Sicily
Wishanger2
Brian Bonniwell and Claudine
Sun 6 Sep 2009 20:31
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38:01.85 N, 12:53.00 E
Sunday 6 September
Before setting off for Sicily, we 'walked the
walls' of Dubrovnik - very impressive.
Having waved Hal off we motored round the bay to
the immigration quay - only room for 1 yacht at a time, to find a 'super
stink boat' tied up and 2 other yachts circling, waiting to check in/out.
So we hovered for 2 hours, storm clouds gathering above (and on board).
Finally it was our turn. Brian with clean shirt and straightened
whiskers, set off with 'yachts docs' determined to get the job done
in record time. We had hardly filled the water tanks before he was back,
marching straight past us to the other end of the town to visit the police,
the other essential port of call, far too obvious to have them next door to
each other!
Brian having had a wonderful summer in Croatia with
family and friends was quite sad to be leaving Croatia, inspite of the
bureaucracy.
Heading south for Sicily, Brian spotted an
abandoned fender and decided the crew could do some man over board
practice. After a couple of goes it was on board. The
exercise served to remind us of the difficulty in recovering a MOB in more
difficult conditions - so, keep harnessed on. We then had 4 days
of wonderful sailing. The wind behind us, only motoring for a short while
one day and for the last few hours as we approached Palermo. We had
several sightings of dolphins; flying fish - sadly one landed on our fore deck
and wasn't discovered in time to put back into the sea. Grey wagtails
stopped for a rest on the guardrail a couple of times - one deciding that as we
were eating lunch he would wander among our feet clearing up crumbs
(photo). A mediterranean shearwater was also spotted - indentification
made easier using the onboard reference library donated by brother Max a few
seasons ago. Michelle (Hal's replacement) joined John in the galley and we
continued to enjoy fine cuisine. Working in hot steamy conditions can't
have been easy.
As we rounded the 'heel' of Italy we cracked open
a packet of barbie pink candles, arranged them artistically on a posh swiss
roll, and sang Happy Birthday to Neil. We all soon settled into the watch
system, carrying out some of the maintenance jobs a bit too enthusiastically - 2
mats being lost at sea. An investigation followed! Michelle had
wrapped mats in pairs - her fault, Brian had not checked and sent one
overboard - his fault, and John repeated the performance seconds later - his
fault.
We approached the Straits of Messina at
night. Much to Caroline's and Michelle's relief, John stood watch for
6 hours, interpreting the radar echoes of the numerous ships in the
area.
That morning we watched, at close
range, amazing kite surfers avoiding us and the
numerous ferries plying across Straits (photo).
The pilot book did not speak well
of Palermo harbour, but it was a port of entry, which we needed for our
first stop in Italy. Having analysed floating debris Michelle decided
she was certainly not going to swim off the boat. Against a back
drop of an amazing mountain range, we motored slowly past a
smelly working shipyard. Berthing pontoons looked full,
but a local yachtsman kindly pointed us to a space, with the
thumbs up. This was followed by an angry marina 'official'
chasing us away! With the rib now in the water, various forays
to the marina were made to negotiate our stay and we finally
moored stern too. We were all rather hot, hungry and after 4 days on
a 'dry' boat, very thirsty. Michelle and John went in search of
some Italian delicacies for lunch, and Brian (smart shirt and straightened
whiskers again) set off with Neil as official translator (English was
clearly not understood in negotiating our stay, Neil's Spanish/French
seemed to help!). Caroline just had a cold shower! Hours later M and
J returned with a beautifully wrapped pack of pastries for lunch, having walked
the streets of hot and dirty 'downtown' Palermo. We gave up
waiting for B and N and started our lunch (it was about 4pm by this
time). They eventually returned, after walking miles and having
visited just about every public office in the city. They decided that we
must have been the first yacht ever to check in to Palermo, such was the
confusion amongst the numerous officials. One was even able to speak
(in Italian) to both of them at the same time, with one beady eye
focused on each! He thought no one would be interested and told
us not to bother! A final try at an office with anchors
outside - the Guarda de Costelia, opened a can of worms and B and
N wished they had taken the advice of 'him with dual vision'!
After almost an hour in the basement of the building with smart white uniformed
stafff coming and going, one playing patience on her computer, interspersed
with forays into Google and Ebay, they remained unable
to complete the paper work for our
entry back into the EU( Italy), and ordered us to return the next
day. By then, the officials hoped to have found out whether we were
required to pay a tourism tax!
That evening, John marched us off to seek
a recommended restaurant, eventually giving up. We wandered
the back streets, vaguely heading back towards the water. We found a funny
little place on a street 'crossroads' with an effusive 'mama' running the
show. How could we say no? a simple meal, with plenty of choice, we sat
watching the locals walk or motorbike past our table. We were all surprised not
to be ill the next day!
Next morning we waved John off in a taxi for the
airport, sad to see him go. Brian and Neil then returned to the Guardia Costeria
to complete the formalities. Michelle and Caroline did some shopping and
kept the washing machine going. Hours later B and N returned -
having got everything done in duplicate! They then had to take a
docket to the main post office - another long walk - join a long queue, to part
with the princely sum of 5 euros16 cents, and then return the receipt to to the
Guardia. In total this entry procedure took about 6 hours - what a
farce!!!!!!!
Brian likes the idea of crew changes as close
to the airport as possible! With Michelle leaving the next day, we headed
out of Palermo. Heading west, past a rocky coast line (photo)
we dropped anchor at Torre Pozillo within sight of the airport
control tower . Michelle and Neil investigated how she would
get to the airport the next morning. She charmed two
local workers on the quayside to drive
her to the terminal the next morning. Come the morning and with no sign of the anticipated lift, Brian
and Neil set off with Michelle to walk 35 minutes to the terminal, arriving
very hot and sticky but in time for the Ryanair check in.
Later, after a refreshing swim, we
sailed passed the airport and anchored in the harbour of
the town of Castellamare Del Golfo (photo) ,
where Peter and Gareth are expected tomorrow.
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