38:13.278N 015:14.857E

SV Eleonora
Michael A. Andronov
Thu 26 Sep 2019 07:12
UTC 1841

We are on anchor in front of Milazzo, Sicily.

Today is September, 26th. Time is going fast…
We have arrived on 24th, at 1351.

Why Milazzo ?
I’ve been debating with myself which part of the Northern coast of Sicily to go, based on the weather… ( and though, the wind calm down a bit, the weather on the 24th of September was still special for sailing! Nice Sun, wind — about 20 knots, NW, and swell — from 1.5 to 2.0 meters…. but relatively short, about 5-6 seconds… ). I would definitely do like to beat into those, but even from beam reach to run — gave a lot of options on the Sicilian coast….
Still undecided, I’ve prepared coffee, and as returned to computer — the message from my friends, ‘… we are on the way to Milazzo, should be there at 1400’….
Exactly what I’ve been waiting for — the decision, made not by myself! ;-)

Milazzo — is only ~13 miles ( point to point ) from where I’ve been… and should be either on the run or on the stern side, depending how much Vulcano Island bends the wind… Mostly for training rather then a caution, I put the first reef in main, and here we go!

It has been a nice sprint! With main ( first reef) only, on the run, the boat has been comfortably taking care about the distance, at ~7.0 knots… As further we were going from Vulcano — the swell started to grow, and most of the way — it was at 2 or may be a bit more then 2 meters… Warm, Sunny…. Surfing on the waves…
For quite a while, I’ve been giving myself the promise — as we go and if conditions are nice and stable, I would do this and that, clean, read, etc… For some reason — does not work…
I’m sitting on the deck, fascinated by the boat movement, by endless blue of the sky, movement fo the clouds, appearance and aspect changes of land coming, disappearance of the harbour I left… In the corner of my mind, I know — an arrival, at certain point, I would blame myself for doing absolutely nothing during the passage, and would promise that next time I would do something useful for sure!!!

We are on anchor in front of Milazzo. Sicilly, the biggest island in the Med, practically — the main land… About 32,000.00 people… refinery, electrical plant… tourists ( since there are beaches ), and ferry lines to Aeorean ( Lipari ) Islands… Somehow, the city looks ‘more industrial’, somehow more organised, with more ‘routine’ life even the Napoli… May be because of the industrial zone, which one can see far away… ( it is present in your view, but not bother you because of the distance )… May be because of the small port… Not so much traffic — if you do not count the hydrofoil ferries for the islands… But the few ships coming — unloading the metal and wood for constructions… definitely not for this small town, but for something really big… Everything done on ‘delivery in time’ basis, ‘routinely’, in order….

We arrived on the 24th of September… The day after the autumn equinox… The first day which is going to be a tiny bit shorter then the night… And keep getting shorter and shorter…
May be that provided the bias, that the evening started a bit earlier ?
At has been a great dinner with the friends, fellow travellers… Exchange of travel experiences — anchorages, harbours, repairs done, plans, where next, sailing in general, philosophy of sailing life, etc, etc… In a couple of days — we will sail in different directions again… With hope to meet sometime later… ‘ See you when I see you! ‘ Not much has change in sailing life over the centuries! ;-) But that is in a few days, if the weather — and /or gas supplies permit! ;-)

At the meantime — the goal to explore Milazzo. From bare practical points — there are indication that there are good shops around, like food, hardware, etc,… Good place for stock some stuff needed…. At the same time — on the other side of the city, on promontory there is a big old castle… All notes recommends to visit and to see it… But there are strong warnings that the castle is occupied by ghosts for quite a few centuries now, and the visitors should be careful… (? Whatever that may mean… )… And between — there are a plenty of the town, with some cafes, small restaurants, etc…. We will see!

What are the plans ? It is really depends on the weather. The intention — to start to move towards Cefalù, and Polermo… But as I said — the weather would dictate the rules.

Everything is OK on board,
Talk to you soon,
M.