Next day the weather was fine and the wind had dropped so we set off back to Casamicciola, to the festival we had all but missed last year. This was to be the first days actual racing in the Rolex Cup and we were keen to be out of the way when they started at noon. The dredger was at the mouth of the marina, so John radioed the control tower to ask if it was safe for us to pass in front of it. The answer came from the hand held radio of the marinera in a dingy just ahead of us, he said yes but kindly went ahead to show us the channel. This was a relief as passing the groaning leviathan with its’ rattling chains was disconcerting. We waved and thanked them and then set off on another rocky crossing under engine. About half way across an all ships Pan Pan call came over the radio from Napoli. A light aircraft with two people had come down in the waters near Capri and boats in the area were asked to keep a look out. We looked over to Capri and hoped the two people would be picked up.

When we arrived at Casamicciola the marinera asked how our new battery was suiting us and gave us a discount for our stay.

The festival we had come to see was La Festa di Santa Restituta, a three-day pageant of lights and boats, the story behind which is convoluted and incredible. Lara had witnessed the extravagant firework finale when we stayed here last year looking out of her cabin skylight. The fireworks had taken place a day early as a pragmatic response to a poor weather forecast for the scheduled event. By the time we wandered into town on the following day, not only had the fireworks already happened, the light show had been folded up and loaded onto open trucks. This year we planned to see the lights and fireworks, but the wind caused us to miss the opening day when the saint came ashore. This is quite a spectacle as she arrives on a flaming boat in the manner of Kirk Douglas at the end of The Vikings. Ah well, maybe next year we will see the whole event.