16^th May   MARSALA

37 47.00 N   12 26.05 E

Tim and Frances arrived last night, a bit earlier than expected, so I decided to buy the crew dinner so Paul and they could get better acquainted. Went to La Mura, by the walls, over looking the sea, which was pretty good, though Frances complained the lobster risotto (?) wasn’t up to much.

Earlier Paul and I had visited Erice, the village on the mountain overlooking Trapani (from whence the sickle shape of the town can clearly be seen), via a cable car which goes to the foot of the village. Definitely worth a visit – must have been a great Phoenician Astaroth site….!

Today we had an early start, hoping for Sciacchia, about 58 NM away. We left at 07.20, with a NW 4-5 forecast. We headed SE with the wind behind us and a swell building. After about an hour the wind was building, the sea state was confused, we were corkscrewing across the swell, not particularly pleasant, but wind ca force 5.

Then water came through the forecabin hatch, the Court of Inquiry has yet to be held.

So, soaked bedding and clothes. Frances then ill, which she blamed on the lobster, and a Force 7 in Sicily Channel forecast on VHF about 08.45. So with wind blowing up and sea all over the place it was into Marsala, with the age old expedient of turning up at a berth and waiting for someone to appear. Which they duly did, and we were assigned a Club Nautico berth, with vague assurances that showers and toilets were “over there, always open” and that wifi was “just round the back”….neither of which turned out to be true. There was nothing. But we were in harbour, berthed at 09:50, and the weather worsening by the minute.

But there was an excellent Café/Bar, and a Restaurant (I Buccanieri) very nearby – Buccanieri was very plain outside, but inside a beautifully restored mid 17^th century warehouse, one of the first wine warehouses in Marsala according to the chef. Quite full, a lot of Italian families.

Rinsed bedding, clothes with fresh water, put them out to dry in fierce wind and sun, and by evening all seemed OK. The others wandered into town. I was just chilling on Psyche (about as common as a blue moon), when along came a marinero and told me I had to move, as the berth was someone else’s, and they had just come back….so I took the boat over to an adjacent pontoon and did a stern to in a ca 15 kt crosswind on my own, which, much to my relief, worked out OK.

Ate in Buccanieri in the evening after a wander into town. Poor forecast for tomorrow, will probably be in port. Which is a drag as very little slack is built into this stage since we waited two days for the T and F pick up, which is the prime drawback of this kind of trip.

Today covered 14 NM