Waiting for Gianni...

Garlic for sale in Trapani

We had a few days to kill before Gianni, the mechanic, could start work on the boat which gave us the opportunity to get to know Trapani. It was nice being back in Italy. It's funny how you start to miss ham, bacon, sausages etc. when you can't get them. It was also lovely to have a normal tasting pizza at last - the Tunisian versions never tasted quite right. As well as enjoying the shops we had a good wander round Trapani old town with its grand baroque churches and piazzas.

Trapani old town

Trapani

Chiesa Madre, Erice

One of my father's favourite places in Italy was the nearby medieval hill top town of Erice and it has been on our "to do" list for some time. We made an early start and hopped on a bus for the 40 minute hair raising ride to the dramatic town perched 750 mts above the sea. We walked along the city walls and through the lush park to the Norman Castle of Venus. The panoramic views were amazing but we couldn't quite see over to Tunisia due to the haze. We spent the rest of the morning wandering through the narrow stone streets of the small quiet town. We had the place more or less to ourselves without a cloud in the sky but by the time we left on the midday bus coachloads of tourists were arriving along with swirling cloud.

View down to Trapani harbour from Erice

                                                      Cobbled streets of Erice

Piazza Umberto I, Erice

                                            Torre di Re Federico Secondo, Erice

Erice shop

Back in the boatyard Gianni finally turned up to embark on the awkward job of removing and replacing the exhaust hose. Not a difficult job as such but one requiring a double jointed contortionist. Boat Service Trapani proved to be a good find and we would definitely recommend their services. Finally with no leaks we could move on again. Of course the weather gods weren't helping us now so we moved out of the yard and back to the harbour anchorage to wait for a favourable wind to help us on our way north.

Torri del Balio, Erice

Boat yards and yet more boat yards...

In the travel lift - fingers crossed!

A very dirty bottom!

We were finally ready to have the boat hauled out only to discover that mid May was peak lifting time in Monastir. It's a small yard in the marina with a fast turnover but still we had to wait a week or so before they could squeeze us in. Rather than living in the chaos of a boat on the hard we treated ourselves to an apartment with a large balcony overlooking the marina. It was lovely after a hot hard day's work to have a long soak in a bath - we don't come across these very often! The nice carpet of growth on the boat's bottom was soon removed and thankfully we discovered no major problems. We brought our own antifoul paint with us this time but couldn't get hold of our preferred colour black, so we now have a smart navy bottom and shiny new anodes. While the workers finished the boat we were preparing ourselves for off with the next southerly forecast. We couldn't resist buying six 20 litre olive oil containers to store some extra diesel on deck. At around 0.50 eurocents per litre it was less than three times the cost in Italy.

Walking through town with olive oil containers!

A shiny navy derriere

Splashing time

Our apartment above the customs office

The Capitainerie from our balcony

Marina and boatyard (top left corner) view from our apartment

Ribat and marina view from our apartment

We had a last fillet steak at our favourite restaurant and said our goodbyes to the few cruisers we were leaving behind. With a good weather forecast we decided to try and make the 350 mile passage to mainland Italy in one hit. We had a cracking sail on day one with our super clean bottom helping us slide through the water. At nightfall the wind dropped and we had to continue with the aid of the motor. We passed the Egadi islands at dawn and were escorted by a pod of dolphins as we left Sicily in our wake. The day was going well but on a routine engine check in the afternoon we discovered water in the bilges. The taste test proved it to be of the salty variety, something which is preferably found outside the hull! After considerable investigation we still couldn't identify any specific source. While it was manageable with regular pumping to stem the flow there was always the worry it could increase. We had no choice but to turn around and head for the nearest harbour which was Trapani, north west Sicily, some eight hours away. The ingression of water appeared to be associated with having the engine on so we sailed most of the way and finally dropped anchor in the harbour at 2am.  

Trapani from the harbour anchorage

Moored up in one of Boat Service Trapani's berths

The following day we investigated as much as we could and decided, although unseen, it was most likely to be the flexible exhaust hose. This was quite a relief as we had thought it may have been the P-bracket and for those not technically minded, the strut that holds the propellor shaft. This would have involved another lift out of the water and untold structural work. The coastguard kindly gave us the number of Boat Service Trapani and we arranged to come in to the boat yard the following morning. Unfortunately we had to wait for a few days before they could sort us out but since we couldn't go anywhere it gave us the opportunity to explore Trapani and the local area.

Our final spot in the BST yard alongside a 70ft yacht!