Of races and islands

Many famous sailboat races are run from an accessible harbor to some offshore, isolated island.

 Take, for instance, the Fastnet Race, run since 1925 every two years: from Cowes, racers travel west almost 300 miles to Fastnet Rock, round it, and then back east to Plymouth.  Peregrinus sailed by Fastnet in 2015.

Another well-known race is the Giraglia Cup, an annual event since 1953.  The route, from Saint-Tropez (originally from Toulon), around Giraglia island, to Genoa.  Giraglia island sits one mile offshore Cap Corse, at the very top of Corsica.  

On July 31st, Peregrinus passed Giraglia, with its famous Genoese watchtower (built 1585), on its way west to Saint-Florent. Click for another picture.

Sentinel

The Republic of Genoa built the watchtower of Santa Maria di a Chjapella in 1549, and about 100 nearly identical others, in the north coast of Corsica, so that the people could be alerted of Saracen attacks originating from the Barbary Coast.  When the alarm rang, the Corsicans ran up to hideouts in the mountains.  Those who couldn't escape on time were destined for the slave markets of Tripoli or Istanbul.

Peregrinus at anchor to the left of the watchtower.  Rade de Santa Maria, between Punta Vecchia and the Finocchiarola Islands, in the north of Corsica.  iPhone 6 Plus, 30 July 2016.

Capraia

A colony of the Republic of Pisa from the year 962, the island of Capraia lies in the Ligurian Sea, midway between Tuscany and Corsica.  It was conquered by the Mohammedans in 1055; the Pisans took it back a generation later and held it until it became a possession of the Republic of Genoa, following the events of 1284.

In 1540, the Moslems, this time under Turgut Reis, again captured and sacked Capraia.  To prevent further devastation, the Genoese built in 1541 the fortifications that still stand, and from one of these, the Torre del Porto, we took this picture, with Peregrinus at anchor, in the foreground.

We asked a fisherman who is the diver that cleans his boat's propeller, and the following day his diver came by and cleaned all of Peregrinus' bottom.  29 July 2016.

Dome to heaven

From the street, one would have never guessed such a magnificent church lays inside.  Lucca was full of pleasant surprises like this.

The Peregrinus crew took a short bus ride from Pisa to Lucca.  Santa Caterina, a remarkable one-room church set on the corner of a large old building, is only open the third Sunday of each month, but it was open and the organ was playing as we arrived in town.  24 July 2016; iPhone 6 Plus.

The Arno in Florence

Upriver from the Alla Carraia bridge (1218): the Santa Trinita bridge (1252), and beyond, the Ponte Vecchio (A.D. 50 ?).  The crew left Peregrinus at anchor in Pisa and took the train to Florence to visit the seaman's alma mater.  8:11 PM 25 July; iPhone 6 Plus.

The Arno in Pisa

In the Middle Ages, the riverside was full of warehouses, and cargo boats lined the quays.  

Nowadays, the river is no longer a means of transport, except for the crew of Peregrinus, anchored a couple of miles downstream.

Looking downstream from the Ponte di Mezzo, located here since 1035 and rebuilt a few times since.  The original Roman bridge that preceded it crossed the river on the street next to the eight building on the right.  6:52PM, 23 July, iPhone 6 Plus.

In the Arno

A small stream winds through Tuscany,
which up in Falterona hath its rise,
and is not sated by a hundred miles.
——— Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio XIV, 1320

The Arno might be, as Dante says, a little stream at its source in Mount Falterona, but it is nonetheless Italy's second largest river (after the Tiber), and most importantly, the river that runs through Florence and down through Pisa.  

Before the railroads were built, goods and merchandise arrived in Florence via the river; a dream trip no longer possible because of flood control dams and bridges along the way.

Peregrinus sailed into the Arno on 22 July 2016 and anchored for five gorgeous dats just 2.2 miles short of Pisa city centre, as no further upriver navigation was possible because of some low-laying overhead power cables across the water.  

Sunrise in the Arno.  A sailboat can only enter the river on a calm day.  The only difficult spot for a 2.2-metre-draught boat is right at the entrance; the river itself is significantly deeper.  The Arno rises and lowers seasonally with the rains, and so one should call ahead.  Any sailors are welcome to enquire with us for additional information and contacts.  iPhone 6 Plus, 6:42 AM 27 July 2016.

Viareggio

This is the town where they build the Perini Navi ketches, like Peregrinus, only a tad larger.  We've frequently seen these boats on both sides of the Atlantic.

Peregrinus anchored in the roadstead at the entrance to the Viareggio harbour, shipyards, and canals.  22 July, iPhone 6 Plus.

Snow in summer

Not really.  

The white in these mountains, visible from far away, is all white Carrara marble, massively exploited since Roman times, and evidently, inexhaustible.

22 July, iPhone 6 Plus.

Fish tales

Peregrinus has three times come across submarines going in or out of port.  In the United States, we came across a submarine coming into Norfolk, escorted by machine-gun toting fast boats screaming on the radio every few seconds that anyone within a sizeable radius of them would be summarily shot; we had to get out of the channel.  All US Navy submarines are nuclear, and this one was going very, very fast, leaving a tall water plume behind its vertical stabiliser —and of course energy consumption is not an issue for these fish.  This must be standard practice around these parts, because we heard the screams on the radio a couple of other times as we sailed the lower Chesapeake.

In France, sailing by Toulon, a submarine quietly passed our stern at modest speed.  This was certainly a small (74-metres) Rubis-class nuclear-powered attack sub, as this is their home port, and one hopes the large SSB Triomphant-class don't let themselves be seen.  No visible escort.

When we were at anchor in Le Grazie, near the naval facilities at La Spezia, we saw this Todaro-class submarine, 56-metres, possibly Scirè, leaving port.  Italy, birthplace of Enrico Fermi, abandoned nuclear technology in 1991, so these non-nuclear powered subs have a top surface speed of 12 knots,  and are the top Italian underwater weapons.  Escort?  Nah.  Several local fishermen actually sped right by it.

From Peregrinus at anchor, Le Grazie (La Spezia), 20 July 2016, Leica Typ 114.