Continuing west along the Italian Riviera brought us to Santa Margherita and Portofino. We anchored Malua nearby and walked into Portofino late in the afternoon, after much of the day-tripper crowd had gone.

Along the Ligurian coast

The coast was beautiful but the weather could still dictate everything. On one passage from Santa Margherita we enjoyed fine reaching at more than seven knots before a front brought heavy rain and winds that eventually gusted above 30 knots.

After two days safely in a marina we continued towards San Remo. Outside the breakwater the leftover sea was steep and confused, and Malua could make only about 4.2 knots into it. Twelve uncomfortable miles later we were pleased to secure stern-to in San Remo harbour.