The third group of charter guests to board the Lady Feryal Were from Argentina and had booked the Yacht to cruise Italian ports and islands.
While it was a very busy charter, it was also a very nice part of the world to be in with stunning scenery and breathtaking views.
below is a glimpse of places such as Bonefacio, Porto Chervo, Palermo, Naples, capri, Ischia, Pompei, Sicily, and Genoa.
So to draw the summer season in the Mediterranean to an end. Enjoy these picturesof my last few weeks on board Lady Feryal.
Coming into Porto Chervo
A pirate ship leaves it's moorings
Gelo storing fenders
The Octopus yacht, owned by Paul Allen (microsoft)
Note the 2 Helicopters, on deck..
Coming into harbour
A place i could quite happily live in
being guided to our berth
On deck with Roy the Chief Engineer
Porto Chervo from the deck.
The guests we had on board left at this port.
Captain walking off the boat, Chris smiling because guests have gone...
Captain taking off the rubbish, while Roy is ready to refuel
A close up of my new house....I wish!
View of Lady Feryal from my chill out point..
And a picture of me chilled out
Time to leave
Uzzel watches the aft end as we set sail
As we get further into our Journey, the sun sets
on what has been a lovely day.
With no guests on board, I stay on deck watching the sky change colour.
And does it change colour.
There are a few perks to this job....
Red sails in the sunset, way out on the sea....
I know a song about that..lol.
A Lovely way to end the Day.
Bonifacio, Built high on rocks.
Captain Mark driving the yacht into Bonifacio
It Took some manouvering, but this guy really knows how to
Drive and park this thing...
As we approach our moorings Steph is watching a smaller yacht
pass us ready with her fender
Hey! and i'm ready with mine..
I took Ride on a tour train to the old town at the top
of the rock. Yachts pictured below.
The old town, perched on the top.
Another shot of the harbour below.
View of the other side, this is where yachts and boats stop to let guests swim
Just to prove i was there.
Roy and myself heading for a bar. Just what was needed.
A picture of Lady Feryal taken from the old town.
I can think of worse places to be.
At night we found this cave full of booty, that's Steph and Amy
spoilt for choice..I was like a kid in a sweet shop!
The port of Ischia... The St Tropez of Italy
A lovely place and we were here with no guests on board.
The Fountain in the centre
With no guests on board we were able to take advantage.
So we played at being guests
The water was glorious
Steph basking in the sun
Enough swimming, get the beer out..
Chris the first officer, enjoying the moment
With no guests, we opened the beer, turned on the music
and sat on the quayside discussing which restaurant to eat in.
Which meant no cooking for me....Fantastic!
Having decided, we made our way to the restaurant and ordered
our food and drinks. left to right
Gelo, Steph, Amy and Don.
The sun going down .
And a good time was had by all. A lovely way to eat.
Al Fresco..
A Castle on a rock en route to Naples
The City of Naples
Captain reversing the yacht into another tight space,
guided by Chris on the aft deck
In the centre of Naples
I'm leaning on a lampost at the corner of the street..
I know another song about that.
Down an alley where only locals go.
With no guests to cater for, the captain organised a trip
for the crew to go to Pompei, which was a real treat
and very interesting. The following pictures are from that trip.
Pompei as we entered
The Amphitheatre
What Roman God stands against the pillar ?
The Main Street
This was the Roman Brothel
Inside the brothel and the beds did not look very comfortable.
Another street
I like this...Carved in the stones of the street is a penis.
This was pointing in the direction of the Brothel.
Ahead of their time or what?
One of the bodies preserved when Mount Etna erupted and buried the City
This was the home of one of the Govenors of Pompei
Roy, Amy, Steph and Chris enjoying an ice cream
Amy walking through what was the courts
Where all major decisions were made
The city of Pompei, with Mount Etna in the background.
Behold what Goddess stands before me ? ......
Oh It's Steph....
What a location!
Then it was onto Capri
A very exclusive Island
Time for some fresh air on deck.
Once docked the guests all went ashore, we had a chance to get off
and walk around Capri.
We walked to the main drag.
We took a taxi ride up to the top where all the main shops are.
Nice views from the top
The shops were all adorned in flora and fauna.
very pretty!
Positaner on the Alfamare coast.
This was a lovely back drop to the Super Yachts.
The road along this coast has to be driven in a Ferrari.
According to Jeremy Clarkson.
Chris on watch as the guests have been taken ashore by Tender.
Smile for the camera....
A bridge makes up a part of the Alfamare coastal road.
As we leave another sunset..
One of the places that we anchored at, was Stromboli
an active volcano. The guests wanted to come here for dinner
at night when it was dark to watch the firework display given by the volcano.
As it spits sparks into the air.
Don't get too close....
The rocks and cliff face constantly moving.
Amy, Steph and Gelo, pose in front of Stromboli.
Don 007! getting the Jet Bike ready for the guests to use.
This is the Maltese Falcon, the most expensive sailing Yacht in the world.
Apparently it bankrupt 3 companies in the making..
It is revolutionary and famouse for her Dyna Rig,
which has 15 square sails (5 per mast),
stored inside carbon fibre masts.
The sails can fully unfurl into tracks along the yards in 6 minutes
and she can achieve 20 knots under sail alone.
She is 88 metres long and has a beam of 12 metres
She can carry 12 guests in 6 state rooms
and has a max crew of 18.
Me and Gelo on aft deck fishing for Tuna....
We didn't catch any...
As we sailed away the sky gave us a treat.
A lone sail in the sunset
Gelo following the sun
Lovely colours.
Perfect
Palermo in Sicily. Fishing boats would come to the Yacht
offering the fresh catch of the day. Here I ordered some fresh
Sea Bass
Once I had chosen the Fish they gutted it and cleaned it.
This was early in the morning.
The Perfect Bass, you can't get it any fresher.
It was on the menu that lunch time..
And once again it's party time as the guests depart.
Party on guys!
The Opera house in the city.
A truck of Honeydew Melons in the street.
And Water melons on a stall.
Last port of call Genoa
Tied up and secure. All guests gone and no more charters.
A pirate ship built by Roman Polanski For one of his pirate films.
Now harboured in Genoa.
Genoa is a fascinating place, where they have integrated the old and the new.
The old battlements are intertwined with the new buildings.
This is the main square in Genoa.
Time for a beer and a pizza
The City of Genoa from the harbour.
The Architecture was stunning.
And so where the ice creams...
With every beer that was ordered, a plate of nibbles came
with it. You did not need to go to a restaurant.
Amazing..
And an Ice cream for dessert
And Finally, One of my favourite Yachts. This is the Christina O.
A 1920's Yacht that was owned by Christina Onasis.
It is still going strong and is chartered on a regular basis.
Here she is just outside Monte Carlo.
Well, That was my Summer season Around the French and Italian Rivieras.
I finished my Time on Board the Lady Feryal on September 28th 2011.
I flew from Nice airport, back to East Midlands and was home by midnight.
I have now spent 3 weeks at home getting ready to go back to Antarctica.
My next post will be on my experiences as I travel
Back to the Ice for the Antarctic Summer Season......
Watch this Space....
