S1.20 - Our First Day & Night Solo at Sea: Navigating Firsts and Rollercoasters
So, picture this:
There we were, all geared up for our maiden solo voyage – ready to conquer the waves and prove to the world (and ourselves) that we were bona fide sailors.
Spoiler alert: it was a wild ride from start to finish.
First up, we faced the monumental task of docking at the fuel station all with the attendants MIA for lunch, but we swooped in like pros and managed to tie up on our own without a hitch. We even gave off the illusion that we knew what we were doing. Cue the self-high fives.
But hold onto your hats, folks, because that was just the calm before the storm. Literally.
We left the security of the dock and headed towards Capri. We had a solid 16-20 knots of wind and were able to enjoy four hours of pure sailing until winds died, and we reluctantly fired up one engine to keep us moving forward. Hey, it still counts as sailing, right?
The journey was breathtakingly beautiful.
Capri - Wouldn’t you want to stay here??
There are three main Faraglioni rocks: Stella, Faraglione di Mezzo, and Faraglione di Fuori or Scopolo. Each has its own unique shape and character, adding to the mystique of the landscape.
Faraglione di Mezzo
The most famous among the 3 rocks features a striking natural archway that has become a symbol of Capri.
Unfortunately, our plan to anchor for the night in Capri hit a snag as every bay we scoped out was completely full.
So, off we went in search of Plan B. And that's when the comedy of errors began.
Starting with our Starlink satellite internet going down (which it had never done before), and knowing our Italian data cards were already on life support, we were afraid to not have enough data available to continue to search for a suitable anchorage for the night before sunset.
Enter the comedy hour: We ended up in Narano and it was time to catch hold of our first solo mooring ball.
Capri was full so sailed to Nerano
Round one: Ryan played “ball boy” while I took the helm (my debut at driving our boat, no less). We nailed it! Success! We had captured our first mooring ball without an ounce of sweat off our backs. Cue the celebratory anchor beer.
But wait, there's more…
I started dinner while Ryan worked on our Starlink issue and monitored the Monohull that was anchored in the middle of the mooring field.
Just a heads up: Anchoring in mooring fields is typically discouraged because anchored boats can swing differently than moored ones.
Given the strong winds and swell that night, we found ourselves inevitably drifting closer to each other. Eager for a worry-free sleep on our inaugural night alone, and since that other boat was here first, we decided to be the 'nice guys' and relocate to a different mooring ball (only two were left) to increase the distance between us, despite the fact that they were in the wrong.
Round two: Not so simple this time. The other mooring balls brought on their own set of struggles as their lines were too short to lift up to our platform to be able to tie off. With dusk descending quickly, we resort to launching Ugh (our tender) for a rescue mission.
The plan: Ryan would take Ugh out to the ball, loop the line, hand it back up to me, and I would tie us off.
Easy, right?
WRONG
Despite the waves crashing, swells rolling, winds howling, darkness enveloping us, we were able to get Ugh in the water and execute on our plan to get us tied to the ball, however, just at that moment we realized we had a sinking dinghy! Oh, the drama! Turns out, we might have overlooked the crucial detail of screwing in the drain plug after we last cleaned the tender. As if that wasn't enough, our water activation lifejackets, snugly tucked away in the Ugh’s sides, decided it was showtime, popping open with each inch of rising water. Talk about adding fuel to the fire! Cue the chaos.
Picture us, soaked to the bone, and drained of energy, battling to hoist Ugh back aboard while it continued to fill with water. It wasn't pretty. But hey, we fought like hell and finally got that darn dinghy back where it belonged.
Exhausted and bruised but undefeated, we made up the salon bed and crawled in for a well-deserved rest. And wouldn't you know it, within an hour, we're playing chicken with that same monohull who was now dragging anchor. Thankfully their crew were still awake, so they finally pulled anchor and moved out of the mooring field.
Neither of us slept well that night. But hey, we survived – together, safe, and with our sense of humor intact. Turns out, laughter is the best (and only) remedy for a day like ours. And as for the cry count and make-up sex? Well, let's just say we dodged those bullets.
P.S. - Initially, we promised to keep this escapade under wraps, but you know what? It turned out to be a valuable lesson and a memorable part of our epic journey, so we're more than happy to spill the beans.