In spite of the forecast Saturday dawned a beautifully clear day with sparkling views of the surrounding mountains, the clearest view of Vesuvius we have had. The wind has blown all the cloud and haze inland and is still gusting up to thirty knots according to the instruments on the top of the mast, and that is here in the harbour. We walked to the chandlers for some fuel additive and then called at the little shop for some bread for lunch and vegetables to cook for tea. The ladies were pleasant as ever; we always come out of there feeling happy.

After a while the noise of the wind on board ship becomes a bit much and we set out for the Captain’s Bar for a break from it and so that I could use the wifi to post the blog. For once the outside area was deserted, with all the chairs stacked in the lee of the hedge. Inside was humming with people and we were lucky to bag the last table in the corner. A large boat party had pulled tables together opposite and the diving crew were clustered round the table next to us, all with large beers rather than the usual cokes. In the far corner a man and a couple of women were making headway down a bottle of white wine. Everyone was loud and very cheerful. We figured they had all been let off work in some way by the rough weather, the Italian version of a snow-day. The bar staff were not so fortunate and it was all hands on deck as more people arrived and began to drag tables into the sun in shelter afforded by back of the marina building. We had not planned to stay to lunch, but the look and smell of the pasta of the day arriving at neighbouring tables proved too much. Aubergine and smoked mozzarella cannelloni in a fabulous tomato sauce. It will be bread and cheese for tea, listening to podcasts, when hopefully the wind will have died down.