The sea in the North Adriatic is shallow and sand banks are a hazard even for small boats. These stakes mark the channel into the harbour at Lignano and they were a wonderful sight after our 3000km sail from Spain.

We sailed almost 3000km from Spain to Northern Italy, in just under a month. We stopped in many interesting places along the way but never for long. This is Otranto, the first port in the Adriatic. The harbour is large and there are pleasant beaches. We found space to tie up bows-to with our kedge anchor out behind us.

The lighthouse was in sight for hours before we finally got to the harbour. Just a short while later the wind blew stronger. There was no warning, not in the sky nor on the radio, just a sudden full gale, force 8, blowing onto the shore. We were so relieved to have made it into port before it arrived.

Vieste is a small tourist resort with mainly German and Austrian visitors.

This is Ancona. Many fine old buildings survive on the slopes of the hills that make up the town. Parts of the town walls are intact but development in between the historical sites has not always been in keeping with the surroundings.

We came here from Northern Croatia to meet friends from Iceland who, by coincidence, were in the area at the same time as us. They were, in turn, visiting an Icelandic relative in the town. After a few pleasant days we sailed back over the Adriatic to cruise around the islands close to the southern coast of Croatia.