Fai Tira arrives in Cagliari, Sardinia. 39:11.00N 09:06.50E
Fai Tira arrives
in Cagliari, Sardinia. 39:11.00N 09:06.50E 24th
July 2011 Well we made it
to Sardinia but not without a struggle. We set off from Lipari Island just
north of Vulcano Island after studying the Grib files (wind direction and strength).
They showed light winds for the first day then easterly winds for the next two
cumulating in strong westerly winds for the last few hours. All looked OK
to go. We had a pleasant crossing, sometimes with the engine off!! This was until
last night when the wind picked up to a force 7 on the nose with massive short seas.
As it got dark the auto helm couldn’t handle the conditions so we took
all the sails down and I hand steered for 8 hours making progress at between 1
and 2 knots over the ground. The GPS told us we wouldn’t be
arriving until Tuesday morning. That was a big problem as we had both got
flights booked to return to see Joanne’s baby for Monday morning.
Any way we stuck with the plan, eventually the wind and waves decreased and we
started making around 3 knots over the ground. We are now in Cagliari
getting ready to leave FT for a couple of days. Our first
sighting of Sardinia, very welcome indeed. Becky looking relieved to be
nearly there. Only another 8 hours to go. So what did we
get up to in Lipari? We passed these rocks to anchor
in a bay just on the west side of Lipari next to this hole in the wall.
We had to play Pink Floyds “another hole in the wall” song whilst
sitting in this idyllic setting. Becky chilled as the sun set
over Filicudi. The next morning we motored round
to Lipari town and anchored under the old walled city. We did some touristy things in
the afternoon wandering around the old town and these medieval cloisters
attached to the church. The town and harbour had a great
feel to it so we found a bar, sat outside and watched the world go by until it
was time to eat Pasta. The next day we hired this old
Citron jeep and toured the island. It was fun but quite hard to drive as every
thing was held together with cable ties. The gear lever came out off the
dashboard and took some getting used to. We headed around the island
taking in all the views and even went swimming on this beach. The location
used to be used to quarry pumice stone. It was quite bizarre swimming in the
sea with rocks floating all around you. We went to a volcanic area where
the colours of the soil were spectacular. I found these shoes hidden in a
cave. The note is quite interesting. What a nice thing to do to your
boots. I wonder how he walked home??? We visited a old roman bath and
passed the bay where we had anchored the day before with the hole in the wall.
After returning the car we did a bit of resupplying before heading back to FT
for dinner. We left late the following day
as to miss the strong headwinds at the start of the voyage. The plan went
really well until the described nightmare of last night and today. The
good thing was we had a couple of dolphin sightings so Becky was really happy. We head off back to the UK
tomorrow to see my oldest daughter Jo, husband Dan and their new baby boy
Oscar. Becky has been a great crew
mate. Nothing has phased her and she says she would like to do more
sailing EVEN after last night. THANKS BECKY for being a great
daughter and crew on FT. Dad / Grandfather Pete. |