Starry-eyed in Amalfi Coast:  Gold Silver and Sapphire

After my sumptuous, Italian tango adventure, I would soon find myself back in southern Italy, two weeks later for work, and this time by sea.  The Amalfi Coast, one of those starry-eyed visions that rests in that pocket of my mind where unattainable places lie dormant and glittering, had been on my radar for as long as I can remember, so I was more than eager to accept the freelance chef gig for the next five weeks sailing there.  With the previous summer season, I had already had my taste of the French Riviera and its superb provisions and inspirations, but I was ready to dip my toes into the Italian culture and create inspired meals based off its influence.  Here I would drown out the disappointing stain of Italian American food from my memory once and for all.  We would be setting sail from Palma to Napoli for a three-day crossing, then after settling in, pick up guests and work our way down the Amalfi Coast and back.

From the outside observer, life as a yachtie appears quite glamourous and that we’re constantly enjoying the spoils of sea and beautiful coastline.  Alas, I must now crack that rosy vision.  For the guest or owner, it is indeed the life of luxury, but for the crew it is more austere when guests are on board for trip.  Although we may be yachting in the most beautiful locales alongside the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Jeff Bezos, or David Beckham, naturally we don’t get to enjoy the experience the same way they would, stinted by the shadow of work clouding over us.  With long 14-hour days, “on deck” just after sunrise, and in bed by 11pm, I am lucky when I get two minutes to sip in a view.  We are swallowed in servitude, sentenced to crew quarters and bunk bed cabins with shared bathrooms.  Of course, every boat is different, unique in its design and conditions, contingent upon size, but in general we’re condemned to small spaces with a crew you hopefully get along with.  Chef life is on a whole, even more unglamorous.  The responsibility of making sure everyone gets fed and fed on time is on me.  I can’t just be like, “yea I’m gonna sit this one out” and disappear to my cabin.  In the mood, or energy level or not, I have to be on point every day, no complaining.  Getting to sit down for five minutes in a day is my idea of luxury, and even then, doing so could put me behind.  Going to use the bathroom, eat a meal sitting down, or even setting foot on deck in the fresh air is something I relish in.

All this to say that life with guests off is significantly different and yachtie life does of course have its countless perks! While aboard, all expenses are paid, including food and accommodation.  Throughout my years of experience, I’ve never had a budget; I hardly see prices any more when I shop.  When I’m provisioning for guests, it’s for the best of the best quality, and this is what I’m often also consuming.  When we’re docked and we’ve finished our 8-5 workday we can take advantage and go explore the place, whether it’s a beach, a hike, shopping or food.  I don’t take for granted those rare hours or days to enjoy the benefit of floating on million-dollar vessels in places most people never get to experience.  We get first-hand experience with different cultures and languages, and often meet interesting new people.  So many dualities exist within this yachtie life but you can be successful if you understand the work hard/ play hard principle and as well as learn to work effectively as a team.  We may not be able to run home after work like most typical jobs–and are instead stuck in small quarters with other crew–but this life can certainly outweigh its constrictions and quench any thirst for adventure.

The crossing from Mallorca to Napoli was a bit like a marathon.  You know you’ve got a certain length to go and you just gotta keep pushing.  With this particular sailboat, we motored at 9 knots, then opened the main sail whenever the wind direction and speed granted us favor, pushing us up to an average of 11 knots.  Each of us was designated a paired watch schedule of four hours in which we continually rotated, and if you were lucky, you could get 7 hours of sleep between shifts.  Watches where nothing else is around you for days is an experience like none other, and although the hours continually dredge on, they’re at once soothed with the odd dolphin sighting playing in your wake, and too, vistas of precious sunrises, or fiery sunsets slipping away into sea.  Sky palettes different each day; cloud contrast.  Night watches promise even more surprise– granted you get clear conditions.  Without any light obstruction, the starry skies are a sight to behold.  So clear you can observe the Milky Way.  So rippled with twinkling you will stare in awe.  With the right water conditions, you could witness the bioluminescence lighting up the water as we slosh through– like little fairy magic stars sparkling up the sea.  

I again found myself with a view of Mount Vesuvius in the distance, ever-present as it loomed from our slip at the Castellammare di Stabia, marina, southern Napoli.  Lush deep green mountain bordered to our left and superyachts hugged in to our right.  “The calm before the storm,” provisioning, planning, organizing . . .  Guest pickup, and off we sailed down the coast.   First stop:  Sorrento, ensconced atop cliffs with sweeping views.  

And so began the long hours standing all day, seldom breaking, lucky if I could squeeze in a 7-hour sleep.  The days start to blur together.  According to my photos and not my memory, the next anchorage is Positano– a dramatic cliffside village and heavily popular touristic destination.  It’s a bustling little port where tourists are ferried in and unloaded to make their way to the steep and narrow boutique and café lined streets.  

From there we journeyed on, making our way to the charming town of Amalfi, nestled beneath a backdrop of–you guessed it–more cliffs, and dappled with idyllic parasol pine trees.  The town square holds the legacy of its Arab-Norman history with the impressive Sant’Andrea cathedral at its heart.  Amalfi also seemed considerably less run over by tourists, perhaps due to its further south location from the hub of Napoli.  

It was time for the star of the show.  We looped back and dropped anchor at the enchanting island of Capri.  A scene of rugged nature, imposing, with the most dramatic yet, rocky cliff creations shot from far beneath, shaped over centuries, and alongside picturesque grottos full of mystique.  Apparently, I have a knack for reaching for the sky and letting dreams fly, letting that pocket of unattainable dream destinations shake itself free of weight.  I had found myself face to face with Capri island’s legendary sea giants– the idyllic Faraglioni rocks, jutting out of the sea with its famous arch.  Mythology of the rocks deems that the rocks were thrown by Polyphemus against Ulysses and were the abode of mermaids who lured sailors with their song.  Seems fitting that this sea-creature would be drawn here.

Many well-known talents such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Bridgette Bardot, Ernest Hemingway, and Giorgio Armani, were also drawn and inspired by the island.  Magnetized I was by Capri’s mystique, which sang of new flavors.  I mean this was the place where the Caprese salad apparently originated. Provisioning proved greater decadence with all things truffle, valuable like gold, or Stracciatella, like silver.  The pulse of Italian sumptuousness was now coursing through my veins– happily compelled to recreate and reimagine.  Lustily, I dove head first into all things pistachio and all things lemon.  Pistachio Pannacotta, pistachio ricotta cheesecake, pistachio Chantilly cream, lemon bars, all took a seat on my dessert menu.  This place was indeed what dreams were made of . . . 

In the words of Captain Jack Sparrow: “not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”  He’s right I reckon.  It’s gazing out at rugged, towering cliffs over sapphire seas, spooning pistachio cream, and sipping it all down with Brunello wine.  Yo ho ho, the pirate’s life for me.

Bow

Painted clouds, puffed, poised righteous
The afternoon’s posture lends its gate 
Pummeled 
Afloat between sky and sea
Through new doors of perception
Welcome the unknown
Territory alight with birth and creation
Fantasy sublime 
Blue harmony 
A rose to your garden 
String me along 
For my urgency is yours 
Alight, your whispers shake my soul
    Alight 
Sky bright
Laugh tickles the air