Tunisia Drive-by

March 22
After a wonderful winter in the US, it was finally time to load our bags, stuffed with our favorite foods and boat parts, and head for the airport.  Although we tried multiple options to snag a business class seat, it was not to be.  Sometimes happiness is just getting on the plane.  We headed to London to reunite with David and Wendy on Amusant, friends who we traveled with several years ago on the Rhine and Danube into the Black Sea.  They are now back in our favorite wintering place, St. Katharine's Marina in London, and graciously invited us to stay aboard Amusant a couple of days as we passed through.

Lunch time concerts are a
favorite treat in London

In two short days we managed to pack in a stroll through Boroughs Market, stand in line for "day of tickets" to see Kinky Boots, attend a lunch time piano concert.  David and Liz from "Lazy Tern" soon joined the St. Katharine's reunion for the afternoon and then whisked us back to their lovely home in Bury St. Edmunds.  We caught up on news in a thankfully slower gear before it was suddenly time to depart again, this time back to Sicily and Ostinato.

April - Before we could depart MdR, Ostinato needed to have her saildrives replaced.  In Kingsley fashion, he had gathered enough research on the topic to produce a doctoral thesis.  An early plan was to bring back 2 saildrives in our luggage.  You can imagine my relief when that was abandoned.

RIP
King had thought about bring a 
new one back in his suitcase!

It was finally settled that we would buy new Italian Twin Dics Technodrive's from Nani who is located in France, who would ship them to England, who would sell them to us.  Would they drop ship directly.....of course not!  Now that was settled, the next job was to find a yard to haul us out and do the work.  A list of potential mechanics and yards required a spreadsheet.  First we checked MdR.  Yes, they could do it May 8 but King was not pleased with their plan of attack.....something about cutting a hole where there hadn't been one before sent him off the deep end.  It was time for a "road trip"!  Riposto, Porta Palo, Licata.  Each had its own issues...Riposto was expensive, Porta Palo had a rail that had never taken out a catamaran.....we did not cherish the thrill of being the first.....Licata had 2 yards, one had a good mechanic but Ostinato was too big for their lift.  The other had the big lift but not so good a mechanic.  There was no "just right" option.  But in the Italian way, one of them asked us why we didn't haul out in MdR.  When King shared that he was not pleased with their plan of attack, he was given the name of a mechanic that could come to MdR to do the job for us.  In the 4 days it took us to complete our road trip and meet with the new mechanic, the haul out date slid from May 8 to May 22........

Lots of parties on the docks

Lots of goodbyes... 

The 1st of 8 hatch covers!

While we waited our turn, we managed to keep busy.  King with his never ending list of boat jobs, while I pulled out the sewing machine from deep storage to create new winch and hatch covers.   As always, about half way through I began saying "what was I thinking?  I don't sew!"  but King always came to the rescue, giving the appropriate oooos and aaahhs required to get the project finished.  Well actually, Helen, on Dakini, got tired of hearing me whine and came to my rescue by finishing the last two covers.  Thank you Helen!  Birthday parties, goodbye dinners and boat jumbles also kept us occupied as the marina slowly emptied.  Each day, another
2 or 3 yachts departed for the summer.  Saying goodbye to friends we had made over the last 2 years that we would likely never see again was tough.  For us, it was looking like early June before we would start our summer cruise.

Happy 72 King!

May 23 - The haul out, only a day late, went smooth.  While out of the water, we stayed aboard

Ouchie

Paikea Mist, a beautiful 53 ft Beneteau Oceanis, whose owners graciously let us stay aboard while they returned to Vancouver.  The generosity of other sailors is so overwhelming.  We have so much to pay forward. To our amazement, the new saildrives were installed in 2 days (11 hours)! No drama. Paint was then slapped on Ostinato's bottom and she was back in the water ahead of schedule.  No drama......well, I forgot to mention that the ladder fell away from Ostinato as King was beginning to get off.  He landed on his hand which proceeded to swell up like a basketball.

June 7 - It's time to go!  A quick trip to Pazzallo to turn in our "Constituto" (sailing permit) and get passports stamped out should of been a piece of cake but our limited Italian resulted in us missing the location of the Carabinieri's office for the passports and then being sent to Ragusa Immigration Office by mistake.  Ragusa Immigration promptly sent our butts back to Pazzallo, this time with better directions,  but the 3 hours of driving back and forth resulted in cranky dispositions and a late rental car return.

The next morning, King decided we should file for our Permissos before leaving Sicily so we hopped the bus to Ragusa.  We got the same guy at the Ragusa post office who has processed our application for the last two years.   This was a big help.  He already knows we are clueless and treats us nice anyway.  And while we expected to get a date to return for fingerprints and interview sometime in October or even November.....the computer had other ideas.  We must return to Ragusa July 5.   Best laid plans.  I think if we had not already checked out we would of simply stayed in MdR to wait.  Oh well.......

If you had told me even the month before that we would be heading to Tunisia we would of laughed at you.  Oh no, not us! Too dangerous. Then suddenly, we had talked ourselves into doing the 2 day jump from MdR to Bizerte, located on the northern tip of Tunisia.  The plan was to stay long enough to check in, get marina receipts to proved Ostinato had been there, thus out of the EU, and then quickly move north to Sardinia.  This would restart our 18 month VAT tax window for Ostinato and save a trip to Morocco later in the season, our only other option.

June 9 - Of course, the forecasted winds are never perfect but we hoped that the light west, on your

We slipped out of Marina Di Ragusa just at sunrise

nose,  winds would veer to the NW once we got further west.  We might even anchor for the night off Sicily and make the 2 overnights trip into only 1 overnight.  Never big on losing sleep, I liked that idea a lot.  The dock lines were pulled aboard and we were off the docks at 5:30 a.m.  We were greeted with a  slight roll but the winds were less than 10 knots.  Ostinato made great time up the coast with her new saildrives and clean bottom.  King kept both engines running in hopes of shaving a few hours off the trip but the 7.5 knots average was still a surprise.  By mid afternoon we were near the Greek ruin filled coast of Argrigento.  King looked at the weather and recalculated arrival time.  It looked like if we turned south we could make Tunisia with only 1 overnight.  It didn't take long for that decision to be made.

Ostinato had a very fast passage.  We enjoyed extensive time over 8 knots

The seas were calm and the moon was full.  For our first overnight of the season it was perfect for those aboard that tend to get seasick.  Lots of ship traffic kept us busy all night and resulted in King getting his time off watch being disturbed a few times but overall, "not too bad" sez the crew that woke him.  Our speed averaged a whopping 7.5 knots., arriving at the docks at 2:30 p.m.  A 33 hour crossing!  The marina is new so not all of the amenities have been completed, including the fuel dock.  No problem, just call a man with a truck.

Ostinato took on 200 liters of fuel by truck

The marina staff worked hard to make us feel comfortable and welcome.  Officials come to your boat, copy information, asked how much alcohol, computers, TVs etc. you have on board and then do a quick look about.  They did not ask us for "presents".  This was a nice surprise.  We read a few days later the government was cracking down on that.

The plan was to simply check in, rest and then leave the following morning but friends who were in Bizerte just before us had done a tour of Tunis.  It would be a shame not to do at least a day of exploring, wouldn't it?  The tour operator arrived right on time at the marina accompanied by his two daughters who both study at universities in Tunis. They would assist interpreting for their father, giving them an opportunity to practice their English.  As a result, not only did we learn about the area, we also talked about the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia, Ramadan and the Paris Accord on climate change.  As it was Ramadan, they could not eat or drink anything and only big hotel restaurants were open during the day so we packed a lunch.  We both felt terribly guilty for digging into our lunch in front of them, but then again, not feeding me would be worse.

The tour took us to Tunis and included the Bardo museum, originally a 15th-century Hafsid palace, Carthage ruins and the blue and white village of Sidi Bou Said.  We saw some of the most beautiful mosaics we have seen anywhere on our travels.  Tunis also has what appears to be a beautifully maintained American cemetery for those that died there in WWI and WWII.  Unfortunately, it was closed on Sunday, the day of our tour.

A Christian church built by the French in Carthage

All of the road signage was in Arabic and English

Roads to Tunis from Bizerte were US Interstate quality

June 12 - As planned, we didn't overstay our welcome.  Just long enough to learn how to say Shukran, thank you in Arabic.  While we never felt threatened, we were always on alert. Our weather window would not last long so both agreed it was time to hoist sails and head north.  Checking out of Tunisia was ......interesting.  The police came aboard for a look around to ensure we didn't have more people than we arrived with and then left with our passports for about an hour.  When they returned, we were informed we must leave immediately and the officer waited on the dock watching while we untied Ostinato and motored out of the marina.  Off to Sardinia!

The Bardo Museum has the largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world

3rd century mosaic.  Looks a bit Sci-fi

King enjoying a piano concert practice

Sunset as we crossed from Tunisia to Sardinia

June 13 - We arrived in Carloforte at 2pm the following afternoon after a motosail in 5-10 knots on flat seas, under a bright waning moon.  We were met by Trish and Dave, U.S. Virgin Island friends from MdR who had done the Tunisia tax run the week before.  After a welcome Prosecco and exchange of Tunisia stories aboard their beautiful classic wooden yacht, Rob Roy, we crawled back to Ostinato to catch up on some serious missed sleep.  Plenty of time tomorrow to explore.

The walk to the market in Carloforte

The next morning was market day.  I would go to the market with Trish while King would check Ostinato back into Italian waters.  There is no Immigration Office in Carloforte so that would just have to wait.  Thankfully, the authorities are usually relaxed about that for cruisers.

The market fruits and vegetables were lovely.  It took great restraint not to overload.  As I was talking "Where are u"  "Need to go to the ferry NOW"  "CALL ME!"  Finally gave up the electronic plea, he ran to the market to find us, resulting in a mad dash to catch the ferry to Porto Veseme.  In his magical ways King had somehow arranged with the Coasta Guardia to have Immagration Officers meet us to stamp our passports at the Veseme ferry dock.  As we purchased our tickets, Trish ran to the marina to see if Dave also wanted to do the "mad ferry dash".  He did!  Aboard the ferry, we could see them running up the boardwalk.  They jumped aboard just as the dock lines were slipped.
myself out of buying a bushel of the beautiful delicate flat peaches that were piled up in front of me, King was sending me text messages.....

The timing was close to perfect, which was good because the Coast Guardia office in Porto Veseme didn't have a clue to what was happening and kept trying to send us to the ferry ticket office....what else could these Americanos want?  The Immigration Officers led us into the Guardia di Finaza office.  Trish and Dave showed their passports... stamp, stamp.  Ours came out next....whoa,  not so fast.  "you have residency permit"  no need to stamp passporte"  While she was probably correct, we also know that this understanding is not consistent across all immigration officers.  Please, please, stamp our passaporte.  It was only with extensive group whining and with great reluctance that we finally got stamped in.  Whew!  Off to a fabulous lunch and then back on the ferry to return to Carloforte.   By the time we got back on the ferry we were HOT.  This resulted in us changing seats from the front to the back in search of air conditioning that would blow directly on us.  We ended up surrounding some poor man that had thought he might catch a bit of sleep on the ride.  It was not going to happen.  Thirty minutes later we were back in Carloforte and headed for Ostinato.  Thankfully, we had left the air conditioning on!   Minutes after our arrival we realized that my Permisso (residency permit) was missing from our folder.

We rushed back to the ferry.....which left the dock just as we approach!  The ticket office called the ferry for us to see if my Permisso had been found.  Nope.  2 tickets on the next ferry took us back to Porto Veseme.  I was tired and hot, making King, who was in charge of the paperwork, in deep, deep trouble.  Not that it would of been much better if it had been his Permisso that was lost instead of mine but at that point it would of helped.

We retraced each step including searching through the sofa cushions in the Guardia di Finaza.  The poor guy who let us in had not been there earlier so had no clue who we were or why I was tearing through his couch but wisely chose not to get close to the crazed Americano women.  The restaurant was closed so we rang the bell.  We weren't let in to search but we left a card with our email just in case it was found.  To be honest, the man spoke no English and had no clue what the heck we were talking about despite my best pantomimes.

Walking back to the ferry dock, searching the ground as we walked, we began to admit defeat and started discussing contingency plans.  What would happen at our July 5 appointment in Ragusa to renew our Permissos if I didn't have my old one?  We were a couple of sad campers sitting on the Coasta Guardia steps when the ferry finally came into sight.

One last bit of hope raised us to our feet as we saw the name on her bow. It was the Conte, the ferry we had ridden back to Carloforte earlier that afternoon.  We were the first to step aboard and rushed to the passenger lounge where we checked the seats we had used earlier, in the stern first and then the bow.  Nothing.  A ferry employee saw the search and confirmed nothing had been found.

The boy lives!

Both of us finally collapsed in a nearby seat, defeated and exhausted.  King suddenly got up and
walked across to the area we had just searched but looked in the first row instead of the second.  We had both forgotten that we had been seated there also...........and there it was, the size of a credit card, lying on the floor underneath the seat.  King would live another day!

Dave & Trish check the map.  Not sure how we managed to
get lost on an island the size of Shell Point but believe me its possible

WWII lookouts still dot the coastline

breathtaking scenery

The pink flamingos in the Carloforte salt flats were a nice surprise

Cappuccino Art

Sleeping in a Disco

Note:  As I began writing the 2017 Blog, I realize my last blog of the 2016 sailing season was never published.......so here it is!

July 26 - We turned north again, heading to Scario, which rewarded us with a festival and concert that

Summer festivals along the coast
bring out big crowds of all ages

was pleasantly over before midnight.  The fireworks display was the best we have seen this summer.  The fact that the display was being launched directly in front of Ostinato had a bit to do with that.  We anchored just right of the entrance to the marina where, after the celebration, we were able to enjoy a well deserved sleep in calm waters.   From Scario, we turned back to the south looking for interesting short days where we could anchor and enjoy a swim.  No rush.  Some were  much better than others.  Isola di Dino was too deep so we settled on a spot off San Nicola Arcella, tucked in with the fishing boats.  The next anchorage was Centraro.  It had a Lidel grocery which is always an adventure.  We set off for the mile hike but was soon offered a ride by a man handing out cards for his restaurant.  King asked "how much" for the ride and was told "no charge, no charge"....and he would give us a ride back!  Cool....we understood, of course, that we would eat in his restaurant that night in exchange.  We loaded up on more than we could otherwise carry including a replacement for "Litlle Bill" our power washer and sure enough, he was waiting for us in the parking lot as we emerged.....what a sweet man....later we cleaned up and dinghied back to shore for dinner.

The place was empty at 2000 but that didn't surprise us.  We tend to eat early when we go ashore.  The food was marginal but it didn't matter.  We were still basking in how nice it was to be offered a ride.  Toward the end of dinner, the "sweet man" bought a 8 oz jar of tuna to the table.  His son had caught the tuna and they had "canned" it.....and we could purchase for €20.  hmmmm  "No grazie".  Dessert?   "No grazie"....just the check.  When produced, King tried to pay with credit card..."machine broken".  King then whipped out a €50 bill.  The "sweet man" produced a 5 as change for the €30 dinner bill.  King had smaller bills and gave him the exact change.  This was apparently not how "the sweet man" had envisioned the night would go.  He now demanded that we pay him for the ride to the grocery.  It was not how we had envisioned the night either.    King gave him €5 and we left the restaurant feeling sad that all of that good will we had felt had evaporated so quickly.

These guys are huge!

Off to Vibo Valentia the next morning.  From Vibo we hoped to catch a train further south to travel back to Reggio Calabria to see the Bronze Worriers that we had missed on the way north.  We arrived late so decided to anchor outside for the first night and then enter the marina early the following morning for two nights.  There was little wind to keep us cool and an uncomfortable roll crept into the anchorage after dark making us regret our decision.  We both really appreciated tying up and plugging in the next morning.  Air Conditioning!!  The marina is run by a Canadian who helped us locate necessary supplies and assisted us with catching the train to visit the museum with the Bronze Warriors......which were truly awesome.

August 1 - It is the beginning of vacation time in Italy!  While the anchorages and marinas have been

We poked our nose in the marina at Tindari
but didn't go ashore

crowded on weekends, we are told that's about to change as all of Italy goes on vacation for the month of August.  Yikes! Tropea was our last stop on the Italian mainland.  I had looked forward to exploring the village sitting atop the hill.  No wind but a significant roll made the anchorage uncomfortable.  Bad enough that even launching the dingy was out of the question.  I didn't squawk too much because I really wasn't sure I was up to walking up the 200 steps up to reach the city in the intense heat. 

The winds continued to be mild so we decided instead of jumping to the west side of Sicily we would cross the mouth of the Messina Straits  and cruise its northern coast.  Stops included the industrial city of Milazzo and then to Tindari where we anchored below a hilltop monestary.  A motor sail west to Capo D'Orlando the following day where we planned to anchor just outside a marina that was under construction was perfect.  We arrived early and spent a tranquil day enjoying the solitude and the clear, cool waters.  That is until about 1700 when the Coasta Guardia arrived to tell us anchoring was prohibited in the area.  Best laid plans.  Anchor up and off to Sante Agata where we luckily found space in the anchorage just as the

Anchorage in Cefalu

sun fell below the horizon.

And then.... another up and early day to Cefalu to spend a few days exploring the ancient city.  We had again planned to tie up in the marina on our 2nd day but watching boats in the marina pull and lunge on their lines gave us flashbacks of Sapri.  No thanks.  We did pay to tie up the dinghy so we didn't have to drag it up on the beach but even that was frightening, requiring you to leap from the dingy and lunge for a pole at the end of the dock.  Walking down the dock was like a navigating a balance beam in a hurricane.  It took a lot of nerve for the marina to charge for the experience.  Saying this, the anchorage was not perfect.  We had 2 boats arrive who were bound and determined to anchor next to each other.  This resulted in one of them being within a couple of feet of us.  On the second day, we moved.....and so did he.  Again STILL way too close.  Sometimes you just give up and live with it.

August 6 - We strolled through the pretty little town to visit its Byzantine church.  Our timing was

Cefalu is known for its 12th century cathedral with 2 towers

perfect!  Just as we arrived in the main square  a marching band....complete with majorettes, ages 4 - 10, was preparing to parade through Cefalu's narrow streets.  They marched past our position in front of the cathedral and through the large ancient doors of the Cloister.......we followed.  Here they received a blessing from a priest who magically appeared onto a balcony. Once properly blessed, everyone marched back out and up and down the winding streets throughout Cefalu, never quite out of ear shot.  The town's summer festival had begun!  We didn't know quite what that might mean until we learned that a nightclub was just behind the small anchorage.  At midnight we both sat bolt upright in bed as the music began.  The only thing I can say is the DJ was really great.  I just wish it hadn't felt like he was on our boat!

Who knew my cat Ziggy owned
a cafe in Sicily!

August 8 - A motor sail this morning got us to Palermo where we had made reservations at the Yacht Club.  The wind was blowing 15 k across our starboard side but King nailed the med mooring.  Easy, peasy ......the way it always is at the end of the season.  Palermo held plenty of treasures and the marina was well situated.  After a 5 minute walk we stumbled onto the free tourist bus that dropped you off at the major sites. We became its best customer for the 2 days we spent exploring the city.  My favorite find was the Ziggy Music Cafe.  I'm sure it must be named after my sweet cat Ziggy who waits patiently for my return at home.

Ok, there really were some better sites than the Ziggy Cafe to be seen in Palermo and the nearby town of Monreale where the stunning Palatine Chapel is located.  Here's just a sampling.

King stood in line in Ericefor sweets to take home

a gondola ride takes you to
ancient Erice

August 10 - The lack of wind continued as we motored further west.  However, once we rounded the NW tip of the island, we were hit head on with 15 knots and a lively chop.  Thankfully, our destination, Trapani, was only 15 nm to the south.  Reservations had been made ahead at Vento di Maestrale and the dingy met us as we entered the breakwater to guide us in.  While not quite as well done as the marina in Miseno, the marineros hopped aboard making it easy enough.  The plan, stroll the town the first night, bus to Segesta to see the ruins early the next day and then off to the Egadi Islands in the afternoon.

It was not to be.  We did indeed stroll the town and had our obligatory gelato.  The following morning we hopped on the free bus and made it to the station.....but soon learned the hard way there are 3 bus stations in Trapani and, of course, we were not at the one that would take us to Segesta.  We arrived at the right place 10 minutes after the Segesta bus had departed.....and just in time for the marina to call to tell us they needed to move our boat.  Did we really get up at 6 a.m. for this?  Back to the marina.  We had decided instead of moving we would leave since check out was 2:00 which would not give us enough time to make the trip tomorrow.  However, when the marina heard what happened they offered to let us stay late the next day at no extra charge......and that's what we did.  So the day wasn't a complete wash, after we moved the boat, we made our way by cable car up to the top of Mt San Giuliano where the ancient Greek site of Erice sits at its summit.  Stunning!

King thinks the "best seats in the house" 
could use a bit of padding

Up again at the crack of dawn and this time we made the bus with time to spare.  King and I, along with one other couple, made the hour long bus ride to Segesta, arriving at its gates before opening time.  We had the place to ourselves.....hiking up the steep hill for way too long to visit the amphitheater and a few other sites that have been unearthed.  While not the most elaborate site we have seen, the location was indeed stunning, sitting at the top lush rolling hills that seem to go forever. The Temple of Diana was located back down the hill and, thankfully, a much kinder hike.  And then we had 2 hours left before the bus would return.  Why did we take the early bus?

Our view as we hiked up the hill gave us plenty of excuses to stop and rest

The stage was prepared for a performance later in the evening

We have been communicating with people in Ragusa concerning our Permisso (permit allowing us to stay longer than 3 months) renewal off and on all summer. In an attempt to time our return to Marina di Ragusa our last question was do they use 2 months or 60 days to determine the earliest date of submitting a renewal application.  The answer was...Oh, that's just a guide.  If you need, you can submit earlier......Not what we wanted to hear since we had tried to do it last May and was told "too early".  errrrrrg.  And now we are within a week of being 60 days.  Oh well.  Off to Marina di Ragusa we go.

Egadi Islands, a small island
 grouping off of Sicily's west coast

August 12 - No time to go ashore but we wanted to at least do a "drive-by of the Egadi Islands while we were so close.
 We left Trapani and headed west for Favignana.  The winds were blowing 15-20 knots making a quiet anchorage a bit doubtful but King located a spot, along with 10 other yachts, where we could tuck in for the night.  We will be back!

The following morning we raised anchor and began our movement east back toward the southern Sicilian mainland to Sciacca.  We attempted to anchor  just off the marina but got shooed away by the Costa Guardia even before we got the anchor down.  Too late to go much further so we found a spot, the required 300 meters off shore, on the east side of the marina off a small camp ground.  It was a surprisingly quiet night considering the openness of the anchorage.  The following morning it was on to Licata where King was able to  negotiate a deal for a slip for the night.  Licata is another live aboard marina in Sicily so we were looking forward to checking her out.  It has a mall with a BIG grocery story within feet of the marina!!  Whoa!  very exciting.  Enough to make us want to move from MdR.....nah.

August 15 - Ostinato anchored off the beach in Marina di Ragusa, glad to be back but not quite ready to tie up for the winter.  We snuggled into bed about 10 pm only to be awakened by people talking next to the boat.....good grief, did we drag up on the beach?!  Minutes later there was a boom that shook the boat!  Fireworks!  We staggered out to the cockpit to find we were on the front row of MdR's festival fireworks.  While we slept, we had been surrounded by boats who came out to enjoy the show.  And what a show it was!  A perfect ending to the sailing season.

September 22 - Since our return we have been busy with getting our Permissos renewed, (yes we get to stay another year!) preparing Ostinato for winter, a bit of land traveling and reconnecting with sailing friends.  The days seem to fly by.  Reservations for our return home.....well, at least the Comiso to London part, have been made. With a bit of Buddy Pass luck we will be back in Shell Point by October 18....or there abouts.

"A bit early", those of you that know our routine may be saying.  Wellllll...As was part of the original plan, our fabulous house sitters are ready to start their own cruising adventures.  I just can't believe its that time already! While we are looking forward to spending this Thanksgiving and Christmas in our own home for the first time since we left four years ago, Martha and Scott will be off making their own sailing memories.  They will be sorely missed by King and I who have depended on them for so much but even more so by our kitties, Ziggy and MK, who they have lovingly cared for as their own. Bon Voyage!

bring a big pillow

Ruins litter the southern coast of Sicily

Kingsley looking for a slip for the night

Overlooking the roundabout in Palermo

The mosaics in Palermo are stunning

Rounding the NW tip of Sicily the wind kicked up a bit