Envoy is currently cruising around the Corfu Channel.
In Taormina we decided to put Envoy on a mooring so we could safely leave her while exploring ashore. The moorings are owned by a very helpful Maltese guy called George, who charges a rather expensive 45 Euros (NZ$70) per night for them, including rubbish collection, but also ferries people from boat to shore and back for 10 Euros (NZ$16) per trip. This is good because in this area it’s not easy to find a place to leave your own dinghy when going ashore, and you often have to pay to leave it in a safe place. Also George’s very large RHIB would make it easier for Sharron to get ashore with her very sore knee.
Next day George took Doug and I ashore, and we caught an open-topped red hop-on, hop-off tourist bus to Taormina. The guide / ticket-seller told us the return time and a couple of hours later we caught the red bus back, but half way through the trip we realised it was a similar looking bus but not the same one we’d caught before, and in fact operated by a different company. Fortunately the guide was engrossed in answering questions from another passenger and never asked to see our tickets, so we got back without any problem.
Doug has a big interest in cuisine so it was a must to hire a car and take him to see Catania’s La Pescherie – the fishmarket (as described in an earlier posting). As Lonely Planet says, this is the best show in town and not to be missed - anybody who thinks “the Med is fished out” needs to visit this huge market brimming with exotic fish species.
Doug with some large swordfish at La Pescherie
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La Pescherie sells all kinds of food and here Doug is buying some nuts
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It was time to leave Sicily and start heading up the boot of Italy and back to Corfu in Greece.
Map showing the boot of Italy
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This journey takes five days cruising most of each day as there are very few anchorages along the coast and the marinas are widely spaced. First day was a pre-dawn departure for a nearly 12 hour cruise to Roccella marina. We could hear thunder and see lightning in the distance but didn’t encounter any, although at sunrise we saw some impressive storm clouds.
Storm clouds at sunrise
Roccella marina is an efficiently run operation costing 50 Euros (NZ$78) per night including power and water. For the first time in six years of Med cruising we had a berth with a finger, enabling us to disembark and board without using the passarelle. This was great for Sharron with her sore knee, and we went ashore to the one and only pizzeria for a one metre-long pizza.
Envoy berthed alongside a pontoon finger for the first time
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Before sunrise next day we headed across the Gulfo di Squillace, so named as it’s notorious for sudden squalls, but we had perfect calm conditions. We had planned to overnight at a marina called Le Castella, but when we got there at 1600 hours we found it very small, shallow and with no assistance or direction available.
Wind generators above Le Castella marina
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Le Castella marina has a very narrow shallow entrance
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We headed further north towards a larger marina in a harbour called Crotone, hoping to arrive before dark - we don’t like arriving at unfamiliar places during darkness when you can’t see fishing nets, mooring lines in the water and other possible hazards. However the coast just south of Crotone was perfectly sheltered in the light wind so we were able to anchor off a beach after an eleven hour cruise, saving ourselves marina fees.
At 0330 hours the next morning we were awoken by the roar of powerful engines, a wake causing Envoy to roll and sweeping searchlights – the Coastguard had come to investigate us. I sleepily went up on deck and an officer politely asked where we were from and heading to, how many people on board, why we were anchored there and when we were leaving. Satisfied with my answers he thanked us and soon roared off again. Although in Italy we’ve seen many Coastguard, Polizia and other official vessels this is the first time any have questioned us.
TECHNICAL – Nothing to report
ENVOY LOG – as at 10/9/14 we’d spent 155 days aboard and cruised 1,526 miles for 274 engine hours.
In Taormina we decided to put Envoy on a mooring so we could safely leave her while exploring ashore. The moorings are owned by a very helpful Maltese guy called George, who charges a rather expensive 45 Euros (NZ$70) per night for them, including rubbish collection, but also ferries people from boat to shore and back for 10 Euros (NZ$16) per trip. This is good because in this area it’s not easy to find a place to leave your own dinghy when going ashore, and you often have to pay to leave it in a safe place. Also George’s very large RHIB would make it easier for Sharron to get ashore with her very sore knee.
Next day George took Doug and I ashore, and we caught an open-topped red hop-on, hop-off tourist bus to Taormina. The guide / ticket-seller told us the return time and a couple of hours later we caught the red bus back, but half way through the trip we realised it was a similar looking bus but not the same one we’d caught before, and in fact operated by a different company. Fortunately the guide was engrossed in answering questions from another passenger and never asked to see our tickets, so we got back without any problem.
Doug has a big interest in cuisine so it was a must to hire a car and take him to see Catania’s La Pescherie – the fishmarket (as described in an earlier posting). As Lonely Planet says, this is the best show in town and not to be missed - anybody who thinks “the Med is fished out” needs to visit this huge market brimming with exotic fish species.
Doug with some large swordfish at La Pescherie
La Pescherie sells all kinds of food and here Doug is buying some nuts
It was time to leave Sicily and start heading up the boot of Italy and back to Corfu in Greece.
Map showing the boot of Italy
This journey takes five days cruising most of each day as there are very few anchorages along the coast and the marinas are widely spaced. First day was a pre-dawn departure for a nearly 12 hour cruise to Roccella marina. We could hear thunder and see lightning in the distance but didn’t encounter any, although at sunrise we saw some impressive storm clouds.
Storm clouds at sunrise
Roccella marina is an efficiently run operation costing 50 Euros (NZ$78) per night including power and water. For the first time in six years of Med cruising we had a berth with a finger, enabling us to disembark and board without using the passarelle. This was great for Sharron with her sore knee, and we went ashore to the one and only pizzeria for a one metre-long pizza.
Envoy berthed alongside a pontoon finger for the first time
Before sunrise next day we headed across the Gulfo di Squillace, so named as it’s notorious for sudden squalls, but we had perfect calm conditions. We had planned to overnight at a marina called Le Castella, but when we got there at 1600 hours we found it very small, shallow and with no assistance or direction available.
Wind generators above Le Castella marina
Le Castella marina has a very narrow shallow entrance
We headed further north towards a larger marina in a harbour called Crotone, hoping to arrive before dark - we don’t like arriving at unfamiliar places during darkness when you can’t see fishing nets, mooring lines in the water and other possible hazards. However the coast just south of Crotone was perfectly sheltered in the light wind so we were able to anchor off a beach after an eleven hour cruise, saving ourselves marina fees.
At 0330 hours the next morning we were awoken by the roar of powerful engines, a wake causing Envoy to roll and sweeping searchlights – the Coastguard had come to investigate us. I sleepily went up on deck and an officer politely asked where we were from and heading to, how many people on board, why we were anchored there and when we were leaving. Satisfied with my answers he thanked us and soon roared off again. Although in Italy we’ve seen many Coastguard, Polizia and other official vessels this is the first time any have questioned us.
TECHNICAL – Nothing to report
ENVOY LOG – as at 10/9/14 we’d spent 155 days aboard and cruised 1,526 miles for 274 engine hours.
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