Ronan O'Driscoll

I am leading the charge towards an unknown point off a tiny island. We are swimming against the current and doing our best to dodge the jellyfish. It’s at times like this I question why I persist in googling ‘the ten best things to do’ wherever we go.
We left Panarea this morning and motored three miles out to these two small uninhabited islands Bottaro and Lisca Bianca. The bottom is rocky and the anchor hasn’t dug in. The conditions are mild so Regal should be fine while the four of us are off snorkelling. We are looking for the under water vents that google suggested are a ‘must see’.
I eventually call off the search as we are making no progress. I am disheartened but the feeling is fleeting as Colm has spotted an Octopus. We watch as he hunts in tandem with four or five other fish. We are mesmerised, the exhausting snorkel has been worth it.
We take a break and fortify ourselves with fresh brown bread - then we are off again, this time in the dinghy. We head towards 2 small boats that are idling in the channel near some swimmers, this must be the place. Ronan stays in the dinghy, while we three jump in and we land right into the natural jacuzzi. Columns of bubbles rise up through crystal clear water from the vents on the sea bed, seven meters below us. There is a slightly sulphurous smell but not as much as in Vulcano. We dive as deep as we can and swim through the bubbles, feeling them gently pop on our skin. We swim with lots of Chromis chromis and other fish too, there is so much to take in, it’s magical. I swap out with Ronan before Ruby and Colm are finally full of bubbles and we return to Regal.
We raise the anchor and sail towards Stromboli. She is a perfect volcanic island, a pyramid with a little puffy cloud of smoke on top. It feels like we are in the pacific islands.
We stop off at Basiluzzo, another tiny Island, for our third snorkel of the day. We see lots of fish in amongst the amazing volcanic rock formations. Some of the rocks are stacked like the giants causeway. We see a Moray eel and a big peacock wrasse as well as the usual underwater suspects. Back on board we soon haul anchor and as evening approaches we motor towards Stromboli.
It is dusk when we round the western headland and glimpse the first red sparks at her peak. We continue on towards the twinkling lights out at sea. These lights are from speedboats, tour boats, yachts and super yachts in the safety zone.
Boats are advised to keep at least 1 mile out from the island’s northern coast to avoid being hit by pumice rock and other debris from the volcanic activity. We join the other boats in the safety zone and watch Stromboli’s eruptions which become more vivid as the darkness descends.
There is a constant red spot of fire or lava at the top of the Volcano and then every seven to ten minutes there is a burst of sparks that shoot up in the sky. Sometimes we can see lava flowing at the peak which disappears as it cools. The size of the explosions differ and we can hear the bigger ones; like an airplane or thunder in the distance.
I am surprised at how quickly the tour boats leave - we stay for more than an hour drinking tea and eating chocolate as we watch Stromboli’s sparks fly.
When it is time to leave, we head north into a spectacular sky full of stars. We are beginning an overnight passage to Solerno on the Italian coast. There is no wind and the sea is flat calm, it’s a beautiful night. The red light on top of Stromboli is a constant companion for the next five hours - it’s easy to see why it’s called the lighthouse of the Mediterranean.Read more