Adriatic Sea, for 3 months preparation

After two years of sailing in the Greek islands in the Dodecanese, Aegean and Ionian Seas, sailing in the Adriatic Sea is a bit like when you go skiing and pass by black slopes in the middle of the woods where it is impossible to go straight on slopes as wide as motorways.

The small port-canal of Cervia awaits me to haul Pius and finally begin the most important preparation that this boat has ever done in 20 years now.
500 miles in 3 days to arrive before the arrival of a strong east wind which would make it difficult to enter the Porto-Canale famous for its shallow waters.

On Sunday 3 September at 3pm I moor alongside at the small but prestigious Cantiere De Cesari in Cervia, the last of the 3 Italians (and European) shipyards where they still know how to build boats entirely in wood.

In this famous yard I will prepare Pius to tackle my next navigation project:
Suez Canal (Egypt), Red Sea (Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti) and Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Mauritius, La Réunion) starting Jan 2024.

The 1st job is about sails:
60m2 mainsail, few repar ation,leech to be reinforced as well as the top and the bottom side
90m2 Genoa, to reinforce the bottom side

25m2 staysail to be modified to be furled in the new Harken Mark IV,
12m2 storm to be modified to allow it to be fixed over the innerforestay

140m2 FFR, checking the sock line
160m2 gennaker reparation and a brand new sock

All Pius sail don't fit in the van of South Sail, Pius' partner for a general check of the sails and repairs of the Mainsail and Genoa.
Modification of the staysail from snap hooks to furler, of the storm stay and design of a jib to be rigged on the furler of the inner forestay.

2nd, dismasting, rigging dismantling and replacement after 20 years of honorable work.
The task was given to Davide Patuelli of Jack Bolina, an excellent rigger who I met years ago during the Swan Cup with my beloved Pippus, Swan 44 S&S.

The 20 yrs old rigging is ready to be delivered to the manufacturer to check the correct measurements. Since already 30 yrs no more stainless steel wires are manufactured in Europe. Probably the biggest world producer now is the South Korean KOS.