But,  assuming that we are not going to see any nice and pretty weather ahead of us,  I raised the anchor we go… 

The wind should we from the West… Yes, it is going to be wet,  windy day… with some waves… But that is all… 

However, my assumption based on the weather within the computer, and the reality appeared to be different… 

I raised the main sail, with 1st reef…  The wind showed to be NW… about 15 knots….  

That was a bit discouraging. As we were going along the East part of the Capo Vito — should be ok… close-hauled, but at least we are moving… 

But then, we would reach the turning point, and the wind would be definitely on our noise,  for a few miles, before we  turn around…  And that would be against the swell…  The guide book says that there are shallows in front of the Capo…  and the Westerly winds are building some pleasant confused seas there… 

So far,  though the swell is progressively increasing, it is  not a problem at all… We will see when we get there… 

We were progressing under reefed main, doing 4 knots.  My thoughts about how much of the front sail I have to open were interrupted by the wind noise over the mountains, and then a wind caught us…  The situation changed nearly instantly… The wind  changed from the West to from the East.  Instead of comfortable ( slow ) progress at 4 knots, with some heeling… we are going 7.5 knots,  heeling nearly towards the rail,   and the wind slowly backing,  pushing us towards the land….  ( And we are still under the reefed main… ;-)).

The good part of the situation —  it kept me busy, and did not let to think and to realise that it would be the story of the whole day — rapid change of the wind from all directions,  as the squalls would hit us one by one… ;-) 

We reached the Capo Vito point  pretty quickly… 

The wind diminished, and then disappeared…. There is a swell,  but manageable…  We started to make our progress to the West side of the Capo…. 

And then it would be westerly wind, and it should be on the beam, and we should make the rest of the trip — 15 nm, in  the cloudy weather, but nicely and relatively easy….  The dream which never came true… 

The weather gave us the break to turn around… It was trying to show its power,  but all around,  not touching us:

And then — we turned around the Capo Vito… 

No, there is no W winds, there is no NW winds…  

There are squalls… One by one…  With winds from all directions possible….  But some how — mostly always from the direction we have to go to… In other words, we are beating again…. The waves slowly growing…  But at least, they are not short, as a usual case in the Med…. Dark, rain…  

Our progress towards Trapani — about 3 knots, though we are doing 5-6 as the winds reach us…  

My wind indicator half broken — it does not show the speed of the wind… Which is good — less things to worry about…  We are progressing….  

The small waves on top of the other waves… Well, good squall….  It would be nice to have that wind on the back or  on the beam… But…  Not our case… 

Aga, the wind drops a bit, the clouds wend higher… The weather model says — the wind should go down a bit… It is time… Is it a wind drop they mentioned ? 

Nope… Another squall…. Now I’m getting the spray from the top of the waves…  Hope not for a long… 

Ah,  I have  a line of clean sky behind me!   It slowly coming towards us!!!  That is probably the drop of the wind… 

And indeed, the wind  got a bit lower, more steady, and from the better angle… 

Better angle — true… But there is ‘ Isolated Danger ‘ ahead…  Looks like foundation of the big building,  awashed by the waves,  and with the ‘Isolated danger ‘ buoy on top…  Who put it there,  in the middle of sea ?!   Have to tack…. 

But we progressing…  When the rain going down a bit… I can see Trapani… 

We made it, obviously.  Wet, tired… but it was a long and nice sailing after all…  What is the reward ? 

And there is no swell… and we seems to be well protected…. 

Tomorrow small weather disturbance would pass by without making us trouble… 

And we would spend some time here, planning the next steps. 

That is all for now.

We are a bit tired, but everything is good and under control. 

Talk to you soon, 

M.