Sicily

Apologies for us taking so long to post this entry. Aside from the sailing, we have had a busy time over the past two months. More about our other news in the next update.

We spent a couple of nights in St Elmo Marina, Cagliari, which gave us a chance to look around the town and do the tourist thing. At 77 Euros a night it wasn't cheap, but it was nice to be plugged into electric again and have running water on tap, and the marina staff could not have been more helpful. 

The pilot book states the Golfo di Cagliari appears to be a magnet for thunderstorms, and this certainly proved to be the case! We had several thunderstorms during our stay and on the morning we left it was still stormy.

The crossing to Sicily would be about 195 miles for us, and we planned to make landfall late afternoon. We chose to make an early start from the marina and in pitch darkness we slipped the mooring lines and glided out, trying not to wake our neighbours in the process.

Once dawn broke it was clear that for at least the first few hours of our passage the forecast was spot on, rain and grey skies. All around us we could see some spectacular lightning, but fortunately the way we were heading was clear of this.

Stormy day leaving Cagliari

We decided to keep the bimini up as no high winds had been forecast, and it does a great job of keeping the worst of the rain out of the cockpit. We also had the distraction of squadrons of flying fish.

Eventually the sun broke through and with it, a little visitor to our boat. No idea what type of bird it was but it seemed to enjoy the rest and eventually found a snug spot behind the liferaft to have a sleep. He stayed with us until sunset.

Friendly hitch-hiker

Sunset en-route to Sicily

It was a fantastic sail through the night in about 12 to 14 knots of wind and with no moon, the night sky was simply breathtaking. We had a competition on our 2 hour watch rotas to see who could spot the most shooting stars, but after a while we gave up as there were so many! We would occasionally spot the lights of shipping on the horizon and match them up to the AIS targets on the chartplotter, which is always reassuring.

And so night eventually became day and we continued to enjoy a fabulous sail. At about 0800, we saw a large pod of dolphins swim past us at speed. Unfortunately, they didn't stop to play. It looked like they were on a mission to find breakfast.

Lynne taking it easy after saying hello to the dolphins

We eventually arrived at Castellammare del Golfo at 1635 and entered the marina. Our pilot book advised that it was possible to anchor inside the breakwater, and this was confirmed by one of the marina staff that came to meet us in a rib. Not only were we in a lovely sheltered spot, but we had a really good view of the town that evening when we had dinner in the cockpit.

We went ashore later for a look around the town which was very nice, and even managed to find a late night convenience store to get some chocolate. 



Anchorage at Castellammare

After a peaceful night's sleep we got up early and set sail for Cefalu. This is another beautiful town and we spent a few days here just relaxing and sightseeing. We had our first sample of Sicilian ice cream here. Yummy! It was also here in Cefalu that we met another British couple, Mark & Sam, on their Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45DS Moonshine. They invited us onboard for a coffee and we discovered they were also heading to Licata for the winter.




Cefalu from the anchorage

Lynne buying a postcard

The beach at Cefalu old town

From Cefalu we had intended to sail a little further up the coast, but on the morning of our departure the wind was good to take us in the direction of the Aeolian islands, so we plotted a waypoint for the Southernmost of the eight islands, Vulcano. We anchored in Porto di Ponente, close to the volcano that dominates the island. 



Anchorage at Vulcano

 
We had a wonderful sunset vista from our anchorage, but the calm and tranquillity was short lived. For the next few hours we had a huge storm with high winds causing a few yachts to drag their anchor. Our anchor alarm also went off a few times so we remained on deck in full wet weather gear in case we had to move suddenly. Memories of a similar night at Stintino in Sardinia came flooding back. Thankfully, by midnight the worst of the storm was over and the lightning could be seen far out at sea so we managed to get some sleep.



The calm before the storm

The following day was sunny and calm and just right for a walk up to the crater of Vulcano.

Armed with plenty of water, the hike up the amazing paths to the top took about an hour, but it was well worth it. Mind you, a clothes peg for the nose would have come in useful as the smell of sulphur (just like rotten eggs) was vile.

Pathway up to the crater

Half way up to the crater

We had intended to see more of the Aeolian Islands and Steve was particularly keen to do a night sail around the most northern of the islands, Stromboli. This island has an active volcano and at night is supposedly spectacular, with its firework like show of spewing lava. However, the clouds had gathered and it was beginning to look stormy again. The Aeolian Islands have a fearsome reputation for strong winds. They get their name from Aeolus, god of the winds. In the Odyssey, he gives Odysseus the contrary winds tied up in a bag, but his curious crew open it and the ship is blown off course to further delay his return to Ithaca. We had already seen how quickly conditions can deteriorate, so we reluctantly headed back to the mainland where conditions were better. We anchored overnight at Tindari.

The following morning we once again set off early. We were heading to the Strait of Messina and we wanted to make sure we arrived when the strong current would be in our favour. The Strait of Messina separates Sicily from the mainland of Italy. At its northern end it is approximately 1.5 miles wide, and 7.5 miles wide at the southern end. You can expect to find strong winds and whirlpools in the Strait and in the words of the redoubtable Admiralty Pilot: 'The currents and whirlpools, famous from antiquity, are such as to necessitate some caution in the navigation of the Strait, moreover, in the vicinity of the high land, on either side, vessels are exposed to violent squalls which descend through the valleys with such strength as, at times, to inconvenience vessels.'

We knew our passage through the Strait would be an interesting one. You could clearly see the whirlpools and 'bubbling' water, and you could definitely feel it through the helm, but at least we didn't experience squalls or strong winds. Our speed over ground reached 9 knots at one point and the plotter showed Scarlet pointing at 90 degrees to her course.

9 knots in the straits



Whirlpools and eddies in the Strait of Messina

 

Swordfish regularly migrate through the Strait of Messina and you will see these odd looking sword fishing boats. The bowsprit of the boat can be up to 15 metres long. There is a chair at the top of the mast for the Captain, who can steer the boat from here and keep a lookout for the fish who apparently 'sleep' on the surface. The boat can creep up on the swordfish and a man at the end of the long bowsprit then harpoons the unsuspecting fish.



Swordfish boat

We managed to do a bit of downwind sailing for a while, but as is usually the case the wind died, so it was engine on and we motored for several hours before reaching our anchorage at Taormina. We arrived in Taormina just as it was getting dark and were approached by a man in a rib, asking if we would like to tie up to a mooring buoy for 50 Euros a night. We politely declined and anchored a short distance away.




Looking down on the anchorage at Taormina

Lynne had bought a guide book on Sicily whilst in Cefalu and it looked like Taormina was a beautiful place with plenty to see, so we decided to stay a few days. There were a few shops on the shore and a railway line, but to see the sights we got a bus to Taormina, which is situated on the slopes of Mount Tauro at a height of about 200 metres above sea level. The bus journey was interesting with narrow roads and plenty of hair-pin bends, and took about 15 minutes to get to the top. After a short walk we came to the main town, where there are reputed to be a thousand terraces overlooking the sea.

View of Taormina from the Greek Theatre
 

We walked around the charming town and took a look around the 3rd century Greek Theatre. It is the second largest in Sicily, measuring 115 metres in diameter. From here, the views out to sea are spectacular.



Greek Theatre at Taormina















Our next stop was the anchorage at Siracusa (Syracuse), situated on the south-east coast of the island. On the way down the coast, we passed Mount Etna which was smoking away. It was a pretty overcast day so the picture below is unfortunately not that clear.



'Smoking' Mount Etna

Siracusa is connected to the small Isle of Ortigia by a bridge. Siracusa was once the most powerful city-state of Magna Graecia, rivalling even Athens in power. It was founded in 734 BC and became the largest fortified city of the Greek world, containing half a million people and commanding a great fleet. Siracusa controlled Sicily and the western Mediterranean, and enjoyed some 200 years of prosperity until her quarrel with Rome.

Siracusa is popular with tourists because of its interesting historical past and there are lots of ruins remaining to this day. One of the places we visited was the Castello Maniace, situated on the tip of Ortigia. This is the first thing you see as you round the corner into the harbour. It was built in 1230, and owes its name to the British General George Maniace who conquered Siracusa in 1038.

Castello Maniace
 

The city was also home to the scientist Archemedes, and there is a square dedicated to his memory.




Archemedes Square



The Temple of Apollo

Once we left Siracusa, we made an overnight stop at Pozzallo, before continuing on to Licata. From Pozzallo, we had a fantastic sail for about four hours before the wind sadly dropped and we once again had to switch on the engine. About two hours from Licata, the skies turned very black and it was obvious we were going to get some rain, so we donned our wet weather gear and motored through a heavy downpour. Once in the shelter of the marina, we found ourselves in blue skies and sunshine! The marina staff came to meet us in a rib and show us to our berth, and we were checked in by a very helpful and cheerful girl called Maria, who supplied us with maps of the surrounding area and a bus timetable to Catania Airport.

Scarlet in Licata Marina

Licata is a relatively new marina and has a small shopping centre just behind the marina office. Perfect for yotties so we don't have too far to go for provisioning. There were already quite a few boats here for the winter, and more are arriving all the time. Two weeks into October and there is already a radio net and Google group up and running. We have already had a 'Yotties Get Together' at the marina bar and attended Italian classes. We are certainly not going to be bored this winter!




Licata marina



The beautiful grounds of Marina di Cala del Sole, Licata

It has been another fantastic sailing season, with lots of new experiences and lessons learned. Once again the star of the show has been our wonderful yacht, Scarlet Lady.

We have however, found ourselves talking from time to time about the future, and how our cruising plans might one day evolve. Whilst we are more than happy with our experiences in the Mediterranean so far, we are often captivated by sailors we meet who have undertaken a circumnavigation. It is something we never aspired to when we first started our voyages, but never say never as the saying goes. We also found ourselves talking about the possibility of a larger yacht, perhaps with a 3 cabin layout, and have 'begun testing the water' to see if it is viable. We would stay with the Jeanneau brand within the 45' to 49' range.

Right now it is hard to imagine a better yacht than Scarlet for our needs, but we will take a look at what is on offer.

Perhaps on our next update we will have some news of how things develop.

Steve and Lynne xx

Sardinia

Our passage to Sardinia was a little lively shall we say.

The evening before we left, we checked the forecast again for the following day as we needed a good 48 hour window for our 182 mile passage. Once again we passage planned at 5 knots, and by leaving Menorca early in the morning we would have plenty of scope to arrive in daylight should we find ourselves going a little faster as the winds looked like they might dictate.

Reviewing the weather again on the morning of departure it appeared that we would have up to 20 knot winds for the first 24 hours, and then much calmer conditions for our arrival. This suited us as it meant we would be able to anchor at the bay inside Capo Caccia and we might get some sailing in rather than use the engine, at least for some of the passage. We weighed anchor just before dawn broke, hoisted the main sail and made a coffee hoping a caffeine boost would wake us, after all we are not used to getting up so early these days!

The sea was lumpy once outside the sanctuary of the Cala, but the wind allowed us to unfurl the genoa and switch the engine off. With the autopilot engaged we had breakfast and decided to put on our lightweight waterproof clothing as it looked like the sea would produce a fair amount of spray, which proved to be the case.

Sunrise day one

About an hour into the passage the wind had moved round and was coming at only 40 to 50 degrees off the nose.

At this point of sail, a close reach, Scarlet heels over to 15 to 20 degrees, more in gusts.

Pelting along

We can control the angle of heel to some extent, but it is a tiring point of sail for a long passage. To try and imagine what it is like, you may have been on one of those rides you sometimes see at funfairs. The 'simulator' looks like one of the shuttle craft from Star Trek and seats about 20 people. For added realism, they are mounted on various hydraulic rams to replicate the movement of an aircraft or racing car. Having been on a few over the years, they are good fun. Perhaps because they only last 3 minutes and not 30 plus hours!

So at 20 degrees on the boat, which is pitching and yawing, simple tasks like answering a call of nature and cooking become less straightforward and more of a challenge. Falling off a large wave somehow always seems to coincide with using the heads (toilet). Just at the point you are using both hands to pull trousers up, the boat crashes down and you end headbutting the sink! Making a hot drink is another favourite, as you are pouring the boiling water into the mugs, the boat pitches and the water goes everywhere but into the mug. This passage was especially notable later on in the evening as trying to open a tin of ravioli became a full fight between the tin, and man, and the attempts to get the contents into the saucepan. As the tin opener required one hand to hold the tin, one to turn the handle, and a third hand for holding on to the boat. It was a question of a quarter turn then brace, quarter turn then brace. After what seemed like ten minutes for two cans, sufficient of the contents finally made it into the pan to make a sort of meal.

By the time evening had arrived we had settled into a routine of reefing the sails, and then letting out again when the wind died down. We managed some respectable speeds during the night touching 7.7 knots for a short while. Scarlet goes just as quickly with the sails reefed as let out, and is more comfortable and safer that way especially at night.






After our smaller portion of ravioli dinner than expected, we started our night watches. The chartplotter showed plenty of shipping around, but none close enough to be a cause for concern. Occasionally we would see lights in the distance, but most of the time is spent just keeping a general lookout.

By the time dawn broke the wind had dropped and changed direction to a more comfortable beam reach. By this time the boat speed had also dropped to well below 5 knots and finally with only 15 miles to landfall, we put the engine on and motored.

Now that the conditions had improved, the Spanish courtesy flag was taken down and replaced with the Italian one.

Steve raising the Italian courtesy flag

This is always a poignant moment for us as it gives us a chance to reflect that we have sailed our little boat all the way from England to another country.

Capo Caccia is an imposing site. Sheer steeply sided cliffs with a lighthouse atop can been seen from some distance away.

Capo Caccia

We arrived at our anchorage in Calla del Bollo just inside Capo Caccia at a few minutes before 2 pm. The passage had taken about 32 hours. These 'short' passages are more tiring than the longer ones as your body does not get into a rhythm.

We stayed in the area for a while, occasionally moving to find shelter from the strong afternoon winds and relaxed into our 'usual' routines.

Lynne wanted to visit the nearby Neptunes Grotto, but the entrance to the caves was on the other side of Capo Caccia and the water too deep to anchor. We had seen tour boats heading that way with boarding ramps on the bow to drop visitors off, so we decided to pay a visit to nearby Alghero marina where some of the tour boats are based. We needed to take on some provisions anyway, as well as top up the water and fuel. This would be only our second marina this year as we have been able to anchor just about everywhere.

On the approach to the marina entrance we were met by an enthusiastic young man in a rib from Ser Mar marina.

Marina rib Alghero

Our friends on Moonstream had used this one and told us it was OK, so we followed him right into the marina where he kindly showed us to a vacant berth and arranged for helpers on shore to take lines. As Moonstream happened to be in that day, we popped along for a quick hello before booking in with Francesco at the marina office.

Francesco explained that he was originally from Sicily and had come to Sardinia for a temporary job. 16 years later he is still here and a more helpful person would be hard to find. He even drove us and picked us up from the local supermarket the following day. A fabulous introduction to a very friendly Sardinia.

All the chores done!

The marina was an ideal place to explore Alghero, and of course enabled Lynne to go and visit the caves.

Neptunes Grotto

 
The old town is very pretty indeed and having arrived at the height of the summer season, very busy. Apparently the name of the place comes from the stagnation of Algae along the coast!

The town was built around a fortified fort and some evidence remains today. We nearly decided to hire a car for the day but the one on offer was a little too small perhaps?

I want one!

 
The shops appear to focus on fashion and jewellery, so a cheap experience for us, although we did treat ourselves to a meal out in the evening.

Alghero, window shopping

 

Latter days defences, Alghero

From Alghero, we headed back to Capo Bollo to await the arrival of good friends Neil and Hilary off Plane Magic, as they too were crossing from Menorca.

We had a pleasant few days with them and got to meet another British couple, Paul and Ness from the amazing catamaran Paradise. Paul and Ness will be sailing around the world and you can read about their adventures here: Sailing on Paradise


Soon enough it was time to move on, and we headed up and around the coast to the old fishing village of Stintino. Here we spent a few days at anchor which gave us a chance to look around the small town.

Part of the marina at Stintino

It was whilst we were here during an afternoon of very strong winds, our anchor dragged in the weed below. It became evident that the winds would not be dying down anytime soon so rather than re-anchor, we headed out to sea and for several hours. As we had no sails up we layed ahull. This technique is normally more suited to really heavy storm force winds, and appeared to work well. Scarlet became more comfortable despite the howling winds and big waves. So much so we made dinner!

Once the winds had calmed we headed back to the anchorage along with many other boats. Once again we had to take pot luck on the holding.

As it grew darker we could see a huge electrical storm approaching, and the maritime weather forecast on the VHF confirmed that a storm was coming. We stayed put along with a dozen or so other yachts, and prepared to batten down the hatches. Despite some rain and strong winds, the storm passed about 20 miles or so to the North, and in the early hours of the morning with only a few knots of wind registering, we went to bed.

Our next stop was about 13 miles away at Capo Testa for a couple of nights before arriving at Liscia, close to the Maddalena islands.

Whilst at Capo Testa, we got a text from Hilary to say watch out for the meteor showers in the evening. This was the annual Perseid meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. We watched it last year whilst up the Guadiana river and it was as equally spectacular this year, despite having more light pollution.

At Liscia we spent a couple of days relaxing and even made use of the sun loungers on the beach for the 'proper' tourist experience.

Our wifi dongle was not picking up much signal here and with the boat swinging at anchor our 'good' signal was often lost, making picking up emails and weather problematic. So, we moved to the nearby town of Palau. It says in the Pilot Book that anchoring is not allowed outside the port, but seeing several other yachts there already we decided to give it a go.

Here we managed to pick up wifi and purchase and download a cruising permit for the Maddalena Islands. Having a printer on-board was a really good idea and to top it off, we even used our laminator to produce a waterproof permit.

On our first shopping trip in the port we only managed to find a few small and expensive shops for essential supplies like bread, milk and chocolate. We later tracked down a supermarket about half a mile away, and went back a few days later with the trolley.

This would be a good time to mention the 'sail' we had from Liscia to Palau. As newcomers to the area we had no idea that there was a 'rush hour'. It is only a short journey but goodness, we have never seen so many yachts or motor cruisers running engines at full tilt coming towards us. As they passed, often only a short distance away, they created 'Biscay' sized wash. Pop a cork into a half-full washing up bowl and shake violently from side to side, and up and down. The cork was Scarlet Lady that day!

The cruising permit allowed us to anchor and have free use of mooring buoys in the designated areas. Our plans to cruise however, we cut a little short with the forecast of very strong winds. We decided to seek a good spot early in the bay at Porto Palma, supposedly the most protected anchorage from the direction the winds where due from.

By the morning the winds were forecast, the anchorage was full and as the evening beckoned, you could hear the sound of many boats deploying a few more metres of chain. Like our fortunate experience in Stintino, the worst of the winds passed us by, and by the time morning came most of the boats were preparing to leave. We stayed on and later in the afternoon, took the tender ashore to go for a walk.

Not far from the shore was a vast hanger like building left over from Military use, when it used to be an American naval base. It was near here that the USS nuclear submarine, the Hartford, ran aground in an embarrassing navigational blunder. Thankfully, especially as it was a nuclear sub, no reported harm was done apart from the estimated 9 million dollars damage to the hull.

In the main derelict building we went in, was a rather odd display of old boats.

Modern Art?

After nearly an hour of walking we headed back, it was mosquito feeding time and we were starter, main course and dessert.

Anchorage at Porto Palma

We did not use our permit to the full, and hope to go back one day to do the islands more justice.

Our next stop was an anchorage to the south of the fabled Porto Cervo. Porto Cervo is one of the summer resorts of choice for the very wealthy. It was conceived back in the 60's when a group of property owners, headed by the Aga Khan, set out a plan so that the land would be developed in an environmentally and aesthetically way. No high-rise buildings here.

Our Pilot Book describes it as a place for the super-rich to show off their new floating toys, surrounded by hangers-on and minions!

As far as impressive goes they don't come much better than the Mega superyacht Madame Gu (which has a fully enclosed helicopter hanger), and the Maltese Falcon. Both very different, but jaw dropping at the same time.

Madame Gu has taken our award for the most impressive looking vessel at night, and the Maltese Falcon for one of the most expensive yachts you can charter. A mere 350,000 euros, wait for it..... a week!

Madame Gu a 99 metre mega yacht

Madame Gu at night

The Maltese Falcon

And so back to reality. Our aim was to make a series of long day sails down the coast to reach Cagliari in the South. Cagliari has several marinas and we would need to take on water, fuel and re-provision for the crossing to Sicily. First we need some interim provisions as once again the supply of chocolate was running low. According to our Pilot Book nearby Olbia was just the place. 

The main entrance to the harbours is long and wide, although it looked a little narrow when a big ship passed us heading in the opposite direction.

They look very big from the deck of a small yacht

We anchored at the end of the port as far as we could go. However, it was near to the town and we found a big supermarket within a short walk of going ashore. We also chanced on a shop that sold camping gaz, and popped back later to replace an empty bottle. Each of the two cylinders is lasting us about 20 days, bearing in mind we are eating on Scarlet most days and having copious cups of tea, so it is not too bad. We paid 23 euros for this one which was in much better condition that the one we swapped, which has left rust stains in the locker.

Sailing down this coast was challenging for us. No wind one minute, 25 knot gusts the next, then no wind, and so on. We did manage to sail for some of the time, but it was hard work keeping on top of the wind and not letting Scarlet get over-powered in the gusts. After one 11 hour day and one 8 hour day sailing, we headed for the anchorage at Capo di Pula in the South West corner of the bay of Cagliari. Here we wanted to explore the ancient ruins of the town of Nora.

Nora proved to be a fascinating and worthwhile visit. Thought to be founded in the 8th century BC by the Phonecians the site contains a theatre, wonderfully preserved mosiacs from Roman times, as well as baths and various other buildings.

Mosaic at Nora

The old theatre with new seating areas and stage

 

Remains of the old bath house

Like the ancient sites we visited in Menorca, they are very thought provoking trying to imagine what life for the inhabitants must have been like. Over the years the place has fallen into ruin, helped along the way by raids from pirates and the Vandals, from which the term is derived.

Next stop is a two night visit to St Elmo marina in Cagliari, and then it is off to Sicily. More of that in the next update.

Steve and Lynne xx