We started the season by playing hard for Anita’s 21st birthday. Although we were incredibly busy during the day with preparations for our departure from Riva di Triano (home port) in 2 days time we still managed to plan a small party on board Marietta with neighbouring crews and I was busy preparing a surprise birthday cake and vodka watermelon. Following our new ‘Sex and the City’ addiction we started our night with pineapple ‘flirtinis’ for aperitivo quickly followed by the sensational vodka watermelon and then numerous bottles of champagne. Around 11 our mechanic Vincenzo drove us in to Rome to the nightclub district of Testaccio where we partied and danced hard and then saw in the sunrise near a beautiful fountain. Around 7 we found ourselves back at the main transport hub of Roma Termini where a quick decision was made to head to our favourite spot. 15 minutes later we could be found napping on the Spanish steps in the centre of the usually crowded but currently deserted Piazza de Spagna. We finally awoke an hour later for a hit of Italian coffee and our last walk around central Rome until we return in October.
Back at Riva the next day we were feeling the serious effects of exhaustion after having made the decision to push on through with work until nightfall and then fall into bed for a nice LONG sleep before our planned departure the next morning. Around 8 we were enjoying dinner and I was salivating at the thought of my nice cosy bed when Dudi rang just to let us know that because the tide was right he planned to leave at midnight and to make sure the boat was ready to go… SO MUCH for my nice long sleep which became a very short nap of a few hours before I arose again and we left Riva soundlessly in the middle of a calm night under the light of a full moon. Thankfully there was no wind so we only needed one person on shift and it was back to bed for me until 4:30 when I got up to do the sunrise shift… who would have thought – 2 sunrises in 2 days!
It was 16 hours to Sardinia but we filled in the time catching 4 BIG tuna and for a short period Marietta was turned into a fish processing factory. Late afternoon we caught sight of the coast of Sardinia and our destination – Porto Cervo. Porto Cervo is situated in the middle of the wealthy wealthy wealthy North West Coast of Sardinia. Over the summer the coast is littered with mega yachts and we had arrived just in time for the start of the Super Yacht Cup. We hadn’t planned on entering but as our boat was the same design as a particular class in the regatta we got invited to the parties and events. Upon arrival we moored up next to a huge famous racing yacht (140ft) and a few of the crew stood around on deck watching us moor. One soon asked “Is there only a female crew on your yacht?” to which the answer was a natural “yes, 3 girls and 1 very lucky skipper!” His response happened to be “well there are 26 French men on our boat so that should be fun…” HALLELULAGH!! We didn’t have the owners for a few days but entertained a few people from the shipyard over the next few days often heading out to watch the start of the race and have a quick sail before stopping in a nearby bay for lunch. The first night we went to watch the Italy v. Spain match in Euro 2008 but the planned partying dissipated rapidly when Italy lost and the whole village seemed to go home to cry L
The second night we were invited to the Southern Wind shipyard dinner in the very fancy yacht club! We all wore our matching dress uniforms of long pants, polo shirts and blue vests and felt very queer when we arrived to find everyone else in cocktail dresses and no uniforms in sight… oops. The food was amazing, the wine flowed freely and when Ila and Anita wandered off to explore other options I joined the crew of ‘Farewell’ (our friends from Riva di Triano) on their table before we all headed to the nearby ‘Clipper’ bar (the happening place in Porto Cervo.) My limited Italian stretched to “si, un’altra Mojito per favore” and before I knew it I was tiptoeing back along the gangplank to the boat at 2am.
Polishing stainless steel in the early morning sun the next day was torturous but the thought of the big beach party that night kept me trooping on! Around 8 that evening dressed in what finery we could scrape together from our limited wardrobes Anita, I and the rest of our party headed to a famous Sardinian resort which played host. Another world was awaiting us as glamourous people mingled with racers who mingled with the ordinary crew plebs like us who could for a short time play at pretending we belonged in the incredible setting. The Moet & Chandon flowed, the aperitiv and gourmet food buffet seemed endless and when the dance floor lit up and the music started cranking I thought the night could get no better! However at midnight we both turned into pumpkins and headed back to the Clipper bar where we belonged and continued the night with mojitos and giggles with our French neighbours.
The next day the owners came on board so things quietened down a little bit – no more parties for us hard workers. I still managed to leave the boat at midnight and sneak around the port to meet a certain French man for the next two nights climbing back on board before the sun rose and catching a few hours sleep before waking up to polish the stainless yet again!
So we left Porto Cervo after one exhausting but exhilarating week. I had fulfilled my holiday fling dreams, partied in paradise and sailed under the Sardinian sun. What a start to the season…
