Bonifacio, Corsica

After three days at anchor in strong winds finally the weather improved and we had an enjoyable sail to the island of Lavessi, about 6NM off the coast of Corsica. Lavezzi is a maze of rocks, reefs and shoal water. We 'got lucky' on our way in to the bay as we narrowly missed a large rock that was just below the surface and not shown on our charts. This could have prematurely ended our summer sailing! Lavezzi was a picturesque anchorage and included a church and a memorial to the French frigate La Semillante on its way to the Crimean War in 1855 and was shipwrecked off Lavezzi with all 773 people on board drowned. 

Customs departing

Just as we sat down to enjoy sun-downer's we watched a French Customs boat cruise past and then stop outside the bay. When we saw their RIB being lowered as the only non-EU flagged boat in the bay it was likely we were getting visitors! Ironic we have been in Sicily and Sardinia and never been boarded and within 3 hrs of arriving in French Territory a four man team of Customs Officers are onboard Sabbaticus. With nothing to declare, it was a short 40min visit to complete their paperwork before they departed and we could enjoy the sunset.
 

The next morning, hearing the boat 'next door' moving at 0600hrs due to their anchor dragging meant we were up as well. With the wind filling in we decided to get moving and sail the short distance (1 hr) up the coast to Bonifacio. Bonifacio has to be one of the most spectacular places we have visited so far. The chalk-white limestone cliffs, sculpted by the ocean are stunning to see off the coast with houses perched along the clifftops. Entering Bonifacio is via a ravine that has a fjord-like appearance that is 1,500mtrs long and 200 mtrs wide. Fortifications extend along the cliff-tops from the entrance to the site of the citadel - a natural defensive position with cliffs on all sides. The fortress was built by Count Bonfiacio in 828 with the aim to build 'an unassailable fortress and naval base' which was achieved in spite of various attacks/sieges over the centuries.

Arriving early we decided to fuel up on the way into the marina as the fuel berth was empty. While re-fueling a local fisherman pulled in alongside and proceeded to gut his morning catch and feed the seagulls creating much noise as they fought over the scraps. Safely berthed in the marina and giving Sabbaticus a quick wash down, the boat across the pier was raising their geona sail - which seemed an accident waiting to happen with the winds building. Sure enough, Leanne was on the swim platform when she heard a loud bang and saw a cleat landing on the deck which had sheared off the boat three berths down! Thankfully neither of us were in range as this would have caused some damage being hit by a flying metal object.  After this we decided it was safer to leave Sabbaticus and explore!

This was a chance to stretch the legs and head up the hill to the old city, stroll around the medieval city, along the fortress walls and imagine what life would have been liked centuries ago. We visited the marine cemetery which was huge with crypts build like small houses for each family with generations interned and found it quite peaceful to walk around. This cemetery is known as being one of the most beautiful in the Med. Back on board we were then entertained with a couple of super yachts arriving and berthing just off our bow. Never a dull day and always something to watch (or watch out for) when living onboard. 

We departed the next day and had an enjoyable day's sail to Castelsardo in Sardinia. Castelsardo is an old fishing village, not too touristy, with steep winding roads up to the castle at the summit - a relaxing place to wait for wind.  With over 7 days at Castelsardo we are now feeling like local's in the marina as each day new yachts arrive in. We frequently feel like frauds as inevitably we get asked 'did you sail from NZ' - we are too honest to lie! We have made good use of the downtime and used the RIB to get around the boat to polish the hull and even had time to do the topsides - Sabbaticus is now gleaming. While we are reluctant to leave Sardinia we need to keep moving. Our next planned passage is two days sailing to reach the Balearic Islands.


 

View of Castelsardo from the marina

View from Bonifacio marina to the old city/fort

Marine Cemetery - a peaceful place to rest

Cruising in Sardinia

Another perfect anchorage

With 5,700NM now logged on Sabbaticus we are finding this season sailing more relaxing and enjoyable as we are now familiar with the systems on board and how to operate them - including reefing (reducing our sails when the wind gets up) earlier which makes it easier on the crew (no more seasickness so far) and Sabbaticus without reducing our speed. The last few weeks have been spent cruising up the east coast of Sardinia.This has meant day sails of about 4-6hrs as we move between the various anchorages.  

Ready and waiting ...

With our routine maintenance regime now in place the only breakages so far have been two broken springs in the cupboard doors. We are hoping this trend continues as we make our long trek back to Ipswich, UK this summer. While the daily routines continue to evolve the best mate is gaining skills as a barber to ensure the skipper retains his sharp look. Since being on Sabbaticus the most frequently used item in the medical kit are the plasters - we have used more on a boat than ever living on land. The most recent case was the Skipper cooking dinner and slicing his finger with the newly sharpened knife. The result was no cooking or washing dishes for the next few days for him - an accident or a cunning ploy? The next time he enters the galley will be under close supervision.

Cruise Ships in Olbia

On the trip up the coast there are numerous islands, low reefs and rocks extending to half a mile offshore. Sailing past a shipwreck is always sobering and a  reminder to keep a good lookout.  When coming into the port town of Olbia we were amazed to see miles and miles of ‘bouy farms’ - we can only surmise these will be removed in summer and placed around the numerous coastal bays. While it was enjoyable to spend a night on the town quay at Olbia and visit the local markets we were both keen to keep moving up the coast to reach a safe anchorage before the next blow came through. 

First swim for summer

After several picturesque anchorages and seeing the beautiful water colours of the Med it was finally warm enough for a swim. This weather was too good to last as the next three days at anchor were gusts of 35kts - a good test for the anchor which held firmly in the sand. Hopefully in the next week we will reach Bonificao in Corsica and then cruise back to Sardinia to position ourselves for the crossing to the Balearic Islands in Spain.

Shipwreck on the Island of Rosso

Bouy Farms in Olbia Channel

Olbia Town Quay

Sicily to Sardinia

Ragusa to Trapani

Is this the future?

After a leisurely start, doing the rounds of farewells to friends the engine was started, lines slipped and we left Ragusa with fond memories of our time there. For once the weather forecast was accurate and we had great down wind sailing conditions for the 24hrs sail to Trapani. So much for an easy trip to get our sea legs, most of the time it was F5/6 then increased to F7 (28-33kts) for the last few hours. Despite starting out in shorts and tee-shirts by sunset we were in full wet weather gear with rain from 0400hrs - so much for summer sailing! 

Sunday stroll ...

We arrived at Trapani and after being squeezed into a marina berth enjoyed a leisurely day to stroll around the town before departing for Sardinia. Of note (again) when completing the marina check in our flag was mistakenly identified as Australian, but when Leanne advised it was the NZ flag the friendly Maurizio quickly did the haka actions with a big smile and then proceeded to show her YouTube footage of the haka! 

Arrival in Sardinia

It was an early departure from Trapani, but the bonus was seeing the beautiful sunrise as we headed towards Sardinia, a passage of 155NM.  Again it was mixed weather from calm to near gale conditions and long-johns/full wet weather gear again. 30hrs later we arrived tired and pleased to be in Villasimius, Sardinia and away from the lumpy confused seas.

Best mate on her birthday

After a night to recover the wind was favourable so we departed up the east coast for a 6hr sail to Porto Corallo - a  local fishing harbour with only a few cruising yachts and not much else. With the best mate's birthday looming the Skipper decided to take her sailing for the day - up the coast to Santa Maria Navarrese.  It was then out for dinner in the #1 restaurant (only 15 listed on Trip Advisor).  The menu was certainly different and included 'ewe, donkey, horse, goat and pork'. We had enough adventure this far and opted for the safe choice of pizza and half litre of local wine - which was perfect way to end a good day.

Local fishermen - Porto Corallo

We had several days at Santa Maria waiting for suitable wind and enjoyed the coastal walks along the spectacular, rugged cliffs.  It was then a hard 10 hour sail up the coast to La Caletta in 30-35kts and challenging conditions with katabatic gusts rolling off the cliffs and mountains along the coast. This was the first trip where the autopilot "Tommy" was off watch for the entire passage - due to the gusty and highly changeable conditions.  We will now spend several weeks cruising around the top of Sardinia. 



Below are some photos from this trip and a short video clip from last year sailing in Greece in perfect conditions - which we finally got around to editing now! Please note it was the skipper's choice of music to accompany the video - next time the best mate is choosing!!

Santa Maria, Navarrese

Local harbour - Trapani

Access was via the 'neighbour' at Trapani

Marina di Ragusa, Sicily

Current Forecast

After a month on board the task list is completed, Sabbaticus is gleaming, baking completed, cupboards and freezer stocked and water tanks filled (890 ltrs) we are now ready to depart for either Malta or Sardinia and now just waiting for the right weather window. We have enjoyed our time in Marina di Ragusa (MdR), a sleepy off-season coastal town with a beautiful promenade with the local town piazza and shops within easy walking distance of the marina. Apparently the town and beaches area packed in summer with 60,000 tourists  - just as well we are leaving soon!  MdR is a large marina with 800 berths, with an active live-aboard community of about 150 boats from all over the world.  It has been absolutely fascinating meeting a diverse range of sailors and being inspired by their adventures and zest for life.  The daily cruising net radio schedules keeps everyone informed on local activities and is a good source of information and expertise.

MdR Beach

Sicily, with a population of 5 million, is the largest island in the Mediterranean. MdR is located on the Sth coast and is home to the 'baroque triangle' an area of UNESCO listed hilltop towns famous for their lavish baroque architecture. With so much history close by we hired a car and spent several enjoyable days driving the country roads between beautifully crafted stone fences, stunning landscape coasts, around hectares of glasshouses - avoiding the many crazy drivers who seem to overtake only when approaching a bend in the road and groups of cyclists (always men) decked out in colourful lycra suits. What was surprising to see was the amount of roadside rubbish everywhere.

 

Piazza Del Duomo

Our first stop was Syracuse, founded in 734BC, which was the dominant Greek city in the Med and is known as the most beautiful and largest city of the ancient world. Syracuse's main sights are the historic centre of Ortygia and the ancient ruins. Ortygia is on an island joined to the mainland and is jumbled maze of medieval lanes, palazzi, cafes and markets surrounded by the coast - perfect for meandering around. A devastating earthquake in 1693 destroyed most of the buildings in Syracuse with the replacements built in the Sicilian baroque style. With siesta time approaching and everything shutting down it was time to hop into the Fiesta and drive south to Noto.

Noto is regarded as being home to Sicily's most beautiful street - Vittoria Emanuele and is known as the baroque capital with the pedestrianised boulevard flanked by stunning baroque palazzi and churches. This was a visual feast and even better when viewed outside of the tourist season. Although the town of Noto has existed for centuries, the Noto of today was almost entirely rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake that destroyed most of eastern Sicily. A climb to the top of San Carlo Church was rewarded with picturesque views over the town and a perfect way to end the day.

Temple of Concord

The next day we headed west along the coast to Agrigento to visit the Valley of the Temples dating back to 581BC. The complex of temples and city walls were built on a ridge line spread over 2km, with temples dedicated to Olympian Zeus, Hercules, Concord and Hera. The sheer size of the temples and columns was spectacular and was hard to comprehend how such massive temples could be built in ancient times without all our modern equipment. No doubt slave labour and no human rights assisted with the physical labour. 

While we are keen to depart the marina and start sailing again we will miss the ease of living in the marina including the social activities with the live-aboard community,  local vegetable markets where we can buy huge eggplants, red peppers and 1 kg of tomatoes for NZ$1.50, olives, fresh cheeses and in the cafes cheap coffee, custard filled croissants and gelato! 

Marina di Ragusa

MdR - long walk down the pier to our berth

Noto - Cathedral San Nicolo

Temple of Hera

   

Cruising Prep

With 40kts of wind blowing outside this is a mandatory indoors day providing time to update the blog while John works on the passage planning for our departure. We have settled back into life on board with some minor adjustments and lifestyle changes. These adjustments include no ultra fast broadband, walking 7 mins to get to the showers/toilets, not flushing toilet paper down the toilets, using the laundromat, using pumps to drain water from the sinks, getting used to our days being planned around the weather and on the really windy days the boat motion of Sabbaticus straining on her mooring lines as she gets pushed around. We are enjoying the water views again which makes a change from seeing Parliament from the front door in Wellington.

Fuel Filter Change

Chain Plate Repairs

After three weeks on board the maintenance task list shows 35 jobs completed and only 7 to go - we are almost ready to start sailing again yahoo! The major job was repairing a leak caused by the chain plate, this was a job that had been unsuccessfully 'repaired' before (by a professional yard), prior to owning the boat. This job took three days, in tight spaces, to get the 12 bolts removed, the chain plate free, cleaned and then reinstalled with silaflex (caulking compound). Of note the hairdryer is used more for boat maintenance tasks in drying various compounds  than Leanne has ever used for drying her hair.  We then waited a couple of days for the real test of our work - the water test - hosing down the chain plate to see if it leaked. We were both relieved to see no water leaking into the salon and the leak successfully repaired at last - although in reality only time will tell if we have been truly successful when we get green water breaking across the deck and the rig is under load. 

After opening the salon windows we also noticed the rubber gaskets had perished. This was a two day job to remove the two large windows and scrape off the old gaskets and then replace with the new seals. Once again we waited several days to conduct the water test which was successful (again waiting for the green water test)!  The range of jobs included several trips for John up the mast to clean the rig and refit a deck light, fuel filter changes, running and testing all the systems, inflating the dinghy, polishing the fibreglass and stainless steel, removing all the mousing lines, fitting the halyards and sheets and then finally rigging the sails. John also spent a couple of days helping some Aussie friends put the rubbing strake back on their boat so it has been a busy but rewarding time.

Over the last few weeks you can see the work tempo increasing as the boats are all being prepared for summer cruising. With 250 boats in the marina there is quite a community of expertise to call upon and activities to participate in. While the skipper does not allow time for the writers group or craft classes we did attend the diesel engine presentation. At least the best mate is allowed time in the morning for pilates on the dock.

The marina is very social and the bi-weekly happy hours are an excellent way to meet fellow sailors, share ideas and learn about the best places to anchor and travel to.  Plus having an electrical engineer as a close neighbour helps when we have technical questions!  Our neighbourhood is very international with Americans, Italians, Brits, Swiss and Irish as our immediate neighbour's.

A happy skipper - phew!

As always the loggie tasks must be achieved, with the inventory updated and replenished. With many choices in the beer section, the mate brought back a selection to be scored each night to ensure the right beers are stocked before we depart - not surprisingly this course of action meet with the skippers approval! We have been enjoying listening to the local radio station which is a blast from the past with 80s music predominately played - surprisingly most of the songs are in English so we are able to sing along quite happily.

With our departure looming in the next week we are now taking a few days 'off work' and have a hired a car to sight see around the local area.

A few days in Rome

Infamous Trevi Fountain (1732)

Before we knew it our five months working in NZ was completed, having spent time with family and friends and with summer ending it was time to pack our bags to return 'home' to Sabbaticus in Sicily.  With our flights to Sicily being via Rome, and 20yrs since we had last visited, we decided on a short break to enjoy Rome.

Climbing into the airport bus in Rome we saw two vaguely familiar looking faces. After a tentative hello we realised it was the owners (from Auckland) of the only other NZ boat berthed in the same marina and pier as Sabbaticus - such a small world! The bus arrived at Roma Termini, the single largest train station in Europe with 600,000 passengers daily, 29 platforms, shopping centre and art gallery - impressive even when jet lagged. From there it was a short walk to our B&B, a shower (no combat nap allowed otherwise we would never have got up again) then out for a local pizza (what else!) before crashing out.

Oldest Roman Temple - 2 BC

With 2,500 years of history Rome has an ancient core that reflects its long history - the ancient times, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Modern Era which makes it a city of contrasts and absolutely fascinating with history reverberating all round you. For almost a thousand years, Rome was the largest, wealthiest, most powerful city in the Western world, with dominance over most of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately today, possibly as a result of the economic climate, it looks run down, with broken footpaths and rubbish in almost every street.

The Colosseum

Rome's greatest amphitheater, the Colosseum was started in 72AD and built in only 8yrs! With 80 arched entrances allowing easy access for 55,000 spectators the deadly gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights were staged free of charge by the Emperor for public viewing. The tour guide advised the Colosseum was designed to allow spectators to be seated within 15mins of arriving at the Colosseum.  We also learned about the 'recycling' (aka plundering) of marble and stone during the Renaissance that was used to build several palaces, bridges and parts of St Peter's. 

Forum Ruins

Visiting the Roman Forum allowed us to stand in the political, legal and religious centre of the whole Roman Empire and attempt to visualise the power and glory of ancient Rome. Here we visited the site were Julius Caesar's body had been cremated, with a Temple erected in 29BC in his honour. In Palatine Hill we saw ancient Rome's most exclusive neighbourhood, covered in ruins from the 1st century Imperial Palaces. 

With more churches in Rome than there are days in the year there were plenty to view as we strolled around. The city of Rome surrounds the Vatican City which is the  world's smallest sovereign state and is home to the Pope and

Gruesome scenes

Interior St Peter's

St Peters Basilica, Italy's biggest and most spectacular church is located in Vatican City. The dome at 136m, designed by Michelangelo is the tallest in the world. With one of the world's greatest art collections in the Vatican Museum's it was stunning to see the statutes, massive tapestries and art depicting scenes from the times.  One of the highlights was the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo spent 4 yrs (1508) decorating the entire 800 sq mtr ceiling with episodes from the book of Genesis. His grand finale was returning 22yrs later painting the Last Judgement on a 200 sq mtr wall - this is still powerful, vibrant and awe inspiring today. 

While Leanne could have spent another few days soaking up the atmosphere, John was keen to get going on our final flight to Sicily and return to Sabbaticus. 

Below are a few more photos from sightseeing in Rome.

Interior of the Colosseum

The Forum

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

 Vittorio Emanuele II (1885) and tomb of the unknown solider