Tuesday 5^th August

Well another rather dull day, but at least we heard in the morning that the cable had arrived and that Vincenzo was going to fit it around 4.00pm (always 4.00pm...)

In fact his lad arrived on a scooter with the cable at 3.40pm which was remarkable and he immediately set about fitting it. This was hampered at first as he had come without any tools, so I lent him mine and together we threaded the new cable in along the route of the old one. There were the inevitable few setbacks and problems, as well as discovering some rather shoddy wiring done by Najad (I have kept the evidence...) but after nearly two hours we arrived at the course computer where it needed to be wired in. This was the lad’s finest hour as he turned to me and asked if I knew where the wires went. Several heated phone calls later (Italians specialise in heated phone calls) he had his answer and all credit to him at this point for making sure that he made first class connections on all the junctions. We switched it all on and thank goodness, everything seems fine. The two of us then tried to complete the paperwork he had brought with him regarding the warranty claim, but even with my dictionary, we failed to get this all done. No problem, he said, as his boss would come and sort it out. Well of course his boss failed to appear as usual, but since he has our phone number and has failed to call us at any stage in all this, we are not too bothered and plan to move off tomorrow morning whatever happens.

Went out for a meal in the evening at a small restaurant that we had seen a few days earlier and had the most wonderful meal. We were clearly the floor show as we struggled with the language much to the amusement of the Sicilians around us, but we got there in the end. Anyone reading this who is headed this way, it is Angelino Pasticcere in Via Ammiraglio Stati (which is the waterfront road, pretty much opposite the ferry landing stages (Sarah was totally smitten by the charming 80 year old ? owner and the delicious ice creams). On our way back to Serafina we were invited on board Norseman for a final goodbye drink as they too were off in the morning. In fact they have also been stuck here waiting for repairs. Norseman is a pretty much brand new 90 ft Motor Yacht, but the twin generators did not function properly (heard any of this before?) and the remedy seems to be the addition of booster fuel pumps. Three Italian engineers were flown out finally last night to install the equipment today so we both were able to toast our successful repairs!

Probably a good job we are leaving at last as I am certainly beginning to get a bit over confident walking around and crossing the roads. Frankly you take your life in your hands when you attempt crossing roads or streets as pedestrians are definitely at the bottom of the food chain. In addition I do not think that the introduction of the mobile phone has done anything to improve the situation! Drivers are happy to shout and argue with their passengers, other drivers, cyclists and now someone on the phone as well. The road outside the boatyard is quite unbelievable as it has cars parked down both sides, at least two lanes of cars and trucks passing in each direction and at least one more lane in either direction as drivers see fit! It would be easier to crawl across the M25.

In general though we have both enjoyed Trapani, which has a lot to commend it by way of really interesting and quite varied architecture and some very nice people. The shopping requires a bike as there really is nothing that can be described as a shopping area or centre. Plenty of shops, but they are spread over several miles and for good measure there is a railway that runs straight up the middle of the city and there is just one level crossing and that is a one way street. (unless of course you are on a motorbike or scooter and want to go the other way....)

The boatyard was very basic and Sarah has awarded the sole room that served as a combined shower, toilet and laundry, the lowest mark of the summer so far.

Roll on Wednesday morning.