Hi everyone
We had a quiet night in Taormina anchorage Sicily on Wed. night.
We got up early and left for Messina Straits about 6AM. We were
through by noon. It was an uneventful passage but the winds kicked
up when we passed into the Tyrrhenian Sea and we reefed jib, main
and mizzen. Once we were an hour or two out of the straits it quieted
down some. We sailed to Isola Lipari about 38nm from the strait
of Messina. We anchored on the west side in Valle Muria very comfortable
even as the rain and winds moved through. We stayed aboard all day
Friday and did some odd jobs. It rained off and on all day. Then
about 1:30 AM today we woke up and decided to move as the westerly
seas were pounding us. We moved to Porto di Levante on the east
side of Isola Vulcano. It was a bit difficult anchoring in a tight
spot in the dark but by 3:00 we were all set. Unfortunately we had
to anchor deep (25m)so we had out lots of chain and hearing it scape
against the rocks all night was nerve racking. We left the anchorage
about 10 AM and moved to Pignataro Marina on Lipari (60Euro). We
wanted a quiet safe spot to leave the boat for the day so we could
enjoy Lipari Town. We walked into town and visited the citadel,
had a quick lunch, and then visited the Duomo and the Archelogical
Museum. It's listed as one of the very best museums in Sicily by
Lonely Planet and we found it quite splendid. One of the best collections
of ceramics we've seen and a marvelous collection of miniature Greek
theatrical masks or as Lonely Planet says "in the world".
We plan to leave early afternoon and do an overnight to Capo Palinuro
just north of Camerota, Italy. (98nm) Hope everyone is having a
nice weekend. We have a strong signal so I plan to try Skype. Love
and God Bless Sally and Al
September 1, 2010
Hi everyone
We motor sailed to Roccella Ionica on Monday. It was a nice day
and we traveled about 45nm. We arrived about 1300 and found our
friends John and Sharon on Seraphim from Texas. They sail a Shannon
38/9. We pulled into a finger pontoon across from them for 20 E
a night. We had cocktails aboard there boat with another couple.
The marina has bicycles that you can borrow and only offer a maintenance
fee. So yesterday we went with Seraphim into town about 3km to the
Farmer's Market and then to Conad, a very well stocked grocery store.
We had a great pizza at the Marina restaurant for supper. They sell
it by the half meter! This morning we left Roccella Ionica about
0500 for Taormina, Sicily. It was a bit rolly but around 0700 we
could put some sails to help control the roll. I decided to make
dinner ahead so we could just enjoy ourselves once we were in anchorage.
I had no sooner washed the last dish and the winds picked up so
we could turn the engine off and sail for a couple of hours. We
arrived at Taormina about 0445 and dropped anchor. We plan to leave
early in the morning to go through the Straits of Messina. We have
tidal streams and possible whirlpools to contend with. But we've
calculated the North bound stream and hopefully we'll hit it about
right and before the heavier southerly winds hit in the afternoon.
We'll then go another 38nm to the NW side of Isola Vulcano in Porto
di Ponente. We visited this island back in April of 2007 and rented
a 4 wheeler to tour the island. So we probably won't stay long.
There are storms coming in on Friday throughout Sicily so we'll
stay atleast until Saturday. Love and God Bless Sally and Al
