Exploring a Roman River Brings Unexpected Delights for a Cruising Family
I wasn’t sure what to expect for our fall cruising experience in the Mediterranean. Due to some engine repairs on our home, Mug Up, we spent more time in Spain and the Balearics than we had anticipated. We didn’t make it to the Italian island of Sardinia until November. We had a variety of winds, no wind, and mistrals to contend with.
Our family of five hoped to keep moving all winter through the Med, taking weather windows as they appeared. When I looked at charts and maps of the Med and the countries surrounding this vast, super salty body of water, inland cities didn’t register as absolute must dos. We had our budget and Schengen time to think of, and the marinas in the Med are notoriously expensive. But after hearing through the grapevine (WhatsApp), we learned of a Roman marina with excellent winter rates (read: inexpensive).
After sitting out 50 knots in Sardinia, we topped up our provisions with smoked provola in the sleepy little town we were anchored outside and sailed overnight to Rome. It was an uneventful sail (my favorite kind). Our only hiccup was just before dawn, when the smell of something burning scared both Jeremy and me. Fortunately, it wasn’t us. Unfortunately, it was something on land.
The idea that we were sailing to Rome, to motor up the famed Tiber River of old, made the Italian sunrise feel somewhat iconic. Motoring up the river lined with marinas, it was hard to imagine ancient Roman ships here. We learned later that they didn’t use the mouth of the river where we were; the river had shifted over time. All the same, Fiumicino, the town around us, was a fun combination of modern society, sheep fields, and if you managed a bus over the river to the other side, the ancient city of Ostia Antica. The juxtaposition of ancient, agricultural, and modern was an interesting place for introspection.
Our marina rafted us up, so we were four deep along the edge of the river. The most stressful part was getting their attention when we arrived, as they didn’t have a VHF radio, and we didn’t have Italian SIM cards for our phones. We made a lot of loops up and down the river, waiting for someone to see us or hear us. Their pontoon boat and dock crew expertly jumped on boats and tied lines to ensure that the boats were stable and safe. Eventually, they helped move us to their island, with their boat to offer up free water taxi services across to shore.
Once we nestled in, we made two lists: boat projects and things to see. We installed our diesel heaters and got them running nicely. Wiped down walls and insides of cabinets with vinegar to prevent mold growth in the damp winter air. Engine maintenance (always) and pulled out our tiny tree and stockings for winter solstice and Christmas celebrations. We had time to adopt the Italian tradition of Befana, the Christmas witch, for January sixth.
The joy of having an inexpensive marina for a month (plus some) in December and January cannot be understated. Even with no laundry services on site, and only one shower, the ease of leaving the boat to sight-see and not stress about the weather or anchor was a treat. Our family of five was able to enjoy Rome and the surrounding countryside at a leisurely pace, rather than jam-pack the schedule. Raincoats and sweaters were all that we needed to traverse the city and eat our weight in both pizza and tiramisu. One kid refused to wear socks and sneakers and walked all of Rome in his sandals.
Our journey into the city began each time with a water taxi across the Tiber River, followed by a one-mile walk along the side of a corn field to wait at a bus stop. The bus ride was short, five to 10 minutes, and it landed us at the train station. The train was inexpensive, and about 40 minutes later (as long as there wasn’t a strike), we stepped out of the Piramide station in the heart of Rome, just over a mile from the famed Colosseum.
After seeing a request by an American university student in Rome looking to spend time with sailors, I reached out. She and her partner had cruised the southeastern United States before deciding to go back to school in Rome.
Sometimes the timing of events feels magical, and they visited on the Winter Solstice. We doubled our celebration with the Italian holiday of Saturnalia. Our guests, studying archaeology and art, explained to us the historic holiday, and with Italian wines, cheeses, and other snack foods. It was a grand evening aboard Mug Up. Saturnalia was a festive holiday to celebrate the god Saturn. Gifts were given, and enslaved people and their masters switched places for the evening. It felt particularly special to celebrate on the Tiber River, something we had never even contemplated before. It wasn’t Caribbean sundowners, but it was festive and a delight.
It’s common to plan everything out. Making an itinerary to the nth degree. But we came to the Med with very little plan, except to see what we could see. Maybe two Caribbean seasons mellowed us out more, or maybe the sheer volume of options was too much, so we chose to take one piece at a time.
We learned that the water of the Tiber is cold running down from the mountains, colder than the Med, which we didn’t discover until we left the river and plunged back into the Med. The boat was just a little bit warmer than it had been. We got to see a different array of birds than we would normally see at anchor: Eurasian moorhens, Eurasian coots, great crested grebe, and a common kingfisher. We also got to meet the local nutria, which looks like a cross between a beaver and an otter. The wildlife was an unexpected treat of our river stay.
The laundromat down the road from the marina was a decent walk, and lucky for the laundry doers, was next door to a café that served not only lunch, but the best mini cannoli, making the chore a literal treat. Walks to the grocery store along the canal paths led to interesting side treks, including getting lost in a muddy sheep field one January day. The kids still talk about that!
There were a couple of days when the wind blew along the river, either in or out. Those days we stayed aboard, as the river was too rough for the marina’s boat. But we were tied on well and had a wooden dock to pace up and down. It’s always good to have a couple of boat-bound days for school and projects.
Overall, it was an easy winter pause, and when we departed in January, it was very much still winter in the Med, but we were well refreshed for our sails south along the Italian coastline toward Sicily and then Malta.
From our forward thinking and planning before reaching the Med, I’d never heard of the marina. Nor had I envisioned what it would entail to visit Rome at such a leisurely pace. Leaving room for things to unfold as we sail along sometimes means scrambling at the last minute for a solution to a poor anchorage or no room in a marina. But many times, that extra room and time allow for unexpected delights to present themselves. I’m so glad we made one piece of our planning puzzle the Tiber River.
About the Author: In 2021, Jillian Greenawalt and her family of five cast off the lines to cruise on their 1972 Bowman 46 Mug Up down the East Coast and Chesapeake, to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean Sea, and back. Twenty-thousand nautical miles later, they are refitting the boat and working on the Bay.
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