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Mediterranean Odyssey

September - October 2023
A 53-day adventure by SailingSealaVie Read more
  • 30footprints
  • 3countries
  • 53days
  • 235photos
  • 7videos
  • 1.9kkilometers
  • 875sea miles
  • 306kilometers
  • 11kilometers
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  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
    Day 1

    Farewell Fiumicino!

    September 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After four hot 🥵 days (yay new sun shades!) sorting, organizing, and shopping by bike, we left Fiumicino and set off for Isola Ponza. Light wind, clear but hazy sky, and bright, hot sun made our 65 nm, 11 hour motorsail pleasant although long. We passed Anzio where we had a night time visit by the Guardia last time👎, and San Felice Circeo where Odysseus lingered enchanted by Circe's food, drink and her other "attractions". Sheer cliffs, a Temple to the sun and massive walls can be seen while sailing by. We arrived at Ponza as the sun was setting behind the fantastic rocks and multi coloured cliffs. As it was Friday night, we were not alone in our anchorage but it was calm with distant music and laughter carried on the warm, gentle breeze.Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
    Day 3

    Picturesque Ponza, Madness Miseno

    September 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After morning coffee and breakfast in the cockpit watching the fiery sunrise reflecting on the fantastic rock formations, we lifted anchor and moved into the harbour so we could row to the beach and wander the town. Of course things don't always go smoothly or easily but after an hour of sweat 🥵, Bob fixed the dinghy and off we went. The harbour traffic was something to behold with every boat size, shape, power and noise and all going in every direction on the compass! Little did we know...
    We wandered the town and had Tiellas in a café above the harbour where the Italian Mamma recited her menu and told us in her limited English that she was born in Ponza and has a sister in Sudbury! Like many, she imagined Canada/Vancouver was cold like Sudbury! We anchored back at our previous night's anchorage and had a glorious swim but with all the weekend boat traffic, decided we'd move to a quieter spot. It was a clear, starry night but spoiled at 5 a.m. when a power boat motored in, anchored and played music! At 6:45 a.m. we decided to get going to Miseno.The trip took 12 hours sailing and motoring: stopped the boat and had a brief dip in the middle of the deep, dark sea, had a visit from a pod of dolphins 🐬, and a heart stopping last hour dodging ferries and power boats, while pitching and rolling in their wakes 🌊. We thought last Spring's gauntlet at Capri was bad; this was much worse! It's hard to imagine what it's like in high season! 😱 The power boaters have no consideration of their speed, wake or proximity to others. It's frightening. I have no photos of the maelstrom as I was too busy holding on and praying!
    We arrived hungry and with frayed nerves, but a small, calm harbour, dinner and a quick chat with Nicholas, Ella and Alexa soon calmed us.    Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
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    Day 5

    Miseno past Capri to Acciaroli

    September 12, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We stayed 2 nights in Miseno with the day between a chore and relaxation day. After coffee in the cockpit we motored to the diesel dock then back to the harbour and rowed ashore to the grocery store. A minor mishap happened when I fell on the road (good Italian potholes) and ended up with a few bruises and road rash but it could have been worse! Spent the afternoon swimming, reading and watching the boats go by. I'm not sure why people and kids aren't at work or school? The hotels above the harbour play English music and have fireworks so we were entertained loudly 🙉🥱until after midnight. Sadly (?!), my singalong was drowned out by their live band!
    The next morning we set off after getting rid of the old beach chair attached to our anchor!
    We ran the gauntlet at Capri but it was much less stressful perhaps due to our timing, the previous time, and because we were going straight past, not along the Amalfi coast. Another long passage but the weather is lovely, the wind and waves calm. We end up motoring or motorsailing but I'm happier than when we're fighting 20+knots and waves! Not much sea life compared to the Atlantic but we saw a turtle🐢 swimming by! We stopped and turned around but couldn't see it again. It's got a long swim whichever way its going! We anchored just outside the small harbour at Acciaroli, had a swim and ended our day with a much quieter night: the stars above, the calm water below and a gentle but cooler breeze lulling us to sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
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    Day 6

    Acciaroli

    September 13, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We discovered after our morning coffee in the cockpit that we were drifting out toward the reef! The wind had been light but constant and the anchor must have been slowly skipping along the bottom. We lifted and reset it after going to the dock to get the anchor unstuck from its brace and resettled it into the sand. We rowed ashore and chatted with a young man (26) at the beach cabana who asked where we were from. He recited his high-school geography to guess which city/province. He lives in this tourist town in the summer and moves to Australia for the winter to work and surf as Acciaroli's 350 residents (!)shut down in the winter. We chatted about Italy and his comments included how the southern people were much friendlier, the North was all about business, and the big power boats we've seen were all Mafia money!😮 He advised there are places we dare not go...
    Acciaroli is very small and pretty with its pedestrian only narrow streets lined with shops and porticoed restaurants with vines and flowery bushes. For such a small town, it looks well cared for and prosperous. We wandered, not far, as it's about a km in length and bought some fresh produce then rowed back to the boat. We had a swim then set off for Sapri but decided along the way to stop earlier at Baia del Buondormire, a lovely bay at the bottom of some cliffs and in front of a beach resort. A few sailboats also stayed the night: a few French, an American (first we've seen over here), a Malta boat, and a few unknowns and us = 10. We swam (water temp 28.7C), had dinner and settled for a calm and quiet night. La bella vita.    Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
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    Day 8

    Crossing the 40th parallel!

    September 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We left the lovely anchorage of Buondormire and headed to Cetraro. For the first time, there were a few layers of clouds with sunny breaks. It's still hot and the winds and waves this trip have been light to non-existent. Captain Bob has declared that we are a Volvo Penta engine test boat! Our actual sailing has been limited, with most of our travels motorsailing. Every whisper of wind helps move us along so we are putting them up, adjusting them (pull it in 5 cm, let it out 7 cm orders the Capt.!) and taking them down all day.
    We left early with coffee on the go and while the other boats were still sleeping. At 0820, Capt. announced we were crossing out of the 40th parallel into the 39th!
    Mountains and hills along the way but sort of scrubby what we could see through the haze. A sprinkling of rain had me closing all the hatches only to open them again minutes later. We anchored off Cetraro beach which was a fine holding spot but not very attractive. Trains went by frequently along the shore and the area looked a little run down.
    On Friday, from Cetraro to Vibo, the geography changed to hills with forests and what looks like orchards (olives/oranges/lemons?) Brown gray sandy beaches give way to white sand all along the coast. As we got near to Vibo, a pod of dolphins🐬 swam along. 😃 Some looked quite young as their dorsal fins were small. As we anchored off the beach, we saw 2 jellyfish🎐. They didn't stop us or the beach goers from swimming though. It was hot and the water is +30C! We are outside the marina but there is a 🇨🇦 flying as the marina owner is a Canadian. We'll drop by tomorrow on our shopping, laundry, post office trip. We're here for another night before heading into the Strait between Sicily and Italy. Supposedly winds and waves funnel through...hard to imagine right now but we'll see!    Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
    Day 9

    Vibo

    September 16, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    A very calm night off the beach with only 1 other power boat nearby and unmanned. It was lovely not to have to lift the dinghy or anchor and set off although we did row ashore. The streets are narrow and lined with vibrant coloured and aromatic bushes and flowers. Our first stop was at a chandlery to get a part for our broken boat hook then to the laundry service who wanted €21 for 3.5 kg of sheets and towels! No, grazie. Next was the post office to mail 5 postcards to the expense of €18 and it took 30 minutes! There were 3 clerks but only 1 dealt with stamps while the other 2 sat. The clerk, after serving a couple with multiple documents, finally waved us forward and proceeded to weigh the postcards then enter the info into the computer individually. Once each stamp was emitted out of the printer, she proceeded to attempt to fit it on the card so to not cover my writing and ended up tearing each one in half to fit! Kind of her but what inefficiency! 🤷‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Do they not have picture stamps?! Next up was the self serve laundry which was fast and cheap (€9) by all comparisons. We met another lovely young man who helped us and we chatted while the laundry was washing. His English was good since he was born in Belgium; his parents are Italian and Greek. His perspective on Calabria is everyone is loud and speaks quickly but life is slow, as we learned! Stopped at a deli which was excellent and the grocery store which was disappointing. There aren't bakeries, just cafés so you are paying more. We rowed back and spent the afternoon swimming with both cleaning the hull while in the water and Bob diving under. As Nicholas said, "Gramma, you're the swabbie," and we have now named Bob the "Scrubbie". We ended up moving from the beach anchorage into the harbour as it became a bit rolly due to opposing wind and waves, albeit both were light. We were entertained into the early hours with a live band playing. Fortunately it was easy listening and not head banger or rap!Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
    Day 10

    Strait of Messina

    September 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We left Vibo's wooded slopes and sandy beaches before 0700 and by 1000, we could see Sicily in the distance through the haze. As we got closer to the Strait, the wind picked up so we motorsailed. A moth/butterfly flitted about us and kept up at 6 knots! Off in the distance we could see Isola Stromboli with perhaps the oldest lighthouse in the world and a volcano in constant activity, releasing pressure daily instead of with a big bang. A number of big freighters, military and one other sailboat headed into the Strait between the mainland and Sicily. The tide current got up to 2.8 knots with us and there was a lot of chop in spots where the sea floor rises dramatically causing whirls. Lots of people on the Sicilian beach but I'd be leery of swimming with the current. We saw fish jumping and lots of jellyfish along with ferries and small boats but it was easy navigating even when the tide switched and was against us. We came into Reggio Calabria harbour choosing the small harbour at the north end with a fuel dock. Well protected by a high wall but not an attractive harbour as the trains, a highway overpass, tall apartments and the ferries make it very industrial and somewhat noisy. It was a necessary stop though for fuel and a safe stop between long passages. As it was our 40th wedding anniversary (😍🤪🤯) we decided to go out for dinner. Sadly, there were no restaurants nearby that opened before 2000 or that were more than bars or pizza takeouts. We walked the promenade and through a pedestrian shopping street, both busy with people and families out for a Sun. evening stroll. We walked back to the boat and made dinner and decided to take a raincheck. Reggio is in an earthquake zone with the last severe one in 1980. It was heavily bombed in WWII. It is also reputed to be a recruiting area for the Calabrian Ndrangheta (mafia)...be careful not to offend!Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
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    Day 12

    Tyrrhenian to Ionian Sea

    September 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We spent a hot frustrating day Monday in Reggio waiting for the fuel truck to deliver after a huge power boat emptied the station of 4000L! Bob has figured that the power boat uses 200L/hr. at a cost of €400/hr. A far cry from our <4L/hr.!
    The truck was supposed to deliver at 1400 and it wasn't there so I had the marina fellow call. By this time Bob was so annoyed, he got on his bike with the portable tank to find a gas station. It was just up the road so he ended up making 4 trips to fill our tank with 1 extra in reserve. Meanwhile, I had walked to the fuel dock to talk to the big catamaran waiting for fuel to ask him to not take it all! We had a nice chat. He was an Israeli skipper delivering the boat to Greece for the Israeli owner who, after chartering a boat on a holiday, decided to buy. Money obviously of no concern. By the time Bob made his last trip, the catamaran filled up and off he went waving farewell. I'm sure the fuel dock fellow was confused when we left the dock without stopping to fuel up! It was late in the afternoon so had to stay another night but decided to try anchoring where the catamaran had but it turned out to be either to shallow or too deep so we came back to the harbour and went to the other end. It was busy with ferries coming and going but surprisingly quieter and cheaper!
    We had our raincheck dinner at the restaurant on the harbour which was good and, interestingly and somewhat weird, played music from the 70s!
    We were up and gone by 0700 and by 0830 we'd crossed into the 37th parallel. 2 dolphins🐬 came alongside to welcome us. By 1130 the Capt. announced this was as far south as we were going since we were heading North & East. We rounded the toe of Italy. A few sailboats headed toward us and a large Brigantine was going our way but we passed him. At Capo Spartivento we saw 4 sailboats tipped over on the beach 😬. As the coast is all beach with no shelter, it's easy to see how a big storm 🌊could wash you ashore. We came to the closest harbour, Rocella Ionica, after almost 12 hours of motorsailing or motoring. Its understandable why there are more power boats than sail as the wind has been very light this whole trip. Ever the sailor, Bob will put sails up at even a breath of air.
    Rocella Ionica is a professional marina compared to Reggio's rinky ones, and less expensive! Go figure. A beautiful sunset and a bright crescent moon provided a lovely long day's end.    Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
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    Day 14

    North in the Ionian Sea

    September 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Between Rocella Ionica and Le Castella, we actually sailed! The wind came and went but for the last 2 hours it was steady. The coastline had trees and communities along the shore with brown scrubby slopes behind except where there was a farm and orchards. Le Castella's inner harbour was a dinky place but very well protected from storms. Sadly, there was a boat on the rocks that hadn't made it in. We wandered to the castle remains, down the main street and past the restaurants and bars overlooking the sea and castle. The rest of the town seems in disrepair or unfinished. We found a small grocery store and picked up a few things.
    The next day we did some more sailing with 14 knots of wind and some waves from behind bringing us to Porto di Ciro. I was expecting it to be like Le Castella but it's much bigger and seems to be busy and thriving. The harbour had no space on their pleasure boat docks so we docked between 2 fishing trawlers. Nets and lines are stacked on the dock and men were coming and going to their boats. No one greeted us and it was siesta time for all the shops so we stayed on board until late afternoon trying to stay cool. A fellow came, took pictures of our documents and charged us €20, our cheapest marina price yet! We were hoping he was the dockmaster and not someone making a quick Euro! We found a patisserie 😋and a ship chandlery where we had fun acting out to explain what we needed. The town square was filled with groups of older men sitting around talking. It seems wherever we go, on any park bench, older men will be sitting and having a "chin wag". No women or wives around!
    The wind was still blowing although the water in the harbour was calm. After looking at the forecast and much discussion, we decided we'd leave before sunrise to cross Golfo di Taranto before the bigger winds came. My worries were not unfounded...    Read more

  • TravelerMediterranean Odyssey
    Day 15

    Italy: too little or too much

    September 22, 2023, Ionian Sea ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    We had set the alarm for 0500 but we needn't have bothered as I was awake at 0357! The wind was calmer through the night so the plan was to be halfway across to beat the forecasted stronger winds. I was concerned we'd get part way and the wind and waves would be too strong and big. We set off with coffee on the go at 0520, before sunrise. It was a clear sky with beautiful stars above. It was dark except for lights on shore but we could start to see the sea ahead as the sky lightened with the dawn. The wind was 13knots as we came out from the harbour and there were waves on our stern quarter pushing us along as well as some swells dipping and rolling us. Sails went up but soon with 1st then 2nd reefs (sail reduction) as the wind increased. We ended up lowering the mainsail and sailing with a portion of the jib. The wind alarm kept beeping telling us the wind was at +25 knots and the waves were +2 meters. I was not happy, in fact I was in a state of extreme anxiety and tried singing, breathing and repeating a mantra compulsively while Capt. Bob remained cool as he steered and kept the boat steady in the swells. After 3 hours, the radio came on announcing, "All ships: gale warning." I was ready to press the distress button announcing a medical emergency, my heart attack! There were 2 choices: carry on for another 50 nm for 9 hours or turn around and go back 15 nm for 3 hours. We turned around and made for Porto di Ciro again. The sail back was somewhat easier as the waves were off our port bow. A bit splashy but not washing over the deck. After the first hour, my fear diminished as the wind lessened and we could see land. The sails were back up fully and we came into port 6 hours after departing. As we docked in the same spot, a fisherman came along, pointed to the sea and stated, " Problema." No kidding! It's no wonder we were the only boat out there, or so we thought. Later in the evening, to our surprise, another sailboat (bigger) came in and we helped them dock. The crew doesn't speak English so we don't know where they came from but it must have been a rough day. My antidote for stress relief was watching the crew of the fishing trawlers sort their lines and repair the nets. Heavy hard work and that's before going out to sea.
    We spent the evening looking at forecasts and alternatives: straight crossing or going up the coast around the Golfo and stopping at Taranto and Gallipoli. TBA as Sunday looks to be a calmer day before the next blow.
    My other concern at the moment is the innumerable mosquito and no-see-um bites I have that are driving me mad! I have a fan and wrap the sheet like a mummy around me yet I find new bites every morning! Thank goodness for After bite but I am now in a war using smoke coils, netting and spray and may resort to rubbing lemon juice all over!    Read more

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