Sunday 27 September 2009

Exploring the Mafia's Homeland - Sicily ..... Sept 2009

15 - 25 September 2009

***It's rather chilly up here on Mt Etna, you can just see the steam coming out in front of the clouds***This used to be a refuge, as you can see it's been buried nearly to the top of the windows*** Back down to warmer weather, self timer shot in Noto***This seems to be the symbol of Sicily, Marks interpretation is that this is what you end up looking like - many broken arms and legs - if you mess with the Mafia!!*** Checking out all the goodies at Siracusa's excellent morning market***

After such an action packed trip getting to Sicily we were keen just to take it easy for a few days and explore. It was also good to get off the boat, there was still quite a swell coming into the anchorage so it was rolly most of the time, a good reason to get out and go sightseeing.

But first things first. After having had our 'dongle' for 2 weeks and still not being able to use it, it was time to find a WIND shop and sort it out. Now for those of you as unfamiliar with a dongle as we were, it is a USB stick that plugs into our laptop, you buy a Data Sim Card for it, put money on it like a prepay cellphone sim card, and presto - uninterrupted Internet access onboard. The cruisers dream!!! Well that is how it is supposed to work. However doing this in Italy and therefore in Italian was not as straightforward as it all sounds above. Now you could certainly blame that on our total lack of Italian language skills but in fairness to us it wasn't all our fault and we think the chap in the 'dongle' shop in Brindisi made several easy euros out of us. So we tracked down the simcard provider WIND's shop in Siracusa and again with no common language handed over yet more euros and after waiting 24hours for it to be processed we are at last in working order, yippee. Communications while cruising, now that's another blog subject I'll work on over winter!!!

So back to touring. We shared a car for the weekend (to get a cheaper off-peak rate) withDestiny and were up early on Saturday morning, we had a big day planned - heading to Mt Etna. Mt Etna is famous for many things - yes I had been reading the Lonely Planet in preparation for our outing - it is visible from the moon, it's Europe's largest volcano and one of the worlds most active. While we wanted to see it in action, we sincerely hoped that this wouldnt be the day to put it back in the news with a big blast!

We headed north out of Siracusa, the coastline was very built up, quite industrial and not particularly attractive. No wonder we had seen such a sea of lights on our nightmare (I'm sure I typed in nighttime!!!) journey sailing down the coast, it was wall to wall buildings. We started climbing, our little Fiat Panda managing well . Etna sits proudly alone, big, bold and black rising to its steamy peak, 3350m above sea level. There is little vegetation, each eruption finds a new path down the side, wiping out all in its way and leaving a highway of black lava to remind us of its powers. We drove as far as Refugio Sapienza (1923m) this is the end of the road, from here you can either hike up or catch the chair lift. The noticeable drop in temperature at this altitude saw us quickly adding layers of warm clothing. Having limited time (that is our excuse) we took the easy but expensive option of the chair lift and snowmobile. The chair lift deposited us in no time at 2500m, more layers of clothing were added then it was aboard the snowmobile buses to the crater zone at 2920m, starting to wish I'd brought more layers, boy it was cold. Once off the bus our volcanologist guide (we thought Dr Spock was a volcanologist but our guide didn't look anything like him, mind you he kept his woolly hat on so we couldn't check his ears!) took us on a walk for about an hour, around some of the smaller crater rims and bubbling mud pools, showing us the radial fault lines, finding hot steamy vents and warm rocks to keep the chill from our bones. He was interesting, enthusiastic and informative, clearly enjoying his job up there in the freezing cold!!! The clouds gathered but we could still see the summit letting off steam, and the vista over Sicily and out to sea was spectacular.
As we descended, warming up all the time, we headed inland. We planned to head to Villa Romana del Casale a 3rd century Roman villa with an outstanding mosaic floor that lay undiscovered until the 1950's. What we didn't quite plan for were the Sicilians roads and the somewhat challenging road signs or in many cases the lack of road signs. It all made for rather an interesting afternoon, 1 driver, 3 rather poor maps in the hands of 3 conflicting navigators plus "Mrs G" Destinys plugin electronic GPS. None of the small towns had bypasses, neither did they have signposts out of them again. Our maps were of no use at all and "Mrs G' tried her best but she didn't know which roads were oneway, it was quite a testing time for all concerned, and in several instances we just went round and round in circles, until Mark decided to adopt the 'when in Rome' attitude and totally ignored several oneway street signs - things speed up after that.
We even tried our hand at some off-roading when suddenly our road disappeared, washed away by recent rains we assume, we carried on hoping it might reappear soon, we were miles from anywhere and didn't fancy being stranded. The surroundings were beautiful, no space was wasted, there were vineyards, olive groves and many miles of fields that had recently had crops harvested all very well cared for. Most was gently rolling countryside, the landscape a wonderful blend of colours. We finally arrived at the Villa at 5.30pm - it had just closed, the LP said it closed at 6.30pm but maybe we were out of season now, oh well the drive had been worth it. Now "Mrs G" and helpers just had to get us back to Siracusa again. Lets just say after several more small roads, detours, one way streets in closed up little towns and road signs that didn't lead to roads we finally arrived back at 9.30pm, collapsed into the first pizzeria we found for much needed food and drink then wearily headed back to the boats totally exhausted but happy in the knowledge that we had explored parts of southeast Sicily that very few other tourists are ever likely to!!!
Sunday got off to a much slower start and a less ambitious plan was hatched -a leisurely 11am departure and a 35km drive to nearby Noto. The original ancient town was reduced to rubble in 1693 by an earthquake and the 'new' town is billed as the finest baroque town in Sicily. It did not disappoint, the honey coloured sandstone buildings are beautiful, the wide streets ideal for allowing plenty of space to stand back and admire. Recently added to UNESCO's ever growing list of World Heritage sites there are some major renovations underway and some buildings already completely restored. A timely thunderstorm gave us a good excuse for a long leisurely enjoyable lunch before returning to Siracusa. Never wanting to pass an opportunity of having a car to transport provisions, we detoured to the huge Carrefour supermarket and possibly broke our previous record of how many groceries we can fit into a Fiat Panda with 4 people!!!
The days passed by, we enjoyed wandering Siracusa's rabbit warren of lanes, we visited the daily morning market never quite brave enough to sample some of the unidentifiable produce on offer, and we just couldn't quite bring ourselves to partake in the mountains of snails that appeared for sale each time it rained! A few settled days came and went, as did boats. We farewelled Destiny as they headed for Malta during a lull in the winds. We had finally met Peter and Sandra off Bondi Tram from Sydney who had been on our cruisers radio net for the past two years and had been in front of us all the way up the Red Sea last year and through Croatia this year, it was a brief but enjoyable catch up with them before they too departed for Malta. But as boats left, more were arriving, Blue Banana from the USA arrived enroute to Tunisia, with Sam and Bill onboard, another boat we had never met but spoken to often on 'the net' and we enjoyed their company for a few days.
The storms continued to pass through, thunder and lightening like never before - just days and days of it - we made quick trips ashore between the showers to maintain our sanity, stretch our legs, get provisions, grab an excellent gelato and the occassional mouthwatering pizza. Had there been a safe and secure marina here I don't think we would have left, it's a laidback kind of place, small, interesting and enjoyable. But the marina doesn't have a breakwater, the boats in there were rolling more than some of us at anchor, eventually the time had come to move on.
Cruising info for Siracusa, Sicily:
Anchorages - 
We ended up anchoring in 4 different spots, 2 in the southern bay and 2 in the north. The 2nd spot in the north was closer to town to get out of the swell but when the winds eased the coastguard asked us all to move back out so I have only given the one they were happy with. The one given in the south is good for night arrival if a southerly is blowing. 
Siracusa South ..
. 37 02.427N 15 17.509E dropped 8m settled 13m, totally sheltered in southerly
Siracusa North ... 37 03.556N 15 17.316E 9m mud good holding. We took our dinghy into the marina and locked it right by the Marina office, they didn't mind
Internet - Dongle now working, We bought it in Brindisi, it is an unlocked one (should be able to use any country with any providers sim card) Dongle cost 89E, 100hours access 15E using WIND, (can get smaller amount but I had paid for 100hours when arriving in Brindisi thinking I would be using it for all the time in Italy) Vodafone offer one month or 3GB's for 25E we thought the 100hours was better for us. Then paid another 15E for connection or something that we couldn't understand THEN another 2 lots of 5E in Brindisi trying to get it to go, then another 5E in Siracusa when I was told to wait 24hours before using it, and now it goes!!! Not sure how long unused credit will last.
Money - Several ATM's in town
Provisions - The morning market is excellent, fresh produce, fish and seafood (snails if it rains!!) also olives, cheeses, breads and butcher. Head straight ahead from the marina exit towards sea on the other side. Go past big ruins on your right, turn right and then left.Supermarket, small but adequate - turn right before/at ruins (same ruins as in previous directions!) and go up the main street. Think it's first lane (maybe 2nd) on left, about 2nd shop in on left, no sign outside. You can see the Carrefour sign lit up at night from the anchorage but its hard to get to without a car.
Formalities - Coastguard came around every couple of days. The first time they asked where we had come from and where our next port would be. No paperwork needed . Still not completed any in Italy.
Sightseeing - Rented our car from Hollywood Rentals, cheap and cheerful. Turn left out of marina entrance, then 1st right and they are on the first corner on the right. The Fiat Panda was 70E for 2days weekend rate including only 200kms (all companys same limited mileage and yes, this was the cheapest around by far) Our so extra miles cost 52E and fuel 22E, not so bad between 2 couples. Certainly not a cheap way to see Mt Etna but cheaper than staying in the marina in Riposte. Visiting Mt Etna - the cable car and bus combo was 51E per person (eek!) Only cable car 30E. It's a huge walk from the carpark - you would want all day, and it's still a big walk from the top of the cable car. Charge for a halfday in the carpark was a couple of euros.

Friday 18 September 2009

Stormy Siracusa - Getting to Sicily ... Sept 2009

15 - 16 September 2009


***A clear sunny moment over Siracusas old town with the stunning cathedral centre stage, shame about the dreadful concrete wall left unfinished and without any purpose along the waterfront*** Mt Etna letting off some steam, one of the rare occasions we could see it from the anchorage in Siracusa*** Looks like more thunder storms on Sicily's horizon overSiracusas old town***


Do you remember the lovely photo at the end of the last blog update of Balvenie in glassy waters leaving Roccella Ionica with a stunning red sky at sunrise? The day started well enough, we followed Destiny out of the marina, and over the shallow sand bar - them at the ready to tow us off if we ran aground!!, there was no wind and only the slightest of a swell, thankfully we escaped without even a nudge.
It was time to do the overnight 100 mile jump to Sicily, destination Siracusa on the southeast coast. We had looked at options of going further north, but a combination of poor anchorages, full marinas in Catania (close by to Mt Etna), a ridiculously expensive marina in Riposte of 130Euro per night plus power and water (closest town to Mt Etna) and strong southerlies forecast in 36 hours determined the all round anchorage in Siracusa to be the best option. The weather forecasts, from 3 different sources all concurred that we would have less than 10 knots all the way to Sicily with flat seas, heaven. After the recent beatings we have had the idea of burning some diesel and motoring the whole way just didn't seem a bad option really. So off we set, a slight breeze came in, sails were raised and we jogged along happily enjoying the morning. Destiny moved off ahead as they are a trawler/cruiser with a compact sail area so are designed to motor everywhere. We made the most of the light morning breeze, it would be an overnighter anyway so if we were slower it didn't really matter.
But the breeze built and came from the southwest, I imagine straight out of the entrance toSiracusa harbour! As the day progressed the sea state worsened, the winds settled at a steady 20knots, right on the nose, making us sail further and further north so we weren't bashing right into them. There is only one other anchorage on the southern Italy coast that we may have been able to divert to , the cruising guide advises of several "aggravatedrobberies" reported by yachts stopping here - it didn't sound like a great option either. We put 2 reefs in the main and sailed as comfortably as we could, carrying on way off course, but in the hope that as we neared land the seas would flattened and we could turn and motor down the coast without falling off the crests of the waves.

At 7pm we spoke to Destiny on the radio, they were finally into flatter water and due in around 9pm, we were looking at an eta of 1.30am - and things were about to get worse. While I was still talking, Mark called down that there was large boat approaching us very quickly flashing several lights at us, we thought initially it was a Coastguard boat, then realized it was a large fishing boat. Mark tired contacting them on VHF 16 and eventually got a response, all in Italian of course, but we picked up the words fishing net and pronto, pronto, pronto with a great sense of urgency in their voice. I had taken the wheel and finally spotted a lit buoy ahead, then desperately tried to spot another to see which way it was running. Finally I saw another in the distance, so starting turning away from it. Just as Skipper came up back up from the radio we both noticed hundreds of little floats, Mark grabbed the wheel and turned us as hard as he could, the fishing net floats nudgingBalvenie's hull as we flew off downwind. That was close.

It was just on dark and we were now heading north west towards land, all the lights onshore added to the confusion of trying to pick up more fishing net buoys. All we could see were lights everywhere, we were having a very comfortable sail now but going in entirely the wrong direction. I eventually made contact with an English speaking person on the radio at Augusta Port Control who contacted the fishing boat for us, they advised the net was over 3 miles long and had surface floats the whole way, just not something you can risk going over. 3 miles doesn't sound that far but when you are doing 5 to 6 knots, that's an extra hour just to get back to where we were in the beginning! We were having a long enough trip and didn't appreciate the detour at all, eventually we felt it was safe to turn back to windward and spent the rest of the night clawing our way down the Sicily coast. The sea did flatten some but the wind never died off, we safely entered Siracusa at 4am under electronic chart, radar and following the leading lights into the harbour. We dropped anchor in the south of the large bay in flat water and collapsed. It had been a hard 22 hours.
We had just fallen asleep when I was awaken by what I thought was our anchor coming up, and then silence, can't be, I'm hallucinating. Back to sleep again and awoken again, I'm sure that's the anchor - is someone stealing the boat with us on it - well we are in Mafia country??? I wake up Skipper, that is definitely the electric anchor windlass but no one is stealing the boat, it has simply short circuited and it's coming up all by itself!!! With no sleep for 24 hours the brain does not work too well and it took a while to stop it, sort it and tuck down again. Surely that is enough entertainment for one day. But no - there was more to come.

Siracusa lies in a large bay, the town on the north east shores. We had anchored in the southern bite out of the southerly wind and chop but most of the boats were up on the northern shores so they could access town. After a few hours sleep we were feeling a little more lively and very pleased to have made it to Sicily. We decided to re-anchor as we had stayed a fair distance off shore as there are fish farms there that we could not see very well when we arrived in the dark. We motored up to the town anchorage where our friends were to see if it was a better option, there was quite a fetch across the bay and with strong southerlies forecast for another 24 hours we decided the southern bay was much more comfortable. We returned down there, tucked in as far as we could and settled in.

Of course we should have learnt by now that the weather forecast has no relevance to the weather we actually receive. Around 4pm the skies turned black, the wind starting building and within 10 minutes we had 35knots from the east. The southern part of the bay is totally exposed to the east, we were now on a lee shore in shallow water, close to the fish farms, with building seas, driving rain and a disconnected bow control for the electric anchor windlass. After sorting out hand signals so I could steer the boat, control the revs to drive towards the anchor in the strong winds and use the cockpit controls to lift the anchor (thats 3 things but I only have 2 hands) things went well for no more than a minute then guess what - it got worse!!! To add more confusion up came a crab pot with about 20 metres of line all very tightly twisted around the anchor chain. Lets just say it took us an hour to cut all the line off and retrieve our anchor, pitching all the time in the sharp seas coming in.

We finally joined the other yachts in the northern anchorage, the chop was less as the wind had backed but it was now bringing a swell in so we were all rolling. Confident that wasdefinitely the end of a bad 36 hours the bar was opened. Skipper poured a beer (the lastonboard) turned to give me my drink and we rolled, his glass flew across the bench top, hit the fiddle and catapulted across the salon. We did actually have some good luck as amazingly it didn't break, but we smelt like a brewery for a few days!!!

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to surrender to the elements and start thinking about tying up for winter!!
Cruising Info on next Siracusa update:

Thursday 17 September 2009

Stormy Siracusa - Getting to Sicily ... Sept 2009


15 - 16 September 2009


***A clear sunny moment over Siracusas old town with the stunning cathedral centre stage, shame about the dreadful concrete wall left unfinished and without any purpose along the waterfront*** Mt Etna letting off some steam, one of the rare occasions we could see it from the anchorage in Siracusa*** Looks like more thunder storms on Sicily's horizon overSiracusas old town***


Do you remember the lovely photo at the end of the last blog update of Balvenie in glassy waters leaving Roccella Ionica with a stunning red sky at sunrise? The day started well enough, we followed Destiny out of the marina, and over the shallow sand bar - them at the ready to tow us off if we ran aground!!, there was no wind and only the slightest of a swell, thankfully we escaped without even a nudge.
It was time to do the overnight 100 mile jump to Sicily, destination Siracusa on the southeast coast. We had looked at options of going further north, but a combination of poor anchorages, full marinas in Catania (close by to Mt Etna), a ridiculously expensive marina in Riposte of 130Euro per night plus power and water (closest town to Mt Etna) and strong southerlies forecast in 36 hours determined the all round anchorage in Siracusa to be the best option. The weather forecasts, from 3 different sources all concurred that we would have less than 10 knots all the way to Sicily with flat seas, heaven. After the recent beatings we have had the idea of burning some diesel and motoring the whole way just didn't seem a bad option really. So off we set, a slight breeze came in, sails were raised and we jogged along happily enjoying the morning. Destiny moved off ahead as they are a trawler/cruiser with a compact sail area so are designed to motor everywhere. We made the most of the light morning breeze, it would be an overnighter anyway so if we were slower it didn't really matter.
But the breeze built and came from the southwest, I imagine straight out of the entrance toSiracusa harbour! As the day progressed the sea state worsened, the winds settled at a steady 20knots, right on the nose, making us sail further and further north so we weren't bashing right into them. There is only one other anchorage on the southern Italy coast that we may have been able to divert to , the cruising guide advises of several "aggravatedrobberies" reported by yachts stopping here - it didn't sound like a great option either. We put 2 reefs in the main and sailed as comfortably as we could, carrying on way off course, but in the hope that as we neared land the seas would flattened and we could turn and motor down the coast without falling off the crests of the waves.

At 7pm we spoke to Destiny on the radio, they were finally into flatter water and due in around 9pm, we were looking at an eta of 1.30am - and things were about to get worse. While I was still talking, Mark called down that there was large boat approaching us very quickly flashing several lights at us, we thought initially it was a Coastguard boat, then realized it was a large fishing boat. Mark tired contacting them on VHF 16 and eventually got a response, all in Italian of course, but we picked up the words fishing net and pronto, pronto, pronto with a great sense of urgency in their voice. I had taken the wheel and finally spotted a lit buoy ahead, then desperately tried to spot another to see which way it was running. Finally I saw another in the distance, so starting turning away from it. Just as Skipper came up back up from the radio we both noticed hundreds of little floats, Mark grabbed the wheel and turned us as hard as he could, the fishing net floats nudgingBalvenie's hull as we flew off downwind. That was close.

It was just on dark and we were now heading north west towards land, all the lights onshore added to the confusion of trying to pick up more fishing net buoys. All we could see were lights everywhere, we were having a very comfortable sail now but going in entirely the wrong direction. I eventually made contact with an English speaking person on the radio at Augusta Port Control who contacted the fishing boat for us, they advised the net was over 3 miles long and had surface floats the whole way, just not something you can risk going over. 3 miles doesn't sound that far but when you are doing 5 to 6 knots, that's an extra hour just to get back to where we were in the beginning! We were having a long enough trip and didn't appreciate the detour at all, eventually we felt it was safe to turn back to windward and spent the rest of the night clawing our way down the Sicily coast. The sea did flatten some but the wind never died off, we safely entered Siracusa at 4am under electronic chart, radar and following the leading lights into the harbour. We dropped anchor in the south of the large bay in flat water and collapsed. It had been a hard 22 hours.
We had just fallen asleep when I was awaken by what I thought was our anchor coming up, and then silence, can't be, I'm hallucinating. Back to sleep again and awoken again, I'm sure that's the anchor - is someone stealing the boat with us on it - well we are in Mafia country??? I wake up Skipper, that is definitely the electric anchor windlass but no one is stealing the boat, it has simply short circuited and it's coming up all by itself!!! With no sleep for 24 hours the brain does not work too well and it took a while to stop it, sort it and tuck down again. Surely that is enough entertainment for one day. But no - there was more to come.

Siracusa lies in a large bay, the town on the north east shores. We had anchored in the southern bite out of the southerly wind and chop but most of the boats were up on the northern shores so they could access town. After a few hours sleep we were feeling a little more lively and very pleased to have made it to Sicily. We decided to re-anchor as we had stayed a fair distance off shore as there are fish farms there that we could not see very well when we arrived in the dark. We motored up to the town anchorage where our friends were to see if it was a better option, there was quite a fetch across the bay and with strong southerlies forecast for another 24 hours we decided the southern bay was much more comfortable. We returned down there, tucked in as far as we could and settled in.

Of course we should have learnt by now that the weather forecast has no relevance to the weather we actually receive. Around 4pm the skies turned black, the wind starting building and within 10 minutes we had 35knots from the east. The southern part of the bay is totally exposed to the east, we were now on a lee shore in shallow water, close to the fish farms, with building seas, driving rain and a disconnected bow control for the electric anchor windlass. After sorting out hand signals so I could steer the boat, control the revs to drive towards the anchor in the strong winds and use the cockpit controls to lift the anchor (thats 3 things but I only have 2 hands) things went well for no more than a minute then guess what - it got worse!!! To add more confusion up came a crab pot with about 20 metres of line all very tightly twisted around the anchor chain. Lets just say it took us an hour to cut all the line off and retrieve our anchor, pitching all the time in the sharp seas coming in.

We finally joined the other yachts in the northern anchorage, the chop was less as the wind had backed but it was now bringing a swell in so we were all rolling. Confident that wasdefinitely the end of a bad 36 hours the bar was opened. Skipper poured a beer (the lastonboard) turned to give me my drink and we rolled, his glass flew across the bench top, hit the fiddle and catapulted across the salon. We did actually have some good luck as amazingly it didn't break, but we smelt like a brewery for a few days!!!

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to surrender to the elements and start thinking about tying up for winter!!
Cruising Info on next Siracusa update:Posted by Picasa

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Getting Kicked By Italy's Boot ..... Sep 2009

Looking out to sea from Santa Maria di Leuca, 
still looking very lumpy - think we will wait another day!!!!
 09 - 15 September 2009

Eventually the high winds eased in Brindisi and we couldn't think of any more excuses to stay. We had enjoyed our stay there, but there always somewhere else over the horizon. The winds and seas were still a little lively for our trip south 40miles to Otranto, but once we cleared the first cape the seas flattened some, the angle was better, the wind was on the port quarter we were zipping along.

As we neared Otranto the wind dropped out so we pulled into the small harbour behind the breakwater looking for a spot for the night. The harbour was packed full, yachts rafted 6 deep, many boats on moorings and not much room for anchoring but we nestled into a small spot happy in the knowledge we would be fine unless the wind came in from the north east. Nothing was showing in the forecast - we'd be fine! Just on dark and with dinner about to be served the wind came in, of course from the north east, leaving us totally unprotected on a lee shore and in 4 metres of water, time for a change of scenery!

With few options we lifted anchored and nudged our way into the dock, just around the corner from the wind and swell, rafted up to a large dive boat who was already 3 deep alongside a couple of fishing boats and hoped no one would be wanting an early departure. Otranto had come highly recommended, the walled town and cathedral "must sees", unfortunately we missed them. We don't like to leave Balvenie when she is rafted in case the other boats want to move so we enjoyed Otranto from the harbour instead.

One of the fairy castle homes in Santa Maria
We had an undisturbed night and left after breakfast heading further south down the 'heel'. The wind had been up all night and the seas again were rather lumpy. At least we were going downwind and felt very sorry for the handful of yachts we passed motoring sail north, wind right on the nose and bashing into it. Our turn would come again, it always does! We rounded the Cape at Santa Maria di Leuca, its the bottom of the stiletto heel, oh the difference to be in the lee of land, flat water at last. It looked possible to anchor outside the marina but just within the outer breakwater, and in very settled conditions outside the big outer breakwater, but neither were very protected from the south or west. We had heard of yachts that tied to the large empty fishing dock but we saw a couple come in and get moved on so we took the easy but very expensive option and headed for the marina - staff on the pontoon waving with open arms and mooring lines, sometimes you just need to forget about the money! Later in the day John and Eva on Destiny arrived, they had come right through from Brindisi in their motor trawler and had had a rather rolly time of it too, these Italian waters were not being very kind to any of us.

We checked all the weather sites and they all showed strong winds the following day for the Gulf of Taranto, that's the 'instep' which is about 50 miles across and renowned for its confused seas, not such a good place to be with high winds as well. So we had the day at leisure, exploring the amazing villas built here back in the 1920's, it seems all the architects had a competition for the craziest design, there were houses covered in flowery tiles, fairycastles, chateaus, chinese palaces - all very strange. Most were still in good repair and used as holiday homes, however some were in desperate need of a do-up, all very interesting. We climbed the many stairs up to Mussolini's monument on top of the cape, built as the ceremonial gateway to Italy. From there we watched some braver sailors out at sea, pleased we were on land.

Why didn't we take notice of' 'Red sky in the morning
 - sailors warning' ??? - leaving Roccella Ioanica
The winds for the following day were forecast to be 20knots from the north dropping through the day with less than 10knots the following day. As with most of the med it is either get beaten up or motor, time for another beating! We were up in the dark and let our lines go just as it was light enough to see. With 2 reefs in the main and a reefed head sail we headed out, comfortable enough to start with as we were still in the lee of the heel, unfortunately that didn't last. The wind and seas built, we couldn't point high enough for our first or second choice destination so Mark just settled Balvenie into a rhythm and she ploughed through with 3 metre waves on the beam, the biggest seas we have had since we entered the Straits of Bab el Mandeb at the bottom of the Red Sea. I was feeling seasick, a first in a very long time, so I had permission to go and hide below, clutching my pillow and wondering, as I do at times like this, just why I am doing this. As the hours and miles ticked by things did start to settle a little, we headed for La Castella the first stop on the "sole" and although not showing as an anchorage the whole bay looked shallow enough and sheltered from all but the south. We hoped there would not be a wind shift and dropped anchor just after dark, 13 1/2 hours later, the 2nd longest day sail we have done at 83 1/2 miles with a top speed of 9.2knots, well at least we knocked some miles off!!

We moved on the next morning, this coastline has few safe havens and is totally exposed to the south so we wanted to get to Sicily before any southerly winds came through. We spent the day crossing the Bay of Squillance, the sea conditions were much better and we sailed most of the way, tracking thunder storms on the radar and trying to avoid them. I gave some thought to the name Squillance while watching the squalls all around us, and after checking in the cruising guide about the area, yes - we were sailing through the Bay of Squalls!!!

We approached our overnight stop of Roccella Ioanica with much apprehension, there is no natural harbour, just a huge man-made marina built behind an enormous breakwater. The pilot book warns of continual silting at the entrance, the dogleg sandbar with no markers you must navigate around, the unpredicable shallow waters, the whirlpools inside the marina AND there is an account of a yacht being rolled trying to enter. Why are we going here? - because there is simply nowhere else. Huey and the other weather gods must have thought we needed a break, as we neared the winds dropped out and we had completely flat seas with no swell at all. We had been told on our cruisers radio net that the entrance had been dreadged to 4metres in August so we slowly navigated our way in. The dredged 4 metres was nowhere to be found, 3, 2.5 then 2, we should be stationary by now, down to 1.8metres on our depth metre, but it must have been soft sand and we just ploughed through it and happily tied to a big concrete jetty in the cheap unfinished marina. We were in, but would we ever get out again!!! Needless to add that their were extra tots of the hard stuff, yet again.

Destiny were a day behind us, they hadn't been having an easy time either. The winds were forecast very light for the next few days so we decided to stay a day so they would catch up, and we could motor to Sicily together in the light winds. There's not much to do there, but a day of rest was much needed, after catch up drinks with Destiny we went to the marina pizzeria for 'pizza by the metre'!!!, just excellent - including the young helpful Australian waiter who has moved here to visit all his Italian family.

Things are looking up - or are they???

Cruising Info for Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca and Roccella Ioanica in Italy:
Anchorages - 
Otranto at anchor ..... 40 08.917N 18 29.509E 4.8m mud Exposed Northeast to East
Otranto wall ..... 40 08 917N 18 29 699E 6.8m Rafted 4 deep, there is a bend in the wall and this was much more sheltered than it looks. We didn't get charged but arrived late and left at 8am
Santa Maria di Leuca Marina ..... 39 47.743N 18 21.640E 2.6m Went bow in - 2 mooring lines supplied. 54 Euro per night!! (Sept still classed as high season) No facilities.
Le Castella at anchor ..... 38 54.560N 17 02.039E 10m held well. Could get further in but arrived just on dark. Open to south - southeast. Can anchor over eastern side of bay, depending on wind direction. Had 20knots come up for a few hours overnight off the land, no problem.
Roccella Ionica Marina ..... 38 19.642N 16 26.006E 3m on big wall, finger berths looked rather flimsy but all new. No longer free, Police come around a few times early evening and collect 20 Euro per night. (after 54E in Santa Maria this seems cheap!) No marina staff
Internet - Nothing unlocked anywhere. New Dongle still not working,no dongle shops to be found. Got weather updates from Destiny whose Dongle was working!
Money and Provisions - Only went ashore at Santa Maria and Roccella Ionica. SM had adequate supermarket in town and ATM at Marina. RI had a good supermarket quite a walk (think there was one closer that we missed) no ATM at Marina but would be in town. Great pizza at marina
Formalities - haven't done any in Italy

Thursday 10 September 2009

Ciao - We've made it to Brindisi - Italy ..... Sept 2009

THURSDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2009


01 - 09 September 2009
One of the many stone buildings at Lecce

After our very easy and straightforward check out from Croatia, we left Cavtatwith calm winds, flat seas and a weather forecast indicating no more than 10knots from the north, sounds just perfect for an overnight passage southwest to Italy. After an hour or so we had enough breeze to sail at 5 knots, it was a lovely day so all was good with the world. But we have learnt that good things never last and although the winds didn't exceed 20knots the sea state increased and we must have been getting the leftover slop from the strong winds that had been blasting the Northern Adriatic for several days. Bumpier and bumpier it got but while we were still able to sail it wasn't too bad. Around 10pm the wind dropped out completely, the boom was banging backwards and forwards so we did a nighttime sail drop - never a favourite in sloppy seas but necessary. We reefed down to the 3rd reefing line, hoping that some sail sheeted hard in would give us more stability than none at all. The motor went on and we wobbled about in the direction of Brindisi. We had a full moon, normally such a delight on an overnighter as you lie back and watch it glistening above, not this time though, it kept moving so much that just looking at it was making me feel seasick! The wind picked up again at dawn but we kept with the 3rd reef and motorsailed the rest of the way, as we neared the 1 1/2 mile breakwater at Brindisi the seas were very confused but we eventually turned the corner of the breakwater into flat water at last, oh how nice! We dropped sail and motored the last miles up into the inner harbour and dropped anchor in a space really not quite big enough and went to sleep.
Fireworks in Brindisi

We were awoken a couple of hours later by a local fisherman who was trying to explain to us that the navy would move us on and we should move closer to the moored fishing boats. There really wasn't enough room for us so we decided to tie up to the town quay, we had been told it was free as long as you weren't tied up next to the potted plants! So with all our fenders and mooring lines at the ready, we successfully nudged ourselves into a "no charge - plant free" area, home for a few nights,Welcome to Italy.Brindisi doesn't have the best of reputations, it's a main port town for those entering and exiting Italy on the many ferries that ply the waters between here, Greece and Albania. Few tourists seem to stay and explore but we really enjoyed it. By day the quay area is a little shabby - well we didn't have potted plants - we were worried about security so emptied the cockpit and stowed most things below. By night it is completey different, it's a pedestrian area, alive with hundreds of locals out for their evening promenade and catchup with family and neighbours, just lovely. Local men sit all hours of the day and night on the quay fishing between the boats, never catching anything, but seemingly content with their lot. After our initial concerns we felt as safe and secure as anywhere else we have tied up to on a town wall.

The Trulli houses of Puglia at UNESCO site Alberobello
There were strong winds forecast in a couple of day plus it was carnival time, Brindisi's Patron Saints Day over the weekend and we wanted to stay for the festivities. We went for an excursion by train to the nearby town of Lecce. It boasts more than 40 churches and palazzi, most in 16th and 17th century baroque architecture, built out of a local cream and gold stone. There is also the 12th century catherdral in the Piazza del Duoma, and an unearthed 2nd century AD amphitheatre, discovered in the early 1900's when underground vaults were being dug for a nearby bank. The whole town all glimmers in the sunlight and when the thunderstorms pass overhead and the heavens open there are some very cute trattorias to while away a couple of hours over a tasty lunch!

We were joined next day by friends Phil and Margaret off Argos from Sydney, along withJohn and Eva off Destiny of London, as they are both motor trawlers with very little sail area they do the opposite to us sailors and sit waiting for forecasts of calms, they had motored across from Montenegro in glassy seas, oh what a difference a day or two makes! We squeezed them both on the wall, careful not to impede on the plant boxes at one end and the small ferry dock at the other. Unfortunately our time on the wall was coming to an end, we had been asked to move off while the festivities were on over the weekend, and we thought we would have great spots for seeing everything. With 35knots forecast for the next couple of days the 3 of us moved over to the Brindisi Marina, fortunately it was now shoulder season so it was almost affordable, unfortunately it is quite a distance by bus from town.

More cute little stone houses
We shared the hire a small car for a day with Phil and Margaret and headed inland into the heart of Puglia. I had read about the Trulli stone houses unique to this area, so we headed northwest through scenic country lanes towards Alberobello. Enroute we discovered Locorotondo and what a find it was, set high on a hill top it's a tiny town built from ivory coloured sandstone, it houses a maze of alleys with cute tidy houses, hanging vines and flowers complete the postcard picture and it made a great stopover for an excellent pasta lunch. This town is rated as a borghi piu belli d'Italia, one of the most beautiful towns in Italy and it was just lovely, strangely there was hardly anyone else there. We moved on after lunch toAlberobello, much more touristy but a great spot, the little round white stone houses look like they were built for goblins and pixies, all straight out of a fairytale. There are over 1500 of these pointy shaped old houses in the area and they were well worth the visit.

Saturday evening was the climax of carnival weeked, the small inner harbour and dockside where we had been tied was jampacked with local craft all taking part in the festivities. There were thousands of people out on the streets, the rains and winds abated for a few hours and the city certainly came alive. An excellent fireworks display had many oohhs and aahhs from the onlookers and a large procession formed to follow the statue of the patron saint to her resting place. As we headed back to the marina and Balvenie the winds increased again and howled for the next 36 hours.

Cruising Info for Brindisi - Italy:
Anchorages -
Upper Harbour Anchorage... 40 38.571N 17.56.564E 8m mud, only stayed a couple of hours, there is not really enough room. Might be better off up past the small marina on the right and naval yard on the left
Town Quay ... 40 38.513N 17 56.698E 5.1m sidetied for free. As you approach the wall the free spots are towards the right hand end but behind the area cordened off for the small ferry. Very little wash from the ferry. In a strong north easterly you get pinned on the wall and quite a chop, so if there is room go past the ferry area, past the fuel dock and there is room for a couple of boats it has more shelter in NE winds. There is also a big long quay on the northern shore, not many cleats but we heard of boats having tied there in northerlies. No power and water unless you go to the "potted plants" end where you have to pay.
Brindisi Marina ... 40 39.618N 17 57.827E Bow or stern to, mooring lines provided, call first and dinghy will assist. Quite exposed to the wind but safe enough. €32 a night shoulder season (september).
Other options ... The Lega Nevale Marina is much closer to town and very protected, however it is tiny and had no space available. A couple of yachts anchored outside the Brindisi Marina close to the breakwater while we had the strong NE winds. In the cruising guide this area is marked as proposed berths but is currently empty.
Internet - no unlocked internet in Italy, could find no wifi cafes despite Lonely Planet saying there are plenty on the main street. Ended up buying a USB Sim and have spent 10 days trying to get it to work, more on that later!
Money - ATM's in town and one at the marina
Provisions - Small supermarket close to port on Corso Garibaldi, morning fruit and veg stalls and a couple of bakeries in behind the post office on Via Ferrante Fornari. Marina very remote with only a restaurant there.
Sightseeing -
Helpful Tourist Office right on the Town Quay

Day trip to Lecce €4.60 return per person 2nd class train, very regular about every 1/2hour. Takes about 30 minutes
Day trip to Alberobello €50 for a Fiat Panda plus €15 petrol. We walked to the airport from the marina (quite a long way!!) and got the car from Auto Europa
Formalities -
Leaving Croatia, no charges very quick in Cavtat but must tie to Customs Dock. Arriving Italy, haven't done any