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Madame Curie on a holiday cruise

This year Madame Curie is going on a holiday cruise. Click here to read all about her new adventures.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Arrived in Cagliari

This morning I turned off the engine at 7 o'clock after berthing in Cagliari, on Sardinia. It was a very comfortable crossing, but it took forever. A more detailed acount will follow, but first I need a siesta!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Crossing to Sardinia

Tomorrow I will leave for Sardinia, 16th of August. Because my last crossing was rather uncomfortable, I'm not really looking forward to this crossing. Kind of strange, that the last crossing planted this little seed in my brain. I actually already looked into shortening my Atlantic voyage by making an extra stop in Lagos, Portugal. Let's hope this crossing is wonderfull, so I will no longer dread future long crossing. It is approximately 300 miles to Sardinia, but the currents are against me. So I think (and hope) it will take 5 to 6 days to arrive. The weather forecast are favorable, not too much wind.

I will let you know when I get there!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Sicily

Of course there is a lot to see and enjoy on Sicily. And, my parents have joined me for a couple of days. Before my parents came, I sailed south to visit Siracusa. Siracusa was one of the recommended cities in my toursit guide, so I wanted to visit this city. The distance between Catania and Siracusa is rather big, approximately 30 miles, so it takes me all day. I arrived around nine o'clock. Because I wanted to safe some money, I decided to take anchorage, I'd pull into the marina the next morning.
Rather windy anchorage.
The next morning it was rather windy. To makes matters worse, the wind was perpendicular to the town quay and the marina berths. Hmmm, should I go now, or wait for the wind to go down in the evening? If I wait for the evening, I won't be able to see the city, because I had to sail back to Catania the next day to pick up my parents. Hmmm. The flags do seem te be hanging down a bit in town. Should I sail over to the marina just to check out how windy it is there? Just as I had decided to sail to the marina to check, my neighbor came over in his dinghy. "Do you need transportation to town?". "Yes please, that would be great!". So I no longer needed to pull into the marina. (There was way to much wind for me te row my dinghy into town). Siracusa was lovely.
Church in Siracusa
Ortiga, the old city of Siracusa
The next morning, not to early of course, I left for Catania to pick up my parents. Together with my parents I wanted to sail through the strait of Messina. In 2005 I had already gone through the strait with the navy, but doing it with my own boat would be really special.
The first obstacle was getting on board. I have become used to jumping from and on board, but for my parents I borrowed a passerelle. That turned out to be challenging enough! The first day my parent had a rough introduction to sailing the Med. The distances between ports vary from 20 to 30 miles. There was quite a lot of wind, seven beaufort, and we were all soaked when we pulled into Riposto.Berthing in the marina was very challenging despite the extra help on board. The weather forcast for the next day was not much better. Again to much wind. We switched to plan B, and visited Taormina, one of the most touristy city of Sicily. To get there we had to walk to the train station, take a train, and finally took a bus up to Taormina.
Amphitheatre in Taormina
While we walked through the ancient amphitheatre I had a strong deja vu feeling.I think I have been here before. Hmmm. Five minutes later I was sure, I was here in 2005! Rather stupid, all this trouble to get there, and I had already been there. I walked the city again, and tasted the local specialty: arranchini. I had the pistacchio variety.
The next day we sailed for Messina. The wind was a lot more pleasurable, but it was still a rather long sail. We arrived in Messina motorsailing around ten o'clock at night.The strait of Messina is known for its gusts of wind rolling down the mountains, and the eddies, so the most narrow part of the strait of Messina is only navigable for a small sailing yacht during slack. Fortunately slack was not too early, so I could sleep in till about nine o'clock. Around eleven thirty we set sail. Immediately after departure we were treated to a show of typical fishing boats. These special boats are used to fish for swordfish in the strait of Messina. 
A long extension, about one and a half boatlengths, protrudes forward. A guy with a harpoon sits there ready to spear the swordfish.

On top, four men sit to look out over the water to spot the swordfish. It was very impressive to see these boats circle in the strait. We could wave at them from very close by!
To reach the most narrow part of the strait we had to tack, but we could do almost the entire strait under sail. After rounding this electricity pole we navigated the entire strait. No weird currents or eddies, great wind, and a fantastic sail.
Proud that we had sailed the strait we continued to sail to the next harbor, Milazzo. Much later than planned we berthed in Milazzo.The next morning my parents left the boat. I think they had a great time.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Be careful what you wish for.

Be careful what you wish for.
Maybe it will happen.

A couple of minutes before I departed from Patras an Australian boat berthed next to me. I talked a bit with my new neighbors, and the skipper asked me where I was heading for. When the skipper heard I was sailing for Sicily he wished me a good crossing. I replied, that I was only wishing for a fast crossing. Well it was a very fast crossing.

Sure, I am happy I made it across, but what was the crossing like? Well I left Patras (Greece) around twelve o'clock, and that coincided with the start of a local regatta. So the entire afternoon I was surrounded by Greek sailing boats. To exit the bay of Patras we had to tack, and because Madame Curie is slightly slower than the other boats, I saw all the other boats at least once.  It was perfect sailing weather, and Madame Curie was doing between 4-4.5 knots. When night fell I was between the islands of Zakyntos and Kefalonia, and the wind eased off completely. So let's start the engine. After about an hour the wind returned. So I hoisted the sails, and returned to sailing!

Usually I sleep from about one hour after sunset till 10 AM. That means, I sleep for 15 minutes, wake up and check for boats and the weather, and go back to sleep. So actually I sleep about 45 minutes per hour. Because I was relatively close to land the first night I couldn't always sleep the full 15 minutes because of the many small fishing boats.

During the next day the wind increased to at least 6-7 Beaufort. A reef in the main, a reef in the genoa, and a reef in the mizzen. The wind was a little broader than close hauled. Madame Curie raced over the waves.

The waves were a lot higher than the wind suggested. During the day I started to feel rather nauseous. I had to hang on all the time, using both hands. At one point, as I was climbing down the companionway ladder a huge wave hit Madame Curie, and I smashed my back against the side. Since then, my back was hurting. The absolute low of the crossing came when I started to throw up all over Madame Curie. The big disadvantage of puking all over the boat is that as a single hander you have to clean it up youself! Even sleeping on the low side on the sofa was impossible. Because of the rolling on the waves, I was launched from the sofa. So I decided to place the matras on the floor. This way it was at least impossible to fall. 
Matras in between the table and the sofa.
The next day was not much better. Still a lot of wind, high waves, and me being nauseous. It was still impossible to cook. Much to dangerous. The only advantage I could see was that I was making great progress. Looking at the GPS made me feel better.
The fourth day was fabulous. The wind decreased, Sicily became visible, and I ate more than the first three days combined (all food which is thrown up in 15 minutes doesn't count). During the afternoon the wind died even further, so I engined into Catania. The next video shows that the sea can be a lot friendlier. The swell as a result of the wind the previous days is still visible.
To finish, a picture of a calm sea, and the Etna.
Next time a fellow cruiser wishes me a good crossing, I will reply that I wish for a comfortable crossing!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Made it!!!

Made it to Sicily.
It was a fast crossing.
I was very seasick.
I am very happy I have arrived.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Goodbye Greece

Goodbye Greece, I really enjoyed my time in Greece, and I am sorry I have to leave. I have met many wonderfull people, mostly fellow cruisers. Everywhere I have met helpfull and friendly Greeks. Goodbye!
Beautiful bays.

Save harbors?

Superb views

Amphi theatre in Delphi.

Ruins in Delphi.

Very modern bridge crossing the Korinth Gulf
Is this really Greece? Yes!!!