SUNDAY IN SICILA , ITALIA - Day 20

SUNDAY IN SICILA , ITALIA - May 13, Day 20

Sunday starts calm and sunny, voices carry from the land from many cyclists who take their early morning ride and seem to talk all the time to each other, not forgetting of course the body gestures which Italians are well known for. There are good facilities for cyclists and signs here show distant places on the cycle network. Italy hosts one of the annual classic Tours, the Giro d”Italia, and team colours are worn by many of the leisure cyclists. The Italian language comprises many long words and like the Spanish (I used to live in Spain) they all like to speak at the same time !! Actually words are not even needed for some things as they can convey many emotions with body language alone, and everyone understands it.

Our boat is not large enough to carry cycles otherwise we would surely enjoy regular cycling on these tracks and almost empty roads.

Walking past a café to the Marina’s shower block the lovely smell of fresh coffee is in the air. We are not addicted to coffee but enjoy one occasionally. Our Maltese friends advise to go early to the Stella Bar where fresh croissants are served, still hot, and if desired you can ask for a fill of custard inside.

Yesterday afternoon our sailing community at the Marina organised a BBQ. We rarely eat meat so were not attracted and anyway we were still working on the boat into the afternoon, then using the laundrette. It was not advertised but there was also live music which we could hear from the boat. That always attracts us and sometimes we dance, but as the evening went on and more wine and beer were consumed it sounded more like a drunken party. Later we observed one local musician who seems to show up anywhere there is drinking or music, staggering home in less than a straight line.

This blog started as Spiritual World Traveller Blog but this year I renamed it Conscious World Traveller Blog reflecting a shift in my own path. We still enjoy an occasional drink but we observe the “have more drinks and get louder” habits of many of the community. Nothing wrong with that but it is not “Conscious”. We would prefer to meet and chat in smaller groups. I will write more in later blogs about what we mean be “Conscious”. It is not snobbish. It reflects the progress we make on our life and Spiritual path. By Spiritual I do not mean Religious.

After our hard labours of the week we decided to spend a couple of hours at the beach of the “Riserva” which was really special. More about that later. Anita is an artist and feels at home amongst the driftwood. She selects a few pieces to incorporate into art and a few stones to paint. Our recent life style has made it difficult to paint canvas so Anita has been experimenting with crochet and wore her first creation, the yellow bikini, on the beach.

Anita and Jenny had agreed to make a meal together and arriving at Grand d’Artagnan just after five we found the work done. We enjoyed the last sun in the cockpit together with Jenny and Andrea..

BACKACHE FROM HARD WORK BUT WE GET RESULTS – May 11 & 12

BACKACHE FROM HARD WORK BUT WE GET RESULTS – May 11 & 12, Days 18 & 19

We have worked hard physically this week from improving and organising interior spaces, much cleaning, painting, and a multitude of jobs on deck too. We need to stretch backwards often to ease the pain from working in confined spaces or lifting weights.

The weather during the week was good but quite windy in afternoons and feeling cold in the wind but the weekend is almost calm so sails were going up around the marina for attention. That is not possible in stronger winds. I patched a few tiny holes with sail repair tape to avoid greater damage. The mainsail is over 20 years old but still sets well.

We are now ready to release a first photo of our improved and tidy living space !!

Of course the boatyard did not service the outboard motor in the expected timescale so I need to chase them again next week.

One of the pleasures of living in Italy is the food. We squeeze fresh orange juice each morning and will write more about food and drink we enjoy another time. See our Basil plant.

MY YEARS OF SAILING and ANITA GOES UP THE MAST

MY YEARS OF SAILING and ANITA GOES UP THE MAST - May 10, Day 17

Today we did some outside work including attaching a flag halyard and new lazy jacks for securing the mainsail. It was Anita’s first opportunity to sit in the bosun’s chair and go up the mast, which she enjoyed. Thanks to John who appeared from no-where and gave some help.

From time to time I will write more than what happened in the day. Here for example is a very small summary of my sailing, sometimes life was with boat and sometimes without boat. My first sailing experience was on the three masted topsail schooner, Malcolm Miller, in a Tall Ships Race just after I turned 16. It was also my first visit of many to Scandanavia.  After that great adventure, which was also great teamwork, I realised that sailing is a lifestyle which I enjoyed and I joined the sailing club at school to learn to sail 12’ dinghies on a narrow river in Worcestershire. Many other experiences followed including a trip to Alderney on the TS Royalist, a week with the Ocean Youth Club and later a week doing my Yacht-master practical course and assessment with the island Sailing Club of Salcombe. I have also sailed in USA (Cape Cod to Brooklyn), Thailand and Seychelles.

I raced GP14 dinghies including experiencing the back half of the fleet in National Championships where 180 boats were racing in one fleet. I have done mono-hull sailing including a RORC Race Cowes – Dinard, passage Dartmouth to Gibraltar (Moody 30) and in the same boat the 1983 AZAB (Falmouth to Azores and Back Two handed race) of 1200 nautical miles each way and navigation by dead reckoning and daily sextant noon sights.

Multihulls were my real interest and I immersed into reading everything possible about them and their voyages. My first at age 25 was the mini ocean cruiser, 26’ Heavenly Twins and others  followed. I sailed a Crowther Buccaneer 28 trimaran for eleven years and in 2000 bought  from a friend Apataki, the Danish production Havcat 27 catamaran, which I sailed from UK to Mar Menor, Spain in 2001. In 2004 I sailed her to Sardinia and onto Malta. She was based there until I took the winter berthing contract at Marina di Ragusa in Sicily last October.

DOWN TO WORK May 6 to 9, Days 13 – 16

DOWN TO WORK May 6 to 9, Days 13 – 16

It is time to tackle those interior decoration jobs like head lining and covering exposed hull construction where old carpet used to be.  I really think boats should be finished more in a practical way, and of course headlining falls away after some years as the foam backing disintegrates. I have already dealt with most of this but a few areas still need attention and offend my artistic partner who wants to create a beautiful space to live in. By Monday afternoon replacement pieces were cut to the complex curves of the boat and I opened the tin of contact adhesive to find it empty. The small Chandlery shop near the marina was still open but only had 125 ml tubes and I wanted to buy 1000 ml. The 125 ml was almost the same price that I had paid in Malta for the large tin but with the galley in chaos I bought a tube and just had enough glue to fix two pieces.

I don’t know of a hardware shop in Marina di Ragusa so we had to drive 18 miles on Tuesday morning to Bricomat on the Ragusa Iblea shopping mall area.

We arrived back too late for the Tuesday market but salvaged a few unsold fruits left by the vendors.

After wintering ashore in a boatyard in Malta for 13 years it is a pleasure to do such work in a clean environment like a marina as we live on board.

On Wednesday we progressed and things are looking better.

The live aboard community here are really a community, and we joined the “happy Hour” at the nearby Stella Bar on Tuesday evening to chat with some of our neighbours.

WE HEAR THE FISH May 4 & 5, Days 11 and 12.

WE HEAR THE FISH May 4 & 5, Days 11 and 12.

By Friday morning the wind was down to the top end of Force 4, and still the music in the rigging around the marina continued, albeit with a different tune. By evening it was calm, Saturday morning too and the only sounds we heard from inside the boat were the fish feeding from the growth on the hull.

The new secondary anchor system was stowed away for both easier anchoring in deeper water, and in lighter winds, as well as back up in case we have to let go the main anchor if it is trapped under rocks or a cable.

We discussed the strong emotions of Anita like feeling the need for more space, and wanting a fixed home, through the Scorpio Full moon (of transformation, accepting what is and facing the fears and anxieties) and through the gales (strong winds affect many people especially those sensitive to changing energies).

The boat looked bright against the still dark sky of Friday afternoon.

On Saturday we visited the ancient town of Scicli with our Maltese friends Andrea and Jenny, which was fascinating with the narrow streets, also baroque buildings. The Town was rebuilt after a devastating earthquake some 500 years ago.. 

Afterwards we went for some boat and personal shopping to Bricoman, Decathlon and the small Iblea shopping mall (Galeria) outside Ragusa.

By evening we were tired and were ready to sleep.

GALE FROM THE EAST GALE FROM THE WEST

GALE FROM THE EAST GALE FROM THE WEST 

May 2 & 3, Days 9 & 10

The weather is the focus these days with low pressure systems tracking across the region. Since Tuesday evening the mooring lines have strained to the forces of nature. We started some cosmetic improvements inside the boat on Wednesday as the wind played music in the rigging of yachts across the marina. By evening the Gale force East wind had veered to SE and we were no longer receiving the small waves against the hull. 

The early evening was more calm with more wind and rain coming after dark from the SW up to Gale force in gusts with rain. Winds and occasional showers continue today, Thursday, so we take a break ashore in the Meeting Room of the marina and go for some food shopping.

Yachts which left in past days to visit Siracusa are struggling there as there is good shelter from East winds but west winds blow across the lagoon into the town quay and marina.

All is well, Spirits are high and we can relax and enjoy siestas.

Mayday Mayday Mayday (Day 8)

May 1 (Day 8)

Mayday Mayday Mayday – the international distress call used by mariners in an emergency and to which we are required to respond and to render assistance, even by relaying radio messages.

When I was younger in England I remember Mayday as the day when young teenage girls dressed in white and wearing garlands and headbands of flowers would dance around the maypole each winding their ribbon in the dance to decorate the pole. That was a beautiful tradition and I remember once being in Bryher (Isles of Scilly) when my friends’ daughter was crowned as the May Queen.

Anita tells me that in communist occupied countries it was the workers day and now that seems to be the main purpose for European countries to take a public holiday.

Sicily is on holiday and the little seaside town and beach were buzzing with people today, giving a taste of what summer may be like here.

It is also Tuesday, a week since we arrived by ferry from Malta, and the day of the open air market at Marina di Ragusa. By the time we arrived on foot the last stall holders were packing up so we were not able to buy anything. We did not come away empty handed though as a few unsold tomatoes and zucchini were left behind and we were free to take some.

After siesta we cleaned and tidied another corner of the boat, and put everything away ahead of the next gale forecast for tomorrow. We are happy to have rented the place in the marina for another month.