Thursday was for drawing breath and preparing for the onward journey. There was cleaning to be done both inside and out, plus the water tanks to fill. It was the hottest day so far, and it was really rather refreshing to be splashing water around on deck with the hose.
This was the second ever meeting of the Channel Sailing Club, Mediterranean Section, and in the evening we went out to a trattoria for a very pleasant meal with our friends. It seemed like a fitting way to close off our time in Sicily. As we returned to the boats after eating, there was again the spectacular view of the lava trails coming down Etna. We could see small pulses of fire from the very source of the flows.
On Friday we departed from Riposto, heading broadly east. Alison and Andy came to see us off, they will follow in a day or two. In some ways it seemed like a big deal to be moving from an island to the continental mainland (last seen at Denia in Spain), even though the distances were not big. We could see a vague outline of the mainland as we left, and could still see Etna clearly at all times.
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| Pictures curtesy of Andy |
As soon as we left the harbour, we were in big swell, probably 2 metre waves, caused be the wind in the last couple of days. There were waves breaking against the harbour wall, and also along the beach. Fortunately they were long, rounded waves rather than a short chop, so although the boat was pitched around a bit, and being below deck was not ideal, it was never too bad. We had to divert around various fishing boats, who always seemed to be heading for where we wanted to go. We could see the lines for their nets and so did not way to get too close. There was not much wind initially, and so we were using the motor.
As we progressed, we started to approach the shipping lanes through the Straits of Messina. We were well south of any restricted area, but we still wanted to ensure that we were not impeding any of these vessels. As ever the AIS is incredibly useful. In addition to showing you where (most) other vessels are, it also provides information about, speed direction of movement and destination. It also calculates how close you will get and when, assuming both vessels continue to make the same course and speed. Our software updated chart plotter also now puts little boundary markers on the other ships projection line, indicating the sort of place that you might hit each other if, for example your speed dropped. I'm not totally convinced as to how useful this is. Last week I saw one of these projection lines and the collision zone indicators, which was worrying until I realised that the ship in question was moving in a harbour on the other side of a headland, and the collision zone was pure fantasy.
We kept motoring to keep clear of the shipping, even though the wind had kicked in. It was funnelling down the Straits and was at around 25 knots for a while. It did not last long at that level, and once we were close to our overnight anchorage it was down to 11 knots and dropping. The place we have picked is (so far) free from swell and protected from the overnight wind direction. We were the second boat in and three more came later. It is quite reassuring to know that other people have evaluated the weather and the limited range of potential anchorages, and made the same choice as we did.
After dark, we had a quick look on deck and could still see the lava trails on Etna, now more than forty miles away.
Miles Today - 35
Miles 2022 - 441
Steve (and Tricia)
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