The Victoria Shadow Association

SARDINIA TO SICILY

May - June 2010

As I write this we are riding out a westerly gale at anchor in Cefalu harbour in northern Sicily, having crossed to Sicily from Sardinia on 5 and 6 June. We spent an enjoyable, if unexpectedly cold winter at home in Hayling Island and flew back to Cagliari in Sardinia on 5 May. We found Caladh to be safe and undamaged after her winter ashore in the Cantieri del Sole and began our annual maintenance. We had hoped to be back in the water within 10 days but it was eventually 3 weeks before we were afloat and a further 2 weeks before we finally set sail. This was due to a combination of jobs on the boat just taking longer than planned to complete and weather delays. However the Marina del Sole has an established community of liveaboards with an active social life and we enjoyed our time there in the company of friends old and new.

We waited several days in the boatyard for strong winds to blow through so that conditions were calm enough for boats to be craned into the water in safety and then a further 4-5 days in the marina for a second mistral to ease so we could cross to Sicily. This wind caused chaos in the marina with one boat breaking free of its anchor in the middle of the night and ending up sideways onto the pontoon. The somewhat rickety pontoons were themselves showing signs of strain and those boats unlucky enough to be on the exposed seaward ends were bucking up and down uncomfortably in the swell. Finally the wind eased and at 6am on 5 June we left Cagliari and set sail for Sicily.

After days of strong winds, the breeze remained a light force 2-3 for the whole passage and we motor sailed for 32 hours, finally reaching Trapani at 1400 hours on 6 June, a distance of 187 miles. It was a quiet, calm passage with little other shipping seen. The highlights were visits from local wildlife. First a small bird, probably a sanderling, flew onto the deck and rested for half an hour before flying off again and then early on the first evening, a group of 3-4 dolphins joined us, swimming in the bow wave of the boat for nearly half and hour. It was magical.

Trapani is a town of contrasts. It is a large town with a busy, quite unattractive commercial harbour but the historic centre is beautiful with elegant buildings and a maze of back streets to explore. We spent the first 2 nights at anchor and then decided to go onto one of the pontoons in the harbour to enable us to spend more time ashore sightseeing. Rather than a marina in the heart of the noisy but sheltered commercial port, we opted for Columbus Yacht Services pontoons in a more attractive location near the old town, a decision that was later to prove a little unwise.

From here we took a cable car up to Erice, a medieval village perched on the top of the mountain which overlooks Trapani. Although rather touristy, it was well worth a visit and we spent a pleasant day exploring it. The following day forecast strong south easterly winds came in driven by a Sirocco wind blowing up from north Africa, gusting up to 40 knots. It was then that we discovered that our chosen pontoon was not particularly sheltered in winds from this direction and seas soon built up in the long fetch across the harbour, causing us a very uncomfortable 2 days when it was impossible at times to leave the boat safely as we bounced violently up and down in the swell. We feared the boat might be damaged but in the end survived largely unscathed, in part due to the active intervention of Francesco, the marina manager. With his staff he worked tirelessly putting on additional anchors and lines to protect the boats.

Once the wind eased it was time to be on the move. On the advice of friends we had decided to head along the more interesting north and east coasts of Sicily, rather than take the more direct route south towards Malta. We enjoyed a very pleasant sail 30 miles along the coast in a northerly force 3-4 wind to Castellamare di Golfo, where we hoped to anchor. However, we are finding our Italian Waters Pilot written some 5 years ago is becoming somewhat out of date. At Castellamare, work is ongoing to extend the harbour wall and anchoring has been banned so we were obliged to go into the Club Nautico, thankfully a reasonable 30€ a night, as we have heard several tales of 100€ a night marinas along this coast.

Castellamare is a pretty little port with a pleasant old town running up the steep hill behind and we spent an enjoyable few days there. From here we visited Segesta, a half hour bus ride away. Sicily is a much invaded island and was occupied by the Greeks in ancient times, Segesta being one of their settlements. It has a remarkably well preserved Doric temple and amphitheatre dating from the 5th century BC, set in a beautiful hilltop location with wide views across the surrounding countryside.

We were joined in Castellamare by 3 yachts who had left the Marina del Sole in Cagliari about a week after us – Gypsy Rose, Regina and JJ Boat and together we sailed in company some 60 miles east along the coast to Cefalu. Well, motored actually, as there was little wind. As we are continually being reminded this season so far, the Mediterranean is notorious for either having too much wind or not enough! Cefalu has an attractive harbour sheltered from the west by a large granite hill, La Rocca, which lies between the harbour and the town some 10 minutes walk away. We have been anchored here for a few days now. The first few were hot, sunny and calm (if rather rolly at night) and we explored the town and enjoyed swimming in the somewhat bracing sea for the first time this year. Gypsy Rose and Regina quickly moved on towards their intended destination of Greece but we decided to stay on while some more windy weather blew through before heading for the Aeolian Islands which lie 30 odd miles off the coast and are best visited in settled weather. The group of seven tiny islands include 2 active volcanoes, Vulcano and Stromboli and sound fascinating to visit. More of that next time we hope, as for the moment we are on “anchor watch”, praying our anchor will hold as the wind blows at gale force off shore and a gusty force 6-7 in the harbour. Winds are forecast to ease from tonight we hope………

Simon and Jo