15 Oct. 2015; Portoferraio, Elba.

Yesterday I mentioned that it would be windy on arrival Livorno and that it was a tight hole to go into. Well it was more than windy; it was stormy, with wind gusts up to 40 knots. Too much wind to sail into that tight hole safely.  The Captain had one good look at the local situation and the decision was simple. This is a no-go. If I do not feel safe, then the ship is not safe. Then the next thought is, what can we do now? Stay a day at sea, go sightseeing, or go to another port? Based on the weather forecast the captain had already been thinking about that of course and scrutinized the chart for options for another port nearby. The wind was from the South West so if there was a port which is sheltered from the South West than you can go there. Livorno is fully open the South West.

Elba is about 2 hours sailing south of Livorno.

Thus the plan was hatched to go to Elba. It is close by, has a natural harbor on the North East side and a mountain ridge to the south so it could be expected that it would be sheltered enough from the SW wind to make the visit there. A quick call to the local authorities and yes we were welcome. The only question that remained was: would the anchorage be sheltered enough from the swells (which can curve around the island into the bay) for a safe tender service? The main town of Portoferraio on the North side of the island only has ferry docks and even if the ferries would not be there the Rotterdam still had to anchor as it draws over 8 meters and the pilot cannot guarantee more than 7,6 meters at the maximum.

The ms Rotterdam has too much draft to anchor in the light blue area’s.

When the Rotterdam poked its nose into the Bay it was clear, a bit of waves but with making a good lee for the tenders when coming alongside the ship, it would be a safe operation. In the town itself, tucked away deep into the Bay, it was flat calm.

The town has city walls and a fort protecting the island from the outside world, but what can you do against an invasion of eager cruisers?

Thus by 10 am. the tender operation went into full swing and the “invasion” began. Because of the change in scheduling everything on board came to a grinding halt and that included the weekly fire drill which had been planned around my trainee’s. They would be fully involved with the drill and attack whatever fire might occur. Now there was a gap in the schedule and that allowed me to finish the class in the morning and let them go ashore in the afternoon. Somehow I have the impression that they did not mind missing the fire drill and go ashore instead. This is their last day of the 3 week course and 4 of them fly out to their assignments and the other four go home to wait for their first assignment to arrive.

The inner harbor of Portoferraio, Elba.

It also gave me the chance to go ashore. I had been here with the Prinsendam in 2010 and although the ship could dock it was not possible because of the ferries. So we had to anchor and thus I stayed on board. Resting on one hook on an open anchorage is something totally different than being securely tied up with lots of lines in the shelter of a port.

If I could afford to maintain it, this would be my yacht.

The tourist season is almost over here so it was quiet in the town and in the bars and restaurants around the fishing harbor (now mainly occupied by yachts); that was until the Rotterdam arrived. and we saw a split in behavior depending on nationality. While the Americans tried to shop and look inside every church and museum, the Dutch parked themselves en-masse on the terraces on the harbor front. I felt as if I was in Holland, Dutch yapping all around. Unfortunately most shops and Musea closed for a 2 to 3 hour siesta and they must have missed out on a lot of money. Two 2^nd hand bookshops were open and although I was impressed with their stock, there was nothing for me, as the two things on offer, where already in my collection and the 3^rd item (genuine ocean pill box) was a fake.

Plenty of Napoleon around, but he was also out for lunch…………….

This it is a very nice place with lots of things to do (between 0900 and 13.00 & 16.00 and 21.00) so hopefully Holland America will call here more often especially with the smaller ships.  Plenty of history, including the 300 day stay of Napoleon, beautiful beaches and beautiful nature. Coming Sunday it will be busy as they will the Moto GP (Motor Cycle Grand Prix) of Elba. A motor home camp had been set up in the port and I saw the teams registering at the local tourist office for the coming event.

Our last tender will be at 6 pm. and as soon as the last guests are back we will sail to the south east heading for Civitavecchia, which acts as the access port to Rome. There my trainees will fly either home or to their first ship and I will transfer to the Zuiderdam. The Zuiderdam arrives in Civitavecchia on the 21^st. so I will wait for the ship. It turned out to be easier than to fly and catch it in one of its small ports along the cruise during the weekend.

Thus my blog might cease for a few days unless I have something exciting to report. (Like meeting the Pope or something). I will use my time in the hotel to catch up with administration and I will also grab the chance to ride every Big Red Sightseeing bus there is in Rome.

The weather for tomorrow; a lot less wind, about 15 knots, partly cloudy and temperatures in the mid 60’s or just under 20oC.