35 54.356N 014 30.007E Manoel Island, Malta

Pipedream
Sat 27 Aug 2011 16:51
.We are back in the water bobbing at the boat yard jetty with the airconditioner humming away, cold beer in the fridge and a shiny new propeller. I did notice a small hydraulic leak in the steering system and need to address that before we leave but as projected, now that we are more or less ready mechanically, the wind is blowing 20 kts on our nose again. Go figure. Malta is a nice place but two weeks here would be about right to do it in leisurely fashion. We have made eight of the top 10 in the guide book Mary left us, the remaining two are in Gozo. Hopefully Monday we will leave for Gozo the Maltese Island about 10 miles north of here and anchor there in yet another 'Blue Lagoon' for the night. We'll see what else falls off the boat and wait for good wind toward Sicily and beyond.

Paul Dixon my friend from Barcelona came down on business for a few days and spent some time with us. Good to catch up. We found a few more museums we have not seen yet and it looks like there is live music place to try out tonight.

The fireworks have started again. Must be another fiesta on the horizon. Malta is the fireworks capital of all time. The last fiesta (last week) there was fireworks starting at 9:00 AM none stop in different parts of the island all day for a week. There was one station very near us. You could see the aerial bombs being launched which went off about 100 yard away. Our station would go active for about half an hour five or six times a day. Not sure who pays for all this. They are using the big stuff no pop bottle rockets here. I read they also have an international fireworks competitions here over the Grand Harbor for a few days in April inviting contestants from all over the world. And I was complaining about being awakened by the call to prayer in Turkey. Lots of church bells here but nothing compared to the fireworks.