Somehow this girl got lucky enough to be asked to go out boating for a second week in a row! I couldn’t believe my good fortune. We set out shortly after 1100 and headed over to the hot springs. There was a chance of rain but the skies looked clear as can be so we decided to chance it. Besides, who cares about getting a little wet when you’re already in your bath suit, pshhh! That’s what we live for.
So off we went, but this time when we arrived to the little cove off the coast of Ichia there were 3 other boats out there, all of them naval officers and we found out shortly that the hot springs had been flooded out by some rough waves over the past week. Instead of staying in our normal spot we decided to go around to the other side of Ichia to the official hot springs where all the Italians go!
We were off and since the weather is getting increasingly warmer, there was much more boat traffic then a few short weeks ago. We started following behind the bigger boat but realized very quickly that because we were smaller the wake was tossing us about and we needed to get out of there.

As we swerved to the right, we hit the edge of the V. There’s not an easy way to explain it but every boat makes a wake in the water and it looks like an upside down V coming from the stern. The farthest left and right normally make the biggest waves while the center is smoother. We were teetering perilously close to the edge of the V and I told the one girl to hold on! Just as I was shouting to her we went over it and our boat flew through the air (boats aren’t supposed to do that!!)
At the last second the guy at the wheel cranked it left so when we hit we skidded down the wake. I should have been concerned about myself. As soon as we flew over that wave I went flying and was saved by him turning the wheel left at the last second to keep me inside the boat.

I was holding a beer and it completely exploded in my face. I mean like all up on my whole body. From my head to my toes, I was so sticky after that. A swim would be mandatory for me. Everyone was very concerned but I immediately started laughing to let everyone know I was alright. Luckily I honestly didn’t get hurt because when I went flying I just rolled with it. There was nothing I could do except come down on the deck.
It wasn’t such a far drive so we arrived to our destination shortly, a small cove inside a bay where the water was much calmer and there weren’t any boats! We all dropped our anchors and tied off to one another and it was time for the fun to begin. I had to get in the water, so it didn’t take long before I stripped down and dove in. It was still a little chilly but I was happy to get the beer off my body that the cold was just as refreshing.
On shore there were many Italians basking in the sun, stopping for food at Ristorante La Sorgenta, or they were  enjoying the hot springs. Then came our next obstacle. There was no beach to swim up to only rough waves crashing into rocks. How were we going to get to shore without being tore up on those rocks? I dove into the water and swam forward, borrowing a pair of goggles along the way. It was easy to make out a rope anchored to the bottom of the sea floor. It was our saving grace! We had to grab onto the rope and swim along it to get to the plank that extended out beyond the rocks. When holding onto the rope the pull from the sea crashing against the rocks did nothing to stop us. Woo Hoo major cuts and bleeding averted!

Once on land we walked across the hot hot ground and headed for the hot springs. These springs can be so hot in some areas you can actually boil eggs. Keep me out of those waters! We sat in the spring for a bit and then I decided I had enough and it was getting quite crowded at this point so I headed on back to the boat.
We sun tanned, drank some beer, listened to music, and easily let the day drift lazily by. Soon the sky started to darken and the wind picked up. Ut Oh, it looked like that rain was coming in. Time to get out of dodge!
We hastily packed up shop and weighed anchor. Soon we were speeding back along the coastline trying to beat the storm. As we came around a bend in the coast we realized we were one of the only boats on the water and things were getting a little intense. Luckily 4 of us were SWOs (Surface Warfare Officers) so we had an idea of what was going on. Up ahead we saw a water spout form out of nowhere, and touch down.
A water spout is very rare but it’s basically a mini tornado at sea. When a water spout touches down you can see the small area where the cyclone is on the water. All Navy ships must avoid these because they could do some damage. It was pretty far away so we decided to just head around it and get the hell out of here!
As we were speeding for the inside of the cove I looked up and at the exact same second one of the other girls in the boat and myself both pointed up at another water spout forming, this time directly in front of us. WOW! That is the closest I have EVER been to a water spout at sea.
We needed to get the F*ck out of here! As we watched it touched down, we were so close we could see the cyclone on the tops of the waves. Had we not stopped the boat when we did, there was chance that we would have felt the effects (not been inside of it) but felt the wind blowing from it. At this point the storm was becoming too treacherous, so we turned and started speeding in the opposite direction. We would just have to drive the entire way around the island to avoid this craziness.
I’ve done my research, I know that in World War II more ships were lost to storms then any other reason. You just don’t want to be caught in the middle of something like that. So as the sheets of rain fell down (we just missed it) we made our way around the back side to slide safely into the harbor.
As we were pulling into the harbor I looked up and from around Procida I saw a ginormous water spout form. Bigger then I’ve EVER seen. It looked like a huge tornado. Take a look at these pictures! They’re a little grainy because they were taken on my iphone from a little ways away but I think most of you guys can agree this was pretty big! We safely docked our boat just in time for the rain to begin sprinkling.
What a day! We ended it at a fabulous pizzeria with all kinds of anti pasti (appetizers) and a few bottles of wine.

We even toasted to all of the crazy things that had happened!