Are you well rested after Christmas? Or maybe you’re already sick and tired of your work and winter? After a month dockside in Barcelona we’re outward bound again.

Where else would you set your course in winter if not South? So let’s set the bar high and aim for Naples! Come with us and you won’t be bored for sure. This two week trip is loaded up to the very top with events.   

Right after Barcelona we have a more than 300 mile long passage to Corsica, Sardinia and the Strait of Bonifacio. There we make a stop in Bonifacio, the Porto Cervo marina, for a bit of well-deserved rest. This is a most beautiful place, packed with superyachts in summer tighter than the New York subway at the rush hour. In February this place is going to be almost exclusively ours. 

After the Strait we have another 250 miles to go. This is going to be the Tyrrhenian sea. Approaching Naples we might drop the anchor by Ponza island, or might go straight to Ischia island to take a dip in the local thermal hot springs. Here volcanic heat warms up the shore waters to almost unbearable temperatures. 

Having had enough swimming, we enter the Bay of Naples, leave Capri and Sorrento to starboard and dock at the Torre del Greco marina. From there you can equally easily go to Naples, Pompei or Mount Vezuvius.

Long passages and the Mediterranean sea in winter are a great way of gaining experience rapidly. First we collect and study the weather forecasts to decide on the optimal course. Then we’re going to have several days in the open seas, short and steep Mediterranean swell and night watches. 

Maneuvering in the narrow Strait of Bonifacio we get a hang of tacking and gybing. Then a short respite ashore. Next passage – significantly further South; striking and furling the sails and a night at the anchorage. No doubt by the time we hit the Bay of Naples you’re going to be a well experienced and salty crew.