Niccolo's L'Avventura
An American Couple On An Odyssey, A Superyacht, Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, A Discovery, A Volcano, and Tiramisu
Note: Everyone is currently glued to their screens as Israel prepares to launch a land invasion of the Gaza Strip to “eliminate” Hamas, the Islamist militant group that surprised the Israelis a little over two weeks ago. The Fog of War is very thick now, so it is prudent for me to wait a bit longer before I try to separate fact and fiction regarding what has happened up until this point in time. Instead, I will try my best to entertain you with a story of my trip to Sicily and the Aeolian Islands that I took around four months ago. We can all use a bit of levity and escapism in light of the current news cycle.
“We are all bastardi, which is why we are bastards to one another too.”
Luciano
What do you do when you no longer recognize the country in which you have lived in for your entire life?
The political, social, cultural, and demographic changes that have taken place over the past decade and a bit in much of the West have been too significant for people to ignore. Many strangers that I speak to will often say that they no longer recognize their own country, and feel that it no longer belongs to them. The older these strangers are, the more common the sentiment is. This is not a new phenomenon, as people have forever complained that things have changed, and humans are equipped with rose-tinted glasses when looking back on the past.
This time around, the sentiment feels different. It echoes more loudly, reverberates more strongly, and is frankly more common than ever, at least by my very unscientific methodology which relies on anecdotes and personal discussions. The French are thoroughly frustrated with conditions in their country that they see as intractable. The Brits are resigning themselves to lowered living standards. The Italians have lost all hope in a brighter future (but still manage to live La Dolce Vita).
It’s the Americans who tell me that they no longer recognize their own country that hits hardest. It was only a little over one single generation ago that most Americans viewed their country as the greatest on Earth, and despite its issues with increasing political polarization, no other country could compare to it when it came to things like opportunity….at least according to them. The Boomers grew up in an incredibly affluent society that resulted from the fact that 50% of the world’s entire manufacturing output resided in the USA after the devastation of WW2. They only knew prosperity and a continually-increasing standard of living.
Like the Boomers, Gen X Americans were reared on American Exceptionalism and pride in the country’s governing system via civics lessons in school. The American Way was the best way, and the collapse of communism in 1989 simply proved it. Yes, disagreements existed, but principles were still viewed as almost universal among their own ruling elites. Fair play was the “normie” view of US politics, even though many knew better. Despite Gen X having a somewhat tougher time at social mobility than the Boomers, these two generations by and large imbibed the same assumptions about the country that they lived in.
“I no longer recognize my own country” might give you pause for thought when it is spoken by a person over 65 years old. You might react by thinking to yourself that it’s just a “man yells at cloud” moment, or that “things always change”. When uttered by a person over 40 yet nowhere near 60, it should give one cause for concern (if the person telling you this is of sound mind) as it would indicate changes that are very rapid, upending, and even possibly destabilizing. Not being able to recognize one’s own country does indicate that the individual now possibly identifies less with their land than they once did. When this sentiment is experienced at a very large scale, it should become worrisome to those who are in charge. But why? We’ll get to that in a bit.
People who experience this alienation react in four different ways:
acceptance for various reasons (e.g. personal financial considerations)
ignore the changes and adjust when you must (withdrawing into private life or escapism are two examples)
fighting back to undo what can be undone
viewing the changes as insurmountable and leaving the country for good
Everyone has their own reason for acting the way that they do, and I am certainly not in a position to judge them (nor would ever want to do so) and the choices that they make. My interest in these personal realizations from Americans is tied to the changing nature of the USA, and in hearing from these very Americans as to what led to their realization that it is no longer “their” country.
I had this in mind when I took the train down from Napoli to Reggio Calabria, and then took the ferry over to Messina in Sicily. Why? Because I was on my way to meet an American couple from Orange County, California, who invited me to hang out on their yacht and go sailing with them around the Aeolian Islands off of the northeastern coast of Sicily. Their sail yacht, Eclipse, was docked in Marina di Riposto, on the eastern coast of Sicily, just under the ominous (and volcanic) Mt. Etna. I made my down there from Messina, and was quickly (and warmly) greeted by Michelle and her husband Dean, the owners of Eclipse.
The Eclipse is both a beauty and a beast! I won’t bore some of you with the technical details, but she is 32.6 metres long with a 7.62 metre beam. It was built by Alloy Yachts out of New Zealand in 1991, and is one of only twelve of its kind (if I recall correctly). It has a top speed of 13 knots, and a cruising speed of 12. To say that I was taken aback and very pleased when I first saw Eclipse in person would be a gross understatement. I had never been on a yacht longer than 16 metres before the Eclipse. This was going to be a lot of fun.
Michelle is a subscriber to this Substack and reached out to me several months ago to invite me aboard Eclipse when they were ready to host guests. This isn’t the story of a simple boat ride through the Mediterranean. Eclipse is Michelle and Dean’s escape craft from America, a country that they no longer recognize. Dean, being of partial Italian-American stock (he has roots in Sicily), is qualified to receive Italian citizenship. Having Italian citizenship means that you can live and work anywhere in the European Union. If you’re going to leave the USA, this route is without a doubt your best option.
Michelle and Dean purchased Eclipse in California, and set sail for Sicily via the Panama Canal and the US Virgin Islands, encountering many unexpected adventures along the way. In fact, the adventures began well before setting sail, stretching back to the actual purchase of the craft. The pair had made several significant life-altering decisions before sailing out of Newport Beach, California: saying goodbye to the USA, selling their property, purchasing Eclipse, and relocating to Sicily. Furthermore, Michelle had to say goodbye one last time to her ailing father, knowing that she would never see him again.
Upon stepping onto Eclipse, Michelle made certain that I understood that I was their guest and that I would not have to entertain them. I really appreciated her saying this to me, as she wanted to put me at ease, and because frankly, I needed a bit of rest as I had been traveling quite a lot for the several months prior to this trip. Say what you will about Americans (and we all do), but I will forever defend them on a personal level as they are on average much, much nicer than many other people. Both Michelle and Dean exceeded even this higher American standard for niceness, allowing me to get very comfortable with them immediately.
I have made many new friends here in Split, Croatia who I would have never met if not for the COVID-19 Pandemic. The reason for this is that a lot of these new friends left the countries that they were living in precisely because of the COVID regime that they were forced to live under. Not all of these people have Croatian roots either, with several Canadians of various European ethnic heritages being part of this expatriate cohort. For each and every one of them, COVID was the final straw in that it had convinced them that life in their country was no longer tolerable and that it was time to leave for good.
The strict COVID regime was the straw that broke the camel’s back for both Michelle and Dean as well. The “land of liberty” was no longer what it was once was, and was actually turning in the opposite direction. The insanity of the Trump Era, the rapid top-down social changes inflicted upon Americans, and the stunning realization that the values that they were brought up with no longer were in vogue (and in many cases, no longer applicable) made the couple’s decision final and irrevocable. Eclipse would allow them to escape, and even more importantly, to partake in a long journey that would allow them to collect themselves, reflect, and plot a path forward in their shared lives. I would speak to both Michelle and Dean about their decisions over the course of the trip as each one of them represented to me a certain type of American, and this would allow me to extrapolate from the individual to the group.
As I boarded Eclipse, I was greeted by three Italian staff who assured me that they had heard A LOT about me already. Heading the team was the Skipper, Andrea. Serving under him were his girlfriend Mariangela, and Francesca. Mariangela was responsible for feeding us, and Francesca was there to assist the both of them. Having spent quite a bit of my life around Italians, I felt at ease with them within minutes.
Some places will stay in your mind for a long, long time and draw you back. Sicily is one of those places for me. It was only very recently that I first set foot on the island, having wanted to go there for almost two decades prior to that. I was not disappointed. Sicily was everything that I had thought it would be. From the mishmash of architectural styles, to the abundance of citrus groves, the beautiful interior, the energy of Palermo, and many other things, I knew I would have to come back some day. Thankfully, Michelle and Dean accelerated my return.
We quickly set course north, sailing just off of the northeastern coast of Sicily and toward the Strait of Messina that separates the island from the mainland. We passed by Taormina, a small town that has one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe, but also has a UNESCO protected Greco-Roman theatre perched above the beach on a high cliff. Villas and resorts dotted the Sicilian coast between Riposto and Messina, reminding one of the French Riviera in its natural beauty. After successfully passing through Scylla and Charybdis, we banked left and headed for the island of Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian Islands.
The Aeolian Islands are part of a volcanic archipelago stretching from Vesuvius near Napoli, and down to the gigantic Mt. Etna that dominates the northeastern corner of Sicily. These islands are famous as tourist destinations, but also have long and notable histories stretching back to antiquity. Vesuvius is the only volcano on Europe’s mainland that has erupted in the past 100 years, but is nowhere near as active as Mt. Etna, which is in a constant state of activity. The Aeolian Island of Stromboli is also a volcano, and is one that erupts multiple times every single day, in a constant state of eruption that has lasted from 2,000 to 5,000 years.
As we passed through the Strait of Messina and headed toward Lipari, we did what any normal and decent people would do: opened up the wine and cranked up the retro 80s tunes. There was still a chill in the air as Southern Europe experienced a cooler spring than usual. The wine (and whiskey) solved this minor issue relatively quickly, as would the conversation. I got to learn a little about our Skipper, Andrea. A chemical engineer from Sicily, he grew bored and dissatisfied with that life and instead turned toward the sea. A soft-spoken type of few words, he nevertheless possessed a very wide and bright smile, opening up rather quickly. He sailed the yacht as if he was born on it, and I was certain that this would be the case for my entire time on Eclipse.
Mariangela was not much for conversation, as she felt her English speaking skills were much worse than they actually were. Even though she was Neapolitan, she was not very animated even when speaking Italian to her colleagues. The food she prepared for us was of a standard and quality that could be expected from an Italian. She made us fresh tiramisu for dessert every day, and I would tease her by thanking her boyfriend Andrea for making it for us to enjoy.