It is quite a while ago since I wrote on this blog the last time and some things have happened since then. On Tuesday we sailed from Porto Teulada to Villasimius, a day trip all along Golfo de Cagliari from the western to the eastern corner. Villasimius was a fishing harbour which was converted into a modern marina. Shops and restaurants are limited but the marina is new and spacious and has good services.
Matilda moored stern-to in marina Villasimius
We left Villasimius on Wednesday at about 12:00 for the crossing to Sicily. Before getting into Trapani next day, we stopped for a rest and a refreshing bath in a bay at the south coast of Levanzo, one of the Egadi Islands. On the last 5 miles to Trapani, I saw some lines in the water just at the time we were running over them. I immediately disengaged the propeller but it was too late. I had to stop and go into the water with a knife in order to cut the lines off the propeller. That was a lot more pleasant though than the bath I had to take in Almerimar harbour some weeks ago for the same reason. We arrived in Trapani at 18:30 and made fast at one of the pontoons of the Lega Navale. We almost run aground because the plan in the Italian Waters Pilot was wrong. Trapani is not really nice and we almost became witnesses in a fight between the restaurant owner and a guest that evening.
Some sailing finally on the way to Sicily
Synthetic scrubbing pads and salt water is all you need in order to brush up your teak
Sailing into the night somewhere between Sardinia and Sicily
Tropospheric propagation delivers AIS signals which are more than 500km away. This is also the reason why there was so much traffic on the VHF radio which was very irritating because there was constantly someone talking on channel 16
Moored on a buoy in Levanzo
Levanzo (Open Water III ???)
A thin but quite long line is wrapped around the propeller
We sailed when we could despite the light wind. Many times motor-sailing made a lot more sense
Trapani fishing boats
We left Trapani for S. Vito lo Capo on Friday and arrived at 17:45. We spent some time on the beach and had a good dinner in one of the many restaurants in this very busy tourist resort.
S. Vito lo Capo lighthouse
Matilda moored in S Vito lo Capo
S Vito lo Capo is a busy tourist destination with very limited marina services at a very high price