Envoy is in Porto Empedocle, waiting for a Scirocco (southerly blow) to pass before cruising further westwards along the southern coast of Sicily.
Leaving the Albanian port of Sarande we sailed west to the Greek island of Erikoussa for an overnight stop, positioning ourselves for the next morning’s seven hour cruise to Santa Maria di Leuca, our port of entry for Italy. It wasn’t a great re-introduction to Italian marinas as there was no answer to our VHF radio calls and no sign of help available for berthing until a reluctant marinara eventually arrived to allocate a berth and take our stern lines as we backed into the pontoon. Again we used an agency – JLT Yacht Agency (affiliated to A1 Yachting) as we needed sound advice on meeting Italian documentary requirements in the best way. 1930s fascist dictator Mussolini and his cronies had their holiday villas at Santa Maria di Leuca, and many of these still remain. He was also responsible for the construction of an impressive stepped walkway to the lighthouse overlooking the harbour.
Looking down Mussolini steps to the marina at Santa Maria di Leuca
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Laurie and Chris pose with statue of Pope Beneditto 16th who visited here in 2008
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There’s not a lot to see along this stretch of coastline, but we enjoyed berthing alongside the quay in the port of Ciro – a typical small Italian working town with few traits of tourism. Here we found a Vodafone shop and were able to get Italian SIM cards for phone and Internet connection. This process is always a bit of a hassle in a new country, and like at home the Vodafone shops are always busy, but they do try their best to help.
Laurie organizing Italian phone and Internet connection
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Entering the port of Rocella, further south, can be daunting in a heavy swell as the entrance is only about three metres deep and a very shallow sandbar protrudes from the starboard side of the entrance. In 2004 a 37 ft yacht attempting to enter the harbour in Force 5 winds and large swells was rolled over by a wave estimated at six metres high, fortunately with no loss of life and only minor injuries. We saw a Spanish yacht hit the sandbar with a sudden stop, but conditions were good and she was able to maneuver her way off.
Map showing Rocella Harbour’s dangerous entrance
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In the nearby taverna they sell mouth-watering pizza by the metre
SICILY
As we cruised down the “boot” of Italy, the island of Sicily gradually came into view and we spotted a mountain that we thought was Mt Etna. But as we came closer another mountain came into view, and at 10,700 feet high it dwarfed the one we’d seen. It’s sobering to view the mountain and realise it’s still very active with typically 25 minor eruptions annually.
Sicily is the largest Med island and the main focus of this year’s cruise, as we plan to spend about four months here. The wind had been light with glassy calm seas on a gentle swell as we approached the Strait of Messina. Looking ahead I observed whitecaps and closer inspection through binoculars showed an approaching squall. In about ten minutes we had 30 knot winds and breaking two metre seas on our beam. Our stabilisers were coping well, but Envoy still rolled up to 20 degrees each side. At one point our starboard side rolled downwards off a wave just as an extra large wave hit us, breaking over the starboard gunwale and filling the cockpit with water. The water drained out through the scuppers within about ten seconds, but not before some seawater came up over the 150 mm high lip into the saloon. Fortunately the carpet soaked up most of the water and later we found less than ten litres in the bilges.
Taormina
For the first three days we anchored off the town of Giardini Naxos, close to the enchanting medieval village of Taormina – playground of the rich and famous.
View of Taormina from Envoy’s anchorage
In Italy we have to be more careful about personal security as theft is a problem, and it’s always recommended to lock your dinghy to the quay, something we’ve never needed to do in Turkey or Greece. We wanted to leave the dinghy for the day to visit Taormina, and as we approached a jetty in Giardini harbour a young guy came to take our lines, introduced himself as Gabriel and said we could leave our dinghy there. He’d recently had a great holiday in Australia and took a shine to us antipodeans. Diane asked where we could find a butcher’s shop, and Gabriel immediately offered to drive her there.
Di with very helpful Gabriel at the pier we left the tender
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Later that day I picked up Chris from the shore from a different jetty, and as he climbed into the RHIB a guy came running down the jetty, waving to us. He told us this was a private jetty and there’s a 10 Euro (NZ$16) fee for using it. We thanked the guy for letting us know and said if we use it again we’ll know to pay.
Chris and Laurie enjoy morning coffee by ceramics shop in Taormina
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Taormina street scene
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Beautiful Taormina church
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There are many street vendors in Taormina selling everything from sunglasses to cheap toys. We had to laugh when it started to rain and immediately the sunglasses and hats disappeared and the same vendors were offering umbrellas and parkas!
This Taormina shop sells sweets and cakes to die for
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One of several Taormina antique shops
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TECHNICAL – nothing to report
LOG As at 26/5/14, we’d spent 48 days aboard and cruised 431 miles for 73 engine hours.
Leaving the Albanian port of Sarande we sailed west to the Greek island of Erikoussa for an overnight stop, positioning ourselves for the next morning’s seven hour cruise to Santa Maria di Leuca, our port of entry for Italy. It wasn’t a great re-introduction to Italian marinas as there was no answer to our VHF radio calls and no sign of help available for berthing until a reluctant marinara eventually arrived to allocate a berth and take our stern lines as we backed into the pontoon. Again we used an agency – JLT Yacht Agency (affiliated to A1 Yachting) as we needed sound advice on meeting Italian documentary requirements in the best way. 1930s fascist dictator Mussolini and his cronies had their holiday villas at Santa Maria di Leuca, and many of these still remain. He was also responsible for the construction of an impressive stepped walkway to the lighthouse overlooking the harbour.
Looking down Mussolini steps to the marina at Santa Maria di Leuca
Laurie and Chris pose with statue of Pope Beneditto 16th who visited here in 2008
There’s not a lot to see along this stretch of coastline, but we enjoyed berthing alongside the quay in the port of Ciro – a typical small Italian working town with few traits of tourism. Here we found a Vodafone shop and were able to get Italian SIM cards for phone and Internet connection. This process is always a bit of a hassle in a new country, and like at home the Vodafone shops are always busy, but they do try their best to help.
Laurie organizing Italian phone and Internet connection
Entering the port of Rocella, further south, can be daunting in a heavy swell as the entrance is only about three metres deep and a very shallow sandbar protrudes from the starboard side of the entrance. In 2004 a 37 ft yacht attempting to enter the harbour in Force 5 winds and large swells was rolled over by a wave estimated at six metres high, fortunately with no loss of life and only minor injuries. We saw a Spanish yacht hit the sandbar with a sudden stop, but conditions were good and she was able to maneuver her way off.
Map showing Rocella Harbour’s dangerous entrance
In the nearby taverna they sell mouth-watering pizza by the metre
SICILY
As we cruised down the “boot” of Italy, the island of Sicily gradually came into view and we spotted a mountain that we thought was Mt Etna. But as we came closer another mountain came into view, and at 10,700 feet high it dwarfed the one we’d seen. It’s sobering to view the mountain and realise it’s still very active with typically 25 minor eruptions annually.
Sicily is the largest Med island and the main focus of this year’s cruise, as we plan to spend about four months here. The wind had been light with glassy calm seas on a gentle swell as we approached the Strait of Messina. Looking ahead I observed whitecaps and closer inspection through binoculars showed an approaching squall. In about ten minutes we had 30 knot winds and breaking two metre seas on our beam. Our stabilisers were coping well, but Envoy still rolled up to 20 degrees each side. At one point our starboard side rolled downwards off a wave just as an extra large wave hit us, breaking over the starboard gunwale and filling the cockpit with water. The water drained out through the scuppers within about ten seconds, but not before some seawater came up over the 150 mm high lip into the saloon. Fortunately the carpet soaked up most of the water and later we found less than ten litres in the bilges.
Taormina
For the first three days we anchored off the town of Giardini Naxos, close to the enchanting medieval village of Taormina – playground of the rich and famous.
View of Taormina from Envoy’s anchorage
In Italy we have to be more careful about personal security as theft is a problem, and it’s always recommended to lock your dinghy to the quay, something we’ve never needed to do in Turkey or Greece. We wanted to leave the dinghy for the day to visit Taormina, and as we approached a jetty in Giardini harbour a young guy came to take our lines, introduced himself as Gabriel and said we could leave our dinghy there. He’d recently had a great holiday in Australia and took a shine to us antipodeans. Diane asked where we could find a butcher’s shop, and Gabriel immediately offered to drive her there.
Di with very helpful Gabriel at the pier we left the tender
Later that day I picked up Chris from the shore from a different jetty, and as he climbed into the RHIB a guy came running down the jetty, waving to us. He told us this was a private jetty and there’s a 10 Euro (NZ$16) fee for using it. We thanked the guy for letting us know and said if we use it again we’ll know to pay.
Chris and Laurie enjoy morning coffee by ceramics shop in Taormina
Taormina street scene
Beautiful Taormina church
There are many street vendors in Taormina selling everything from sunglasses to cheap toys. We had to laugh when it started to rain and immediately the sunglasses and hats disappeared and the same vendors were offering umbrellas and parkas!
This Taormina shop sells sweets and cakes to die for
One of several Taormina antique shops
TECHNICAL – nothing to report
LOG As at 26/5/14, we’d spent 48 days aboard and cruised 431 miles for 73 engine hours.
1 comment:
I have been reading your blogs for some time now, and enjoy them. If you come to the Cote d'Azur in the next year or two would love to meet you. Am in Saint Jean-Cap Ferrat.
Bon Voyages - Paul Nelson
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