David's Diary: Sunday, July 7, 2002

Salerno to Capo Palinuro, Italy

We spent one more day in Salerno stocking up the boat with supplies and resting after our long passage here and our busy day in Pompeii. Today we are heading south along the Italian west coast. We have enjoyed our short stay in Salerno. While we haven't really seen much of the city we have a lot more to do this summer and the marina prices in Salerno are among the most expensive we have ever seen.

Kevin Goes Up the Mast

We navigated our way to the fuel dock and dodged all of the Italians leaving for the day. After waiting in line for fuel, we finally fuelled up then headed out into calm waters. Kevin took the opportunity to be hauled up the mast in the bosun's chair. He's not confident enough to go to the top of the mast, but he does sit at the first set of spreaders and enjoys the view. The first set of powerboat wakes set Dragonsinger rocking and from Kevin's perch he got swung around even more. But he hangs in there and stays up for quite a while.

Allen Having Fun

While forty-three feet of sailboat is restricting when we are on passage, all of the kids have adjusted to traveling on Dragonsinger. Each person finds there own ways to cope. On flat days, playing in the boom is a favourite past time. While the day started light the wind started to build in the early afternoon. As we approached Capo Palinuro the wind forced us into a beat and fifteen knots of wind with gusts kept us busy adjusting the sails.

Capo Palinuro

We pulled into Capo Palinuro as most of the day boats were heading home. We tucked under the cliffs and found that we were able to get out of the wind and the swell. As the sun set we saw the lights of a few houses sitting far above the water. We ate dinner in the cockpit and as the sky darkened we could see the Milky Way above us. With no city nearby, only a scattering of houses, and two boats to keep us company, we had an uninterrupted view above and to the south of the star-studded sky.