Short and medium term goals are important when you are cruising. In the longer term, the whole purpose of a voyage tends to be less concrete. For now, Venice has been the object of this long, windless traipse north in the Adriatic. And the end is in sight.
We left the marina in Pula and anchored off in the bay for a snooze until clearance formalities could be finalised at midnight. Maxine handled the boat while Jasper and I chilled out, admiring the light show on the shipyard cranes. It is 75 miles northwest to Venice and, to allow a daytime arrival there, we need to depart at around 2 am. Hellish, but necessary.
I am not a marina person. It is wonderful to be hanging by the nose to an anchor once again. After Jasper’s excellent pasta and a bottle of good local wine we collapsed into our bunks for 3 hours, with alarms set.
Jasper sailed up with me from Florida to New York 4 years ago but clearly shipboard life is again new to him. After a month wandering around Europe he now finds himself in this confined environment with its rules and limitations of space. I forget how difficult this must be for new crew who are not sailors. Still, with his headphones, a book and the foredeck as sanctuary he has settled in well.
Maxine has again eased herself into Tainui’s languid pace of life and we are living and moving about without bumping into one another.
(and later) We cleared out at 2 am and motored out over a glassy sea between the bright lights of the squid boats. By 9 am, mid-Adriatic with a gentle northerly wind and an empty horizon, it was warm enough to heave to for a swim. Just lovely.