Sailing the Med. in the mid 70's on board a large ( 200ft) motor yacht, we had some boat trouble and had to head for Civitavecchia ( trying saying this when you are drunk!) Port of Rome for repairs.
Our stabilizers had "packed up" on a voyage back to France from a 3 month trip to the Greek Islands.
We had left Antibes, France under good weather but the closer we came to Central Coast of Italy the more a storm was looming, soon we were all "battened down"( no one except experienced ship crew was allowed on deck) and the ship was rearing and bucking in very high seas.
I could hear the propeller as it cleared the surface of the sea in it's lurches
I spent 8 hours in my cabin watching a calender on the wall turn 360 degrees every 30 mins..knowing if I tried to stand I would be thrown to the floor.
The captain and crew managed to find the sandwiches & soup I had made the night before we entered "the eye of the storm".
The yacht was a wooden hulled one that made it bob like a cork; and through most of the night the yacht "corkscrewed" through the water.
I was too scared to feel seasick.
When we finally emerged from the storm just before dawn, the captain thanked everyone for their help and admitted that he was scared we might have "turned turtle" ( turned over) as without stabilizers we were at the mercy of the sea.
I slowly began to unpack my galley which had also had to be battened down..large metal rods where placed across the stove and the fridge and oven doors had been bolted closed, as had all the store cupboards.
As the sun came up we saw a large whale just beyond our bow as it rose up to breathe, everyone onboard also let out a breath of surprise..later that day as we headed under full power to Rome we met up with a Polaris nuclear submarine just off a "boat graveyard" ..we looked like a piece of flotsum along side the submarine which was massive.
This was the most eventful voyage I have ever had on a private yacht without any passengers.
When we reached the Port of Rome, night was falling and so we tied up and spent that night exploring the quayside, which had a bar/restaurant.
It was just a plain and simple dock bar but it had the best food in Rome...serving freshest fish ( fresh giant prawns/shrimps, tuna, rock fish) and fabulous thick and rich tomato pasta sauce, I will never forget that first meal on land in Rome, it became the main point of eating for the whole of the 2 weeks we were in port being repaired. In the evenings the dock feral cats would line up besides the outside tables for any scraps.
If ever you visit Rome, do check out the bar/restaurant in the Port of Civitavecchia is probably not on any tourist map, but is IS the best food you'll ever have in Rome
During the day we had ships duties to carryout..basic maintenance, cleaning the decks and furnishings some of which were caked in salt from sea water spray in the storm ( although I was employed as the yacht's chef we all had deck/maintenance duties to perform as well).
Tomorrow I am making:
a pasta Puttanesca sauce,( see previous blog.. a marinara with olives and capers)
some fabulous soups..sweet potato-pea and a "Provencal" vegetable.
Also an Indian inspired sweet and spicy cauliflower dish,
and 3 sides:
tomatoes, chard and pine nuts, sauteed bell peppers with rice, and a soy-ginger eggplant.
Nice and tasty recipes for this cool June weather we are having at the moment..I will post photos and more info tomorrow..
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| Marinara simmering, by adding extra carrots the sauce becomes naturally sweeter |
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| Puttonesca simmering ( marinara sauce with artichoke hearts, chopped capers and chopped black olives, basil and parsley) |
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| Fresh Marinara packed for freezer |
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