Sailing off Genoa, going from West to East, Adriatica calls in at the Genoa Fiera harbour, which is synonymous with the Nautical Salon! Patrizio interviews the chairwoman Sara Armella. Here, she says, you breathe in the air of the Salon the whole year round. It is a very complex machine that works a bit like a big theatre, where every day people get ready for the show.

Apart from the event, Genoa Fiera is also a safe harbour sheltered from any storm, and convenient because it is right inside the city. There are a lot of advantages to disembarking literally a stone’s throw from the centre: the car parks, the shopping, the cultural occasions (exhibitions, theatres ...), as well, obviously, as all the boat services that the harbour provides for yachters. Galley, laundry, cleaning, but also everything linked to better living: sailing school, diving, even a panoramic restaurant! In practice the place combines the attraction of the big city with a simple and accessible harbour, also inserted in a naturalistic context that is World Heritage. Then, regarding boatyards, there is almost too much to choose from: there is something for all needs, from the big yacht to the small naval repair, with competitive prices because of the variety of the competition.

But what is the clientele like? It goes from big yachts to boats used weekly by people who live “nearby” (for instance in Milan or Turin). There are plenty of Ligurians: for a person from Genoa there is nothing more convenient: you can go there on a scooter and in no time be out in the open sea, towards Portofino.

Indicatively the prices are about €40/50 a night, including services, for a boat of 12-14 metres.

The harbour provides the following services:

Maritime bureaucratic services
Laundromat
Fishing articles
Freezers - Refrigerators
Bilge disposal
Sewage disposal
Sea rescue
Short-stay car park
Long-stay car park
Post
Broker services
Catering services
Pharmacy
Services for animals

The "Scuba Pole"

Patrizio visits Marina Fiera di Genova, renamed for the occasion “Scuba Pole” because it hosts various organizations providing services for those who love scuba diving.

For instance, there are those who deal with diving in the Portofino Marine Protected Area – where you can see barracudas, groupers and corals – affording a day at sea with two dives and including a spaghetti feed. But there also plenty of other options.

Here, in the scuba diving pole, Patrizio wonders what the person who wants to start diving and get a certificate can do. The answer is simpler than expected: here aspiring scuba divers can do a free test in a swimming pool. In this way the instructors can understand what the characteristics and the potentialities of the person are, his or her reactions, etc. Only when it is certain that a person is at ease can the theory and practice lessons start, first in a swimming pool and subsequently in the sea.

At this point a question is mandatory: how much does a course cost? To get an idea, the basic “open” costs 270 Euros, including all the equipment.