We slipped our lines from Msida marina at 7am bound for Sicily. The forecast promised light east going south-east winds and we had a faint hope we might be able to get the cruising chute out. Naturally enough, the forecast winds only showed themselves for about 1 hour, the rest of the time we motored into a gentle headwind and a flat sea. So much for all that sailing in Tunisia, now we were making up for it! We passed yachts southbound to Malta, all sailing peacefully downwind - I bet they couldn't believe their luck! They were the ones that should have been motoring, not us!
The shipping was a bit of problem on this leg, it was all going across our path and so we had to watch out for it. Not one ship appeared to give way - as we were motoring we expected that to some degree, except that some ships were supposed to give way to us. we tried in vain to hail them on the VHF - at least to know if they had or had not seen us. One coastal tanker managed to go in front of a yacht sailing south and us going north, giving neither of us more than 1/4 mile clearance. We conceded way by turning to go behind - better to be safe than sorry.
Porto Palo is a large bay with breakwaters on either side. The fishing fleet lies behind the eastern one, which affords the best shelter. We went over that side to look for a place to anchor, but the sea bed is littered with debris of old chains, moorings, fishing traps and nets, so we opted for a patch of sand nearer the middle. the evening and night were windless, so there was no problem on that score, only the horrendous rolling from the wash caused by the departing fishing boats!
2. Tues 19 June. to Syracuse 30nm
Initially a flat calm day turned into a nice downwind sail and then stiff beam reach as we turned to port around the headland towards Syracuse harbour. It's a wide easy entrance into the Grand Harbour - and another impressive vista of the fortifications on the island of Ortigia which is the heart of the old city. In the huge anchorage we found old friends Chris and Claire on Vonasi who we had met back in northern Spain 2 years ago. We anchored behind them in a stiff afternoon breeze. Later when the winds had eased they came over for a chat and a beer, getting us up to date with their news and adventures as well as helping us get our bearings in Syracuse.
We ended
up spending 2 weeks in Syracuse as we were waiting for a package
of goods to catch up with us. It also gave Terry a chance to look at the
outboard engine as it appeared it might be on it's last legs. Fortunately
with a bit of help (thanks Bill) it turned out to be a blocked fuel line. One afternoon
the wind turned westwards and cranked up, with it so did the temperature. It
was a true Saharan wind - it felt like standing in a fan oven (ok, not that
I have ever done that). Syracuse harbour is not a place to be recommended
for swimming (a bit wiffy some evenings), so we had to keep cool by dunking
clothes in water and putting them on. The next day sweltered again. we
learned that we were smack in the middle of an italian heatwave.
Temperatures reached 49 deg C ashore and we measured 44 in the shade in the
cockpit. on the second day though, we took Roam out to a small anchorage
just about 2nm from the entrance so we could cool off with a swim in the sea.
Friends
Bill on Coire and John and Breda on their catamaran Dal Riada
showed up and we shared a few evenings on board and ashore in the city. At
last we
got news that our package had been delivered to Gioi - a Sicilian friend of
a friend who kindly agreed to be the post address, so we hired a car and
drove over to Realmonte nr Agrigento to pick it up. We had expected to turn
straight back, but Gioi and his girlfriend Lydia asked us to have lunch with
them at their beach house - how could we refuse! They drove us down a
precarious road to a converted barn overlooking a little bay. We went for a
swim and then had the promised lunch on the terrace. it was very difficult
to tear ourselves away for the 3 hour drive back to Syracuse.
3. 2nd July. Roccella Ionica 95nm
We decided to do the leg to the mainland of Italy in one hop and go direct to Roccella Ionica, a free marina we had heard about. We had a nice sail during the day watching Etna in the distance puffing smoke skywards. There was a bit of cloud and we even had about 3 drops of rain. Once close to land at Capo Spartivento at around 1am, the traffic increased - commercial shipping coming in and out if the Straits of Messina, fishing boats, large and small and strobe lit fishing buoys all adding to the confusion amongst the lights of roads, cars and towns ashore. The radar really helps to work things out, especially how far away something actually is and therefore which lights to give priority attention to.
At 5.30am it was getting light and we were nearing Roccella and by 7 we were tied up inside, already sweltering in the heat. It's a big harbour, apparently built to encourage yachting in the italian region of Calabria (with the help of EU money of course), but it seems that no-one runs the place, so no maintenance or repairs are done to the harbour. one day it will be unusable if it is not taken care of.
4. 6 July. Le Castella. 45nm
A good forecast of NW5 easing NW4 had us hopeful and as we exited the harbour and hoisted the sails it seemed that we were on to a good thing - for about 30 seconds, then it died out completely for about 3 hours! We could see a sharply defined wind zone ahead about 15 miles out, but it was on the nose, so we kept motoring into a lumpy sea for a while. after another 3 hours the wind shifted to the east sufficiently free for a nice sail for about 2 hours. Outside Le Castella the sea was very lumpy and any thoughts of anchoring in the bay outside were laid to rest, so we went into the marina set in a man made basin hewn out of the rock through a narrow gap which led off from the fishing harbour. Once inside it was a pleasant spot, a man directed us to a berth, took our lines and took our money (20e incl water & elec). it was possible to see that the original entrance had been cut directly to the sea but since blocked up.
5. 7 July. Ciro Marina. 36nm
On again the next day with a benign forecast. We had had mixed reports about Crotone, (dirty, uncomfortable, rip off) so decided to head a bit further on to Ciro with the advantage that it would make the following day 10m shorter. Once round Capo Colonne, keeping clear of the marine reserve and the gas platform (strange mixture!) we had a lazy drift north-westwards to Ciro. We had heard about the harbour from a guy we spoke to briefly in Syracuse and a Cruising Association report that suggested it was a full-blown marina. Well, it may HAVE been, but it's not now. As we rounded the breakwater we saw 2 yachts anchored in the outer harbour with lines to rocks astern. One boat crew shouted to us that it was free inside the harbour and you could go anywhere. The harbour was busy with fishing boats, large and small and lots and lots of small motor cruisers, pleasure boats and jet skis (most whizzing up and down the fairway in the harbour). we ended up rafting to a french yacht ( cos you never know who is going to turn up in the middle of the night and say you are in 'their' spot). Looking more closely at the harbour you could see why it had been abandoned. Some of the quays had just collapsed into the water and big cracks and holes were appearing in other places. Like Roccella Ionica, it had been built with EU money and opened as a marina but once the place started crumbling there was no money left to fix it.
6. 8 July: to St Maria di Leuca. 63nm
And on again. A forecast of NW3-4 had us hoping again of some sailing, but little materialised and when it did the wind was from the SE - 180 degrees out! We motor-sailed most of the way and sailed for about 5 hours, arriving at the Lands End of Italy - the tip of the heel - at 6.30pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon just as every other italian was returning after a nice day afloat. Boats everywhere! Leuca was a fully operating Porto Turistico; we were met by a marniero who helped us tie up and directed us to the office, who took our money (33e incl water and elec, but showers extra!). The harbour was very rolly every time any boat went past at whatever speed. It did look like there was a possibility to anchor just outside the harbour and that could not have been any worse. both the anchorage and the harbour are very exposed to westerly winds.
7. 9 July: to Othonoi, Greece 50nm (see next logbook)
