Catania - Sicily

Cathedral

 Another uneventful overnight passage, the most exciting part was nearing the Messina Straits.  As we got closer to the Straits the ship traffic got heavier and heavier requiring us to be even more alert.  Yet somehow we managed to get across the shipping lanes without having to dodge any tankers or cargo ships.  Amazing!  

St. Agatha Cathedral

 We had made a reservation at a marina so that we could take a day and go see Mt. Etna.  Catania is a busy commercial port but there are still a couple of marinas in the port.  As we approached the marina I hailed them on the VHF radio... no answer.  I tried again... no answer.  So I picked up my phone and called the marina.  Someone answered and when I asked if he spoke English he hung up.  We have had this experience before - Italians speak Italian.  And being a visitor in this country I should also speak Italian (which I am learning) but being both a slow learner and an arrogant American, I wanted to speak in my language.  So we hovered outside the marina trying to figure out what to do.

Dinner!!

Before long we saw all this activity at the dock.  Several people were standing out there, also trying to figure out what to do.  Finally, someone waved us over and no fewer than six people helped us get docked.  Everyone was so helpful and friendly.  Later we found out that they  never see American boats there, so they were stunned.  And pleased, I think (hope).  I made a vow right then - I will speak to Italians in Italian.  

Another Cathedral

We got checked in, had a well deserved nap and then headed off on a walk into to town looking for some dinner.  Next day we set off to explore the town and the beautiful cathedrals.  We were surprised to meet a young man at the marina (on the sailboat across from us) from Florida.  A very good kid who is out exploring the world in his own way.  He filled us in on some things about Sicily.  Like what the Guarda Costeria does with the boats that they confiscate from human traffickers (those folks illegally bringing migrants to Italy).  The fee for putting your life in extreme danger for the very slim chance of reaching Europe is 9000.00 euro.  How destitute and desperate people come up with that kind of money is a mystery.  Often the boats capsize or sink but some are confiscated.  Three sailboats and one fishing boat were at the dock - all seized by the Guarda Costeria.  Eventually, they give those boats to local non-profits.  For instance, the sailboats are given to a non-profit that is teaching kids to sail.  Its nice to think of some good coming out of that tragic situation.

Sculpture

 

Catania is a city of contrasts.  There are beautiful cathedrals and sculptures that live in trash strewn streets.  People are so conscious of how they dress, they plant flowers in flower boxes and sweep the dirt from the front of their shops - all while the trash literally floats in the air on a breezy day.  Its a bit hard to comprehend because we know that the trash detracts from all the beauty... yet they don't seem to notice.  Regardless, it did not make me like the city less.  As a matter of fact when I heard someone suggest that Catania be bypassed as it was just a "sh- - hole" - I took offense.  I immediately thought of all those folks that came to help us dock Talaria.  There is good and bad everywhere - often side by side.  We prefer to look for the good.

   

Restaurant

We were enjoying Catania and the folks we met there.  Maybe our experience is not like the experience that others have had here, but I would not bypass the town.  We think it is worth a visit.

Across the Gulf of Taranto

Tanker

 

We set off early as planned, knowing that we would have a windless day of motoring.  In the Med folks say there is either "too much wind or not enough wind".  We have certainly found that to be true.  Not just in the Med but also the Aegean, Adriatic and Ionian seas.  Its just a fact, that some days sailboats will be motor boats.  So... on this day we were a motor boat.  The day was nice and sunny so we did not mind too much.

 

Tanker

As we were motoring along we found this huge tanker in our path.  Now ordinarily we do not get within a mile of these ships but our AIS (automated information system) showed he was not moving.  Hmm... finally we called him on the VHF and asked if we could pass in front of him.  Another thing we would ordinarily never do - pass in front of a tanker or cargo ship.  The Captain replied that he was just drifting so we could continue on our path.  We did - but its still just a bit unnerving seeing that big ship so close.  Just for perspective that ship was 820 feet long and 150 feet wide!  That is nearly 20 times the size of our little sailboat😟. 

Sunrise at Sea

Surprising things happen when you are out at sea.  We have had birds hitchhike before but on this day we had a baby owl hitch a ride.  Of course, owls are not sea birds and we were at least 20 miles or more from land when we noticed him.  He was clearly tired because even though he kept a keen eye on us anytime we moved, he did not fly away.  

Baby owl hitchhiker

It was actually not until we had almost reached the port that he flew away.  All told he rode right in that spot by the mast for about four hours.  We could not imagine how he got that far from land but were glad to have helped him make it back to the shore.

Kroton Yachting Club

Crotone is a fishing village, not a touristy town.  After getting settled in we took a little walk through town and discovered several pesciaria's.  They were all doing a brisk business.  We located a little grocery, made some dinner and called it a night.  Our plan was to sleep in the next day and leave about noon for another overnight.  So long as we made it to Catania by 1400 the next day we would avoid sailing into a headwind.  We figured we could make the trip in 26 hours or less.  

Crotone

In the end, we left before noon but still felt rested.  We had to wait for the "fuel man" to come and let us fill our fuel tanks before we could leave.  He was a funny guy - he had a ten dollar bill from 1955 and wanted to know if it was still good.  Michael told him if it were from 1930 it would still spend!  Not that he can spend USD in Italy but I suppose its always good to know if the money is good.  After fuel we were off - next stop is Sicily.

Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy

Santa Maria di Leuca lighthouse (and Corinthian Column)

We opted not to stay in Otranto as we needed to work on the outboard and only trusted the anchorage in settled weather.  So the next morning we set sail for Santa Maria di Leuca.  Historical references to this town date all the way back to the time of Thucydides and Virgil.  Santa Maria di Leuca is mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid.  While known for its imposing lighthouse that rises 47 meters from its position 102 meters above sea level, the town is also known as a town that St. Peter passed through during his travels in Italy. To honor that passage a Basilica was built up by the lighthouse.  Should you choose to go up the nearly 300 steps to the Basilica you can visit it and the lighthouse.  

Cross commemorating the passage of St. Peter

There are a few legends surrounding the town which was originally called just Leuca.  Later Santa Maria was added, as one legend has it that the Virgin Mary saved some boats from a storm here.  Hence, their devotion to Saint Mary.  In truth, the town was founded by some monks in the 1st century following the passage of St. Peter.  The legends are just legends.

 

Santa Maria di Leuca

No doubt Santa Maria di Leuca is a busy little town in the season, but we found a sleepy town.  April is a bit early for tourists.  We struggled to find someplace to eat, however we had a nice walk around the town while searching for an open restaurant. The marina itself is only good in settled weather and even then there is considerable swell.  We spent one night at the marina and the next night at anchor in the bay.  Our plan was to leave around 0500 for Crotone (a 70 nm passage) and it is easier to just pull up the anchor rather than departing from the marina in the dark.  

 

Talaria at Porto Santa Maria di Leuca

I like to think that we grow wiser as time goes by ... I don't know that its true, but I do like the thought.  In that regard, we are trying to make our way down to Sicily with the wind in our favor.  Bashing into waves and struggling to make progress against a heavy head wind is not our idea of a good sailing day.  We have a long day to reach Crotone, but will not linger there.  We will sleep late and then do another overnight passage to Catania in Sicily before the wind shifts.  And then we will slow down and rest a bit 😎.
 

 

 

On the road again... just can't wait to be on the road again (or in our case water, sorry Willie)

 

Kotor Bay- Montenegro

 The wind instrument was replaced but then, as forecast, the wind blew hard for several days.  Not wanting to battle a 30 plus knot head wind we opted to stay put until the wind was more in our favor.  In order to make up for the lost time we decided to skip Albania and just sail directly to Italy.  It was a good decision as our friend who decided to set sail for Tunisia regardless of the wind forecast reported back that for all his effort trying to tack with the headwind he made very little progress.  It was just a painful slog and both he and his crew member were sick. 

Leaving Kotor Bay - Montenegro

 On April 17th, we headed to the customs dock early to check out of Montenegro.  Which was futile as the customs folks don't come to work till nearly 0900 :(.  So much for that planned early departure 😉. Once we were all checked out we set off for Otranto, Italy, which would be an overnight sail.  It was a beautiful morning and the clouds were lying low on the land.  A bit crisp outside, but nice.

Sunset at sea

The passage was uneventful and all our instruments worked properly, thank goodness.  In the night the wind died off completely and we became a motor boat 😞 but still reached Otranto in 26 hours.  Our plan was to spend a couple nights in the marina at Otranto and visit the little town.  However, for most of the day before we departed, I tried in vain to reach the marina by phone and email.  We knew we would be tired and want to sleep the day away when we arrived so we did not want to mess with anchoring.  Sadly, I was never able to reach anyone so our new plan was to just go into the harbour and see if we could get a slip when we arrived and if not we would just anchor in the harbour.

 

Rainbow - Welcome to Italy

 The morning brought some brief rain showers.  But more importantly, Italy greeted us with a rainbow as we returned to her shores.  We found that to be a nice, little welcome after a long night at sea.  

Otranto, Italy - Harbour

Unfortunately, we were unable to get a berth so we dropped the anchor in the harbour.  Which was totally fine but.... the outboard for the dinghy decided to act up.  The outboard would only idle (it has not been run for months) so Michael ended up having to row over to customs for check in and row back.  Ordinarily, that would be fine also but we were dog tired... so not so fine.  

 

Otranto, Italy - Harbour

And now the Schengen countdown begins.  We intend to make the most out of our allotted ninety days in the EU! 

 

The Gremlins remain...

 

Ostrog Monastery

So we left on Good Friday and then we returned.  We had no sooner reached the end of Kotor Bay and entered the Adriatic when our wind instruments stopped working.  All of our electronics were replaced at Navar boatyard in Tivat and are under warranty ... so we thought it best to just turn around and have Navar come and take a look.

Ostrog Monastery - blankets for sleeping outside

Since it was the start of Easter weekend Navar folks would not be by until Monday.  As the saying goes when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  Well our version of that was "well we may as well fix a big Easter dinner".  So I started baking bread and planning a big feast.  It was only Michael and I, along with a new friend from Rhode Island (John) who ate but we enjoyed the meal and the day. 

Ostrog Monastery

On Monday, Borko from Navar came by and found that the new wind instrument is defective.  On Tuesday he will take it down and on Wednesday hopefully put up a new one.  On Thursday the wind comes again so we will likely wait until next week and then just go straight to Italy.  

From the top of the Monastery mountain

We didn't really expect that the installation of all new electronics would be completely problem free.  And truly everything else works fine.  Apparently, the new WS310 wind instrument has been an issue, a lemon perhaps?  Borko says there are many that he has installed that have failed.  We are crossing back over the Atlantic later this year and really need everything to work properly.

Durmitor National Park

So to explain the photos, Michael and I did take a day to go on a tour of Montenegro before our first departure.  It was a 14 hour day but we felt we got a good look at most of the country.  In particular, I wanted to visit the Ostrog Monastery which is built into the side of a mountain.  The monastery is an Eastern Orthodox Monastery and most Montenegrins will do a pilgrimage there at least once in their lifetime.  Some of the more dedicated believers will walk there, even from as far as the coast.  The more extreme walk the whole way barefoot.  The monastery itself has space for 40 people to sleep, so the rest sleep outside.  The drive up to the Monastery is a downright scary ride.  Way, way up the mountain the road hugs the mountain on one side and there is nothing on the other - just a potentially deep fall with absolutely nothing to break that fall.  You just have to close your eyes and trust the driver.  Unbelievably cars will try to pass on the wider hairpin turns - inshallah. The monastery was amazing to see however so we were so glad we braved the drive up.

Tara River

 We also went to see the Tara River and the bridge that crosses the Tara river canyon.  North and south Montenegro are separated by the 4300 feet deep canyon that stretches over 50 miles.  The Tara river bridge is the only way to get across that canyon.  This fact became very important in WWII as the Italians had crossed into Montenegro and wanted to reach the other side of the canyon.  The architect of the bridge was sought and he told the Montenegrins to take out the center arch.  That would keep the Italians from bringing  heavy artillery across and foot soldiers would just be shot as they tried to cross.  And it would preserve the bridge.

Tara River Bridge

Eventually the Italians were able to get enough soldiers across and when they did they went on a hunt for the architect.  When they found him they brought him to the bridge and killed him.  It had rained off and on all day that day so while the young folks went zip lining across the canyon, Michael and I had a cup of hot tea in the nearby restaurant.  But now we are done - we feel like we have seen quite a lot of Montenegro.  It is beautiful but we are ready to move on.  Hopefully by the end of the week we will reach Italy.

 

Slow progress...

Mountains upon Mountains

 We intended to stay at Porto Montenegro Marina for one week, thinking that would give us time to get all the new equipment checked out and put the boat back together.  Two weeks turned into four weeks of nonstop work!  A few days were spent just cleaning and putting things away.  And then the low water bilge pump decided to quit working.  So... at least three more days replacing the float switches and the low water pump.  Next our transformer also decided to stop working.  In Europe they use 220V power, in the US we use 110V.  So in order for us to hook up to shore power we use a transformer that steps the power down from 220V to 110V.  We contacted an electrician to see if it could be repaired and were told that indeed it could be repaired.  They told us it would take four days to repair, that was three weeks ago!!

Rainbow Surprise

 For several days the wind has been howling from the north at 45 plus knots.  When the north wind blows the air is cold.  Fortunately, we have a down comforter to keep us warm at night and a propane heater to keep us warm during the day so we have managed these last few weeks.  But hallelujah, as I write it is seven thirty pm and the transformer just arrived!  And it works!!  That is phenomenal as right now the north wind is blowing at 50 plus knots.  Fortunately, we now have our little space heater on and all is right with the world (or at least our little world).  

City of Niksickco in the distance

 Initially, when we moved back onto Talaria the solar panels were not charging our batteries.  We thought that the problem was the batteries, that they were not taking the charge.  But as it turned out the boatyard had taken a fuse out and therefore the solar panels weren't charging.  We replaced the fuse and voila the solar panels started working as they should.  Looks like we won't have to replace the house bank after all.  Super great news.

The beautiful turquoise Tara River

 Finally, all boat systems are working.  So we moved on to checking the new electronics installed by Navar boatyard.  The only issue we were having was with the new single side band radio (like a HAM radio but for marine use) and the pactor modem which allows us to use to radio to reach a station and get weather information.  There was a communication issue that after a lot of tracing wires and communication with SailMail support we finally resolved.  So... now I think we are good.  Our plan is to leave Tivat on Friday but it may be Saturday depending on the weather.  Moving on... finally!