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!