16 May 2022 - Agnone

I had one of those surprising "the world is a small place" encounters on the pontoon. We had seen a sister yacht from the same manufacturers, and as is often the way, we said hello and congratulated each other on our good taste. Later the guy came past again and we were comparing notes, when I noticed his shirt. It said "Cowes Week 2012" and then went on "Jambo! GBR4709". This was our previous boat, and it transpired that he was one of the chaps from the Royal Yacht Squadron who chartered Jambo! for several years in succession. Small world indeed.

There were a couple of blokes fishing in the marina. They sat in a small rib, wedged in between the moored boats and the pontoons. It was hard to understand what advantage being in the rib offered. It would have seemed much easier and more comfortable to sit on the pontoon, but I will probably always struggle to understand people's obsession with fishing.

We packed up and prepared to set off. We were wished a pleasant voyage by a German couple on a nearby boat, and I privately forgave them for the (tuneless) song that they had sung on arrival. Although maybe we should have a boat song to sing on arrival at every new port. Suggestions welcome. Their boat had herbs in pots suspended from the guard rails, and I wasn't really sure what to make of that. They had clearly managed to buy special pots for the purpose. I don't think we will be doing that!

We were accompanied by a lone dolphin for a distance just outside Siracusa, but were weren't going fast enough for him to want to play and disappeared off in search of something more interesting. There was not enough wind to sail properly, so we motored with the sails up for the whole journey. We had a great view of the petro-chemical facilities in and around Augusta. Not the prettiest part of Sicily. There were tankers coming into the port, so we had to keep a careful watch to make sure we weren't getting too close to them, but once past the port it became a bit more relaxed.

We were heading for an anchorage in a wide bay at a place called Agnone, and this proved to be a much more attractive spot. There was a spectacular view of Etna, and as it was free of cloud, we could see the plumes of gas escaping from the craters at the peak. Many photos were taken.