Lindsay's diary 29 Aug - 18 Oct

Friday 29th August
After a futile search for letters for our dingy (we found letters but not the right ones for Rosa) we trooped round the office for permits - shut! - but across the square a door was open so asked in there. Yes this was where the permits were issued but no they couldn’t as the office was closed as they were fumigating it! One could get permits in the town and gave directions and prices. for 15 days €91 please. Great for once we are quid's in so acquired permits and fish on the way so happiness all round. As we were supposed to be off our mooring at 11 and it was by now 11.30 quick dash to fuel Rosa and away.

Sunday 31st August
Having spent a couple of days in Cala Portuege moved onto Porto Cervo the rich man’s paradise. We were told of an area of the harbor that was free to anchor. This is in a port that had harbor fees starting at €250 for a mooring and if one needs to ask the price for a pontoon place one can’t afford it so we felt quite smug sitting there for free! Nice area surrounded by small Italian-med style villas looking old with trees dotted around. We piled into the Tinker and motored round to see how the other half live. The whole area was bought to build idealised Italian rural housing beautifully done to cater for the rich and famous.

Monday 1st September
After a happy time in Porto Cervo we will return here with Robin and Maggie. Moved over to the next bay (Cala di Volpe) The bay had at its head a huge hotel in the local pink and yellow stone. It also had a strip for water skiers which we knew about which was fine. What wasn’t fine was the number of speedboats that zoomed in and out with no regard for boats at anchor until late at night. Very bumpy!!!!!

Tuesday 2nd September
After a restless night went round to Ile de Figgaro passing some huge imposing cliffs on the way. Anchored in clear blue seas with good holding The bay is huge with large ferries from Corsica and mainland Italy coming and going together with small fishing boats and a strange looking boat which we figured out was a fake submarine catering for tourist viewing the underwater sea life round the cliffs.

Wednesday 3rd September
Made our way to the only marina in Olbia only to be informed it didn’t take visitors by an unpleasant berthing master. After pleading he redirected us to a mooring saying we had to check with the club secretary in the afternoon as to whether we could stay the night. At 5 pm we cap in hand asked. Oh Of course tonight possibly tomorrow so we had to be content with that.

Thursday 4th September
Tried to find a laundrette to no avail. They only seem to have service washes in the only one and they couldn’t do me until Friday! Managed to find a small supermarket so Dave and I trudged miles with our bags and re-stocked.

Friday 5th September
After paying a fortune for our mooring and the berthing master tried for more we departed for Cala Cavallo another part of the Cala Coda bay.

Saturday 6th September
Spent the day swimming and snorkeling found the bay had a 1 knot current so put out a line just in case! Good sea life including a dolphin and young which thrilled Dave as he has always wanted to see a wild one They were interested in the fish farm nearby!!! Up sticks and moved onto Cala di Volpe again.

Sunday 7th September
Back to Porto Cervo. Went into Town for a beer picked a place and found they were charging €25 per beer so went back to our original cafe where the prices were slightly more reasonable (€6)

Monday 8th September
Sailed into Palau instead of La Maddalena only to find we had to be out by 4 pm as that was when the tripper boats returned so it was a quick dash to a small supermarket while Rob and Dave filled up with water. We were heading towards the park to anchor again but I took pity on the kids and decided to brave La Maddalena harbor again.
Some horrible woman in the harbor office tried to charge us €70 for the night (we paid €54 during peak season which this wasn’t) I threatened her with the police and her superior who had heard the rumpus hurriedly backtracked and revised the amount to €25!!!!
We all went into town to find a restaurant excellent meal including wine.

Tuesday 9th September
Decided to explore the northern islands of La Maddalena so headed out to Isola Rosa nice area spent the day swimming and sunbathing

Wednesday 10th September
Found a lovely spot at Dead Mans Passage a bit like Ille Lavezzi. Had to share with a few tourist boats and very shallow in parts but a good mooring even if it was a daytime one only. Tried to moor in the next bay but after a few tries at anchoring and finding only weed we decided to shoot over to Ille Lavezzi where we knew there was good holding.

Friday 12th -14th September
After spending a couple of days enjoying the weather we set sail for Bonifacio as the weather was set for thunderstorms and rain. It was good to be back on French soil and old haunts. After finding one could not acquire squash in Italy I went mad and bought in 15 bottles of the stuff. Should last us out until we get to Malta.
Robin and Maggie disappeared into the town and the citadel while I caught up with the washing.
We had horrific thunderstorms during the night and following day with violent sea surges with the water level falling several feet then rushing back in. To cope with this involved a lot of re-enforced rope work. As we had an American couple over for drinks at the time we had some help thank goodness
The next day the kids and I decided to brave the weather and go up to the citadel to stretch our legs and go for a short walk along the cliff top at the same time, much to our surprise, the sun came out and the rain held off until our return.

Monday 15th September
Early start as we had to get back to Olbia. We left the kids sleeping and crossed over the straits. Got caught in several rain showers and some severe gusts The winds just got worse and worse and having attempted to anchor in 20 knots of wind at Lazzio we gave up and ended in Golf di Arzachena for shelter putting the hook down in a place called Zui Paulu. It turned out to be lovely with a wide bay clear seas next to a small island with a statue of a fisherman on it Very peaceful spot.

Tuesday 16th September
After a slow start we made our way towards Olbia. Tried out the spinnaker at the side but Rosa broached at 10 knots. Very uncomfortable ride. Maggie hid down below hanging onto the sofa. We heeled so much that things were flung all over the cabin so not a good experiment on the crew!!!!
We were going to anchor at Porto Brandinohi but had had enough by the time we got close to Cappo Figgaria so stopped there instead for the night.

Wednesday 17th September
After our rough ride yesterday the kids wanted a day at anchor so they left Rosa to spend the day ashore and we motored across the bay to the island opposite for a bit of privacy. We had no sooner anchored after several tries and Rob phoned “Maggie has forgotten the sunscreen can you come back” dark mutterings from the first mate! Up the anchor back across the bay, hand over the sunscreen and back to the island. Spent a lovely time just the two of us until the wind got up and we realised the mooring we were in wasn’t tenable so collected the kids and a quick two hour motor to Liscia delle Saline just as the sun was beginning to set for the night.

Thursday 18th September
Going home time for Rob and Maggie so a sad day. Will miss them. Slowly motored into Olbia and tied up on the town quay which was a lot less crowded than when we were here before showing us that the season was definitely over. Olbia hasn’t a lot to recommend it including a lack of bread shops! It does have a shipping line called Moby which on the passenger ships have wonderful cartoon characters on the side! Walked up into town to the taxi place to say our goodbyes to Rob and Maggie then shot back to the boat as Dave wanted to move off so we had a head start to the day tomorrow. Tried to sail but after a while even Dave gave up and we managed to fast motor with daytime rapidly disappearing and flung our hook into sand at Capo Copacalaico as night time fell. The quickest anchoring we have ever done, the boat made ready for bed all in 5 minutes. What the neighbors must have thought was anybody's business!

Friday 19th September
With our visitors gone we could get up with the crack of dawn and move off down Sardinia, ready for our long sail to Sicily. Beautiful morning seeing the sunrise reflecting on the mountains not much wind so put the spinnaker out for a while until we got to La Caletta. As we only had drips for water we had to book into a marina and we were also forecasted thunderstorms tonight and high winds tomorrow. Nice marina with all facilities except e-mail. Will have to make the decision tomorrow whether to go on when we see what the winds are like as it is a long way 35 km to the next stop.

Saturday 20th September
Short journey to La Caletta. Only took 5 hours but Dave decided to get the spinnaker out and I seemed to be constantly either flying it taking it down or swapping from side to side! Felt as if I was partaking in a yacht race, no fun at all. The wind died half way through the morning anyway so it was rather a waste of time as we were using it to save on diesel. After reviewing the weather forecast (Force 6-7 with thunderstorms) the skipper decided with support from the first mate to delay departure onwards for a couple of days.

Sunday 21st September
Boat cleaning day together with re-provisioning. Rained for most of the day but did manage to get the inevitable washing done

Monday 22nd September
Wind less but a nasty swell which always makes life interesting! Got into Saint Maria Navaresse (can’t read Dave’s writing) filthy wind so very difficult to moor. Just settled in when a Swedish boat (Froggy) came in and promptly went into the side of Rosa! Fortunately we had loads of fenders out so no damage was done except to Froggy’s skippers pride. We had them round for drinks in the evening to show no bad feelings. They are live-aboards but go home in the winter

Tuesday 23rd September
On to Porta Cavallo a remote harbor but fantastic staff. We wanted to refuel using cans and the chap picked us up from the boat refilled our cans and delivered us back with great charm. We also rescued a juvenile seagull with fishing line caught round his leg. With me holding and a staff member using his penknife surgery was performed and the patient flew off after a few minutes. It seems ironic that man caused the problem in the first place.
I spent the next day walking into the town a couple of miles to the north. The place turned out to be holiday development with hardly anyone there, shops all shut for the winter. It reminded me of “the prisoner”. I expected a large white ball to appear round the corner any minute!!!

Wednesday 24 - 25th September
We cross over to Sicily. I must admit I have not looked forward to this as it is a 35 hour trip! But it went very well a bit of a swell and a few rain showers. What helped a lot was having a couple of books on the iPod. Made the time go so much faster. I also organised a couple of snack boxes for the night session. We arrived at Isola Maretimo 4 hours out of Trapani to find it shut! They had rolled up the sidewalks (or in our case the floating quay) and pulled all the boats out so no room at the inn. Rather than break our journey early we ended up having to motor on to Trapani when tired - especially Dave who bore the brunt of the night sailing.
After being waved in by a man on the quay we settled in only to find it was wasn’t Trapani boat services (where we had booked into by phone) but fortunately a subsidiary so after Dave apologised to the booked marina all was well and we have booked in for two days to recover!
Trapani is a nice busy port although we never really got to see it as Dave was working most of the time and I was catching up on the washing which had got to mountainous proportions. The marina had, wonders of wonders, an ancient washing machine on site.
We did escape for an afternoon to have a quick look round only to find that the season was definitely over and the tourist office shut for the winter! Usual marble walkways and small shops but without the information and maps unable to visit uninteresting sights and particularly go on the cable car which I especially wanted to see – “probably shut anyway” I consoled myself with!

Saturday 26th September
Set off to Femina - a small fishing village. Still no wind so spending a fortune on diesel and a frustrated Dave. Femina marina was a bit steep price wise €45 for not much but was the only place for miles. Went for a stroll into town, saw a wedding couple posing for pictures on the sea front, decided to treat ourselves to dinner.

Sunday 28th September
Finding it difficult to keep track of dates and days! Motored to Cefalu - a fantastic medieval town with Moorish connections, beautiful church and interesting winding streets. Wanted to explore a bit more but as usual had to press on. If we have the chance would really like to return.

Monday 29th September - Wednesday 1st October
Arrived in St Agata ready to pick up Mike and Linda on Wednesday. Excellent shelter with amenities all for €30 per night - very reasonable for this neck of the woods. Friendly staff who spoke some English, always useful. Caught up with supplies but had difficulty with getting money out of bank due to the link system being down, As GB having major fanatical problems quick panic ensued, had to leave shopping in supermarket, very embarrassing and returned to boat hotfoot. After Dave rang John it appeared that, although banks are in serious trouble with the government bailing them out left right and centre, Nationwide is still solvent although Lloyds are struggling. We watch the situation carefully. At least we are not Iceland who have gone bankrupt, hopefully the PM has taken note!!!!!
Mike and Linda arrived on the Wednesday morning and we set off for Vulcano in the morning

Wednesday 1st October
Still no wind so motored over to Vulcano and as the name suggests there it was smoking! Lovely little harbor not much on it and as the sand was black proved interesting to anchor right under the volcano
Stunning views!
After all the marina moorings it was nice to anchor and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Thursday 2nd October
Trip to Stromboli which was what we all came for. Wind had picked up at long last so actually got the sails out. The plan was to anchor near the village and after it got dark motor round the island to see the volcano do its thing The rules state that we were not allowed to anchor closer than 300 meters out which meant in 15+ meters depth (friendly lot!!!!) and not overnight. There was supposed to be a pier we could tie up to but it wasn’t there so as soon as the light went and we noticed the tourist boats heading out we joined them. Worth it, Stromboli erupts every 20 minutes on the dot! Flames and rolling lava, very spectacular, watched for an hour then headed for our mooring for the night on Panarea. As Dave had sounded out the possibilities on the way over we returned to anchor but found some small fishing boats had got to the spot first and were too near them and the cliff for Dave's comfort so resorted to catching a buoy nearer the town. Not easy in the dark! Thank goodness we had extra people on board we would never have managed it otherwise.

Friday 3rd October
Mike wanted to row over to the town and while he was gone a man came over in a small boat demanding €20 but no paperwork whether he was legit we had no idea so paid up. 10 minutes later the owner of the boat next to us woke up and started shouting that we were on his mooring wanted money or he would call the police! Dave tried to explain in his few words of Italian that we had already paid but the man wasn’t happy at all so we beat a quick retreat. Left a sour taste though. Sailed over to Lipari, the wind by now freshening.

Saturday 4th - 5th October
Stayed in Lipari for two days as there was a F8 forecasted and we wanted to be in a safe mooring. Helpful staff and potable water. Excellent shopping close to the mooring. The wind certainly did blow and there was some wash from the hydrofoils going in and out but on the whole a good place to be. Went into the local cemetery - fascinating, a lot of the monuments had photos on them of the deceased which I felt was touching. Dave hated it as he always does in these places so we didn’t stay long.

Sunday 6th October
Sailed over to Milazzo to say farewell to Mike and Linda, what a rip-off €60 a night plus extra for electricity and water! That was in the winter season God knows how much it is in the summer. The place only had two showers and toilets and miles from the shops.

Monday 7th October
Mike and Linda left around 9.30. We were sorry to see them go in one sense but needed to get on getting Rosa ready for the next set of visitors. I will never again have people back to back - too stressful!

Tuesday 8th October
Left Milazzo with relief and travelled down to Reggio Calabria at the top of the straits of Messina. The marina didn’t have much in the way of scenery as it was next to a motorway and railway station but as it was just an overnight stop over before going down the east coast we were not fussed. Noticed that ferries to Malta went from the port so felt we were finally getting closer to our winter destination.

Wednesday 9th October
Shot down the strait looking out for large container ships heading in the same direction. Clear sunny day with good winds down to Riposto - A new marina only €32 a night all in, excellent showers especially after the ones at Milazzo and a wonderful fruit and fish market close by.

Thursday 10th October
Today was our walk up Etna, hired a car as there was no public transport up the volcano, Dave’s sense of direction did us proud. We drove to the outskirts of the volcano then cable car further upwards. One doesn’t realise the scale of this thing. We soon passed the tree line and saw old lava flows and black pumice. The final journey was done by large 4 wheel trucks to one of the still smoking vents. Etna’s last eruption was in 2004 and as she is very much still active we were not allowed to go right up to the very top but it was still very impressive. The walk round the top with a guide was brilliant, very cold with the smell of sulfur and wisps of smoke out of the small craters all around, very Lord of the Rings!

Friday 11th October
Woke up to a wonderful clear view of Etna rarely seen so the camera came out big time! Left Riposto for Acitrezza which was free but not a place one would want to stay for long as fairly mucky, very much a fishing post.

Saturday 12 Th. October
Siracusa

Sunday 13th October
Porto palo
but a good stepping off point for Malta.

Monday 14th October
Today is the final journey to our wintering marina, hope it is as good as we expect!
Nice gentle sail over but no room at the inn when we got there. Apparently Malta hosts the Mid Sea Race and the harbor was full of sleek racing machines. As it was too late to sign in with customs and police we were redirected to a dire mooring at Sliema further up the harbor. Swell from the entrance made tying up very difficult with a very uncomfortable night.

Tuesday 15th October
After jumping into the dingy and a long trek round into Grand Harbor to the customs together with a longer walk when we were directed to the wrong one we are now officially in Malta. After such a horrendous night we decided to go over to Gozo (next to Malta but still part of it). Lovely mooring in a small fishing village, lots of local ferries toing and froeing but no wash, very friendly people and as we could not get into the marina in Malta our mooring fees were included in the winter contract. Went for a walk to the village - easy provisioning. We celebrated by going out to a lovely restaurant, very reasonable, and within walking distance for dinner. Plan to stay here for a few days

Wednesday 16th October
Usual pottering about on the boat. Took a bus into Victoria the capital of Gozo. Dave wanted to sort out internet connections and I wanted to stock up on meat etc. Victoria seems to have everything one needed if only one knew where it was! Very convoluted streets and a small clothes market in the middle. After spending two hours tracking down the best internet deal we were referred back to Malta! Met Hugh and Marion, who had wondered off to do their own thing, back at the market and had a lunch which took ages to arrive. I think slow cafe service is going to be one of those things one has to expect in Malta!

Thursday 17th October
Marion and Hugh went on a boat trip to the Blue Lagoon, something we can do over the winter months which left us to ourselves for the morning. The ferries between Malta and Gozo are wonderful. They arrive every 20 mins and cost €4.20 return. Imagine how much the same thing would cost in England.

Hugh and Marian fly back tomorrow very early in the morning and the marina has allowed us to moor up overnight so that they can catch a taxi to the airport. Nice sail back stopping at Gozo’s blue lagoon to look. Wonderful clear blue water in large caves - definitely worth a return journey. Back in the marina mid afternoon early dinner and bed as we all have to be up at 2.30 to see Hugh and Marian off. We will miss them as they have been good fun.

Friday 18th October
Said our goodbye's at the ungodly hour of 3 am. As this is going to be our berth for the next few weeks we have to learn to be landlubbers again. It will feel very strange Dave will have his work and boat repairs of course but I hope I don’t get bored. Am in two minds about job prospects as I would have to have a month off for our return to the UK. Will I have enough to do - will certainly miss the sailing. Watch this space!!!!














.