Early this morning John and I returned to the supermarket near our restaurant for some supplies. As we came back to the lift we stole another look into the cloister garden, it being too early for a wedding. I realised the photography exhibition we had been trying to track down was on the second story of the cloister, so maybe we can come back before it finishes. It is only a few miles between Sorrento and our base in Stabia. Today we intended to make the most of the wind and sail back, so set off early to allow for the zigzag course we would need to take. It was a splendid sail, enough wind to reach eight knots at one point, but never so much as to feel uncomfortable. If you can keep out of the tracks of the ferries and the Bay of Naples is a glorious sailing area.

The marina basin at Stabia seemed huge after our run of increasingly small harbours. It took a moment to recognise our pontoon and we crept along, looking anxiously to see if anyone had been put in our berth. The ropes we had left tied on had acted as a deterrent and all was clear. Alongside berthing without assistance is always a worrying prospect for me, but luckily Lara is here. Lara is coolly confident; she refers to herself and me as ‘the dream team’, though I feel I am more the stuff of nightmares. Anyway it went really well, Lara stepped off first with two ropes, bow and middle, and stopped us with the front cleat, giving me the easy task of stepping off a stationary boat to attach the stern-line. And low and behold the shore power is working. We allowed ourselves a celebratory beer over lunch at The Captain’s Bar.