After a week visiting the villages of the Cinque Terre area and then a couple of days in Florence, Jenni and I caught the train with our friends Jane and Mark to Salerno to meet up with Cam and Vanessa who were joining us for 7 nights cruising on the Amalfi Coast. 

We’d chartered Callisto, a Beneteau Oceanis 46.1 from NSS Charter who operate out of Marina D’Arechi in Salerno. She’s a 3 cabin, 3 head version from 2024 and is pretty well fitted out with a water maker, generator, bow-thruster and air conditioning in addition to all the normal kit a yacht of this age and type has. One thing she didn’t have unfortunately was a code zero so just main with in-mast furling and genoa. The other two couples aboard are not really sailors so I was happy with what we had.

For a boat that was only 12 months old she had a lot of nicks and scratches in the cabins and topsides but everything worked and she was tidy. My experience with charter boats in the Mediterranean is that they lead a fairly tough life.

Salerno to Amalfi – Saturday 6 September

We’d arranged (and paid the extra eur 300 for) an early departure on the Saturday so after getting all our gear and provisions stowed we left Marina D’Arechi at 2.30pm and headed to Amalfi where we’d booked our first night. We stopped for a swim along the way just off Cavallo Morto and swung past the towns of Maiori, Minori and Atrani. It amazes me how these towns cling to the cliff faces. They all seem to have outgrown the flat space in their little valley so they just build up the cliff face.

We stopped just off the breakwall at Amalfi around 5pm and radioed Guilio who owns Marina Amalfi as the arrangement is he jumps on board and takes the helm to go to the berth. It does feel strange just handing control to someone else but the marina is very narrow so better him than me. Although I didn’t ask about his insurance!

Guilio is married to an Australian and lived in Sydney for a while so he was keen to find out where we were from and chatting away, all the while backing the boat down a fairway with less than a metre clearance either side. His son, who works on the marina also, learned his English in Australia so when he switches from Italian to English he has an Aussie accent pretty much the same as mine.

We spent the evening wandering around Amalfi town and had dinner on the steps of the 9^th century Cathedral.

Amalfi to Capri – Sunday 7 September

We left for Capri the next morning after breakfast with no wind so motoring all the way. Seas were calm with no swell to speak of. The biggest waves were the washes from the ferries. We arrived at Capri a bit before midday and were told the marina berth we’d booked would not be available until later in the day so motored round to a protected bay on the west coast of the island for a swim and some lunch, checking out a cave at the head of the bay which all the tripper boats were visiting.

We headed back into Marina di Capri around 3.30pm and into a nice easy quiet berth, which it would want to be because this is the most expensive berth I’ve ever been in at 385 euros for the night. Some of our neighbors were superyachts so I can only imagine what they were paying. We spent the afternoon walking up the mountain to Capri Town and having a look around the restaurants and shops. It was a hot day (30 C), a steep walk and the town and foreshore were very crowded even in the first week of September. The view from the top is spectacular though. Later in the evening all the day-trippers had gone back to the mainland and the foreshore was quiet. We had dinner in a little restaurant along the quay and a lovely quiet night on board. We were probably the loudest boat in the marina, singing along to our music etc.

Capri to Ischia - Monday 8 September

We left Capri for Ischia (about 19nm away) around 11 am, motor sailing with a reasonable southerly blowing so main and headsail up. Boat speed was good at around 8 knots with the engine running just for the first hour or so to run the water maker. The high-pressure pump for the water maker on Callisto is belt-driven off the crankshaft. Having the water maker meant we didn’t have to worry about water consumption at all for showers etc, handy when you have non-yachties aboard.

After an easy sail we came through the narrow entrance of Porto D’Ischia about 1.30pm and backed into our berth on the eastern side of the harbour. After finishing the formalities with the Port Authority, we had a wander around the town and visited the beach nearby (Spiaggia di San Pietro) for a swim and snack. Dinner that night was in one of the dozen or so restaurants which line the quayside, a 2 minute walk from the boat.

It’s a fairly busy harbour with large ferries (up to 75m long) coming and going from Naples but with a very narrow entrance to the harbour they are going pretty slowly as they enter so there is more a surge than a wash. A lot of the reviews call this out as a problem but I thought it was very calm each night we were there.

We spent another day in Ischia, circumnavigating the island the next day (9^th September) anchoring off Sant’ Angelo and dinghying ashore for lunch and another swim there. We then anchored below the Castello Aragonese for a snack and another swim before returning to the same berth in the harbour.

Ischia to Procida – Wednesday 10 September

This was going to be a short sail, less than an hour, so before we left Ischia we visited the Castello Aragonese which is built on what was a tidal island, now linked by a causeway to Ischia. The castle dates back to 474 BC, with various later inhabitants adding buildings throughout history. Well worth a visit and a walk through the fortifications which are being progressively restored.

By the time we left the breeze had come round to the south-east so motored out of the harbour, set the main and headsail and had a quick sail over to the next island of Procida. We’d booked a berth in the large marina on the northern tip and were tied up to the pontoon a bit after 2pm. We got some more provisions and used the marina washing machines before having a look around the town.

That evening we found a restaurant in the square which looked to be full of locals so we sat down and had a lovely meal. As we were finishing an older gent wandered over and asked were we Australians as he’d recognized the accents. Luigi Nappa was born on Procida but now shares his time between there and his home in Manly. He’s an artist whose work is similar to Ken Done’s who Luigi apparently knows well. We agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning and have a wander through his gallery. A lovely friendly fellow who seemed to be a bit of a celebrity on the island with everyone stopping to say hello to him while we had coffee and pastries.

Procida to Sorrento – Thursday 11 September

After a walk to the peak of Procida for a view over the fishing harbour and then breakfast with Luigi we left Procida around midday to cross the Bay of Naples heading to Sorrento back on the mainland. The wind had swung back to the south and pretty much dropped so motor sailing with just the headsail but we made good time and entered Sorrento harbour at 2.30pm.

This is a very busy harbour too with large ferries and day tripper boats going everywhere. We were given a berth on the pontoon furthest inside and moored stern-to against a large catamaran with a group of Americans on board. We walked along the foreshore looking for a swim but the beach clubs take up the whole beach and I find it hard to pay 20 euro entry fee just to have a swim. So we walked up to the town, got some provisions and had a look around.

Sorrento is a big town compared to where we’d been with many restaurants to choose from. After dinner we wandered the streets, looked in the shops bought the obligatory linen shirt and then caught the lift backdown to the marina and back to the boat. With the constant traffic in and out of the marina it was a fairly bouncy night.

Sorrento to Salerno – Friday 12 September

The boat has to be back in Salerno for the Friday night but not until 5pm so while we had 35nm to cover we had all day to do it. We left Sorrento just after 10am and with no breeze we motored along the coast stopping for a swim and some lunch as we went. The wind swung to the south-west after lunch so we set the main and headsails but after 40 minutes or so the wind dropped again and we were back to engine only.

We got to the marina breakwall around 4.30pm and went through the normal circus that is the fuel wharf at the end of a charter. People pushing into line, drifting onto other boats etc. Just on 5pm we backed into the same berth we’d left a week earlier, tidied the boat up and packed all our gear ready to leave in the morning. Marina D’Arechi is a bit out of town but the restaurant on the marina is good so we had a nice dinner and last night on board.

In the morning we checked out without any issues and caught a cab to the station then train up to Naples for our flight to Sardinia. Our friends flew off to other parts of Europe.

All up we covered 125 nm over the 7 days and saw some lovely places, swam in plenty of crystal blue water and had a great time with our friends. I’d happily revisit all the towns we saw and can definitely recommend cruising the Amalfi Coast, although maybe anchor outside on Capri.

Gerald and Jenni - Serenite