It was a great one. We couldn’t have asked for more. No injuries, doctors, really horrible storms, etc so it is ALL GOOD! And we had great company in Rome!!!
Jay Sea Dee will stay in the water this winter at Port Yasmin, Hammamet, Tunisia. See you all next year!
The plan was to do a day sail from Trapani, Sicily to Pantellaria Island. It’s about an 80 mile sail so we got up bright and early with the sun. Once at Pantellaria we had to head around the island to get out of the Northerly swell. We stopped in a small cove, laid anchor, ate dinner and headed out for an overnight to Hammamet, Tunisia. We didn't stay because it was really bad holding for the anchor…lots of big boulders for the anchor to snag on. We did have a great sail for our last run and had to heave-to for a while since we arrived so early in the morning.
Once we were tied up to the dock we headed off to “clear in”. This involved the following:
1) Go to the Captains office to be told to go to the Police Dept.
2) Go to the Police Office, fill our paperwork, hand over your passports, answer a few questions.
3) Go to the Customs office, fill out more paperwork such as what items you have on your boat (guns, alcohol, computers, etc)
4) Take paper from Customs back to the Captains office to have a copy made
5) Get an escort by the Customs official back to your boat for “inspection”.
6) Once inside the boat you give out “presents” and he leaves
7) Later that day the plain clothed detective comes to your boat for his “presents” and all is good for Jay Sea Dee.
Then because we are leaving the boat here for seven months and they only give out six month cruising permits we must IMMOBILIZE the boat which requires an exchange of paperwork again but no “presents”.
I could not send this email from Tunisia so it had to wait until we were out of the country due to censorship of the internet there.
Everyone is very friendly and helpful. We head out to find an ATM to get our Tunisian Dinars. We get a quick lunch at an outdoor cafe and head back for naps.
That is the lesson we’ve learned here and we have only been here a few days. We seem to know the right folk though as Duncan and Kim know EVERYTHING. They are a couple from the UK that have lived here for seven years now and have a company called Yacht Services which can do anything you need. They tell you where the laundry is, where the good Tunisian restaurants are, they can send you on a journey into the desert at a 5-Star hotel at an Oasis, or help find you more chain for your lines, etc., etc.
They invited us along to a gathering of various yachties to a local winery. The group consisted of French couples and English couples mostly. We got to ride in their car since the mini-van was already full. It was about a 45 minute drive out of town so we got to see some of the countryside on the way. Once we arrived, we enjoyed meeting everyone and then out came the wine…reds, whites, rose, cafe liquor, tequila, and grappa, of course. Then the buffet lunch which was curried lamb and salads…all Tunisian fair…and really delicious! All the food and wine you can eat/drink for 25 Dinar (about 12.50 Euro or 18.00 USD). As the tequila was being passed around John had to show his new French buddies, Bernard and his girlfriend, how to properly do tequila shots…tequila, salt, and lime. They rather enjoyed it I think. Viva La France!
Today was our first. Just as we rounded the Cape it hit us. It is a hot humid South wind blowing from the Sahara. And to top it off, it got up to gale force. We saw winds around 40 knots on the nose, of course, and big seas to go with it. We are on our way to Trapani along the western side of Sicily. There is a Frigoboat refrigerator dealer here (it is made in Italy) and it is our last chance to get our compressor for the refrigerator before having to get it shipped to Tunisia.
We are now tied up inside the travel-lift area along with a few other boats needing to get out of the wind.
Since we have four days before the part arrives from Milan we decide to head to the highest town around, Erice. The local bus takes the long way to get there but we don’t mind, it is a low cost scenic tour and once again we are climbing up and up going around tight curves. The walled city is eerie in the low lying clouds and fog but it is so high you can see from sea to sea. You can see the whole town and harbor of Trapani as well as the San Vito Capo beaches where we came from the other day. You can also see the Salt Ponds near Trapani. We got to climb the church tower and got a pass to enter most of the other church’s. There are two castles here as well.
The flag for Sicily is of a three legged girl (called a trinacria which symbolizes the three points of the island) with the head of Medusa and three wheat ears symbolizing fertile land. She is also on almost every souvenir. Their specialty here is hand painted ceramics and carts. The carts are adorned and used in many funerals and parades.
Today we got to Capo San Vito, the most NW tip of Sicily. The wind died down, the water was turquoise blue so we decided to anchor just South of the marina. There were several other boats already here. The lighthouse sits on a low-lying point in the distance.
After settling in we deployed the dinghy and headed to shore. Definitely a tourist town with many shops and restaurants. We headed to the beach and found a Happy Hour going on at one of the bars. We sat in the Roto-Molded chairs (John was so excited to see that someone could do that…he used to roto-line shipping containers and knows the process well). We decided they need cup holders and ottomans to match…in every color. We ordered a Coca Light (the European way to say Diet Coke) and a Rum. All we got were two glasses of Coca Light. We began to explain that we would like a shot of rum as well. After many moments of communication failure the waitress finally understood Rum (pronounced like Room we found out) and brought us two cups half full of Rum…OMG. Well, we diluted the Rum and ate some of the Antipasto treats and enjoyed watching people on the beach. Finally it was time for dinner and we headed to a place for Sicilian pizza. We were a bit disappointed because it was not square like we expected so we might have to try again. A wonderful anchorage for the night!
So much for a calm anchorage. Those hydrofoils put off a lot of wash and we rocked all night. The Aeloians had no more protective coasts for us to explore so we decided to head to Sicily. We originally wanted to get into Porto Rosa but it was “Completo” (means full) when we called. It was Saturday night and all the Charter Boats come in to disembark on Saturday. Where now? There aren’t a lot of good hiding spots along the northern shore of Sicily but we did another long day and got into Cefalu. This is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve seen. Originally a fishing village, it is very picturesque. The town center is a bit of a walk from the marina but we were up for it. In the town there is a Norman cathedral built in 1131 by Roger II. The town is fortified by the Rocca, an Arab citadel. The streets are lined with scenic cafes, produce shops and local craft stores. Around the edge of the old fishing village lies the Seafront, lined with beach umbrellas and brown skinned bodies. We never saw a Capitanerie office and the one gentlemen who helps you with your lines also hands you the sign in paper and collects the money…cash only!!!
This morning we woke to some nasty looking weather heading our direction. The “Messina Radio” puts out gale warnings here about every hour but this time we thought they could be right. Every sailor knows that you don’t want to be on a lee shore in a storm so we pulled up anchor and headed out to sea. We decided to head to Vulcano Island which is another active volcano. This island is also supposed to have “mud baths” to cure every ailment and I really wanted to MUD UP. It wasn’t meant to be today because of all the squalls but we will stay here and see what tomorrow brings.
No, not the weather this time but an active volcano. Today we sailed from mainland Italy to the Aeolian Islands passing around the Island of Stromboli which is an active volcano. On the way here we saw turtles and dolphins. It surprised me but there is a town on this small island. The people must get used to the idea of a volcano spewing in their back yard.
We planned on staying on one of the moorings on the NE side of the island but the sea swell would have made for a VERY uncomfortable night and the Admiral is getting tired of uncomfortable nights so we moved on. Plus we passed by the mooring and asked the price…he wanted 50 Euro to use the mooring…I don’t think so.
So legend has it there is an Aeolian triangle (similar to the Bermuda triangle). I think we experienced some of that today. We decided to anchor in a beautiful cove on the West side of Lipari Island. This side of the island is uninhabited. Our wind gauge kept going round and round. But I saw a falling star and made my wish. There is a funny Bumblebee painted on the rock walls here. We weren’t sure what to think of it. Does it mean there are lots of bees here? We didn’t see a one. What else could it mean? A very nice place to spend the night.
Today we had a shorter sail and ended up on a free mooring SW of Scario in the Gulf of Policastro. We were originally going to stay in an anchorage on Point Iscoletti but it was FULL…boats were rafted on the moorings four deep…not something we wanted to do. So we headed down the coast and found these moorings and some locals told us they were free and rated for our size boat and they were for overnight use. We began to question our informants as ALL the boats on the other moorings left us all by ourselves around 7pm but we stayed anyway. There was a bit of a swell but nothing like Positano…until our 2nd night which was a nightmare…again no sleep. It was a beautiful coastline although a bit creepy when we saw the cross in the rock right next to our mooring.
Day number two was just another day in the Mediterranean when what is this???? A Flying Dinghy!!!! I’m not sure I would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. And I’ve checked it out online…there are a few videos of these on You Tube. Now John wants one for Christmas.
Since we were awaken so early we decided to head back around Capri and visit the Blue Grotto…again. The seas were flat so we were sure today was going to be the day (we have tried twice before but the seas were too swelly and they close it down). We arrived to a mass confusion of tour boats filled with tourists and a few small row boats that take you inside the Grotto. I was trying to wave them down to pick me up but since I was a loner passenger (John was going to stay on Jay Sea Dee while I went in and then we would trade off) nobody even noticed. There was too much boat and crowd activity for our comfort level so we decided to forgo the Grotto again:
Rounding the Island of Capri was beautiful. We enjoyed our day regardless of our Blue Grotto experience. With the flat seas, we saw a few more Sunfish…always an awesome site.
Now in the Tyrrhenian Sea we sailed on to Positano. We had driven the Amalfi Coast with the kids just a week ago and were anxious to see it by boat. We found an anchorage at the foot of Positano. It is still a bit rolly but we are hoping it calms down this evening after the traffic stops. The town is beautiful from the sea. It reminds me a lot of Cinque Terrre. We can see the bus/car/scooter traffic above that we maneuvered through last week.
Last night it was rocking and rolling…very rough…no sleep.
