BY SKIP ALLEN, SR.

This summer, I was fortunate enough to travel to Italy with my wife, Helen, two of my grandchildren and their parents. The six of us, along with another couple, chartered an 80-foot Trumpy for a week-long cruise in the Mediterranean. Recently restored to its original condition at the Hinckley yard in Maine, this beautiful Trumpy served as the perfect vessel for exploring the Mediterranean’s idyllic ports of call.

Our journey began near Naples at the stunning marina in Castellammare di Stabia where we met our captain, Peter Wahn, the first mate Barry Ollivierre, and a lovely stewardess, Susan. Under their attentive watch we enjoyed stunning vistas as we cruised along the Amalfi Coast before turning back and ending our cruise in Ostia.

Returning to the Mediterranean for the first time in many years was a pure delight and opened my eyes to several things, as traveling often does. Pulling into these Italian ports, our 80-foot boat felt surprisingly small in this land of 200-foot-plus superyachts. It was not only the size but the sheer number of these monster yachts that was staggering. I was also impressed with their solution to the challenge of fitting all these boats in at the docks. Rather than docking alongside and taking up a major portion of the pier, boats drop anchor–the rode serving as a bow line–or pick up an existing mooring line before backing down into spots that seem way too tight and tying off to the dock at the stern. In Med mooring, boats back in with fenders deployed greeting new neighbors who also valiantly display their own array of fenders with a slight nudge. A few turns of the stern lines around cleats on the dock were followed with deployment of the pasarelle for easy access to shore. Just another routine procedure over there, it would turn a few heads stateside. Perhaps this stern-to docking would be a creative solution to our own shrinking number of berths.

During this procedure I was consistently impressed with the competency and friendliness of the dockmasters and deck hands waiting to assist on shore. To simplify things, my grandchildren would take the 14-foot tender we were towing and go explore the port while we docked or got underway. It was great to have them around to man the tender, and to have complete confidence in their boating skills, which allowed us to be comfortable with them out on their own even in a foreign port.

All the amazing boats I encountered made me think about the upcoming boat show season. Things kick off with the U.S. Sailboat and Powerboat Shows in Annapolis, Maryland, with only new boats lining the docks. Be sure to stop by the Southern Boating booth and say “hi.” We always love to put faces with names and appreciate any feedback we get.

While Annapolis leads off the month, Fort Lauderdale closes it out with every manner of vessel on the water represented, from tenders to megayachts and brokerage boats to new arrivals. This leaves me with only one thing left to say: Happy shopping!