Menorca & Sardinia

Fornells, Menorca We have broken several personal records this summer, over 2,100 nautical miles travelled, over 380 hours under way, 7 night passages and extended our cruising range as far south as Msida Creek, Malta (35°53.784`E) and as far east as Petalas Island, Greece (021°06.612`E). Our travels have taken us to Menorca, Sardinia, Sicily, Gozo, Malta, Italy, Montenegro, Greece then back to Italy, and sailed several seas including the Balearic, Sardinian, Tyranean, Northern Ionian, Southern Adriatic, and Echinades view route

Highlights of the summer were seeing loggerhead turtles, dolphins playing in the bow-wave, the Greek ruins on Sicily, fingers of red hot lava flowing down Etna and a wide diversity of wildlife and cultures and meeting Billy and Jane in Sicily and a visit from our friends Colin & Debbie.

In general we noticed that compared to Spain, the further East we travelled the more difficult it was to maintain a healthy diet at a reasonable cost. Fresh produce was more expensive and lower quality and low fat foods were either non-existent or very expensive. Compared to Barcelona, we estimate the cost of living in Italy is 20% more and Greece 30% more.

Loggerhead Turtle Our journey starts on 2nd May when we left Barcelona for Fornells, Menorca, where we had two marvellous days at anchor. From Menorca we motor sailed all the way to Sardinia apart from 1 hour under sail. Over several miles we were puzzled by occasional floating objects, which on investigation turned out to be loggerhead turtles. By night time I was getting concerned about our fuel consumption so I decided to go to Teulada where we can anchor off the beach and there is a well sheltered marina. They don't have fuel but will get it for you. A Navtext bulletin informed us that the firing range was in use that day until 18:00 so we had to slow down to wait for that to finish then just as it did and we entered the firing range the wind suddenly swung round to the East and increased to F4 so we had to battle that until we rounded cabo Teulada. We finally dropped anchor in the twilight.

Next day the wind was light so we planed to sail the 18 nm to Perd'e 'Sali where we could get fuel, we had plenty of time and the prospect of a gentle sail was appealing. Just before we left the wind started to increase from the East which I thought was just a land breeze but of course it was on the nose. We tacked our way out of the bay but the wind kept increasing until it was a steady F6 gusting F7 and I had a very unhappy admiral aboard so we turned around and went back to Teulada Marina where a very pleasant marinero got us 50 litres of fuel in the afternoon. Over the next few days we recorded wind speeds of 44.8 knots (force 10) but probably the main highlight for Tan was seeing a huge herd of goats being driven past the port into the hills, she lost count at 55.

Villasimius, Sardinia Good job our sail to Perd'e'Sali for fuel was aborted because when we finally got there five days later we were turned away at the entrance due to the marina being silted up and too shallow. Had a slightly dicey time turning around in the heavy swell and continued on to Cagliari which hasn't changed since we were here 2 years ago, it's still dirty and run-down but there is a new marina tucked in behind this one which is cleaner and similar price. Saw several flocks of flamingoes overhead.

After two days we left Cagliari and proceeded east along the south coast of Sardinia where there are miles of unspoilt beaches but the SW swell prevented us from anchoring. Arrived Villasimius and anchored outside the marina in a small bay under the old fort tower. Went for a lovely walk up to the tower, lots of wild flora and lovely views. Also noticed a more sheltered anchorage the other side of the marina with nice beaches and just off a secluded campsite so re-anchored there. Water is lovely and clear but a little to cold for swimming. Discovered a lovely little mini-market in the marina and bought bread and a some fresh produce. The staff are very pleasant and helpful, at this time of year the stock is low but you can order meat and bread for the following day. The forecast on Friday morning was for potentially strong winds and rain showers so we moved into the marina where we spent the next 6 nights, max wind speed we recorded was 39.4 (gale force 8). Tan's now suffering from FPWS (Fresh Produce Withdrawal Symptoms) which invariably make her irritable and this time is no exception! Fortunately the camp-shop opened on Wednesday and was better stocked.

We met some pleasant people on the next boat (Arcadia of Hythe) namely Keith, Heather and friend Mike who are heading for Greece via Sicily. Keith introduced me to a website for downloading great grib files which I can use either with the on-board Raymarine navigation equipment or the Ugrib free software. It's very useful here because my backstay German SSB info is a bit lacking for specialised areas such as the Sardinian Channel.

Sicily

Trapani, Sicily 22nd May we did our 2nd overnight passage of the summer from Sardinia to Trapani, Sicily. Finally, some good sailing, 10 hours of it at various times. Keith and Heather left an hour before us and arrived 3 hours ahead of us but they did a lot more motor sailing. The town is very nice and we had a pleasant walk around on Sunday. Found a decent supermarket called Simple and a vodaphone shop where I got an Italian 3G sim and 2 ordinary sim cards for the mobile's so we are now back on-line. The old town centre is pedestrian-only and very clean and the people friendly and helpfull. We got the buss from Trapani to Palermo for the day, Trapped in Trapani by hot sirocco winds gusting up to force 9 (44.4 knots) for several days but there are a lot of worse places to be trapped, we grew to love the place.

29th May, we sailed along the coast in force 4 to 5 winds. There was still quite a swell from the sirocco which scuppered our plan to anchor so we pulled into Marsala, the place famous for it's sweet wines. The marina is very expensive, and neither of us likes sweet wines so we only stayed 1 night.

Sciacca, Sardinia Next day we continued east along the south coast of Sicily to Mazara del Vallo and anchored behind the marina, had a few heart-stopping moments when we grounded on the very uneven mud bottom and were being blown on. Used the bow thruster and hard astern, then anchored in about 3.8m. According to Tan there was a noisy disco until the early hours but I slept through it. Next day dropped Tan ashore for shopping and she managed to find a butcher, bread, and vegetables. From what we saw the town has little appeal.

The impressive ruins of the Greek ruins at Selinunte are easily visible from the sea so we anchored off an exposed beach under the ruins. Tan immediately stripped the bed and hung it out to air! There is often a strong on-shore wind which generate quite swell in the afternoon. By the time the chores were done landing and departing from the beach in the dinghy was interesting. We had mixed feelings about the ruins which are very extensive but most of the descriptive signs had been destroyed by the weather, however, the main temple is a stunning sight. Typically the on-shore swell starts to decrease by 18:00 but although the wind shifted and decreased the swell increased. With no wind the boat broadsides to the swell and rocks wildly, that's how it was all night, the night from hell, then to cap it all there was a thunderstorm just after 05:00 which deposited a layer of red dust over the boat - yuk! The captain was in the dog-house.

Got under way early to stop being tossed around. We are towing the dinghy because there was too much swell to take the outboard off last night. Still a heavy swell so motored very slowly for a more tranquil journey. Hoped to anchor behind the marina at Sciacca but the swell worked it's way in so went into the marina after taking the outboard off and stowing the dinghy. Neither of us got much sleep last night so we are both tired. There is a small supermarket close-by but it's a holiday today and they close for the afternoon, so a quick dash for shopping, although we didn't need much, lucky really because there wasn't much left!. The town of Sciacca is built on the side of a steep hill and is very pleasant, worth the long climb up the steps. Had a great ice-cream and found a couple of good veg stalls.

Continued along the coast to Porto Empedocles and anchored in the outer harbour. Helen & Tony here, last met them in 2003 at he bottom of the Rhone waiting for a mistral to blow itself out. Quite a pleasant anchorage but we didn't go ashore because we didn't need anything. Porto Empedocles and neighbouring Agrigento are an eyesore but I counted over sixty wind turbines along the ridges.

Had a very pleasant tranquil sail along the coast and through the binoculars we were able to pick out several Greek temples in the Valle dei Templi just East of Agrigento. The Valle dei Templi is the site of the main temples ( 6th and 5th century BC) dedicated to Olympian Zeus, Heracles, Concord and Hera as well as several minor shrines. These magnificent temples so beautifully situated by the Greeks are now difficult to pick-out through the sprawl of modern day Agrigento.

25nm later we anchored in the outer harbour at Licate which is now a building site for a large new marina. The pilot book reports the holding as poor so when the wind got up and gusted at 33.7 knots I had 35m chain out. Tony and Helen are also here and 2 other boats which were continually dragging and re-anchoring, until they finally went into the marina. We were stuck there for 2 days because of the wind, not a nice place.

Gozo, Malta & and more Sicily

There is a stretch of 60 mile of nothing along the S. Sicily coast so we decided to go to Gozo and Malta for a few days then ping back to Sicily East coast. It took 45 minutes to weigh anchor because the chain was covered with horrible clinging weed. Motor sailed the first part but then had 5 hours of good sailing to Mgar on the island of Gozo.

Popeye's Village, Malta We loved Gozo but with no-where to anchor and having to pay marina fees we left and went round to the west coast of Malta looking for an anchorage. We looked in at Popeye's village, built by Hollywood for the flop Popeye musical movie, then on to three small bays to anchor. The first is under a massive hotel complex, the second was pleasant but we chose the third and had a good night at anchor and the first swim of the season. Unfortunately all three bays are open to the NW, the prevailing winds, and that was the forecast for the next few days so we chose to leave after just one night. Next morning we were surprised to see a large tractor and hay-bailer working narrow strips on the very steep hillside above the fishermen's cottages.

We had hoped to find nice places to anchor but they were either choked with mooring buoys and fish farms or were surrounded by ugly high rise hotels and developments. Malta's coastline is very ugly, so we ended up in Msida Creek marina, Valletta.

15th June, sailed all the way back to Sicily with a max speed of 9 knots, that's flying! As we approached the point of Capo Passaro the wind was deflected by the island and rapidly increased to force 7 which gave us a very difficult time under full sail. The bay behind Capo Passero and the island provides a nice well sheltered anchorage with lovely clean water and a sandy bottom. We were pleasantly surprised by the town of Portopalo di Capo Passero whose main street runs down to the beach. There has obviously been a lot of new tasteful development here. The supermarket leaves a lot to be desired but we found a good veg shop and butcher. Unfortunately we left after two nights because the anchorage is exposed to the anticipated northerlies.

Flower child! 15th June, sailed all the way back to Sicily with a max speed of 9 knots, that's flying! As we approached the point of Capo Passaro the wind was deflected by the island and rapidly increased to force 7 which gave us a very difficult time under full sail. The bay behind Capo Passero and the island provides a very nice well sheltered anchorage with lovely clean water and a nice sandy bottom. We were pleasantly surprised by the town of Portopalo di Capo Passero whose main street runs down to the beach. There has obviously been a lot of new tasteful development here. The supermarket leaves a lot to be desired but we found a good veg shop and butcher. Unfortunately we left after two nights because the anchorage is exposed to the anticipated northerlies.

Had a good sail for almost half the journey to Siracusa. The bay is very large and the on-shore winds can get quite strong, it was blowing 23 knots when we arrived. We anchored in the NW of the bay and even with several boats already here there was still plenty of space. Maya (Tony and Helen) are here. Tan’s daughter Rachel’s godmother Jane and husband Billy will be vacationing near Taormina from early July so our agenda is to get to there and meet-up with them.

Our next stop was a large bay off Augusta where we anchored and had a nice swim despite being surrounded by urban sprawl. There is a small boatyard and beach bars nearby but didn't go ashore. Nice night apart from the disco! Next day we continued on to Brucoli where we went ashore, basically a one horse town except for a prestigious hotel, but with all the basics available and you can see Etna from here.

The coast North of Catania to Riposto is urban sprawl built on old lava flows which spill into the sea. The locals have built beach huts on every available space with elaborate scaffolding and steps to reach the water. North of Riposto is a long sandy bay with miles of superb beaches, unfortunately it's too exposed to anchor overnight.

We had hoped to anchor off the beach behind Catania but it was very noisy, the shelter poor and Catania a carbuncle so we continued on. Etna was spewing out gas and ash so it became very hazy and the sea very calm, spooky. Anchored in the bay of Taormina behind the railway station at Giardini Naxos to discover the boat was covered in black Etna grit and ash.

Five days is more than enough in the sooty shadow of Etna so after meeting with Jane and Billy we left for Italy on the 10th July.