Sardinia

Fish farming in Sardinia

It was only about a six hour trip the next day to reach Carloforte but we still left fairly early as we wanted to visit the town a bit.  It seemed we were the only ones out on the water that morning. But then as we were coming out of one bay and into another, we noticed a power boat coming at us fast.  Both of us thought it was a pleasure boat running wide open and our thought was "that guy is going to wake us and it won't be pretty".  Michael was giving them the "what the hell" look as they got closer and closer.  As soon as we saw the guns though, we thought uh oh... we better slow down.  As it turns out it was the Italian Military warning us that they were getting ready to start live firing exercises where we happened to be sailing.  They told us what course to take and to stay on that course for five miles... after that we could resume our plotted course.  No problem ... we are changing course!  We had no desire to be shot on that particular day (or any day)!

Sardinian Coastline

Our first impression of the Sardinian coastline was that it appeared very Spartan.  As unpopulated as Sicily is populated.  It is both pretty and rugged.  Up near Corsica is apparently very beautiful but we will have to come back for that visit.  It is very clear to us how folks would just want to linger here for a long time.  The isolation is appealing and the water is such a clear vivid blue.  

 

Coming in to Carloforte

Carloforte is a small, charming town.  They were having a "tuna festival" so there was a lot of horn honking going on by folks in funny costumes.  We replenished our grocery supplies, got fuel, did a bit of exploring and then went to find the Guardia Costiera to "check out" of Italy.  That involved a bit of fuss and paper shuffling but we managed to get it all accomplished in about 30 minutes.  

Sardinia coastline

The town of Carloforte is on the side of the Isola di San Pietro, as opposed to the tip of the island.  I puzzled over which way would be the quickest for getting around the island and the closest for our course.  I decided against going the way we came in, choosing instead to go around the other way.  There was a fishing boat coming around us as we were starting to come around the island.  They were staring at us... we thought it was because of our American flag.  Our misconception was soon revealed by Port Control,  who was then calling us on the VHF radio.  The path I had chosen ran right through a "restricted area".  About the time Port Control called we started to notice the huge fish farming operation going on in the area.  So thats why they were staring!!  Again we were given a heading to follow for five miles away from the fish farm ... after that we could get back on our course.  

Fishing boat

Maybe its just as well it was a brief visit to Sardinia ... we haven't had the best of luck navigating the area so far :).  Once out of the fish farming area we got on our course to Menora, Spain - another overnight passage. 

 

187 nautical miles in 31.5 hours

 

Teulada, Sardinia

I will not lie - we are sometimes lazy sailors.  When the wind is not right: either not enough or from the wrong direction we will turn on our engine and "assist" the sails somewhat.  Especially, when we have a long way to go.  We got a late start from Trapani, as we had to wait on the fishing boat to move away from the fuel dock, which meant we would get in late the next day after an all night sail.  We raised our sails as soon as we got away from the harbour but the wind was light and variable.  On went the engine as we wanted to maintain at least five knots of SOG (speed over ground).  If not, we might have two nights out and not one, or we may be trying to identify an unfamiliar harbour at night.  We did not want to do either of those things.  

 

Sardinia Coast

 Sailing in the Med is different from sailing in the Atlantic.  For one, in the Med, there are numerous big ships and smaller boats as well.  When you get way offshore in the Atlantic there is no-one and nothing around - just ocean from horizon to horizon.  Which sounds scary but in many ways there is less danger.  The water is very deep so you won't run aground, you won't run into the lee shore in a storm, you don't have to dodge huge tankers and cargo ships, there are no fishing buoys to watch out for and no fisherman dragging huge nets.  Providing the weather is okay, you can just relax and enjoy the ride.  If the weather is not good, you just deal with it or try to avoid it. Since there is no "safe harbour" to get to - there is also no time pressure.  Ditto for time pressure getting to a harbour before dark, as again, there is no harbour at all.  So time is not so much an issue... you set your sails and go and deal with what Mother Nature throws your way.  If you are well prepared and are sailing at the right time for where you are, everything should be fine.  Of course, there are occasional tragedies, however many, many sailboats cross oceans and have uneventful passages.

The water coming into Carloforte, Sardinia

It is hard to describe the brilliant, teal blue color of the water in Sardinia.  It is so perfect, you can't keep your eyes off of it.  Sailors are adept at watching the water anyway, they are drawn to the water like a lover.  The depth of color gives a sailor clues to the actual depth of the water - the lighter color is deeper and the darker is shallower.  Very useful information for all sailors, but definitely for sailors of old who did not have all the fancy gadgets we have today.  

Sardinia Coast

We sailed from Trapani, Sicily to Teulada, Sardinia in a bit over 31 hours.  It was around 1630 when we arrived and we were tired.  I try to take a couple pictures wherever we are, but I failed to do so here.  Just too tired.  We got all tied up and checked in and then we ate something and went to sleep.  Or at least thats what I imagine we did ... I honestly cannot remember the marina or what we did for dinner.  That is how tired we were... and I have no photos to jog my memory.  I remember the discussion we had when trying to find the harbour hidden behind a rock but thats about it.  It was just a stopover for the night - nothing more.  Next day we are heading to Carloforte, that is where we will go to check out of Italy before heading to Spain.
 

Trapani and Erice (air- ree- che)

 

Castle in Erice

The weather improved and we sailed on to Trapani, which will now be our last stop in Sicily.  We are bypassing both the Egadi and Aeolian Islands, which is a crying shame 😢😢.  I keep telling myself that it gives us good reason to return, but I am still sad that we will not be spending some time in the islands.  Schengen rules (only three months in the EU) really put a damper on enjoying what Europe has to offer - which is a lot!

Rob and Sue (and Michael)

One of the best things about traveling around the world is the people you meet.  We met Rob and Sue when we arrived at the marina in Trapani.  By the end of the day we were making plans to visit the ancient town of Erice - just outside of Trapani.  As with most of these medieval towns it is positioned way, way up the mountain.  We rode in a cable car to reach the town.  As we were walking around, Rob was saying "we need to go just a bit further... just around this corner... you will see... it will be beautiful".  We rounded the corner, following Rob's direction and were just blown away by the magnificent views.  You can see all of the countryside and the sea from way up there.  We were all cheering Rob!!

Narrow streets of Erice

Such an amazingly beautiful place... I loved it.  By far one of the prettiest little villages we have seen in Sicily, but I am sure there are more gems out there.  Everywhere we looked it was just so pretty.  I was thrilled when we found this little church that was open.  Just one fellow was sitting inside.  So, so pretty.

Erice Cathedral

 We spent a couple of hours just walking around and then found some lunch.  It was such a nice day, we were wishing we had more time to linger in Trapani.  As it is we spent the day in Erice, but have really not seen much of Trapani.  Thats what happens when you start wandering around the world... you just want to keep wandering and there is never enough time.  Our planet is vast, diverse and delights the senses in so many ways.  

City of Trapani seen from Erice

 We will be doing yet another long passage from Sicily to Sardinia.  Sardinia is another place I would like to just linger for a while, but we cannot, as I also have many places in Spain on my list of "places I want to visit".  My bucket list keeps getting longer and longer :)).

Rob and Sue on their s/v Kered

The next morning we had to wait for the fuel dock to open before we could depart.  We were ready and had planned to tie up at the fuel dock and wait for the "fuel man" to arrive.  But... as it turned out the fishing boats had just come in and one of them was tied to the fuel dock, unloading his fish onto a truck.  So... we had to wait for him too.  We just did circles out in the harbour, waiting our turn.  Rob and Sue came out of their beautiful Southerly sailboat to say goodbye.

 

Trapani fishing boats

We finally got fuel and headed out - on our way to Sardinia.  From there we will go to the Balearic Islands of Spain.

 

 

Making Tracks

 There is not too much to say about Pisa - the big attraction is the tower that leans.  It is actually the bell tower for the Pisa Cathedral.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Although you know that the tower leans, it is still odd to see.  Apparently, it started to lean fairly quickly due to a soft and unstable foundation that was unable to support the weight of the tower.  Over the years attempts have been made to reduce the lean.  And they have indeed reduced the lean to about 4 %.  

 

Pisa Cathedral

Of course, they cannot completely correct the tilt or they would have no "tourist attraction".  Italy has struck a compromise it seems - a little tilt so the masses come to see it, but not enough that it falls over.

Pisa

We walked around the town a bit, but really that bell tower is about it.  Other than that oddity, it is just a sleepy town.  Now that the winds have died down we will be making tracks to Trapani.  Sadly, because of the weather delay and our dawdling we will now have to miss some highlights.  I knew I had our itinerary too jam packed, with no days built in for weather.  I was just hoping that it would all work out.  There is so much to see and we like to roam around at a leisurely pace- so it doesn't always work out.  It is also a very long way from Montenegro to Gibraltar.  Someone from Montenegro shared this image of a map showing the Mediterranean Sea within the US.  It is great visual for understanding the size of the Med - its a large body of water!

Mediterranean in the US

 Later this year we are crossing the Atlantic again.  The time for crossing to the Caribbean is the winter, we are planning to leave Talaria in La Linea, Spain while we go home for our three month exile.  In October, we will return and prepare for the crossing.  However, the reality is that you start preparing months in advance for a big ocean crossing.  One of the items on our list is having our liferaft serviced.  The liferaft has to be serviced every five years, so we are due.  It has been difficult to get that arranged as there are not many places that service our brand of liferaft.  After much searching we found a place in Gibraltar that services our brand.  That was good news!  Unfortunately, it is difficult to reserve a berth in Gibraltar to get the work done.  And due to Brexit moving things and workers back and forth from the Spanish side to the British side is next to impossible.  Finally, after a couple attempts we were able to secure a spot in Gibraltar for one week.  Phew... just enough time to get a few things done over on the British side.  

 

Church is Pisa

 

Anytime we have had work completed by British folks we have always been happy.  They do quality work and often tend to perfectionism.  So in addition to the liferaft, we wanted to have the engine serviced and the rigging inspected.  In particular, we wanted an actual trained rigger to inspect our rigging and tune it.  Its a sad fact, that many people who have become dismasted or had some sort of rigging failure, had just had their rigging replaced!!  You think "how in the world can that happen", but we have heard and spoken with folks who have had that happen more than once.  The riggers make mistakes or aren't completely qualified or the rigging is not tuned properly... Regardless, the reason - we do not want to experience a catastrophic rigging failure in the middle of the Atantic Ocean!   Securing the berth in Gibraltar for the work was a stroke of good luck, but it also took away another week from our travel time.  No more dawdling - we will be on our way to Trapani soon and then off to Sardinia.