It has been a busy, and expensive (!) couple of weeks. With settled weather we left Rocella Ionica heading for the Messina strait. After a night at anchor in a rather dull spot called Bova Marina (which is just a place to anchor with minimal protection from the wind and waves: no marina at all), we entered the Messina strait and motored up to Messina town. True to form, the strait was challenging: the combination of tide, currents, wind and upwelling of water (caused by the mix of differing salinities of the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas) caused us some tense moments as we navigated the strait and entered the marina.
One night in Messina was more than enough, especially at 120 euros for the night, so we left the next morning and headed up to Vulcano (one of the Aeolian islands), and to Ponenta bay, a nicely sheltered bay on the north west of the island. We spent a couple of days here early in the 2022 season, and remembered the isolation, beauty and the strong sulphurous smell from the active volcano above the bay. The beauty and the smell were unchanged. However, the place was transformed into a busy, overcrowded tourist hotspot. We counted up to 50 other boats in the anchorage, some dropping anchor dangerously close, others seeming to think that the noise from their booming sound systems would not disturb their neighbours. Such a shame, and we will only return if we can do so well outside the tourist season.
After a couple of nights at anchor we sailed back to mainland Sicily and stopped at the town of Cefalù. This really is a lovely spot, and one we missed on our passage across Sicily last year. It is an ancient city, dating from the 12th century, with an atmospheric old town that we wandered around. It seems to be a centre for traditional pot making, with ceramics sold in numerous shops and displayed around the town. It is also a popular tourist destination and the adjacent beach was crowded with sun worshippers, even this late in the season.
From Cefalù we sailed onto Palermo, staying at a marina right in the centre. Palermo is a great city – a vibrant mix of new and old, rich and poor. There is plenty of nightlife, plenty of culture and lots to see and do. We got our bikes out and cycled a lot, though not always with great success: on one occasion we tried to find a beach outside the city, but spent the best part of three hours cycling along city roads seeing much of the poor suburbs of the city, but failing to get to any beach!
We had better luck on other days, and found some great restaurants, including a delicious all-you-can-eat Sushi restaurant, serving sashimi on dry ice! In the centre we visited the cathedral and palace and wandered around the cobbled streets with beautiful, but slightly dilapidated palazzos. On the main high street we saw several newly wed couples strolling along, accepting compliments and congratulations from strangers – it must be a local tradition. We even saw what is claimed (by the locals of Palermo) to be Europe’s biggest tree – certainly impressive, though I suspect there are several such trees across Europe vying for the same title!
We did have one scary moment – and the reason why this last couple of weeks has been expensive. After a few days in the marina, Cate noticed a smell of rotten eggs in the boat. We initially assumed it was either coming for the heads, or perhaps from sewage being discharged into the bay (Palermo waterfront is not somewhere you would want to take a swim!). A weather front came through, bringing torrential rains that forced us to close the hatches, and it was then that Cate noticed the smell getting stronger. She decided to investigate, lifting the floor and checking cupboards. The main battery bank is under one of the saloon berths, and when we went to lift that we noticed immediately that it was hot. Under the cushions the batteries looked dreadful – warped and buckled and too hot to touch. We have a battery monitor (but no alarm!), and checking this showed the battery temperature to be 83°c – nearly boiling, and certainly a fire risk, if not worse.
We disconnected everything, ventilated the boat, and got an electrician urgently. Davide arrived, took one look and said “this is very dangerous.” The next day he was able to source new batteries and has now installed them; for 2000 euros!… still better than the boat exploding.
Talking through the issue with the electrician, we realise we have many gaps in our knowledge of electrical systems on the boat. In this case, even though we were connected to shore power, we hadn’t realised that power would still come through the batteries, and the high power things we use (mainly an induction hob for cooking) when on shore power were still damaging the batteries. So to add to the month’s expenses, we have now signed up to an online electrical course!
With the drama over, the weather returning to normal, and the sights of Palermo having been seen, we have sailed on to San Vito Lo Capo, a tourist spot on the north western tip of Sicily, It is a lovely place to while away a few days as we wait for good conditions to cross the Tyrrhenian Sea to Sardinia and our winter destination of Arbatax.