⚓ Mooring Balls, Skipper Gius, Nerano Pasta 🌊🍷
I’m currently working through my new work schedule so I can lock in flotilla dates, and I’ll be announcing them very soon! ⛵📅 The plan is to return to the British Virgin Islands this fall 🏝️, explore the Sea of Cortez in early 2027 🐬, head back to the Amalfi Coast in May 2027 🇮🇹🍋, and if the stars align, add an incredible Greece flotilla too! 🇬🇷 I’ll email everyone with dates and booking information as soon as everything is confirmed. Stay tuned… adventure is just over the horizon! 🌎⚓🍹
⚓ Mooring Ball Madness ⚓
How to Pick One Up Without Divorcing💔
There are few activities in sailing that test a relationship quite like picking up a mooring ball. One person is at the helm, confidently issuing instructions nobody can hear, while another is hanging over the bow with a boat hook, questioning every life choice that brought them to this moment. 😂⛵
Done correctly, picking up a mooring ball is a calm, coordinated maneuver. Done incorrectly, it becomes an unscripted episode of Marriage Counseling at Sea.
The secret isn’t strength, speed, or yelling louder. It’s teamwork, communication, and having a plan before the mooring ball disappears under the bow.
Step One: Prepare Before the Drama Begins 📝
Decide who is doing what before approaching. The helmsperson drives the boat. The bowperson handles the boat hook and mooring lines. It helps to have one person handle the boat hook, and two people holding the mooring lines--one for each side. Also it is good to have just one person in charge who talks and directs the whole process. Avoid switching jobs halfway through unless someone falls overboard—and even then, discuss it politely.
On a catamaran, prepare two mooring lines—one from each bow. Secure one end of each line to its respective bow cleat, lead them outside the lifelines, and leave enough working length to reach the mooring pennant and return to the cleat.
Extend the boat hook and remove anything likely to become a tripping hazard.
Most importantly, agree on hand signals. A raised fist can mean neutral, a pointed finger shows the direction of the ball, and a flat hand moving downward means slow down.
This prevents the classic exchange:
“Go left!”
“Your left or my left?”
“The other left!”
And that’s how divorces happen. 💔😂
Approach Slowly and Into the Wind 🌬️
Approach the mooring ball from downwind, heading slowly into the wind. This gives you better control and allows the wind to help stop the boat.
Keep your speed low—but maintain enough movement for steerage. A boat moving too slowly may stop responding, leaving everyone drifting sideways while pretending this was intentional.
The bow person should point toward the ball as it disappears from the helmsperson’s view. Clear, simple directions work best:
“Ten feet.”
“Five feet.”
“Neutral.”
“Stop.”
This is not the time for a TED Talk. 🎤
Boat Hooks Are Tools, Not Fishing Poles 🎣
Once the ball reaches the bow, use the boat hook to grab the mooring pennant—not to lift the entire ball aboard like a giant trophy.
Pull the pennant close enough to reach its eye. Pass the first prepared bow line through the eye and lead it back to the cleat on the same side. Then pass the second line from the opposite bow through the same eye and return it to its cleat.
When both lines are adjusted evenly, they form a large V-shaped bridle between the two bows and the mooring pennant. This centers the load between the catamaran’s hulls and helps the boat sit comfortably on the mooring. Check that both lines are secure, evenly tensioned, and free from chafe.
Never wrap a line around your hand, wrist, or arm. If the boat drifts back, the load can increase quickly. Let go, reset, and try again. Pride is cheaper than fingers. 🖐️
If you miss the ball, don’t panic. Motor away, circle around, and make another controlled approach. Every sailor misses occasionally—although some later call it a “practice pass.”
Communication Saves Relationships ❤️
The helmsperson cannot see through the bow, and the bow person cannot control the boat. Both people need each other.
Some people use headsets: You can buy them from the BoatGalley--see my link a the bottom of the page:
No yelling, blaming, or sarcastic commentary until the boat is secured. Afterward, open a beverage, review what worked, and laugh about what didn’t. 🍹
Preparation, patience, two properly rigged lines, and a good boat hook will secure the boat, protect your fingers, and possibly save your marriage. ⚓😂⛵
A Gallery of fun pictures from our Greek Islands Flotilla
😂⛵ 🌊🤣
Meet Skipper: Giuseppe “Gius”
⚓ Giuseppe "Gius" Colleoni and the Sea ⛵🌊
Gius is a friend of GSA who offers similar sailing trips and may occasionally join our flotillas. He brings extensive experience, a love of adventure, and a warm, inclusive approach to life at sea. 🤝🧭
Raised in Salento, where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas meet, Gius developed a lifelong connection to the water along the shores of Gallipoli, Otranto, and Santa Maria di Leuca. For him, sailing is not only about navigating the sea, but also about discovering the land from a completely different perspective. 🌅🌍
After returning to Italy, he learned to sail on Lakes Como and Maggiore before exploring the more demanding conditions of the Ligurian Sea. He believes true seamanship grows through experience, confidence, and respect for changing weather. 🌬️⚓
Gius creates relaxed, participatory cruises where everyone can join in at their own comfort level, whether steering, trimming sails, planning routes, or simply enjoying the view. 🗺️⛵
He also loves to cook and is known for preparing a variety of delicious pasta dishes on board, adding an authentic Italian flavor to the sailing experience. 🍝👨🍳🇮🇹
His ideal voyage blends sailing with crystal-clear anchorages, hidden coves, charming villages, long lunches, sunset aperitifs, and excellent local cuisine. 🏝️🍷☀️🍽️
He organizes cruises across the Mediterranean, including the Balearics, French Riviera, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey, as well as more distant destinations such as the Caribbean, Cuba, and French Polynesia. 🌴🐚
Every trip is different, shaped by new crews, changing winds, and unexpected moments. And, as with every great adventure, it always seems to end a little too soon. ✨🌊
Recipe: Pasta alla Nerano
Some meals feed the crew. This recipe inspired by Mary, who makes the best English Breakfasts, and keeps Skipper Cliff in line when needed🤣
This one stops the chatter, earns a few raised eyebrows, and has somebody scraping the pan when they think no one is looking. 👀
Pasta alla Nerano is silky, cheesy, zucchini-packed magic from the Amalfi Coast. No cream. No fancy galley tricks. Just fried zucchini, good cheese, basil, pasta water, and a bit of determined tossing.
Feeds: 8 hungry sailors
Galley time: About 45 minutes ⏱️
Difficulty: Easy enough for calm seas, exciting enough for a squall 🌊
What to haul aboard 🛒
- 32 ounces spaghetti (2 packages give or take) 🍝
- 8 medium zucchini, sliced very thin 🥒
- 12 ounces Provolone del Monaco, finely grated 🧀
(aged provolone works too) - 4 ounces Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, finely grated
- 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed 🧄
- 2 generous handfuls fresh basil 🌿
- Olive oil, for frying
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- About 2 cups reserved pasta water 💦
Fry the green gold 🥒✨
Pour about ½ inch of olive oil into a wide pan and heat it over medium-high heat.
Fry the zucchini in batches until soft, lightly golden, and looking far more glamorous than zucchini has any right to look.
Do not crowd the pan. Give those little green coins room to sail. ⛵
Move them to a paper-towel-lined plate, sprinkle with salt, and tear over a little basil.
Get the spaghetti underway 🍝
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Cook the spaghetti until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
Before draining, scoop out at least 2 cups of pasta water. Guard it like buried treasure. 🏴☠️💰
That cloudy water is what turns this from “pasta with zucchini” into “where has this been all my life?”
Make the magic sauce 🪄
Pour off most of the zucchini oil, leaving about ¼ cup in the pan.
Add the garlic and cook gently until fragrant, then remove it before it gets too dark and starts causing trouble.
Return most of the zucchini to the pan and add about 1 cup of pasta water.
Mash some of the zucchini with a wooden spoon until it breaks down into a soft, rustic sauce.
Bring the whole crew together 🤝
Add the drained spaghetti to the pan and toss over medium-low heat.
Add small splashes of pasta water until the noodles look glossy and the zucchini starts clinging to every strand.
Now take the pan off the heat.
Gradually add the grated cheeses while tossing like the dinner bell just rang. Add more pasta water as needed until the sauce turns creamy, silky, and dangerously scoopable.
Do not add the cheese over high heat unless ye fancy drifting straight into Cheese Clump Lagoon. 🧀☠️
Finish with flair 🌿
Fold in the remaining zucchini and plenty of torn basil.
Add black pepper and taste before adding more salt. The cheese has already been hauling its share of the load.
Serve immediately with extra cheese, basil, and a few golden zucchini slices on top.
Best enjoyed with cold drinks, good company, and a sunset trying very hard to steal the show. 🍷🌅
Galley wisdom ⚓
Traditional Pasta alla Nerano does not need cream. The silky sauce comes from zucchini, cheese, pasta water, and enthusiastic tossing. That’s it.
Simple. Salty. Silky. Slightly addictive.
Fair winds, full bowls, and no leftovers. 🏴☠️🍝⛵
Stuff we use or follow
- Morning: LMNT Hydration 🍊
- Route planning/Navigation: Savvy Navvy + Orca 🌬️
- Teaching: NauticEd modules 📚
- Crew online: Saily + Surfshark 🌍
- Journaling the madness: reMarkable ✍️
- Training, books, and newsletter: The Boat Galley
- Starlink
⚓ Some Youtube channels I follow and highly recommend:
