and on to Sicily and Pantelleria

We checked out of Malta at Mjarr marina, Gozo, and anchored off for the night before setting sail at 5 am the following morning for the 13 hour passage to Licata, Sicily. We arrived early evening and decided not to pay for a marina berth and instead dropped the hook in the commercial harbour. We went ashore and checked out the marina for a possible future winter location. It’s right next door to a shopping mall with a big supermarket which is definitely a plus. We then had a stroll round the pleasant but tired looking town.  



Sciacca



Sciacca

Sciacca

Our next destination, Sciacca, was a further 50 miles west along the coast. The forecasts showed westerly winds for the foreseeable future so we stayed put for a few days until a small weather window appeared. We set off early and for the next few hours motor sailed along with hardly a breath of wind. Slowly but surely we saw clouds building ahead of us and it wasn’t long before the skies darkened. We quickly dropped the sails, checked the dinghy was secure and battened down the hatches. Just in time. Suddenly the heavens opened, the thunder clapped, the lightening flashed and the winds increased from 5 to 50 knots. As the storm passed over the wind blew from all points of the compass and we were making almost no headway as we pounded into the short steep seas in zero visibility. This continued for a couple of hours until the sun finally started peeping through the dark clouds. We were happy to finally tie up in marina Corollo, Sciacca, and pour ourselves a well deserved drink.

Sciacca ceramics

Ride of a Lifetime on the quay in Pantelleria old harbour

Lago di Venere, Pantelleria

Flamingo enjoying the hot springs

The following day we walked up the steep steps to the delightful old town affording great views down to the harbour below. We stocked up with all things Italian at the local supermarket in readiness for our 4am start the following morning to Pantelleria, a small volcanic island lying roughly midway between Sicily and Tunisia. It was a lumpy crossing but we made good time and by early evening we were tied up alongside the north wall in Porto Vecchio where we remained for the next few days. We hired a car and explored the surprisingly lush island characterised by the jagged lava stone, lots of healthy looking cacti and dwarf vines. The country side is dotted with dammusi - small houses made of the black lava rock with white painted domed roofs. Many of them have been renovated and sold on as holiday homes to the likes of Gerard Depardieu and Giorgio Armani. We dipped our toes in the Lago di Venere where hot springs bubbled to the surface of the fresh water lake and paddled in more hot springs in the rocky cove of Gadir.

Dammusi on Pantelleria

The winds picked up from the west and the harbour wall became untenable with big swells causing the boat almost to leap on to the quay. We moved round to Porto Nuevo where there was more shelter and rafted up alongside a couple of local fishing trawlers. We stayed here for a further few days while we waited for the swell to reduce and a favourable forecast to sail on to Tunisia.

 

The ever present black rock