Syracuse To Dubrovnik (via Brindisi)

Last weekend we hauled anchor in Syracuse and said goodbye to Sicily. As volcanic ash rained down and covered Long Summer in a fine black sand, we couldn’t help but think that Mother Etna wasn’t impressed that we were leaving! But the weather window to continue into the Adriatic Sea was superb. Rather than spending weeks hopping our way around the boot, we would be able to make the journey in one smooth trip.

And what a sail it was! The whole passage was all downwind sailing with following seas. With a true wind speed of 14 knots on average we were able to fly our gennaker sail (The Big Balloon!) for 50% of the time, averaging 6 knots boat speed. It doesn’t get better (or more comfortable) than that!

We buddied up with our friends s/v Gambler for the first two nights. But while they pushed on straight to Dubrovnik, we needed to stop in at Brindisi to stamp out of the country; our first and only night on mainland Italy so far.

The approach into Brindisi is anything but pretty: commercial and industrial, with military operations thrown into the mix. But once you get beyond the busy port entrance, Brindisi is as charming as any Italian city. We tied up to the free town quay and spent the next 19 hours washing the volcanic ash off the boat, stretching our legs, getting COVID tests & passport stamps, catching up on some sleep, and enjoying our last meal & final gelato in Italy for a while.

The following day we continued with the same weather window that we had picked up in Syracuse for one last night on the leg over to Croatia. In total, this was one of our longest passages yet. It took us 100 hours to travel from Syracuse to Dubronik (including the 19hr stop in Brindisi). The whole journey was 390 nautical miles, but boy was it worth it! Dubrovnik is a sight for sore eyes, and the excitement of reaching this iconic city under our own steam was palpable. Croatia for the summer? Yes please!