The Aeolian Islands and Sicily

Its been a big week for us all.

We met up with Claire and Peter in Salerno as scheduled on the Monday evening after spending the day getting the boat ready.  It was good to have them back onboard.  The next morning we departed Salerno.  Nic and Scott went in to thank the club for the berth and to pay but they would not take any money for the three days we had stayed.  Really hospitable of them.  Similarly we then went to a nearby marina called Marina D’Arechi to get fuel and gas and again were given the berth for a few hours free while we went out and got our gas bottles filled.  In fact the marina staff were so helpful organising us a driver and finding out where we could get our big gas tanks filled.

Early afternoon we headed south across the bay.  We were heading for the Aeolian Islands just off northern Sicily.  We stopped overnight on the mainland and then continued on Wednesday making landfall in the early evening off the northern most island called Stromboli.  The Aeolian Islands are a group of seven islands which were or still are the remains of volcanoes coming up from the sea.  A couple of them at least are still active and Stromboli is one of these.  Its norther side is constantly moving with what looks like lava slowly moving down the slope.  We had a sail past on the way into the anchorage and watched red hot boulders come crashing down the slope, kicking up puffs of smoke as they disturbed the lava surface and then disappear into the water in a cloud of spray and steam.  All very impressive.

Stromboli from afar

Stromboli looks exactly like what you think a volcanic island should look like - triangular shape and smoke coming off it.  There is a settlement of all white cube like buildings which contrast sharply with the black sand and lava rock.  The island is very steep so finding an achorage is tricky.  Once you are at an appropriate depth you are too close to the shore if the wind should shift.  There are some shallower parts but invariably these are the first to get crowded with visiting yachts.  We percevered and eventually got moored south of the other boats.  We had some dinner and watched the glow from the volcano.

The next morning we were up early around 0400.  The plan was to motor around to the northern part of the island to see the volcanic activity while it was still dark.  As soon as Nic went to get out of bed early in the morning and put her feet on the cabin sole (floor) she noticed that something was not right.  Underfoot it was very gritty.  Coming on deck it all made sense.  Never anchor in the lee of a volcano!  The boat was covered in a thin layer of very fine ash.  All the hatches had been open and so down below under every hatch including all the bunks also covered in ash.  We postponed any cleaning, got the anchor up and motored to the north of the island.

The morning after - covered in ash

We could get in quite close and it was a pretty spectacular show.  The top of the moutain was a red glow in the darkness which was reflected in the sky off the clouds of smoke issuing from the crater.  Just below that was a red lava field which was a solid red at the top and slowly dimming as it cooled moving down the slope.  But chunks of lava were falling off from the top and tumbling down the side of the mountain sending showers of sparks into the air where they disturbed the lava flow.  Finally there was a big plume of steam where the lava met the water.  It really was an incredible scene and great for everyone to get close to.  There are walks to the top of the crater which would be interesting.

Stromboli in the early morning

We headed off as it became light for the next island in the chain called Panarea.  Panarea is a bit smaller and lower than Stromboli with a small settlement on one side.  We stayed at anchor off the port for the day and visitied the town after trying to clean the ash from the boat.  The town is a one street affair of mainly clothing and trinket boutiques.  The island is supposedly a bit of a get away for the Italian uber chic and the town and clientele certainly give that impression.  Nice island and town though.  Late afternoon we pushed on to the island of Lipari and anchored off the main town of the same name.

The gang in Panarea

Lipari is the main island in the Aeolian chain and the town is suprisingly big.  It covers a large portion of the bay and is dominated by a church built within old Norman ruins on a cliff in the middle of town.  We anchored again with difficulty due to the sudden drop off.  The next day we had a look around the town which was really interesting from the marble piazza at the port to the narrow streets, old ruins and great collection of shops.  The town is busy due to it being the height of the season but not oppressively so.

Lipari town

We had a final day stopover at another island called Volcano enjoying the beautiful water and then pushed onto Sicily.  We all really enjoyed the islands and would recommend them to anyone looking to travel to Italy.  There is quite a bit to see and do and the numerous ferries would make it pretty easy to visit even without your own boat.  We also had perfect weather, light breezes during the day and then it calming off completely at night.  We would have liked to spend more time but our schedule called.

On the 9th August we left early moring and headed to Taormina on the east coast of Sicily.  Due to self imposed time constraints we have canned spending much time in Sicily.  Instead we will visit just Taormina which is kind of on our path heading east.  Its a pity we cannot see Sicily but we have to make the best use of the time we have left and would have needed a good three weeks or more to see Sicily which then would have meant rushing over to and around Greece.

So we sailed - motored - to Taormina through the Messina Straits between Sicily and the Italian mainland.  The straits were flat and calm and a far cry from the stories of the ancients which told of a giant whirlpool called Charybdis on the western side which could suck whole ships under and a cliff dwelling monster on the east side called Scilla who could reach down and pluck unlucky sailors off the deck of a vessel as it transited the straits.  Maybe we just hit it on a good day.  

Entrance to the Messina Straits - Sicily on right

The Straits are quite narrow, only 1.5NM across in the north and there is significant traffic which is regulated by the maritime separation scheme and so relatively orderly.  There are also a number of fishing boats around, the strangest of which were the swordfishing boats with huge lattice frame masts and bowsprits.  (see picture).

Swordfishing Boat in the Straits

We had to motor the whole way to Taormina as the wind just died on us and ended up anchoring in a big shallow bay just south of the town aptly called Taormina Bay.  The coastline is very rugged here and Taormina is perched 200m above the water high on some very steep slopes.  The whole area is dominated by Mount Etna which sits inland a few miles, looking very benign apart from the tell tale smoke clouds above the summit and the red glow you see at night.

Taormina has been a settlement since around 400BC and has been Greek, Roman, Arabic and Norman.  It is a spectacular town and as a result a very popular tourist attraction.  One of the main attractions is the amphitheatre which is located on the hillside right in town  with stunning views over the water and Mount Etna.  They still put on shows here in summer.  We spent a couple of days anchored in the bay relaxing and managed a visit to the town, a meal ashore and a potter around the nearby caves whilst struggling to get some school done and trying to work out a plan for dropping off Pete and Claire whilst still getting eastwards.  Eventually we settled on heading to Brindisi about 265NM away on the east coast of Italy.

The greek theatre in Taormina

So we have just pulled into Brindisi this morning after motoring for the last 40hrs.  Good exercise for the engine but not very exciting and bloody expensive in diesel. There were a couple of moments though.  Early on, the drive belt for the engine water pump came off and so we had an overheating issue on the engine.  Luckily Pete noticed it before it became critical and it was a simple fix after letting the engine cool down a bit.  Then on the first night we got buzzed by the Italian coastguard.  This high speed launch headed straight for our starboard side and then when it was about 50m away it turned side on and a powerful searchlight raked us.  Then the light went out and the boat roared off.  Other than that it was plain sailing or motoring - flat seas, sunny days and bright nights.  Everyone helped with the night watches which made it quite relaxing.

Pete and Claire head off tomorrow and the rest of us will cross to Dubrovnik in Croatia.  And we are still trying to get rid of the ash from Stromboli.