a morning at sea on the "Futura"

One of the things I love about our town Giardini Naxos is the feeling of being surrounded by lovely friends, neighbours and friendly local residents. Sometimes a five minute walk to the seafront turns into an hour because you can bump into so many people you know along the way.

Recently together with my friend Liz Gaan, who is Taormina's top wedding planner, her daughter Laura, our lovely friend Teresa who also lives in Giardini, and Marilisa who works on the events team at the gorgeous Belmond Hotel Villa Sant' Andrea in Taormina, we were all invited by a lovely man called Claudio and his wife Manuela to spend a morning on their beautiful boat called the Futura.

The boat Futura is 16 metres (50 foot) long and is docked in the port of Giardini Naxos.

The boat has a typical vintage style with 3 bedrooms, a beautifully decorated double room and 2 twin rooms, a kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and a shower room.

Claudio explained to us that one of his favourite songs is called "Futura" by an Italian singer called Lucio Dalla, so as soon as he saw the name on the boat he thought it was a good omen and that he was meant to buy it.

The boat truly is beautiful. It is decorated with a lot of love and attention to detail with a nautical theme.

With more than 1000 kilometres of stunning coastline Sicily is the perfect island for boat trips. Sicily is surrounded by three seas, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the North, the Mediterranean Sea to the South and the Ionian Sea to the East.

The Eastern coastline between Syracuse and Messina is particularly beautiful as Mount Etna dominates the coastline. There is also the Aeolian Islands just off the North Eastern edge of Sicily to explore where each of these seven islands each has its own enchanting character.

We all arranged to meet at the port of Giardini Naxos and all excitedly boarded Futura.

 Along with Claudio and Manuela, also on board with us was Captain Luciano and Giovanna who both live just down the road from me, and Alex Lentini from Dive Sicily who also lives just down the road from me. I have experienced a boat trip with Captain Luciano two years ago so I knew we were all in good hands with one of the best and fun skippers.

It was a beautiful May day under a bright blue Sicilian sky as we sailed off across the sparkling bay of Naxos.

Leaving Mount Etna in the distance behind us with Giardini Naxos passing by and Taormina and Castelmola high above us we approached Capo Taormina and the sea cave known as Grotto Amoretta, the cave of love. In a small boat you can nestle down with your Amore (lover) in the shade of the cave whilst the gentle water rocks you back and forth, how romantic? The grotto is stunning with crystal clear waters that have a magical blue light.

We then rounded the Cape of Taormina where we headed towards the shore past the private beach of the Hotel Capo Taormina which can only be reached by stairs carved through the rock face from the hotel. We passed by Fico d’India,  a rock rising out of the sea so named for its likeness to the Sicilian prickly pear cactus.

Then we arrived at the magnificent marine reserve of Isola Bella which we sailed around and Captain Luciano moored the boat. Once moored, we enjoyed a brunch of locally produced meats and cheeses, bread and olives, salad and fresh fruit all washed down with delicious local red wine.

This area is full of much beauty and is where the designers Dolce and Gabbana chose to shoot their advertising campaigns in 2013.


Taormina is steeped in history, myths and legends dating back even before Ancient Greek times and this includes its sea and coastline too, with shipwrecks on the seabed and underwater archaeological areas. It is a perfect place for snorkelling and diving.


After our brunch it was soon time to head back to shore and the port of Giardini Naxos buzzing from our delightful morning at sea with great friends.

Futura can take you for a lovely tour around the coast of Taormina, visiting its five bays of Capo Taormina, Isola Bella, Mazzaro beach, Atlantis bay and Spisone bay.

"She" is perfect for a symbolic wedding celebration, after getting legally married in Taormina why not have a symbolic ceremony onboard with your closest family and friends or why not celebrate an anniversary or special occasion.

Futura is also ideal for a romantic date and is an amazing idea for surprise wedding proposals, maybe even when undersea snorkelling?

Additonally the crew can also arrange fantastic parties, buffet dinners or lunches, stag and hen parties, pizza parties, snorkelling and diving, fishing and barbecues. They have a fantastic barbeque that hangs over the side of the boat. What could be better than catching your own fish and cooking it onboard?

Whatever the occasion you will certainly have a whole lot of fun with Claudio and his team.

For more Information and Booking
with Claudio

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