Pyxis

Date: 15 Jun 2009 23:58:00

Title: Arrival Isola Vulcano, Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)

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Monday 15^thJune – Arrival Isola Vulcano, Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)

38:25.177N 14:57.206E

Just after midnight we were besieged by a number of long fishing nets stretched out across our path; we were well offshore in very deep water and they were inadequately buoyed and lit - certainly a hazard to yachts. Unlike the big permanent tuna nets these are not marked on the charts or mentioned in the pilot book.

Unfortunately we managed to stick our nose into one of them. Richard immediately backed off on the engine as soon as he realised the buoy he could see was not a fishing pot but actually an end marker for a net and that we were going the wrong side of it. We were pleased to be motoring at that point as we could stop quickly and reverse out – had we been sailing we would have been all tangled up, particularly if the wind had been strong. The distant work boat then came over to look but didn't seem perturbed even if we were.

After that we were both on constant watch; I stood at the bow with the searchlight as we crossed the rest of that area to try to avoid further collisions, which thankfully we did. I thought of the dolphins and hoped that they fared better than us around the nets.

As dawn approached we were getting near to the Strait of Messina: there is a tidal stream running through the strait (it is unusual for us to have calculate tides these days). We calculated that the tide would be running north from early morning and so duly arrived early morning to find ourselves battling against a 2 knot tide. We continued on, making only slow progress, thinking that the tide would change in our favour at some point. Two hours later we were still battling a 2 knot tide. We re-checked the tidal time in the almanac, the pilot book and on our RayMarine – they all confirmed that the tide should be running north – a pity no-one told the tide!

Anyway, the scenery was fabulous and we were through eventually, having been narrowly missed by several early morning ferries scuttling between Sicily and the mainland, just like the ferries in the Solent. The wind remained light and the legendary whirlpools didn't appear to suck us into the deep, so we were happy.

As we motored along towards the Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) in flat seas, the wind picked up slightly and we were able to motor sail. When the wind picked up to 12 knots, we could have sailed but as it was abaft the beam we decided to keep motorsailing to keep our speed up so that we could arrive earlier and get settled after our long night of fishing nets and battling foul tides.

The islands are very impressive as you approach and you see the tops of the volcanoes sticking out of the sea. There are two active volcanoes here, one on Stromboli and one on Isola Vulcano, the rest are extinct. Both smoke gently from the top on a continuous basis rather than building up and exploding. Stromboli has a continuous lava flow down the north west side too.

We went to the anchorage on the west coast of Isola Vulcano, Porto di Ponente. We found it very sheltered but quite cosy with other yachts. We found a space and the first time we put the anchor down, it didn't bite and so we had to do it again (the pilot book warned this might be the case). The second time, it dug in but just to be certain, I took the dinghy along the chain to see if all was OK. The sea is so very clear here that, even though we are in 7.5 metres, we can see the bottom very clearly. All was looking fine and then Richard appeared with his snorkel and fins and swam along the chain to join me and confirmed that the hook was buried in the coarse sand, and that there were quite a lot of rocks on the bottom as well. He also confirmed sighting jelly fish and that the water was cold, despite the pilot book description saying that you would find the water here warmed by the volcano!

Once settled, we relaxed and went ashore; the beach has black sand from the volcano. We walked into the small town on the east coast (about 10 minutes away) and found a small Conad supermarket that was surprisingly well provisioned so I bought some fresh fruit. We then went down to the main tourist beach and saw the mud baths that Vulcano is famous for. You see many people around town wandering around in dressing gowns; they are not senile apparently – they are on their way to the mud baths to bath in the therapeutic hot mud from the active volcano.

I saw steam coming from a rock as we walked down to the ferry terminal to look around and I held my hand close to it; it was extremely hot and smelled of sulphur. The rock had yellow patches of sulphur along it and it was clearly part of the active volcano.

This evening we have had dinner in the cockpit looking out at a gorgeous sunset behind the extinct volcanos of Filicudi and Alicudi in the distance whilst the active volcano of Gran Cratere smokes gently behind us. Wow.