THE ITALIAN JOB

PART 6: RODI GARGANO TO VENICE VIA THE ADRIATIC COAST

After months of travelling south down Italy’s west coast then round the foot of its boot, we are finally heading north again up its less well known Adriatic coast. Combined with the cooler evenings there is a tangible sense of being on the home straight, albeit one with plenty of appealing distractions still to come.

Rodi Garganico at the foot of the Gargano Mountains turns out to be a small but perfectly formed marina that is so well kept you could eat your dinner off the quayside. But first we have to cope with Neptune’s decision to throw one last spanner in the works by whipping up a stiff breeze then causing the remote control for the bow and stern thrusters to throw a wobbly just as we are approaching the dock. To the surprise of the waiting , I abort my approach and back out of the berth so I can try to fix the remote or come up with a Plan B. The remote remains as lifeless as a Monty Python parrot, so I revert to the centrally located helm station on the flybridge and scuttle back and forth to keep