After a long drive up from Split, Lucy and her fiance Dan arrived last night. Jet-lagged to buggery, they said. I showed them the way to the playpen (our aft cabin) but first, they said, they wanted something to eat.
So off we went to my favourite, Pompeii Restaurant, for a fritto misto di mare and the odd Campari spritz. Then, after 4 of the latter, they said why don’t we check out the jazz club. By now it was midnight and this old fart was ready for a snooze. But the allegedly jet-lagged youngsters were up and running, and the partying went on. And on.
This morning I bought the eggs and fresh meat I had forgotten yesterday, imbibed the usual 4 coffees and said goodbye to my Italian friends, the opera lovers. Still not a sound from the children in the aft cabin.
Finally, I fired up Mr Ford and injuncted them to rise and shine, which they did, with little evidence of exhaustion. We fuelled and farewelled Pula for the last time, at 10 am. A gorgeous day, with the inevitable light headwind. Despite last night’s adventures, the children had Bloody Marys for breakfast (can you believe it?) while I took my ritual departure beer with rather less enthusiasm than usual.
Pheromones aside, my new crew have settled in without angst. Dan is smart, curious and a quick learner. And Lucy? Well, she’s just Lucy – immediately at home, louche, gorgeous and cheerful. This sort of adventure is new for Dan, but Lucy is a Tainui veteran from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Scotland and Poland.
The omens are good, even if there is bad weather (rain and headwinds) forecast for the next two days. Why is it that we had light northerlies all the way north to Venice, and now we have southerlies for the long trip back south to Albania?
In any case, for the moment it is warm and clear.
Last view of Pula