Winners 2011

Orianda Experience 2012.

Joining the boat.

We flew from London to Rome, hired a car and drove to Naples to meet the boat. Julia and I met up with Ryan and Lisa, our shipmates for the week, at Heathrow. Lisa had lots of air miles to spare and used them for us to travel BA Club Class with car hire included (Avis of course) - arrive and drive! The journey to Naples was uneventful but with Ryan driving the hired Lancia and Lisa and I trying to navigate to a marina somewhere in South Naples, we experienced the worst of all aspects of Naples traffic. With a few wrong slots and some determined driving by Ryan we arrived in one piece at the Marina to be welcomed by the crew of Orianda, who helped us aboard with our luggage. Wow that gangplank!

We were all overawed by the beauty and quality of the Orianda, which had been built in the 1930s in Denmark and restored into a very comfortable sailing yacht.

We were welcomed aboard by Simon, the Captain, Matteo, the First Mate and Vera the ships amazing cook. A champagne and strawberry reception awaited us on board in the late afternoon sunshine and soon we were casting off and heading into the Bay of Naples.

First evening.

As we left port we watched the crew at work, hoisting the sails and storing away the red velvet covered fenders. We were off across the bay of Naples heading for the open sea and an unknown adventure. The boat has a tender (an inflatable dinghy with a big outboard) and this was towed along behind on a long rope). As we neared our planned stop for the night, the Isla of Procida, Matteo took the tender on ahead into the harbour, and with two way radio he was able to guide Simon into the berth which was reserved for us. Matteo was also very adept at nosing his boat against our hull to provide a bow thruster to position Orianda as required. It was fairly late when we moored and we enjoyed a wonderful meal of baby clams and pasta with a couple of bottles of wine and then went off to sample the comfort of the sleeping quarters.

Day 2

We set sail reasonably promptly the next morning to head for the larger island of Ischia. Simon pointed out various landmarks and we moored at anchor for a luxurious relaxing luncheon in a sheltered bay, before a circumnavigation of the island, which took a couple of hours or so. The wind had dropped away so we were on the motor for this part of the trip. We stayed at Ischia that night and moored in the port of St Angelo and went ashore for a stroll, which included stopping for a beer on the harbour side in the pleasant evening sunshine. After another fabulous dinner, prepared by Vera in her miniscule Galley, Simon said that we were to expect rough weather the following day and suggested that we might like to explore Ischia.

Day 3

Simon had obtained a weather forecast and suggested we should stay put in port for the next 24 hours. He arranged for the four of us to visit a Spa on the island where we took advantage of swimming in the warm thermal pool and enjoying a relaxing massage. On returning to the boat Vera had prepared another excellent meal of baby squid cooked in red wine and afterwards we watched a video of the 2009 Le Jog!

Day 4

It was decided that there was a good wind and we set sail to the Island of Ventontene some 30 miles away across the open sea. The wind certainly was strong and soon we were experiencing sailing in a stormy sea. The wind was not in a favourable direction, so we probably covered twice the distance in a series of tacks to reach Vantontene. Julia and Ryan both began to feel sea sick but the thought of lying on the deck to be ill over the side with the sea breaking over her soon cured Julia! Or perhaps it was the salty biscuits provided by Matteo. We all stayed on deck and tried to watch the horizon, which was easier said than done as it was alternating sky and troughs. As we neared our destination a dark cloud obscured the island and it began to hail and rain. Simon suggested we all sit in the chartroom, a little cabin on the rear deck and by the time we reached the island the rain had ceased and we entered the harbour of peace and tranquillity. Little did we know the Harbour Master had said “See you back in an hour” but we were far too sporting for that! Julia went for a lie down, but Ryan, Lisa

and I went for a walk around the old town and returned as the sun came out for us to enjoy a spectacular sunset.

Day 5

We decided to explore this little gem of an island again before departing. It is a beautiful sun bleached village blessed with tranquillity. Just as Simon cast off the inter island Car Ferry came in and we were forced to hold position within the harbour. At this point Matteo leapt into the tender but his actions were thwarted by a flat battery on the outboard. The day was sunny and Simon hoped to sail but there was insufficient wind so the motor was fired up with a stabilising sail hoisted and we set course for Capri. This was our longest leg and during this voyage Ryan spotted dolphins swimming off the starboard bow. They kept us company for some time and then with a saluting jump they were gone. Today we were able to relax on deck in the sunshine and we had a light lunch on the move at sea. What magic! The smell of home baked cake was again issuing from the galley. The weather was definitely improving and all meals were now taken at the big table on deck. Today Julia and I had reached our 25^th Wedding Anniversary, so a visit to the glamorous island of  Capri was quite appropriate.

We arrived at Capri harbour late afternoon and were guided to our allocated mooring.

We noted that before entering a port our Captain made a tour of inspection of the deck, the deck towels were rolled and folded, with ‘Orianda’ uppermost, by Vera so we tried not to look like land lubbers, that is until we had to chance that gang plank! After a week we still could not cross it with decorum! We disembarked to explore the island including the funicular railway which took us from the harbour to the main town. After a celebratory drink in the town square we returned to the boat to find it bedecked with flags indicating that there was a special celebration on board. We were able to dine on deck that evening and Vera had expertly prepared a special dinner for us. During the evening we were aware of the arrival of some very large racing yachts, with crews of 16. We were watching the end of the Rolex Volcano International Yacht Race. As the sunset they appeared one by one almost becalmed, taking down their ghostly grey sails before coming into the harbour. When we went to bed there were three in but when we woke we found many more had glided silently over the finish line. They were at least 12 hours early due to the swift sailing in the storm that we had experienced the previous day.

We were amazed at the number of ferries coming and going from the island, bringing day trippers in, commuters out to the mainland and some of the larger boats were bringing delivery vans and builders trucks. The fast rate of coming and going was fascinating to watch as only one could enter or exit the harbour at any one time and it seemed a constant high speed relay race of regularity. We decided to spend the day encircling the island and moored up in a bay with some interesting caves. Metteo took Ryan and me in the trusty tender and dropped us ashore to explore. The girls decided to relax on board. We planned to swim whilst moored but as soon as Ryan dived in he was surrounded by a swarm of jelly fish and the rest of us chickened out!

Day 7

Our last day at sea after spending another magical night in Capri. Simon had hoped to give us the experience of sleeping at anchor at sea but after his brush with sea sickness Ryan decided he preferred the thought of a calm night in harbour. We set sail for Positano, a beach resort on the Amalfi coast. The wind was not strong enough to sail so it was the motor again, but the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the coastal scenery was spectacular. We reached the bay of Positano, dropped anchor and Matteo took the four of us into the beach. This town is perched on a steeply sloping hillside and was a patchwork quilt of colour. We went for a walk for a couple of hours and watched the artists at work and enjoyed a drink or two in the cafes. When we set off we retraced our route towards Capri then turned north to reach Naples by early evening, just as a thunderstorm was brewing. The Marina here was full but Simon managed to squeeze Orianda into a corner between the huge “Gin Palace” boats, which look so opulent and expensive (even vulgar sorry!) but we decided that the gem of the harbour was the beautiful, elegant Orianda.

This was our final evening on board to round off a truly magical and exciting week. We were in such good hands, Simon really knew and loved the boat and made our comfort and safety a priority. Matteo demonstrated his skills with the dinghy by preceding us into each harbour and guiding Simon to our designated moorings. Vera was to be seen nipping off the boat each day to purchase fresh bread, fish, fruit and whatever was needed. She baked us cakes and served delicious seafood dishes each day. We enjoyed clams, tuna. swordfish, squid, barracuda and fish with unrecognisable names.

This was truly a magnificent holiday and we were treated like royalty. The boat was comfortable and we felt safe at all times, even when the Captain ordered us wear lifejackets on the rough day. The time passed like a dream but we have wonderful memories of a new sporting experience.

Roger & Julia Bricknell