Sicily - we found some good bits!

 After two nights at anchor, we decided a marina was called for - There was very little wind as we made our way East along Sicily's north coast, the engine was well used.  We went to Portorosa, a very cute, and presumably totally man made harbour for a night of civilisation.

As is typical of this area, the beach was packed with sun brollies and sun beds - personal space is clearly not valued very highly!

Portorosa beach, Sicily

Hilary, Ian and Martin, Portorosa Marina

That evening there was the Festival of Madonna, we were fascinated to see crowds gather as a convoy of fishing boats, complete with various Men of Religion in full robes and a brass band set out to sea.

I believe Madonna is also on the boat.

Where else would the band be?

The festival seemed to consist of the largest collection of market / junk stalls ever!

Hilary and Martin check out the bargains, but come away empty handed

Interestingly, there had been fireworks in the afternoon, not seen at their best - but maybe they were practising for the real thing which was much more impressive at about midnight.

The next day we continued along the coast to Milazzo - another marina - where Hilary and Martin were catching a bus to the airport.

We found a particularly tasty restaurant for dinner

Restaurant Art, Milazzo

We went for a quick wonder round the town the next morning, 

There were some interesting old ruins, time for a bit of shopping an a haircut for Ian.

A classy establishment - I wonder if he also owns the restaurant we ate in!

We waved Hilary and Martin goodbye

We will miss the glamour!

We needed to refill our gas bottles which is not a quick job in these parts - it takes 24 hours at least - so anchored in the bay next to the town and went to investigate the other delights of Milazzo

Our dinghy is quite small

The old town, complete with cobbled streets

And a rather fine castle

We tried to go in, but unfortunately it was shut for siesta time

Our anchorage, Milazzo refinery visible in the distance

This one is for Martin, he is very interested in Refineries!

Gas bottles eventually filled, we set off again, heading for the Straights of Messina that separate Sicily from Italy

Again, no wind so we motored gently along the coast - anchoring off beaches at night.

Our anghorage - interestingly, although there were very few people about, there was always very loud disco music into the early hours. Where do the people hide the rest of the time?

Motoring through the fantastically clear water towards the straights, Italy visible in the distance.

The straights are less than two miles wide, and despite the small tidal range in the Med, the tide really ripped through the gap, much like the Alderney Race.

Italy, and fast moving water

Once through the straights we did manage to sail, but only for about an hour till the wind dropped again and it was back to the engine again.

It gave us the opportunity to hug the coast - most of it looks like this.

And there are spectacular road bridges.

Ian took the opportunity to do some maintenance.

We filled up with fuel in Porto Veccio, on the eastern side of Italy's 'sole' before heading across the 70 mile 'arch' to the 'heel'.  There was no wind, but it felt stormy and it was late afternoon so we anchored up in a bay.  We were just settling down for the night when the wind started - from none to 25 kts in 5 minutes.  Wind at last!  We upped anchor, and we're on our way by 2300.  We had 25 to 35 kts the whole night, and are now in Leuca, on the tip of the heel.

Next stop - head north up Italy, and then to Croatia

Sicily - why do people come here?

We waved goodbye to Geoff and Mark in Olbia, Sardinia, then spent a frantic morning in the marina getting provisions, gas, water, laundry and finally fuel before setting off for Sicily.  Fuel was interesting; we had to wait for a modest (no staff) powerboat to take on €5,000 of fuel before we could collect our 58 litres!

We spent one final night amongst the rich and famous before sailing south.

One last look at the toys people have, before leaving our anchorage

Hoping for wind as we left Olbia bay

We got what we wished for, but we'd clearly not been specific enough! We had a 36 hour beat, a big sea, and the 100 mile trip took us 150 and lots of tacking!  On the second evening the wind died and we saw a bay with a few yachts at anchor so went to join them - had a reviving swim and settled down for the night.  At least that was the plan ... 0300 had us wide awake being shaken from our slumber, the wind had most definitely come back, bringing with it a vicious swell.  All hope of sleep abandoned, we were on our way to Sicily by 0330.

At least the 170 mile crossing to Sicily wasn't a beat, but the first 24 hours the sea was lumpy and confused - not the easiest sailing conditions, quite frustrating at times as there was not really enough wind to make up for the sea state.

But - we had the most spectacular dolphin show ever!

Not only did these dolphins stay with us a good hour, but we saw a couple of other equally playful pods, plus two turtles - yet to capture one on film, unfortunately they have not yet mastered jumping out of the water,

The final few hours of the crossing were very enjoyable - the wind was finally being kind to us.

The trusty spinnaker back in use, the very mountainous landscape of Sicily comes into sight

We had arranged to collect Ian's sister Hilary and her husband Martin in Palermo so we anchored in a bay a few miles outside the town to wait for their arrival.

There seemed to be a variant of Brighton Pier in the bay

Brighton meets Sicily?  Loads of people anchor their speedboats in the bay, and the beach was solid with humanity

We went into Palermo Marina to collect our visitors - the Marina is located in a particularly depressing area of Palermo - the streets were piled with rubbish and although the water of the marina was probably the cleanest we'd ever seen, the town was filthy and run down, quite a depressing place

We set off East along the Northern coast of Sicily, sadly mostly motoring because we're on a time deadline and there's very little wind.

We are now a bit too familiar with this landscape, time for something else now!

Hilary at the helm, under the sunshade

Hilary and Martin go for a refreshing tow behind the boat - if water at 30C can be called refreshing

Then a bit of rest after all the excitement.

Our first night at anchor with Hilary and Martin was a bit of deja vu:  there was a swell, it was hard to sleep.  If they'd found a way off the boat with their luggage, I think they'd have taken it,

The second night was much much better - we were sheltered by a large breakwater in the town of Agata di Militelo and had a great night's sleep

Beaches are few and far between, all patches of sand are packed with beach umbrellas

We passed Cefalu, which has a large cathedral but like many of the towns we passed on the north coast, it looks to have fallen on hard times

S. Agata di Militello, our second anchorage. We couldn't work out the plan for this boat - the next morning bulldozers were piling rocks up round it - extreme wheel clamping, perhaps?

Sunrise, at anchor.  S Agata di Militelo

And on we go - heading East towards the Messina Straight.

Sardinia - Playing in the Playground of the Very Rich

We have based ourselves in Olbia for a few weeks now, and familiarised ourselves with the North East coast of Sardinia as we have been honoured with two sets of visitors in quick succession - first Nick and Debbie, then Mark and Geoff.

This area of Sardinia is rugged and barren, with a harsh beauty - it really does look like the kind of place bandits would thrive, and little else - apart from the very rich ... is there a link??

The entrance to Olbia.

The floating buoys are mussel beds - there are miles of them here outside Olbia

Fishing in the mussel beds is a popular activity here

It is a fairly busy waterway outside Olbia - Nick has just noticed one of the many ferries

Once you get outside Olbia Bay you are in the Billionaires Playground - there are super yachts, there are big super yachts and there are the Yachts of the Maddelena Archipelago!

Here we have Roman Abramovich's Eclipse - a touch over 500 feet of luxury - the second largest privately owned yacht in the world, complete with mini sub, missile defence system and crew of 70.

Just keeping the crew busy ...

One of the more unusual motor boats in the area - an extra from Thunderbirds perhaps?

And possibly the creme of the creme - the Maltese Falcon

So good you get to see it twice!!

A bit more of that rugged landscape - we got to know this headland well, as it is the entrance to the bay of Olbia.  The wind ALWAYS did something strange here.

We spent six nights at anchor with Nick and Debbie, visiting the various bays in the area - there are some fantastic rock formations here, with rocks that have eroded to look like melting snow

Debbie - seeking shelter from the sun under one of the many weird shaped rocks.

So Debbie, clearly deprived of competition in her life as a teacher, decided to set up some challenges for Visitors to Nautilus:

Dolphin Spotting:  Sorry Debbie, I won't say what you were actually doing but you missed them - and Mark and Geoff saw them up close and personal ...  no photos though.

Cleaning:  Debbie took this to a new level - scrubbing the anti foul!

Excellent job - you can come again.  Mind you, the others decided to pass on this challenge!

Diving off the boat - not a bad effort by Debbie,

 but ...  the synchronised skills of Steph and Geoff have got you beaten!

Sailing in the windiest conditions - well, Nick and Debbie had a runaway success on this one, as we availed ourselves of the Force 8 to sail round the Maddelena Islands in record time.

Beer drinking - well, they are the experts!  

But we came in a very close second with the Pimms

Swimming past the boat whilst sailing under spinnaker - That is Geoff down there, but there is a lot of splashing.  1.5 kts is achievable, at 2 kts you get left behind.

All is not lost however, as you can take a rest on a fender before you have another go

Beaches are at a premium - the Mafia seemed to be guarding most of them, so we picked a little one no one else wanted.

Night Swimming - not sure why I agreed to this, but it was fun when it was over!  Points to Debbie on that one.

Pretending to enjoy going up the mast - he does look a little bit like King Kong in some lights 

Just to show you that the sun doesn't always shine here ...  Perfect Harmony

Bread Making - only one candidate for that one as well, but we did have some left over for the Feeding of Fish

We spent one night in Rotondo Marina with Geoff and Mark - mingling with the wealthy

On our pontoon in Rotondo Marina

Some of the Bigger Boys in the Marina

Early morning whilst the world sleeps, Rotondo

Looking for Foredeck Crew, Rotondo Marina

Back on the water - Geoff in the Cool Seat

Looking Relaxed 

Sunset, Olbia Marina

And Finally  ...  The Competition for the Most Relaxed Person

In Third Place - The Foredeck Crew

In Second Place - The Fat Boy

But the Clear Winner - a full Nose ahead - Mark in First Place

But don't look so sad, Nick, you can come again!!!

So - we are now heading South, this time to Sicily.