Trani to Monopli to Brindisi

We pulled out of Trani and were treated to some decent wind. We were able to deploy the spinnaker as we rounded the castle on the point. We had a good run with good speed until the wind shifted and eventually died down. On our way to Monopli we were pleased to catch a quick glimpse of a yellow tail tuna breach the water twice. As he broke free of the water his trajectory arced a couple of feet through the air just for our viewing. The show was reminiscent of the dolphin that swam alongside our boat for a short while on our run from Bisevo to Vieste.

We watched the sun set over Bari, Italy. As we approached Monopli after dark we were greeted first by a putrid smell blowing offshore from what we guessed was some sort of grain refining process. Then second we saw the bright lights and roar of the stadium crowd as a futbol match was underway. The crowd was going wild by the sound of it.

We landed on the east breakwater in front of a large steel cable laying vessel which ironically had a pirate ship nested up to it. Serge and I walked a mile in one direction around the marina trying to locate the harbor master. We never did but did locate the Coast Guard. They offered us a couple of berthing options. We were lucky to catch them before 8pm because at that time they go off duty and stopped monitoring the emergency communication channel 16. Crazy! Remember boys and girls, no emergencies after 8 pm, OK?

Not wanting to stay on the breakwater without services and exposed to the public we decided to exlplore option 2 that the Coast Guard offered which was to find berthing in an obscured marina deep in the harbor. Along the way we were stopped by a boatyard guardsman, Giovanni, who by yelling and waving his arms warned us away due to the shallow entrance to the marina. Instead he offered us a place on his dock. It was rickety boatyard dock but it did have services. Unfortunately the showers had no hot water as the boilers were shut down for the season. There was no TP and no toilet seats either as Italians consider the seat optional. Please do not get me started on this toilet seat issue. If you are interested simply google "Why are there no toilet seats in Italy?"

So Monopli was a $#%!hole of a port so we pulled out of there first thing in the morning without exploring the town and made a direct run to Brindisi. This was a harbor we fully intended to avoid due to how busy it is and it's commercial nature, but some foul weather was bearing down on us and Brindisi is a full service harbor. We would be able to fuel, get laundry done, purchase boat parts, stock up on food, and experience some nightlife. So Brindisi it was.

Full steam ahead...