We spent a gloriously peaceful night at anchor at Cornino and awoke to the magnificent backdrop of Mount Erice. The day was overcast to start with which gave the mountain a moody appearance, with bands of cloud shrouding parts of it.
Knowing that we did not have too far to go, and equally not wanting to arrive during the siesta hours, we had a very leisurely start, and only raised the anchor at around 11:15. There were a few fishing boats visible in the distance, but nothing close to us.
For most of the day there was just enough wind to sail and we made steady progress north around the Capo San Vito. Like all headlands, this has the potential to disturb the winds and waves, but we were happy that it was calm and peaceful while we are still in shakedown mode. We saw a few other yachts, but as yet there are very few around. It is obviously too early for most people to be out in their boats just yet.
As we progressed I came to the conclusion that for all of the frustrations of being held up while we tried to get ready to leave, the joy of actually getting sailing far outweighs the frustrations. It is just fabulous. There is also a wonderful depth of understanding that we get of the places we visit. We are embedded into the community much more that if we were just in a hotel or using restaurants. We really get to see the ways in which people live and work.
The boat seems to be in really good shape. We have addressed many of the smaller irritations that have afflicted us before, whether it was the fitting of a new gas strut to support a cupboard door, or the various other replacement fittings to help us hoist and recover the sails. I am also still surprised when I go on deck to see just how good all of the teak is looking. One of our other little improvements is to have acquired communication headsets. It was always a bit of a challenge to communicate when we are in docking manoeuvres and we both have to be at different ends of the boat. Especially if there is any sort of wind blowing or machinery running, we just can't hear each other without shouting. This then makes it seem as if there is a cause for concern, which for the most part, there isn't. With the new headsets, we can now talk all the way through the manoeuvres. The headsets are an unqualified success.
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| We've gone very "America's Cup". Here Tricia models a new comms headset. p.s. the wind is still cold! |
We arrived back in Balestrate, one of our favoured haunts from last year. The weather is forecast to be bad tomorrow, and we need to be close enough to the airport for Chris to get his flight home. We were warmly welcomed both when we booked the berth and by the marinaro when we arrived.
Va bene
Miles Today - 25
Miles 2022 - 37
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