We
finally departed Marina del Sole at 9am bound for Tunisia but we didn't make
it. The weather was
showing a short window between some south-easterlies and yet another strong NW Mistrale. The wind was forecast to turn NW, but it did not materialise and
we found a short SE chop to contend with as well, so we decided to wait for better weather and turn
east instead to Villasimius on the SE corner of Sardinia. We arrived in the
very pretty
anchorage right outside the marina to find Full Flight
and Chimere at anchor there also. The afternoon turned sunny and
warm, just right for a swim - it was warm too! We all enjoyed a beach
barbeque later that evening on the rocks.
The following day was not so pleasant as the winds increased from the NW and showers fell from a grey sky. By 8pm we knew that we would not sleep for the noise of the wind in the anchorage, so we upped anchor and went into the marina, where we were met by Robert and Suzy on Chimere offering dinner - fantastic! The next morning we awoke to a sunny calm and wondered if we had wasted our money on the marina fees. However, within 15 minutes it was howling a full gale - unbelievable. Full Flight had left it just too late and arrived in the marina just after the wind started making manoeuvring difficult. They were quickly followed by the French Jeanneau (Arcalune chi) with Laurent, Caroline and their 2 children.
We sat out the mistrale snug and safe in the marina for 4 nights (€14.30 per night mid season, rises 1 June and again 1 July) while the winds blew. The weather report from Capo Carbonara, less than 2 miles away, recorded steady winds of f8-9 all day.
2. Fri 1 June. to Bizerte, Tunisia. (115nm 23.5hrs)
On
the 6th day (31 May) we returned to the calm anchorage for 1 night, with the
plan brewing that instead of Tunisia we would go to Sicily instead. We
agreed with Full Flight on a 6am departure the next morning. By then,
however we had decided that we really would prefer to go to Tunisia, so we
waved them off the next morning and waited till 9am before we decided the
forecast was just about OK to cross the Sardinian Channel.
We had an OK passage, nothing more than about 25kts from the NW as forecast. At 1600 the cruise ship Arcadia passed close ahead of us, forcing us to alter course slightly. I called them up on the VHF and noted the radio operators surprise when I wished them a good afternoon and informed them I was calling from a yacht they had just gone by on their starboard side. I really am not sure that they had seen us! They kindly gave us the latest weather forecast (West force 6 overnight) and continued steaming to the western horizon. The rest of the passage was uneventful other than we kept getting gale warnings from Tabarka Radio for the north Tunisian coast and could see plenty of lightning on the southern horizon. We double-reefed the main in anticipation of anything bad and still kept up 4.5kts. As dawn broke we were approaching the shipping lanes outside of Bizerte in a big grey rolly sea, a grey cloudy sky and rain. This was not quite the Africa I was expecting - more Torquay than Tunisia! Having the wind generator permanently mounted was a great boon, the power it generated during the night meant that we could run the radar for longish periods of time to check for shipping and fishing traffic. Also of note, we sailed all the way, except for 20 minutes engine time weighing anchor and entering Bizerte harbour - not bad!
We were greeted in the Marina by a very smiley man who took our lines. He informed us that he was our 'guardian' and indicated that we should give him something for his trouble, we told to him to wait till later. He was quickly followed by the Police and Customs guys, who came aboard and got us to fill in forms about the boat and ourselves. They asked if we had any guns or anything to declare (we had hidden the stash of Lidl whisky and gin!), we said we had nothing - they joked between them that they we could not possibly have anything as the boat was so small and already full to bursting with the folding bikes under the saloon table and the couple of cupboards that they did ask to see, stuffed with books and tools. We had also been advised by another cruiser that he had declared his spirits truthfully, only to have to give half of it away as 'gifts' as everyone knew he had it! Most people here speak french, but it's been difficult as we keep mixing up french with italian after 6 months there!
Our
stamped passports and documentation were returned within about 30
minutes, so after a nap we made our way into the town. We found banks with
cash machines to get cash and an internet place called a 'Publinet' here.
The speed was very slow, although costs around 1.5TD (1€) per hour. We had
our first meal out - I had cous cous with chicken, Terry had a quarter
chicken and chips, all with salad, bread and dips; with a soft drink it all
came to 9TD (6€)(and no ill effects afterwards either!). There are
supermarkets selling most usual things and a couple of markets. The
following day we found the main markets near the old fishing harbour- 3 side
by side, one for fruit and veg with meat on one side (a bit grisly!), the
second for fish and the 3rd for poultry. All the prices are marked, so
shopping is very easy.
3. Mon 4 June. to Sidi Bou Said (nr Tunis) 43nm 9.5hrs
My Birthday! At last a lovely day -sun and blue sky and a lovely sail, nice force 4 all the way from the beam, rear quarter and astern. We were goose-winged with the genoa poled out as we made the trip round into the Gulf of Tunis. We arrived at 20.00 and we had a birthday meal of tuna salad on board!
The
pretty 'artists' village of Sidi Bou Said is located at the top of a very steep hill which
you can reach from the marina by climbing the steps set into the hillside.
It's quite a climb for us lazy folks! the locals seem to trip up and down
them all day long without a care. There are groups of people sitting on the
steps, usually couples, just chatting or hanging around. The village itself
is very picturesque, but totally over-run with tourists (don't you just hate
'em!)trying to be sold
tourist tat at the stalls and shops in the narrow streets. Coaches disgorge
their complement who then wander around, maybe buy something, then get back
on the coach and leave. We eventually found bread being sold out of a van
and then a supermarket at the bottom of the hill near the railway station.
In the afternoon we went to La Marsa on the train (.2 TD) to try and find the Publinet. The marina brochure says it has wi-fi, it doesn't! After a lot of wandering around, and lots of asking, we found the Publinet. The train actually terminates at La Marsa Plage and it's about 1km to La Marsa. The PC we were using managed to crash twice and even though we were there for over an hour, the guy only charged us 1TD and apologised profusely! We had an evening meal of beef pittas from a Take-away stand and made our way back to the marina.
The next
day we went to Carthage to visit the ruins of the ancient City - the City
made famous by Hannibal and his elephants crossing the alps. The
Carthaginians ruled this part of the Med for some time until the Romans
defeated them and destroyed much of Carthage. So unsurprisingly, not much
remains and we were a tad disappointed! We decided to try and do the visit
on the cheap, but it's not recommended. the sites are spread out and some of
the locations are not easy to find as there are no good guide maps
available. entrance to all the sites costs 7TD (4.6€). better to get a taxi.
The most evocative site for us was the Coliseum where the gladiators fought. We saw
the altar where they prayed before each bout and where they were held in
prison-like cells. None of the super-structure remains, but our guide told us
that the stadium held about 20000 spectators. It was easy to imagine the
noise and spectacle. We got a taxi back to the marina - it cost 1.4td (1€)
and we were exhausted from all the walking, when we could have done it in
comfort for about 5€!
We tried to leave the next day, so we checked out with the Marina and the Police (you have to check in and out with them too in every place). We motored out of the marina in flat calm to be greeted by a brisk 20 knot NE wind, so we turned round and went back! The marina staff were unphased, but the Police were very indignant about having to do extra work. It's a shame that we seem to be stuck in one of the most expensive marinas in Tunisia (22€ a night!)
Later in
the day we took the train in the opposite direction into Tunis. It's about a
30 minute journey for 0.6TD (abt 0.4€). We found a Publinet with broadband
speed just a couple of blocks from the station walking towards
town
and got a map from the tourist office opposite and had a good look round. We
walked through the Medina (old town). It seemed that there is one lane which
is totally covered with the regular tourist tat - kaftans, hookah pipes,
brass ware, ceramics and drums, just the same as Sidi Bou Said and you have
to run the gauntlet of the stall holders all wanting you to look at their
stuff that is no difference from the stuff in the next stall! However, take a
turn off this main drag and you find the real place, where real people live,
work and shop. on one side it seemed to be all mens clothes and the womens
stuff was all on the other side. We were rarely hassled here and could even
go into the shops to look at things without being pounced on! We finished the
trip with another meal out, cous cous and chicken again for 7TD - cheaper
this time, but not as nice as Bizerte, though.
Next day we needed some shopping so took a taxi (2.5TD) to the Carrefour at La Marsa. It's huge and well worth the trip if you are in Sidi Bou Said. we got soft drinks, chicken fillets, grilled chicken, fruit and veg, dried goods, canned vegetables - all really clean and fresh.
4. Sat 9 June. to Sidi Dauod. 29nm 6.2hrs
After
checking the weather forecast at 8am in the marina office, we departed
for the small fishing harbour of Sid Dauod near Cap Bon. We had heard from
our Swedish friends on Pandora that they had stopped there. it was
built for the tuna fishing, but it seems there are no tuna left, so the
locals just catch what they can. As the pilot book says, it's a shallow
entrance and a bit tricky. We nearly ran a boat over who was casting drift
nets and they pointed us in the right direction (keep well to the north of
the entrance. the green and red beacons do mark the fairway leading north
from the entrance). Once inside we were directed to a berth on the fishing
quay next to nets and boats and fishermen going about their business. The
officials turned up at the dockside, were very courteous, friendly and
efficient. It's not exactly a beauty spot, but very interesting and it's
good safe shelter, if a bit smelly!
5. Sun 10 June. to Kelibia. 30nm
We left Sidi Dauod early at 6.30 just as all the fishing boats were returning in order to get round Cap Bon before any wind started. In the event there was hardly any wind and we did most of the journey under engine other than about 1.5 hours to enjoy the warm sunshine. The approach to Kelibia is dominated by a huge hill fort on top of the only hill for miles. It's very impressive and if we'd stayed longer we would have gone to have a closer look. We were met in the port by another 'guardian' who directed us to raft up as number 3 outside an old fishing trawler from Oban and an empty charter boat. After us the boats kept coming and we were eventually 5 deep on our raft. It was a busy day for Habib the guardian and the officials. We found internet near the port (go out of port to main road, turn left towards the mosque. take the right beside the mosque and it's opposite the mosque entrance) and checking the weather we had found a good window to go to Malta via Pantelleria over the next 2 days.
6. Mon 11 June. to Pantelleria. 42nm
An early start, we motored all the way to the extinct volcanic island of Pantelleria under blue sunny skies. The 850 meter summit of the island eventually showed itself through the haze after having to change course to avoid 2 ships. We moored in the Porto Vecchio of the port - free - just report to the coast guard on arrival. As we had come from Tunisia, they took us round to the Carabinieri office to clear into Italy - all completely painless - we ended up with a stamp in our passports.
7. Tues 12 June. to Valletta, Malta. 140nm (overnight)
An uneventful overnight passage to Malta. The forecast indicated that we would be motoring all the way, but in the end we managed nearly half under sail. Most of the shipping was going parallel to us so presented no problems. One strange echo on the radar with a plethora of lights eventually resolved itself at dawn as mobile oil rig under tow. We also had dolphins swimming with us overnight, their wakes shining with phosphorescence like torpedo trails - it was slightly alarming to see massive green streaks in the water rushing directly at the boat, until a couple of seconds later you realised that it was dolphins! We haven't seen much sea life this trip yet. The few dolphins we have seen in the day passages have not hung around to 'play' and there were thousands of shearwaters following the fishing boats for tidbits outide Kelibia.
We
entered the Marsamxetto harbour to a stunning vista of huge harbour walls,
victorian buildings, domes and spires heading for Msida Marina. when we got
there we were told they were full and were advised to try Manoel Island
marina round the corner. the marinero directed us to a berth alongside a
concrete quay. There was quite a strong breeze blowing us on to the quay so
we squished in easily. unfortunately we had not noticed the old iron mooring
rings on the vertical face of the quay - seeing only the bollards on the
top, so we managed to ding one of the rings quite badly which put a hole in
the gel coat. we were a bit fed up with the marinero who knew about the
rings but made no attempt to fend us off. they then charged us 30e (water &
elec extra) for the privilege. we were not amused.
Fortunately we had spied the aussie catamaran Shamara in Msida marina, so thought we would go and visit Barry and Robyn, whom we had met in Cagliari. They helped drown our sorrows with a beer or 2 with their son Shane and his wife Renee.
Next day
we managed to swap spots with a boat in Msida marina, tied up,
registered
and felt much better. its about half the price here (water and elec incl).
We went for a bike ride round Valetta - apparently it's one of the first
'planned' cities - ie on a grid system, and is exceedingly impressive.
there's a bit of a mix of tired, old victorian buildings with new apartments
etc. it makes an attractive city. The island is also a bus and car spotters
dream. The busses are mostly old Leyland, Bedfords and AEC's brightly
coloured and look like they are meticulously maintained. There are plenty of
'classic' british cars here too, but in a much more decrepit state. I guess
the climate is conducive to their longevity, plus of course there is not a
huge opportunity to rack up the miles on an island 15x8 miles.
We met a lovely young english couple, Michael and Michelle who were working on a superyacht having a re-fit which they have nearly finished. Back in the UK they have a Rival 41 - Fubbs which they are hoping to sail south later this year after a complete re-fit on Fubbs having bought her at auction and saving furiously for the past few years. We compared Rival notes - we can't believe that they are still saying they don't have enough stowage or tankage! Michelle has a very nautical background having sailed all over the world with her parents. While crossing the Atlantic when she was 12 years old their boat was holed by a whale and had to take to the life raft in mid ocean. The family of 5 were adrift for 2 weeks. Unbelievably they were ignored by 2 ships, whom they knew had seen them. They were eventually rescued by a Norwegian super-tanker who took them to South Africa. The ship lifted the life radt aboard after rescuing the family and they could see where the sharks had nibbled away at the bottom. Michelle is now very particular about the type of life raft she has on board!
Logbook 3 2007 - Sicily & Italy
