelling nothing but fish all night, before being chucked off at dawn, so we were looking forward to spending some time here and exploring the old citadel.

We dropped our pick in the stunning turquoise water just below the old fort at just gone 9am, planning to stay a couple of nights at least, and catch up on some much needed sleep. We had heard that the customs guys here could be rather officious, so really didn’t want to be crabby ourselves when we got to see them!

Otranto, from our view point on Seaclusion

Otranto, the Newer Seaside Part!

In fact all we did that day, was lower the dinghy when suitably refreshed to go and clear in! The guys were actually really helpful, even if their English wasn’t great, our Italian almost non-existent, but our Spanish seemed to help the process! An hour later we were officially in Italy, so headed back to the boat to chill out, have supper on board and some vino!

The next day, we jumped in the dinghy and headed for the dingy dock, which was a nerve racking experience as it was full of swimmers, carving someone up wasn’t really an option! Finally tied off safely, we went exploring, soaking up the atmosphere, marvelling at the different types of pasta and limoncello on offer, giggling at the Italian Tuck tucks that zipped all around us!

Otranto

We have to say, Otranto enchants in every way, situated on a rocky spur high above the sea, it fascinates with the colours of the Adriatic and the events that run through its history. Aeneas is said to have landed here while fleeing from Troy, here UNESCO has awarded the ancient town the title of cultural heritage as a ‘messenger site of peace’. But there is one story that more than others represents Otranto and its past: Otranto is the city of the 800 Martyrs. In 1480, the Turks besieged the city and its inhabitants were beheaded on Minerva Hill guilty of not having denied the Christian faith. The remains of the martyrs are kept in the Cathedral.

After David had a much needed haircut, which cost a massive 23 euros, of which 8 euros was for a hair wash, which is the same price as a haircut in Spain ! With the heat kicking in, we stopped for a cold coffee on our way back to the dinghy, with a view of the dinghy dock. It didn’t take David too long before he went a bit ashen and proclaimed, “I cant see our dinghy”, theft of dinghies and stainless steel anchors, (which thankfully we don’t have), always a bit of concern here in Italy! The coffee went down a little quicker than intended as we raced back to the dock, to see her nestled between 2 local fishing caiques, not where we had left her, but where someone had moved her too, as she was in the way of the kids jumping in the water, phew! Happily, we returned to Seaclusion to chill out a bit before the evening! Well it was our first proper night on Italy’s shores, dinner out and a nice bottle of Italian wine was calling!

The evening atmosphere was wonderful, full of chatter and laughter, the way only the Italians do. We soon settled on a restaurant in the back streets, had a fab meal and even better bottle of wine…. Greek and Albanian wine just can’t compare!

All we can say, Otranto was definitely worth the 8 year wait, so if you ever find yourself on the Italian east Coast, it is a must!

Finally on the 14th July, we set sail southwards for 31 NM’s to the stiletto of the boat, to a place called Santa Maria di Leuca, and dropped our pick outside the marina. Again, we didn’t get off to explore, we had been there before.. although we could see it had changed, well the non existent rocky beach was now covered in platforms on stilts and bars… perhaps this wasn’t going to be a peaceful night, but such is life.