The weather had continued to be abominable, with heavy rainfall. The first task of the day was to get in some last minute supplies, and to check out the forecast. John picked up Bill from British Tiger for moral support, and went into the Cafe de Paris to download the forecasts from the internet, and of course to enjoy a morning coffee. There seemed to be a clear window with very little wind to start with, and some breeze from the south towards the end of the period. Despite our friends' suggestions that we were mad, we decided to make the break.
We left the anchorage at about 1100 hours and motored south, passing the chapel where Onassis married Jackie Kennedy, and the island of Skorpios opposite. By 1320 we were clear of the most southerly point of Levkas, and we only had 262 nm to go. As it turned out, we managed to avoid any rain. Looking back to Levkas later in the evening, we could see a thunderstorm was once more raging, with lightning lighting up the sky. We soon had the benefit of a full moon, in a flat calm sea.
It was not until about 0600 the next morning that the promised southerly winds started to fill in, initially from ESE. They gradually freshened and came around to SSE then backing again during the day. This ensured that we made some really good progress under sail. It was not to last, as the wind continued to back and reduce in strength, so that we had to motor over the following night, rolling horribly in the confused seas.
We arrived in Sicily at 1000 (Greek time) and anchored in the bay off Syracusa, near the head of the harbour and adjacent to the Guardia Fiscale berths. We spent the day recovering, and did not bother to go ashore.
We went ashore around midday, and unusually for us left the dinghy locked by its stainless steel strop to the quay in the canal which leads from the Grand Harbour to the Porto Piccolo. We walked around the outside of the old town and then in towards the centre and the Piazza Duomo where the church is most impressive. Around the corner from here, we stumbled upon Il Cenacolo, a most delightful Trattoria Pizzeria, where we had a great lunch that came to 30 euros for the two of us. Afterwards, we continued exploring, finding the market, now unfortunately closed for the day, then went across to the new part of town in search of supplies. Returning to the dinghy, we found it all in order in the dark. Only the next day did we realise the spare can of fuel that had been tied on had been stolen.
We set the alarm, so that we could make an early start, and were away around 0800. The wind was initially light northerly, and we had to motor to keep up sufficient speed, given that it was to be a long day. Later, once around Di Capo Passero, the wind veered and freshened from the south west. Arriving at Pozallo, we initially made for the small harbour to the north east, but aborted as we began to run out of water (down to half a metre clear) on a lee shore. We found the fuel berth deserted, and then decided to make for some pontoons on the north west corner, by a boatyard. On our third attempt (Mo having got onto the pontoon before we were blown off) we managed to berth there. We did not use the facilities, electricity and water, that were apparently available, and did not venture ashore as there were a couple of intimidating dogs loose in the boat yard.
We were again up early, and left our berth at 0720. We had an enjoyable sail in lighter winds and arrived at Licata just before 1800. We had a look around the harbour to where the fuel berth was supposed to be, recommended by the pilot as a possible berth. The fuel berth we were told had closed, and we did not fancy the billet there. We were about to anchor when we were hailed in a Liverpudlian accent to the effect that it was not a good idea to anchor there. We were thus enveigled onto Stella Maris' pontoons by Gary, who runs the marina there. We invited him aboard, and heard about his life in Sicily living in a campervan with his Russian wife, supplementing his income with fishing for octopus. The anchorage in the outer harbour is now being turned into a large marina. A breakwater has been installed, and works are in progress. We spent an uncomfortable night, as the sea was coming into the harbour, slapping at our hull.
We left the moorings at 0745, and immediately put in one reef. The wind was not quite as forecast, and was blowing from the ENE, gradually increasing so that we were forced to put in another reef as it reached force 6. In the end, it died away, and we finished up motoring out of an E/SE wind that varied from Force 2 to Force 4. We arrived at Sciacca. Once more the fuelling berth did not seem to be in business, and we were beckoned onto the pontoons of the Lega Navale. The staff were all helpful and friendly, as they relieved us of 30 euros per night.
We had decided to take a rest day, as the weather forecast was not very good. The Lega Navale specialises in nice sitting areas with green matting, unfortunately sodden with the rain, gazebos, potted plants and a bar. We later found a club house on the water front. We climbed up to the town in search of somewhere nice for lunch, but surprisingly drew a blank, and ended up buying pizza and chips from a fast food stall in the main square. Sciacca boasts hot springs with healing properties originally exploited by the Greeks, and also has a number of ceramic outlets. It was an interesting town to visit, but very quiet out of season.
There had been thunderstorms overnight, and we left the moorings at 0920 having waited for the weather to clear a bit. Later I was able to write this as we sailed along at a gentle 5 or 6 knots, with a south westerly force three breeze broad on our beam. "Mo is lying on the leeward bench on the cockpit, soaking up the sunshine. We are both trying to recover from the glass or so of the white wine that we have brought all the way from Vis, where it came from a tap into our litre water bottle. It was a great accompanyment to our smoked salmon (imported by Mo from the UK) and cucumber sandwiches. Since shortly after leaving Siacca this morning we have not seen another boat. Our route today has taken us past the port of Marsala, famous for its sweet white wine, and we plan to spend the night at Favignana, on the island of the same name. This will be our jumping off point for the crossing to Sardinia, starting tomorrow morning." Favignana proved to be one of the most uncomfortable anchorages we have had, certainly this year. We arrived at dusk, and went close in by the galley houses opposite the inner most pier. There were frequent ferries arriving and departing from the outer pier, and seas were coming right in to the anchorage and causing us to roll most uncomfortably.
We left the anchorage at 0900 hours, motoring with very little wind. The weather cleared and it became quite pleasant. By 2000 hrs the promised NE wind had set in at about F3. We reefed, as we usually do for the night, and were later glad of this as we roared along at a terrific pace. By 0430 we had to put in a second reef, and already had the jib well rolled. For a while the wind veered ESE and dropped, so that we had to motor again, but it soon reverted to ENE. During the morning, as we reached our initial waypoint off Vilasimius, it seemed pointless to bash up to windward when we could fetch Cagliari comfortably in the sheltered water of the bay. We phoned ahead to warn Max at the Marina del Sole that we would arrive c. 1430, and tied up there on our eta. We were glad to be in, and to have the extra time to pack the boat up before flying back to the UK.