Porto Fino
Posted: under News.
This was to be our next iconic harbour stop, what a magical place! It’s not until the very last minute that this small village comes into view and you realise why it has become such a talked about place. We’d managed to secure one of only 5 berths along the small harbour wall and the only disappointment was the huge ugly metallic gold powerboat parked up between us and the village, what a view stopper…luckily it moved on the following day and we were given its space at the end of the row with perfect views over to the village square. I’m quite a fan of architecture and property so I was mesmerised by the amazing colours of the buildings around the little square and the shadows that were created by their shutters. It wasn’t long before I’d found an excuse to have a quick walk into the village to buy a couple of provisions and although it was very small, the charm was immense.
View from the cockpit
That evening we were very kindly invited out to dinner to the Hotel Splendido up on the hill overlooking the bay. Gordon ran to the Slam shop to arm himself with some suitable trousers, we did a quick wave to Jenson Button on our way past him in the village square (presumably recovering from the excitements of the Monaco Grand Prix!) and headed up the road. As instructed by our agent, Gordon was armed with the necessary tip for the waiter (to be given as you arrive) in order to secure the best table on the terrace. The meal was fantastic and the setting was incredible, definitely a highlight.
Clare
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May 27 2009
Monaco Grand Prix!
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For me,there are three places you have to experience during a yachting career. 1) sail into Sydney harbour and under the bridge (managed this in 2007 on a 40m ketch) 2) cruise the Galapagos islands (spent 11 hours here in 2007, so not quite done it yet!) and 3) be moored up in Monaco during the Grand Prix weekend. So thanks to a great agent who secured the berth and a generous owner who footed the bill I found myself entering Monaco’s main harbour during the start of Q1 on the Saturday. To be honest I was almost overwhelmed, there were 100’s of boats milling around the entrance some over 50 meters in length and the entrance itself was full of tenders of various sizes, this coupled with the sound of 20 of probably the worlds loudest machines screaming around the outside of the harbour meant that Clare and I couldn’t hear ourselves think let alone shout. Still after managing to miss all the boats, the space we had was for a 40m boat so fitting in the 22m Concerto was pretty easy, even without communication, and right at the exit of the tunnel. The sound these 800hp V8’s make as they scream through the tunnel is to be heard to be believed!
Look how many people are on the balconies!
By race day the harbour was fully packed with some of the largest most expensive super yachts in the world and the atmosphere was fantastic. We used the tender to motor round to where we could see the most action and tied up along side our winter friends Wally B to see the large screen as well as glimpses of the cars on various parts of the track.
An incredible experience which is definitely up there as one of my top days in yachting made even better by the British veteran Button winning with a superb drive.
It’s going to take a lot to beat this!
Gordon
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May 24 2009
Cannes Film Festival
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What an unbelievable show of hardware packed in for the Cannes Film Festival. The marinas were all completely full (no surprises there!) but even finding a space to anchor proved to be tricky. We managed to squeeze in amongst the superyachts and stared in awe at our neighbours with their flashy lights blazing and smart tenders ferrying guests to and fro. We turned as many of our exterior lights on as possible to attempt to keep up with them but I don’t think we were much of a match!
There was enough time the following morning for a quick run to the covered market for a few items, it was huge with some very good fruit and veg.
At Anchor in St Jean Cap Ferrat
A lady near the port arranged a stunning new bouquet of flowers for the yacht and then it was time to pick up the anchor and sail on to the next destination which was a quick lunch stop in Antibes and along to St Jean Cap Ferrat for a dinner date.
Clare
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May 20 2009
St Tropez
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If there’s one old harbour wall to be moored up against, it’s St Tropez where spaces are like gold dust! We’d spent 3 months last summer based in a small ‘Venice style’ marina at the top of St Tropez bay where we’d visit St Tropez and sit on the small terrace up in the Sube Bar overlooking St Tropez harbour watching all the smart superyachts coming in to moor up hoping it would be us one day. Well here we were!
The crowds gathered to watch as we pulled in so this definitely wasn’t time for any mistakes! Gordon mastered the perfect park and it was time for champagne and canapés on the aft deck.
One highlight of St Tropez for me is the wonderful little fish market down a small alleyway covered in decorative tiles just off the harbour front. We ate some delicious scallops, sea bass and mussels from here but that evening was reserved for something a bit more Ozzie; some juicy fillet steaks grilled on the brand new BBQ off the back of the boat! We were waiting for the port police to come by and stop us but we managed to get away with it…
Clare
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May 19 2009
Marseille
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Fresh faced out of the yard (if not a little worn out) we headed off along the coast for the short hop to Marseille where our summer season was to begin. Our berth was right outside the hôtel de ville which created a stunning backdrop at night along with the view up the hill to the Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica.
Concerto moored outside the hôtel de ville in Marseille
The next few days were spent doing a huge clean both inside and out before our first charter started. Provisioning in Marseille was great. The Galleries Lafayette gourmet food section served as a good base and then the amazing backstreet markets in the African quarter were perfect for fresh fruit and veg as well as some very good fish markets. There was also a very good fish restaurant near the port with a stall outside selling fresh shellfish so I bought a couple of crabs and some prawns which were delicious.
After just under a week in Marseille, we set off along the coast for our first stop, Cassis, for lunch before heading on the Isles de Porquerolles. Cassis is a magic little fishing harbour amongst the Calanques (lots of picturesque inlets along the limestone cliffs) with plenty of charm and little backstreets full of boutique shops. The Porquerolles are a collection of islands just off Hyères where one can spend a long time exploring all the little coves and beaches with crystal clear waters, the perfect spot for a BBQ in peace before joining the crowds along the Riviera
Clare
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May 14 2009
The Yard
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Finally our 6 month stay in the yard is coming to a close. I thought that we would have plenty time for sea trials and even a few days’ holiday by the end but as usual the boat decided it need all our time! Still she looks amazing and after all the mechanical works we have completed over the winter she should be working like a treat. In fact the head engineer at the yard said she’s probably better then new!
- Final touches to the anti foul prior to launching
We have a brand new sparkly Perkins Sabre 300hp engine with new dry exhaust system to reduce back pressure, a new exhaust system for the generator too which means you cant hear the annoying “putt putt” at the stern anymore, fully overhauled air conditioning, new shore power system to enable us to use said air-con while on the dock, new battery fridge system to keep important things like beer cold at night when the generator is off. A new Yamaha 60hp four Stroke outboard was purchased for the tender to replace the old not so reliable one and some new lights and cushions were also purchased to make it look as good as new as well. Other projects included a re-wiring of some areas, a full rig service by the guys at “Southern Spars” as well as a boom, spinnaker pole and mast re-paint. Finally a general servicing of everything that moves above and below deck concluded a fairly hectic if somewhat stressful 6 months with a budget that you could have bought a brand new 50 foot plastic fantastic for…
Still the boat looks great and I for one cant wait to get out and see if it all works properly!
Gordon
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May 10 2009