Do you know this Eddie Vedder?

Jul 4, 2017 151 0 0

Southern Italy & Sicily

We were sitting in the cockpit of Berkeley East below beautiful Taormina, Sicily, wet from showers and settled in for the night, when we heard a voice. “Do you know this Eddie Vedder?” It was George from The Yacht Hotel, the company that owned the mooring that BE was currently tied to. “Of course,” we answered. We had heard that Vedder was playing at the ancient theatre up on the hill. “I have free tickets for you,” George said. “Give us 10 minutes,” we replied.

Just a few days before, we were 400 miles away in Montenegro, crossing the Adriatic Sea, once again, back into Italy. We had a plan for a very slow exploration of the boot of Italy along the Calabrian coast. We thought two or three weeks, at least, to mosey along the coast, and spend time on land, in an area of Italy that had eluded us for our past seven seasons in the Mediterranean.

But after a couple of days in Brindisi, where we enjoyed our favorite burrata caprese salad, and did a little wedding crashing, we headed through the Straight of Otranto into the Ionian Sea and made our way quickly along the coast to stay ahead of the weather.

We found anchorages along the shore at night, and moved at first light before the big morning swell began.

Santa Maria di Leuca is famous for its iconic lighthouse, built in 1864. It is also a popular Italian summer resort where the food truck craze has taken hold.

The Gulf of Squillace is notoriously windy. The 40-mile crossing would typically take Berkeley East about five hours, but we did it in three and a half. While the wind was perfect for sailing, it was a bit strong for flying. Once again, we had a nail-biting catch. But it has been nearly two years and we still have the drone!

While we wanted to go north through the Straight of Messina, the wind told us to go south, so we headed southeast on a spirited sail across to Taormina, Sicily.

There, we met up with old friends Neal and Vanessa on Amante, spent a few days exploring the town, and celebrated July 4th at one of Taormina’s famous beaches.

Set high on a hill of the Monte Tauro, Taormina dominates two sweeping bays below with views of Mount Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano. Due to its position, the town has always been considered a natural fortress of great strategic and political importance, with control over the eastern coast of Sicily. Today, Taormina is one of Italy’s top tourist destinations, its ancient theatre a major venue for everything from Italian operas to Eddie Vedder concerts.

Just about any performance would be fantastic in a place like the Taormina ancient theatre, but we were excited to see Pearl Jam’s lead singer in a solo gig. Surrounded by Italians of all ages, we didn’t hear a word of English spoken before Eddie took the stage. But the minute the music began, everyone sang, loudly and enthusiastically, in English. They knew every word to every song. As often is the case with celebrities, politics were brought into the dialog between songs, but it was clear that the audience didn’t care about US, or any, politics at that moment. They were there for the tunes, and only the tunes; proof that music transcends language, culture, age and yes, even Putin, Hillary and the Donald.