Sail the wind you’ve got…
our mantra.
Sunday 17 September
The forecast (predict wind) looked good the the next 3 days. Our crew Jan had arrived on Saturday. Fuel topped off. Groceries filling the pantry and fridge. Departure GIB (Gibraltar) time: 10:20. The route to Sicily, 927 miles.
Shifts for watch were chosen and we settled in to what should have been a 6 day passage, average speed of 5 knots. The first night kept us busy with dozens of ships on the AIS. We altered course a few times to get more sea room but with so many ships we were often as close as 1/3 of a mile… but everyone followed the rules and stayed in their lanes. The ships lights clearly visible in the moonless night sky helped immensely in detecting there location and direction.
In the early hours the wind had increased for us to fly some canvas , wing on wind. By noon we had left the shipping lanes so our watches required less vigilance. BY 4pm the winds had picked up and a reef was needed, then a second. The head sail was rolled up with winds in gusting to 25 knots. The boat screaming along at 8 and 9 knots! We were clicking of the miles at a blistering speed. The waves continues building with the increased winds, the boats motion less and less comfortable but making great time… the passage could set a record for speed on Inishnee.
As the miles ticked by the winds varied, becoming too light and the sails were ‘popping’ so they were doused and we went back to the iron jenny.
We crossed the Prime Meridian Tuesday afternoon. The winds all over the place. Sailors often talk about the 3 kinds of wind… Too much, too little or on the nose.
Spinnaker up, spinnaker down… more motoring. But! Whales… awesomeness… We were pretty sure they were pilot whales due to see and pout height but we weren't able to make a positive ID. Dolphins continued to swing by and pop in and out of the bow waves through out the day. Jim was pretty sure he had a few night time visits as well. With no moon and only star light to see by, he had only the sound and shadows to go by.
Wednesday 20 September. We are fighting for every inch of sea. The winds are so light. We are concerned about fuel consumption. While in Gibraltar we decided to sell some of our extra fuel jugs which are left on deck, a decision that would haunt us very soon. We were not even half way and had to add most of the spare fuel to the tank. We kept one 5 gallon can in reserve incase we had misinterpreted the dipstick reading and used ALL of the fuel. We have to have a reserve to motor in to the harbor, if we ever get there.
We changed tacks several times trying desperately to find some wind (not on the nose) and make some progress. After tallying the miles made good the last 24 hours, very demoralizing. Having sailed well over 150 miles we only made 20 to the good. Like the heading says, sail the wind you've got, so we keep up the fight.
Jan LOVES to fish. We still have his pole on board from the Great Lakes, however we upgraded to an ocean row and reel which he had been using daily. With great patience. Today he was rewarded with a lovely catch. A mahi-mahi. Amazingly it was hooked through its dorsal fin… he did get it aboard and it was soon prepped for dinner.
Finally. Half Way Day! Sept 21 at approximately 3am we were half way to our goal, 460 miles to go, having sailed many more miles than the process showed because so many were against the wind and tacking. Homemade carrot cake and an adult beverage after dinner to celebrate.
Very few ships to contend with. Slow, slow progress. The sea, sloppy. The boat motion, very uncomfortable. The bow blaming into the waves. The anchor making horrendous noises as it is thrashed by the force of the sea. Water crashing on deck. Only a small leak! Kathy had taped up the vents REALLY well before leaving and we had completely sealed off one dorade, a known source of leaks as well as kept all ports and hatches closed. You can teach and old dog new tricks.
Friday
We were heavily reefed. Plenty of wind, on the nose. Miraculously, a lovely little canary type bird manage to alight on our gangplank tied to the davits. It even tweeted a bit as it clung to the ladder. Then, poof, gone with a gust of wind… last seen heading for a huge ship to our port side. Today was also the first day we saw any sailing vessels. 3 total all heading down wind… the lucky buggers.
Saturday. More the the same. Heavy seas. Slow progress. Crew frustrated. Too rough for Jan to fish… Even the sky feels our pain and the sun refused to shine today. Motor. motor. motor. Fuel consumption is a great concern. We are monitoring often. We really need some favorable wind. We have been seeing quite a bit of lightening during the dark hours. So far it’s just a show!
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| sunrise with Sicily just visible on the horizon |
Sailing with both sails double reefed! Sunny Sunday. 182 miles to go at 0800 hrs! Took out reefed by noon. motoring again. ugh… We crossed a mountain range today. A shallow spot of 30 feet made or a bumpy ride; again. We put the pole out for the jib and the preventer on the main and got a bit of help from the wind… we might reach port tomorrow!
Monday. We encounter our first Italian fishing boats through out the night Fuel continuing to be monitored, 10 inches to the bottom of the tank. A bit of wind but if we ‘sail’ it we won’t get into port today… so we motor on. It WILL be our last day at sea even if we have to launch the dinghy and pull Inishnee into port.
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| the old and the new |
Sicily! 8 days 5.5 hours. 4 inches of fuel to spare!
We called the harbor master and had a difficult conversation via vhf. We speak about as much Italian as we do Greek. The harbor master understood a few words of english so he knew we were coming in to port. He took our lines and helped us secure. Jim took our papers / passports etc. to clear us in. The official required the location of out last port. Jim said Gibraltar. “no. no, your LAST port…” Jim: Gibraltar… The official summons another man how again asked in broken english.. ‘your last port?’ Jim again stated Gibraltar. The men were clearly frustrated. Finally Jim showed them our departure papers from Gibraltar… With wide eyes and bewilderment they looked the papers over. It finally dawned on them that . YES. we really did sail (motor) from Gibraltar to Sicily non stop. Most cruisers traverse the Mediterranean by hopping port to port. (dam Schengen!) So, they made the necessary copies of our documents and took some euros from us.
Welcome to Sicily!
Whew… a long hard slog. A record breaking slooow passage…
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| the national symbol of Sicily... 3 legs represent a triangle (the 3 capes of Sicily) the head is either the goddess Athena, the patron goddess of Sicily or Medusa (Athena's destructive aspect)... depending on which interpretation you reference |
Sicily, Italy
We spent one day in Porto Empedolce, a port of entry which amounted to nothing since there is no customs person on duty… The ‘marina’ as little more than a skimpy dock with access to shore. Town was dirty (as was most of the island) and over run with dogs. But, we enjoyed a decent meal and a good nights sleep out before moving on to the city / port of Licata.
Licata has huge marina with plans to expand.
Unfortunately the sailing fleet has not yet discovered it so many of the shops in the complex are vacant. It is a lovely harbor though. Clean, good showers, a chandlery and close to a shopping center with a good grocery store that you can take (and return) a cart for big provisioning. 
Jan, our German crew, had a few days before departing so we rented a car with hopes of seeing Mount Etna, several old cities along the way, and the Valley of Temples. Mount Etna soon was removed from the tour list as the distance there was to great. After a long drive we spent some time wandering around Ragusa one of the oldest settlements in Sicily. Built in the side of a gorge much of the old city remains in tack, the center of which houses many shops for tourists to eat, drink and select souvenirs for those back home. Kathy had her first REAL cannoli and it was fabulous!!! An old U.S. sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, often mentioned them making it a quest to find an authentic one. Most of the day was spent sitting in the car, there are few highways in Sicily, so traveling on secondary roads took a lot of time. A couple of other stops, Noto and Syracuse (sp?)along the route before we turned for home arriving after dark.
Jan returned to Germany. Kathy and Jim worked on boat projects and maintenance while waiting for new crew …
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