If you are expecting standing waves and monstrous whirlpools
in the Straits of Messina you will be sadly disappointed. An earthquake in 1783 changed the shape of
the seabed and in so doing banished “Scilla” – the render and “Charybdis” – the
sucker down… As we entered there was
barely a ripple but a great sailing breeze so we joined the mêlée in the small
boat channel and zipped on through at 9 knots.
Only highlight was the swordfishing boats with their giant lookout spires
and thrusting bowsprits… I know it’s not exactly what a fisherman wants to hear
but I hope they found no swordfish that day!
Sicilia doesn’t inspire us much as it seems to consist of a
continuous belt of concrete bunker buildings, both high rise and low… there
about 6 million people crammed on to this 25,711sqkm island but it appears to
be many more than one house per person?!
We cruise down the coast looking for a suitable spot to call home for
the night but it isn’t until we get to Taormina that we find an anchorage
sheltered for the swell. Taormina looms
over head and after a long walk steeply uphill through crunching black pumice
gravel (we couldn’t see Etna but her presence was surely felt) we found it to
be much prettier and interesting than we expected and absolutely buzzing…
gorgeous people, ristoranti, café’s and, of course(!) bars… “Re del Bastione”
gets our vote… local beers in a funky setting overlooking one of the best
passeggiata streets… great for people watching and the “Rolling Stone” slips
down nicely after a long days sailing.
We are still having problems with our fridge so having
finally found a sympathetic ear in Paolo (somewhere in the Waeco office in northern
Italy!) we are directed to wait in Acitrezza for Stefano e Mario…
It turns out to be a fantastic stopover and we thoroughly enjoy our quirky neighbour Salvo on “Wake Up”… built like a miniature ninja he spends most of the day like a sparrow in his “perch” made from recycled items, ear muffs on to avoid distraction, he reads about emotions and philosophy and offers counsel and relaxing chit chat to the locals whilst nibbling on mung beans and organic almonds. A thoroughly lovely man who you would never believe was once a debt collector in Catania??! Grazie mille Salvo… Ho apprezzato la tua compagnia immensamente.
Unfortunately Stefano and Mario turn out to be the Abbott and Costello of fridge repair and their initial visit leaves us with one over gassed sweaty fridge and not much faith in their abilities to fix the real problem! They assure us a new evaporator will be ordered and if we return next week they will fit it… hummmm… time will tell!
Sicilia doesn’t inspire us much as it seems to consist of a
continuous belt of concrete bunker buildings, both high rise and low… there
about 6 million people crammed on to this 25,711sqkm island but it appears to
be many more than one house per person?!
We cruise down the coast looking for a suitable spot to call home for
the night but it isn’t until we get to Taormina that we find an anchorage
sheltered for the swell. Taormina looms
over head and after a long walk steeply uphill through crunching black pumice
gravel (we couldn’t see Etna but her presence was surely felt) we found it to
be much prettier and interesting than we expected and absolutely buzzing…
gorgeous people, ristoranti, café’s and, of course(!) bars… “Re del Bastione”
gets our vote… local beers in a funky setting overlooking one of the best
passeggiata streets… great for people watching and the “Rolling Stone” slips
down nicely after a long days sailing.
Interesting factoid…
Even if Sicilia was entirely covered in citrus trees and they were all in full production, it could still never produce enough fruit, and therefore income from that fruit, to equal the amount of money it gets paid by the EU not to produce any! (info: 1990’s but probably still valid today) A typical EU arse about face economic policy…
Even if Sicilia was entirely covered in citrus trees and they were all in full production, it could still never produce enough fruit, and therefore income from that fruit, to equal the amount of money it gets paid by the EU not to produce any! (info: 1990’s but probably still valid today) A typical EU arse about face economic policy…
The next day is a swelly one and despite moving round to
Naxos and deploying a kedge it is not to be a pleasant stay and when a yacht
finally goes aground in the harbour we are all politely asked to vacate and
move round to “Rip –off-sto” (Riposto).
After a very tricky piece of parallel parking in strong winds we come to
rest in the lee of “Pacific” (very aptly named!) a huge superyacht with a crew
of extremely beautiful young women and an associated herd of young Italian male
admirers; most amusing to watch.
To give you an idea of how much this superyachts are worth
and the money that is associated with them, we were anchored next to one called
“Ace” and casually looked up how much it was to charter it… turns out if you have
a spare 1,000,000€ kicking around that will be enough to get you ONE WEEK of
fun in the sun! The economic crisis is
not as bad for some folks as it is for others…
From here we can finally see Etna. Her head above the cloud, smoking ominously, black laval skirts spread wide to smother the
surrounding land… There is a sense of coiled readiness about this mountain that
by comparison makes the familiar Rangitoto seem serene and lifeless, a mere prop
to enliven the background of photos taken from The Northshore. It is exciting to think that we might see her
spit with anger at some point during our trip.
We are still having problems with our fridge so having
finally found a sympathetic ear in Paolo (somewhere in the Waeco office in northern
Italy!) we are directed to wait in Acitrezza for Stefano e Mario… It turns out to be a fantastic stopover and we thoroughly enjoy our quirky neighbour Salvo on “Wake Up”… built like a miniature ninja he spends most of the day like a sparrow in his “perch” made from recycled items, ear muffs on to avoid distraction, he reads about emotions and philosophy and offers counsel and relaxing chit chat to the locals whilst nibbling on mung beans and organic almonds. A thoroughly lovely man who you would never believe was once a debt collector in Catania??! Grazie mille Salvo… Ho apprezzato la tua compagnia immensamente.
Unfortunately Stefano and Mario turn out to be the Abbott and Costello of fridge repair and their initial visit leaves us with one over gassed sweaty fridge and not much faith in their abilities to fix the real problem! They assure us a new evaporator will be ordered and if we return next week they will fit it… hummmm… time will tell!
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