Bari

We arrived in Bari, Italy the morning of 6 July after an uneventful 125nm run from Kotor, Montenegro. The seas were calm, the skies were filled with a crescent moon and a thousand stars and boat traffic was extremely light. We motored the majority of the way but as dawn was breaking the winds picked up to 12 knots and we enjoyed sailing the rest of the way. Bari, located on the Adriatic coast, is a major transportation and shipping hub. Bari has two ports, Porto Nuovo, which is the commercial harbor, and Porto Vecchio, the old harbor, filled with small fishing boats and private yachts. We elected to pull into Porto Vecchio and tied up on the harbor wall. Once secured we were quickly off the boat and headed for the local yacht club to see if there was an available berth we could use for two days. Folks at the yacht club spoke little English, our Italian was even less but with hand gestures and broken phrases we were able to make our request and they were happy to accommodate us for two nights. At 50 Euros a night including water, electricity and Wi-Fi, it was a true bargain! We quickly walked back around the harbor to Lone Star and moved her into our slip at the yacht club. Then it was off the boat again and a hike to the commercial harbor to officially clear into Italy and the EU. We were directed to several locations and never did make it to the correct window. However at the last stop the officials contacted the correct personnel who drove to us and stamped us in with no problems.

With berthing and immigration taken care of it was time to do what we came to Bari for and it wasn’t seeing the sites. We were here for repairs on our second freezer. This unit has given us problems since day one. We have had it serviced several times and always Amel treated it as a warranty issue. While in Dubrovnik the freezer compressor quit working completely which was going to be a costly repair because it was now out of warranty. However, because of the freezer’s track record and with Amel’s help, VECO the freezer manufacturer, agreed to replace the compressor for no charge. Once replaced, the freezer was chilling like a champ and we completed our business in Bari with the purchase of Italy Vodafone sim cards for our phone and computer. After two days it was time to get moving again.