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!!!!
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Sunday, November 9, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Malta and Gozo
Malta has been a mixture of wonderful trusting helpful people, gorgeous architecture and chaotic byzantine bureaucracy.
The pilot, written three years ago, told us to call Valetta Port Control on channel 9 from 10 miles out and predicts that they will ask us to re-call at 1 mile out. So far, so good – that’s exactly what happened. At one mile out, we called again and were directed to Msida marine (great that’s where we wanted to go) and told to moor on pontoon 0 and clear customs. Just what the pilot says.
So we entered Marsamxett harbour under the bastions of Valetta which is very impressive indeed.
On to the end of the harbour to find that pontoon 0 was full and the marina wasn’t answering VHF. We found a single temporarily vacant private berth on ‘N’, moored and went into the office. The whole marina was completely full and we could only stay an hour or so – go next door to the police for entry facilities.
A very nice policeman knew absolutely nothing about entry formalities – apparently customs moved out permanently two weeks ago! We have to go to Valetta but tomorrow morning will do.
So back to the office and they direct us to berth stern to on a concrete quay at Sliema by the harbour mouth which turned out to have a dangerous swell flying along sideways. We spent an uncomfortable night and were unable to get onto teh quay to catch a bus so L & I set off in the dinghy to do the 4 miles round trip into Valetta Grand Harbour by water. We eventually tied up by some fishermen whose float we retrieved and walked another mile right under the bows of two huge cruise liners. We first came to a beautiful marble customs house but it turned out they were the HQ and we had to go where the cruise liner passengers disembark.
The customs people were plainly surprised to see us and had little idea what to do. After a lot of jabbering and phone calls they produced a sheaf of forms to fill in. One of them was a crew list which they asked us to take to the immigration police – who took us right back as they didn’t think they were supposed to do that.
After an hour it was all sorted out. The customs man told us that EU citizens on an EU registered boat with no pets and nothing to declare (like us) really didn’t need to clear in anyway – but it was ‘best’ if we did.
We got back to the boat at 11.30 and we were finally ready to take the ‘Q’ flag down and start our stay in Malta. We all agreed that we couldn’t stay where we were so we called Chris at the marina and he suggested going over to Gozo. We went, which was a really good decision. Mgarr marina is excellent: very sheltered and blow me down has a customs man who could have cleared us with none of the hassle! The pilot states (wrongly) that the customs office closes at the end of September. Well it used to – but now it stays open all year round.
We didn’t even have to pay for mooring - even though we hadn’t yet signed or paid for a winter contract and could have left at any time, they just trusted us and said it would all count as soon as we did sign.
Another sign of the good old-fashioned trust culture was that I took a can to fill with Diesel to the petrol station & told him I would be coming back several times. “No problem“, says he, “Take your time & pay when you’re done”. No two forms of ID, no pay for each one. He just assumed I was honest and would come back and pay in good time. We’ve lost that in Britain over the past 40 years and it’s really great to see it again.
We spent 2 days chilling out, doing a bit of sight-seeing in Victoria and then it was time to get back to Msida so that Hugh and Marion could catch their BA flight back to Gatwick at the ungodly hour of 0500. I called the marina and got lucky. I expected a one-night berth but they gave us one we can stay in until pontoon ’N’ frees up in about 3 weeks. At 3.15 the booked taxi turned up and off they went.
We finally took out our winter contract which cost €1100 for October to April inclusive and water, electricity, showers and toilets are all included in the price. That’s just €50 per week. Fantastic!
We’ve done a little exploring in Malta including seeing the start of the Middle Sea Race run by the Royal Malta Yacht club. No little starting pistol for them – they use a howitzer! The race goes anticlockwise round Sicily then goes down to the tiny island of Lampedusa (the most southerly part of Europe) and back to Malta taking between 3 and 7 days. Some of the 90 yachts are lean mean racing machines but a lot of them are ordinary cruisers with enthusiastic crews. It’s all a bit like a smaller and much more gruelling round the island race.
So that’s it really. We’ve made it and now we settle down to normal life until sometime in April when we set off for Greece. We will do a lot of sightseeing and a fair bit of working and just living but we don’t expect a lot of excitement. I won’t keep up this blog during the winter as I suspect it would be boring to write and even more boring to read. I’ll re-start when we set off again.
Thanks for following us so far – and join us again next year.
The pilot, written three years ago, told us to call Valetta Port Control on channel 9 from 10 miles out and predicts that they will ask us to re-call at 1 mile out. So far, so good – that’s exactly what happened. At one mile out, we called again and were directed to Msida marine (great that’s where we wanted to go) and told to moor on pontoon 0 and clear customs. Just what the pilot says.
So we entered Marsamxett harbour under the bastions of Valetta which is very impressive indeed.
On to the end of the harbour to find that pontoon 0 was full and the marina wasn’t answering VHF. We found a single temporarily vacant private berth on ‘N’, moored and went into the office. The whole marina was completely full and we could only stay an hour or so – go next door to the police for entry facilities.A very nice policeman knew absolutely nothing about entry formalities – apparently customs moved out permanently two weeks ago! We have to go to Valetta but tomorrow morning will do.
So back to the office and they direct us to berth stern to on a concrete quay at Sliema by the harbour mouth which turned out to have a dangerous swell flying along sideways. We spent an uncomfortable night and were unable to get onto teh quay to catch a bus so L & I set off in the dinghy to do the 4 miles round trip into Valetta Grand Harbour by water. We eventually tied up by some fishermen whose float we retrieved and walked another mile right under the bows of two huge cruise liners. We first came to a beautiful marble customs house but it turned out they were the HQ and we had to go where the cruise liner passengers disembark.
The customs people were plainly surprised to see us and had little idea what to do. After a lot of jabbering and phone calls they produced a sheaf of forms to fill in. One of them was a crew list which they asked us to take to the immigration police – who took us right back as they didn’t think they were supposed to do that.
After an hour it was all sorted out. The customs man told us that EU citizens on an EU registered boat with no pets and nothing to declare (like us) really didn’t need to clear in anyway – but it was ‘best’ if we did.
We got back to the boat at 11.30 and we were finally ready to take the ‘Q’ flag down and start our stay in Malta. We all agreed that we couldn’t stay where we were so we called Chris at the marina and he suggested going over to Gozo. We went, which was a really good decision. Mgarr marina is excellent: very sheltered and blow me down has a customs man who could have cleared us with none of the hassle! The pilot states (wrongly) that the customs office closes at the end of September. Well it used to – but now it stays open all year round.
We didn’t even have to pay for mooring - even though we hadn’t yet signed or paid for a winter contract and could have left at any time, they just trusted us and said it would all count as soon as we did sign.
Another sign of the good old-fashioned trust culture was that I took a can to fill with Diesel to the petrol station & told him I would be coming back several times. “No problem“, says he, “Take your time & pay when you’re done”. No two forms of ID, no pay for each one. He just assumed I was honest and would come back and pay in good time. We’ve lost that in Britain over the past 40 years and it’s really great to see it again.
We spent 2 days chilling out, doing a bit of sight-seeing in Victoria and then it was time to get back to Msida so that Hugh and Marion could catch their BA flight back to Gatwick at the ungodly hour of 0500. I called the marina and got lucky. I expected a one-night berth but they gave us one we can stay in until pontoon ’N’ frees up in about 3 weeks. At 3.15 the booked taxi turned up and off they went.
We finally took out our winter contract which cost €1100 for October to April inclusive and water, electricity, showers and toilets are all included in the price. That’s just €50 per week. Fantastic!
We’ve done a little exploring in Malta including seeing the start of the Middle Sea Race run by the Royal Malta Yacht club. No little starting pistol for them – they use a howitzer! The race goes anticlockwise round Sicily then goes down to the tiny island of Lampedusa (the most southerly part of Europe) and back to Malta taking between 3 and 7 days. Some of the 90 yachts are lean mean racing machines but a lot of them are ordinary cruisers with enthusiastic crews. It’s all a bit like a smaller and much more gruelling round the island race.
So that’s it really. We’ve made it and now we settle down to normal life until sometime in April when we set off for Greece. We will do a lot of sightseeing and a fair bit of working and just living but we don’t expect a lot of excitement. I won’t keep up this blog during the winter as I suspect it would be boring to write and even more boring to read. I’ll re-start when we set off again.
Thanks for following us so far – and join us again next year.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Etna
Etna is huge – 10,910 feet high and 40Km wide at the base. We first saw it looming behind other mountains from Milazzo on the north coast. The two recommended places to start a trip to the craters are Riposto and Catani. We chose the former as the mooring prospects looked much better,
Getting up there is quite a challenge. There seems to be no public transport up to the start of the cable car so we had to hire a car in the port and drive for two
hours. The trip from there was €53.00 each and worth every penny.
As we went climbed from the car to the start of the cable car, we were surrounded by thousands of ladybirds – crawling on everything, flying around, and many of them crushed under foot. Very odd and I have no idea what they were doing up there.
The cable is very efficient and whisked us up to 2000 meters followed by another 1000M climb in a 4-wheel drive bus. At the refuge we picked up a guide who spoke Italianbut very little English. Luckily he spoke French and I was able to translate for the others.
The first thing we saw was the destroyed refuge from the 1971 eruption. It erupts irregularly but frequently and has been grumbling all this year so trips to the 4 main craters were out of the question.
We tramped around the craters that did all the damage in 1991 seeing gas, steam and sulphur all in a crumbling lunar landscape.
At one point our guide dug a 6 inch hole in the mointain side and pulled out pebbles that were almost too hot to touch!
At the end of the trip, the clouds which had been shrouding the tip of the mountain cleared a bit and we were able to see the summit smoking.
Altogether a very memorable experience.
Sicily East coast
We went down the East coast fairly quickly as we wanted to take advantage of the settled weather to cross to Malta. Also with no reservations allowed, we wanted to ensure our place in the queue for a winter berth.
Having passed the mythological Scilla and Charybdis whirlpools without even seeing a ripple, we bypassed Messina as it is pretty ugly and the Marina is reputed to be expensive and uncomfortable. Instead, we went to Reggio Calabria which is our one and only stop on the Italian Mainland.
Reggio is not exactly a tourist resort - the only view was of some concrete flats, a railway station and a motorway. The marina was safe, reasonably priced and friendly with water and electricity provided. We, like Rod Heikel, drank the water and came to no harm.
On Wednesday we went to Riposto which is a good starting point for a trip to Etna. We were hoping for a gentle sail of 25 miles with a nice E4 wind. In the event we had a southerly head wind all the way and after a lovely long tack right across the straight, realised that it would be after dark before we got there and hoisted the iron topsail. Pity! The pilot is not enthusiastic about the place so we weren’t expecting much. In the even it was the best marine we had seen since Trapani. The new breakwater is complete. The shelter is excellent and so is the service and facilities. Water and electricity included and all for €32 (would have been €52 in season). Riposto itself is a nice little town with very good provisions including excellent fish shops and market.
Next day we went up Etna.....
On the Friday we set off for a gentle potter to Acireale. Unfortunately, there was almost no wind and we had no choice but to motor. We got there at 3.00 only to find that the promised moorings and pontoons had gone and the only spaces were taken by fishing boats so we went 10 miles further south to Acitrezza. Mooring was basic but easy - anchor then back up to the high concrete quay and tie up (just like Greece). The harbour was a bit dirty but quite acceptable for a night and nobody turned up for a fee so the price was right!
Saturday was a long hop of 33 miles to Syracuse. As we left the harbour there was a nice tail wind so we put up the Spinnaker only to have the wind die 10 minutes later and not re-appear all day. We had high hopes of Syracuse as the largest Greek city in the ancient world outside Athens and the home of Archimedes. For us it didn’t live up to its promise. The town quay was closed and we anchored with no trouble. Getting the dinghy ashore was a nightmare though. The charted place was now a customs quay and we eventually found some steps right by the police compound and under the bows of a large trawler. There was only ine very rusty ring that already had 4 boats tied to it. We had a long dusty walk into town and found it pleasant but sprawling.
The Cathedral in the piazza was stunning but there was little sign of the ancient Greek heritage other than a decrepit ruin of a temple to Apollo. Perhaps we were unlucky and we never found any tourist information.
We wanted to get to Malta so instead of trying Siracuse on a Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast and then motored down to Porto Palo on the corner of Sicily ready for the long crossing on Monday. During this voyage we came across several packages floating in the sea. They were very buoyant , about 80*50*30cm and all trussed up in polythene with string. We thought they were flotsam and ignored them. We also thought we spotted a flare a mile away (lots of white smoke, no light) and diverted to see if someone was in trouble. In the event, a RIB (now disappearing over the horizon) had dropped a lighted land firework in the sea and buggered off! Nice joke which wasted ½ an hour for us. It’s just lucky we didn’t call out the coastguard.
Porto Palo is much bigger than I expected from the chart. The eastern harbour is choked with permanent moorings for small boats and the quay is full of huge trawlers. Nevertheless, there is plenty of room to anchor and the holding was good on the third try.
We rose at 0400 and were out of the harbour by 0445 – still dark – as we wanted to finish the 55 miles to Malta before the customs shuts at 1700. We had to maintain 5Knots so we motored at first. The wind came up at 8.30 and we sailed under Spinnaker for a couple of hours till it died again and we motored the rest. On the way, we spotted something that looked as if it might be An inflatable and diverted again. In the event it was another of those packages but coloured grey with orange ends and a sticky-up white number 35. And we started seeing more – lots more. In the end, curiosity got the better of us and we went to pull one out to see what it was – only to find that it had a large sea anchor attached and a long line that disappeared into the depths. It is some kind of deep-water fishing device. Given the number of these things we saw (over 30 in 2 days) ther must be thousands of these things out there in deep water. They seem like a new and very unpleasant hazard for yachtsmen – particularly at night.
From noon we could see Malta approaching. Valetta was an impressive sight as it loomed out of the sunshine! At 1600, we sailed into Msida marina and, having failed to raise them on VHF moored at a private berth to talk to them and clear customs. In the event- the customs office is now closed permanently and we had to go to Valetta next day! We couldn’t stay where we were so we were directed to an awful mooring on the seaward side near the mouth of Sliema creek. There were pickup buoys and rings to tie up to on the quay – but a vicious swell rushed along the quay trying to trap any unwary dinghy underneath a concrete ledge. Very nasty!
Having passed the mythological Scilla and Charybdis whirlpools without even seeing a ripple, we bypassed Messina as it is pretty ugly and the Marina is reputed to be expensive and uncomfortable. Instead, we went to Reggio Calabria which is our one and only stop on the Italian Mainland.
Reggio is not exactly a tourist resort - the only view was of some concrete flats, a railway station and a motorway. The marina was safe, reasonably priced and friendly with water and electricity provided. We, like Rod Heikel, drank the water and came to no harm.
On Wednesday we went to Riposto which is a good starting point for a trip to Etna. We were hoping for a gentle sail of 25 miles with a nice E4 wind. In the event we had a southerly head wind all the way and after a lovely long tack right across the straight, realised that it would be after dark before we got there and hoisted the iron topsail. Pity! The pilot is not enthusiastic about the place so we weren’t expecting much. In the even it was the best marine we had seen since Trapani. The new breakwater is complete. The shelter is excellent and so is the service and facilities. Water and electricity included and all for €32 (would have been €52 in season). Riposto itself is a nice little town with very good provisions including excellent fish shops and market.
Next day we went up Etna.....
On the Friday we set off for a gentle potter to Acireale. Unfortunately, there was almost no wind and we had no choice but to motor. We got there at 3.00 only to find that the promised moorings and pontoons had gone and the only spaces were taken by fishing boats so we went 10 miles further south to Acitrezza. Mooring was basic but easy - anchor then back up to the high concrete quay and tie up (just like Greece). The harbour was a bit dirty but quite acceptable for a night and nobody turned up for a fee so the price was right!
Saturday was a long hop of 33 miles to Syracuse. As we left the harbour there was a nice tail wind so we put up the Spinnaker only to have the wind die 10 minutes later and not re-appear all day. We had high hopes of Syracuse as the largest Greek city in the ancient world outside Athens and the home of Archimedes. For us it didn’t live up to its promise. The town quay was closed and we anchored with no trouble. Getting the dinghy ashore was a nightmare though. The charted place was now a customs quay and we eventually found some steps right by the police compound and under the bows of a large trawler. There was only ine very rusty ring that already had 4 boats tied to it. We had a long dusty walk into town and found it pleasant but sprawling.
The Cathedral in the piazza was stunning but there was little sign of the ancient Greek heritage other than a decrepit ruin of a temple to Apollo. Perhaps we were unlucky and we never found any tourist information.
We wanted to get to Malta so instead of trying Siracuse on a Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast and then motored down to Porto Palo on the corner of Sicily ready for the long crossing on Monday. During this voyage we came across several packages floating in the sea. They were very buoyant , about 80*50*30cm and all trussed up in polythene with string. We thought they were flotsam and ignored them. We also thought we spotted a flare a mile away (lots of white smoke, no light) and diverted to see if someone was in trouble. In the event, a RIB (now disappearing over the horizon) had dropped a lighted land firework in the sea and buggered off! Nice joke which wasted ½ an hour for us. It’s just lucky we didn’t call out the coastguard.
Porto Palo is much bigger than I expected from the chart. The eastern harbour is choked with permanent moorings for small boats and the quay is full of huge trawlers. Nevertheless, there is plenty of room to anchor and the holding was good on the third try.
We rose at 0400 and were out of the harbour by 0445 – still dark – as we wanted to finish the 55 miles to Malta before the customs shuts at 1700. We had to maintain 5Knots so we motored at first. The wind came up at 8.30 and we sailed under Spinnaker for a couple of hours till it died again and we motored the rest. On the way, we spotted something that looked as if it might be An inflatable and diverted again. In the event it was another of those packages but coloured grey with orange ends and a sticky-up white number 35. And we started seeing more – lots more. In the end, curiosity got the better of us and we went to pull one out to see what it was – only to find that it had a large sea anchor attached and a long line that disappeared into the depths. It is some kind of deep-water fishing device. Given the number of these things we saw (over 30 in 2 days) ther must be thousands of these things out there in deep water. They seem like a new and very unpleasant hazard for yachtsmen – particularly at night.
From noon we could see Malta approaching. Valetta was an impressive sight as it loomed out of the sunshine! At 1600, we sailed into Msida marina and, having failed to raise them on VHF moored at a private berth to talk to them and clear customs. In the event- the customs office is now closed permanently and we had to go to Valetta next day! We couldn’t stay where we were so we were directed to an awful mooring on the seaward side near the mouth of Sliema creek. There were pickup buoys and rings to tie up to on the quay – but a vicious swell rushed along the quay trying to trap any unwary dinghy underneath a concrete ledge. Very nasty!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Aeolian Isles
The Aeolian islands are really worth a visit. In addition to Stromboli which I have always wanted to see, there are several other large islands – all different and interesting. Unfortunately, the weather was distinctly variable and many of the islands seem to go out of their way to make visiting by yacht difficult and expensive.
We started with a 7 hour passage from St Agata to Vulcano which has one of the two active volcanoes in the islands and the only really good anchorages. The scenery as you approach is spectacular with great red and black cliffs revealing cross sections of old lava and ash flows. We saw a tripper boat go up to a cave and decided to give it a go ourselves.
It was almost large enough for Rosa to get into – mast and all. With deep blue water underneath. Lindsay spotted what looked like rubbish in the water – but it turned out to be floating pumice. We caught few pieces in our net.
The anchorage is spectacular with the volcano brooding and smoking above, black sand all around and huge pillars of basalt rising out of the water. We took the dinghy ashore and found a pleasant though very touristy village. We would have liked to spend longer but Stromboli was a must and was a long way to go with only two days spare before a big storm was due to come through.
We left early the next day planning to go around Stromboli at night. We would need a place to moor afterwards and there is no decent shelter on Stromboli so we spied out Panarea on the way – putting an anchoring site and 2 mooring buoys on the GPS. We also noted that the tiny quay was not viable as it was being repaired and the small remaining space was either used for fishing boats or hydrofoils. We got to NE Stromboli ant 6.00 and anchored in very deep and open water for dinner. As the sun set we went off slowly anticlockwise and got to the site where you can see the fireworks in the dark. It is too dim for photography from a moving boat so it’s all in our hear=d. The mountain obliged with three eruptions throwing glowing rocks and lava high into the air which then tumbled down the side of the crater. Truly worth a visit if you ever get the chance!
We got to Panarea at 2300. The anchorage looked uninviting as a couple of small day boats were now moored close to where we would swing so we picked up one of the buoys and had a lumpy but safe night. Mike went in to see the sights so we settled down to breakfast – only to be accosted by a rude young man in a disreputable blue fishing boat demanding €20.00 He had no identification and would give to receipt so we thought he was probably on-the-take. In the end I decided to pay for a quiet life. Thinking about it, I should have insisted on taking a photo of him accepting the money but at the time, I just handed it over. 10 minutes later there was a shout from the neighbouring power boat and a sleepy naked bloke emerged wrapping a towel around himself. He shouted that it was his mooring and demanded payment! I told him we’d paid the bloke in the blue boat. He wasn't happy and I really kicked myself for not taking that picture. I gave him a cheery wave and cast off and I suspect we came under the category of too much trouble to chase. Not a place we will be going back to though.
With a storm forecast the next day, we headed for Lipari (the capital) and picked up a nice pontoon mooring for two days. It wasn't cheap but the ormegiattore (who is the spitting image of Elton John) was very friendly and helpful and provided water, electricity and even WiFi.
Lipari town is great! Lots of provisions, cafes and everything you would expect in a thriving little town. The graveyard is fascinating and the Citadel is impressive. It houses a beautiful cathedral and an excellent museum which is very informative about the vulcanology and history of the islands. The history is very rich and goes right back to Neolithic times when they were the only source of Obsidian in the Western Med, through Greeks, Romans, Moors, pirates crusaders and others.
Finally we had a very lumpy sail over to Milazzo to drop off Mike & Linda and pick up Hugh and Marion.
We started with a 7 hour passage from St Agata to Vulcano which has one of the two active volcanoes in the islands and the only really good anchorages. The scenery as you approach is spectacular with great red and black cliffs revealing cross sections of old lava and ash flows. We saw a tripper boat go up to a cave and decided to give it a go ourselves.
It was almost large enough for Rosa to get into – mast and all. With deep blue water underneath. Lindsay spotted what looked like rubbish in the water – but it turned out to be floating pumice. We caught few pieces in our net.
The anchorage is spectacular with the volcano brooding and smoking above, black sand all around and huge pillars of basalt rising out of the water. We took the dinghy ashore and found a pleasant though very touristy village. We would have liked to spend longer but Stromboli was a must and was a long way to go with only two days spare before a big storm was due to come through.
We left early the next day planning to go around Stromboli at night. We would need a place to moor afterwards and there is no decent shelter on Stromboli so we spied out Panarea on the way – putting an anchoring site and 2 mooring buoys on the GPS. We also noted that the tiny quay was not viable as it was being repaired and the small remaining space was either used for fishing boats or hydrofoils. We got to NE Stromboli ant 6.00 and anchored in very deep and open water for dinner. As the sun set we went off slowly anticlockwise and got to the site where you can see the fireworks in the dark. It is too dim for photography from a moving boat so it’s all in our hear=d. The mountain obliged with three eruptions throwing glowing rocks and lava high into the air which then tumbled down the side of the crater. Truly worth a visit if you ever get the chance!
We got to Panarea at 2300. The anchorage looked uninviting as a couple of small day boats were now moored close to where we would swing so we picked up one of the buoys and had a lumpy but safe night. Mike went in to see the sights so we settled down to breakfast – only to be accosted by a rude young man in a disreputable blue fishing boat demanding €20.00 He had no identification and would give to receipt so we thought he was probably on-the-take. In the end I decided to pay for a quiet life. Thinking about it, I should have insisted on taking a photo of him accepting the money but at the time, I just handed it over. 10 minutes later there was a shout from the neighbouring power boat and a sleepy naked bloke emerged wrapping a towel around himself. He shouted that it was his mooring and demanded payment! I told him we’d paid the bloke in the blue boat. He wasn't happy and I really kicked myself for not taking that picture. I gave him a cheery wave and cast off and I suspect we came under the category of too much trouble to chase. Not a place we will be going back to though.
With a storm forecast the next day, we headed for Lipari (the capital) and picked up a nice pontoon mooring for two days. It wasn't cheap but the ormegiattore (who is the spitting image of Elton John) was very friendly and helpful and provided water, electricity and even WiFi.
Lipari town is great! Lots of provisions, cafes and everything you would expect in a thriving little town. The graveyard is fascinating and the Citadel is impressive. It houses a beautiful cathedral and an excellent museum which is very informative about the vulcanology and history of the islands. The history is very rich and goes right back to Neolithic times when they were the only source of Obsidian in the Western Med, through Greeks, Romans, Moors, pirates crusaders and others.
Finally we had a very lumpy sail over to Milazzo to drop off Mike & Linda and pick up Hugh and Marion.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Northern Sicily
The trip accross was long and fairly lumpy. We had a nice beam wind most of the way though so we were able to sail and keep the average speed close to 5 Knots most of the way. There were no incidents. There were squalls around but we led a charmed life and got lightly rained on just once and didn’t get punched by any heavy squall winds. I did the shift from midnight till dawn and got all the way through my first Jon Grisham novel on Lindsay’s iPod. A wonderful invention – mad the long boring night pass fairly quickly.
Shortly after dawn we got our first glimpse of the Egadi Islands just to the west of Sicily. It took until 1.00 to get to them. We had intended to moor there but found that the pontoon had been taken up for the winter. Knowing that all the mooring hardware would still be down there, thirsting for our anchor, we decided to go straight on to Trapani on the mainland and got there at 5.00.
As we motored down to the marina in the deepest part of the harbour, a man on a pontoon waved us in. I thought the layout must have changed and in we went. It subsequently turned out that it was a new marina and the original one is still there further down. It was a happy occurrence though. They are both teh same price (€50 for us) but the new one, called Cantiere Navale, was one of the best places we have stayed. It has all facilities – including excellent security, friendly staff, a free washing machine, free electricity, free WiFi and potable water. There is even a nice little seating area with coke & coffee machines and chairs. We stayed two days.
From Trapani, we had only 4 days to get close to the Aeolian islands and pick up Mike and Linda so it was days of long passages and short stops. The forecast was fairly rainy and unsettled and the north coast of Sicily is very mountainous and steep-to so there are not many places to stop anyway. We decided to put as many miles behind us as quickly as possible in case of bad weather later.
We stopped at Femina, Cefalu and St. Agata Militello. As we approached Femina from the West, we went between the island and the mainland over an area charted as 5M. A fisherman shouted at us that it was only 2 Meters and I had some difficulty explaining that we draw less than one. In the event, the depth got down to only 1.5M in one place with rocks below – so if you’re following us and not in a Southerly – round the island would be much more sensible!
Femina was a nice little fishing port. The pilot says that mooring is from the quay – but this isn’t true. It is completely choked with fishing boats. There is a pontoon round to the right run by an Ormegiatore. No English spoken and no receipts given despite a great deal of form filling and bureaucracy.
Cefalu was lovely – a real Gem. We were sorry not to be able to spend a day or so there. It has winding medieval streets which seem to be perfectly preserved and the Cathedral is stunning.A huge, very plain nave with a huge ancient freso behind the alter. The walk from the port to the town takes about 20 minutes but very pleasant. There is a well hidden footpath that goes right down by the sea.
St Agata is now providing good shelter as the mole has been extended and hooks around. Helm Yachting (part of Kiriakoulis) runs a charter business from here and provides a really excellent service for their modest fees. At weekends though, the pontoon is likely to be full of charter boats so weekday arrival is a good idea. They provide a free taxi service to a local supermarket and to a local restaurant.
An excellent fish shop lives on the se front on the way from the quay to the town. The lady in there is very friendly and speaks excellent French.
Mike and Linda arrived by train in the afternoon. We stayed overnight and then set off to see the volcanoes in the Aeolian islands.....
.... And back to Milazzo to drop Linda and Mike and pick up Marion and Hugh.
The place is a complete Rip-Off. It was the most expensive marina we've been to anywhere - €60 for a 10 Meter boat in the off season and with pretty much the poorest facilities. It'a just a few pontoons in a corner of a busy commercial port. Ptrovisionas are a real expedition - although the fish when you find it is excellent. The marina has only one combined toilet + shower for each sex and those are dirty and with no thought to how you stow your clothes without them getting soaked. The queues in the morning have to be seen to be believed! Electricity and water are extra and metered (meanly). No intenet of course. We won't be going back there ever!
The journey along the final stretch of the north coast is bland and surprisingly long until you get to the Straights. We were expecting a rough ride but compared to Husrt Narrows it is a pussy-cat. We pulled into Reggio Calabria a couple of hours later poised to tackle the east coast.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Down Eastern Sardinia
Well, here we are again back on passage. We relaxed in the Bonefaccio strait with Rob & Maggie for a couple of weeks visiting places old and places new.
Rob went for a row in the tinker to get some pictures of Rosa sailing under Spinaker. Very Pretty!
We left them in Olbia at 4.00 after tying up to the old commercial dock all day. It was a good mooring and free – nice to have a solid old-fashioned stone quay to tie up alongside with proper warps and fenders! Unfortunately there is no water or electricity or even rubbish bins. The fuel quay sells water at €5 per 100Litres – which we skipped even though we were pretty low on water.
Olbia is a very busy Ferry port – You are almost bound to meet at least one ferry going up or down the main channel. Fortunately there is plenty of room for a yacht between the channel markers and the mussel beds so it is pretty much stress free. The wonderfully painted Moby line runs form here.
We left to anchor at Cala Condo Cavalo and only just made it before nightfall. Another 15 minutes and we would it would have been too dark to see. The mooring buoys quoted in the pilot are either just bathing area markers or are all broken as there is no way to tie onto them. When we were here two weeks ago and this time, nobody was even trying – everyone had anchored.
Expecting rain later in the day, we got off to a very early start and after a slight dispute as to whether to hoist the Spinaker or not – we did and had a nice sail with fluky winds and arrived at La Caletta at 12.00. It’s a large harbour, well sheltered, very well provisioned with warps and tailed moorings and pretty informal – you just find a space then go off to the yacht club to tell them what you have done. For Rosa it was €30 for the first night and €25 for subsequent ones. Water and electricity that works plus showers and toilet s in the beautiful club house. The only fly in the ointment was the security gate which has a key hole but no key and is just left open. The wind pushed it shut overnight and the only way of getting off the pontoon was by dinghy. It then turned out that the secretary in the clubhouse doesn’t have a key either - so the caretaker was summoned and was there in the promised Italian 20 minutes (i.e. 4 hours). It shut itself again overnight but we set sail early so left it as someone else’s problem.
Current plan is to get as far as we’re going down the east coast on Sunday then set of on the 160 mile leg to Trapani in Sicily at first light on Monday to arrive late on Tuesday.
After waiting a day for the winds to subside, we set off on the 35 mile treck to Santa Maria Navarese with no bolt holes in between. There was a 2M swell from the previous day which bounced us around but there was a nice 12 Knot tail wind pretty much all the way and the Spinnaker pulled us along at a spanking 6 knots.
An hour before we got there, the wind started to rise and we dropped the sails and motored. By the time we got there it was well above 20 Knots. Santa Maria is an excellent huge modern harbour with very nice and friendly staff who came out in a rib to help us in. It was pretty hairy with the wind threatening to flip the bow around so we ended up going into a berth bows-to, down wind.
Next day we set of to Porto Cavalli – our last stop in Sardinia. It was a lovely sail all the way down and the marina is huge with very few boats in it. We moored up side to with proper springs – it felt very secure after the standard Med moorings. The whole place was a ghost town – there is a huge campsite just behind the port which was deserted. A small supermarket which was open but had mostly empty shelves and no fresh produce and a tourist development 2 miles up the coast which reminded L of ‘the Prisoner’ – up market housing with nobody around. All the shops shut. There is no town or village nearby so we were glad we were already well provisioned!
The forecast for the 170 mile passage to Sicily was fairly dire so we stayed 2 nights and then set off by 8.00 on the 36 hour ‘hop’. There were not many highlights – just a long slog. L had laid in some audio books on her IPod which were a godsend – particularly overnight. The highlight was seeing a turtle and two Dolphins.
Next Installment – Sicily...
Rob went for a row in the tinker to get some pictures of Rosa sailing under Spinaker. Very Pretty!
We left them in Olbia at 4.00 after tying up to the old commercial dock all day. It was a good mooring and free – nice to have a solid old-fashioned stone quay to tie up alongside with proper warps and fenders! Unfortunately there is no water or electricity or even rubbish bins. The fuel quay sells water at €5 per 100Litres – which we skipped even though we were pretty low on water.
Olbia is a very busy Ferry port – You are almost bound to meet at least one ferry going up or down the main channel. Fortunately there is plenty of room for a yacht between the channel markers and the mussel beds so it is pretty much stress free. The wonderfully painted Moby line runs form here.
We left to anchor at Cala Condo Cavalo and only just made it before nightfall. Another 15 minutes and we would it would have been too dark to see. The mooring buoys quoted in the pilot are either just bathing area markers or are all broken as there is no way to tie onto them. When we were here two weeks ago and this time, nobody was even trying – everyone had anchored.
Expecting rain later in the day, we got off to a very early start and after a slight dispute as to whether to hoist the Spinaker or not – we did and had a nice sail with fluky winds and arrived at La Caletta at 12.00. It’s a large harbour, well sheltered, very well provisioned with warps and tailed moorings and pretty informal – you just find a space then go off to the yacht club to tell them what you have done. For Rosa it was €30 for the first night and €25 for subsequent ones. Water and electricity that works plus showers and toilet s in the beautiful club house. The only fly in the ointment was the security gate which has a key hole but no key and is just left open. The wind pushed it shut overnight and the only way of getting off the pontoon was by dinghy. It then turned out that the secretary in the clubhouse doesn’t have a key either - so the caretaker was summoned and was there in the promised Italian 20 minutes (i.e. 4 hours). It shut itself again overnight but we set sail early so left it as someone else’s problem.
Current plan is to get as far as we’re going down the east coast on Sunday then set of on the 160 mile leg to Trapani in Sicily at first light on Monday to arrive late on Tuesday.
After waiting a day for the winds to subside, we set off on the 35 mile treck to Santa Maria Navarese with no bolt holes in between. There was a 2M swell from the previous day which bounced us around but there was a nice 12 Knot tail wind pretty much all the way and the Spinnaker pulled us along at a spanking 6 knots.
An hour before we got there, the wind started to rise and we dropped the sails and motored. By the time we got there it was well above 20 Knots. Santa Maria is an excellent huge modern harbour with very nice and friendly staff who came out in a rib to help us in. It was pretty hairy with the wind threatening to flip the bow around so we ended up going into a berth bows-to, down wind.
Next day we set of to Porto Cavalli – our last stop in Sardinia. It was a lovely sail all the way down and the marina is huge with very few boats in it. We moored up side to with proper springs – it felt very secure after the standard Med moorings. The whole place was a ghost town – there is a huge campsite just behind the port which was deserted. A small supermarket which was open but had mostly empty shelves and no fresh produce and a tourist development 2 miles up the coast which reminded L of ‘the Prisoner’ – up market housing with nobody around. All the shops shut. There is no town or village nearby so we were glad we were already well provisioned!
The forecast for the 170 mile passage to Sicily was fairly dire so we stayed 2 nights and then set off by 8.00 on the 36 hour ‘hop’. There were not many highlights – just a long slog. L had laid in some audio books on her IPod which were a godsend – particularly overnight. The highlight was seeing a turtle and two Dolphins.
Next Installment – Sicily...
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