May. 6, 2008 - We're on our way again!! Second time lucky.......

30.04.08

Yipee! Atlantico is fully dressed again and looks pretty dapper with her new mast and rig, crispy sails and amazing gennaker. The courtesy flag of Italy has been hoisted and the ensign neatly whipped onto the back stay – rule Britannia!!

We set sail from our host for the winter, Marina di Capitana at 10.50 hrs – Nige, me and our superb testosterone crew of Ben, Matty and Matt. Blue skies, sun, a fully stocked boat and guess what? Wind on the nose!! 7 months down the line and you would have thought the wind would have been kind and changed direction for our second attempt to reach Sicily. Still, our tummies replete after a Mediterranean lunch on deck, we settled down to an afternoon of motoring - just lets hope the wind changes in our favour for our first over-night sail – where are you Mary Poppins! As if by magic, the wind veered enabling us to hoist the main and jib for the first time – hurrah. After various tweaks we finally had the perfect set up touching 7 knots. Afernoon tea & bickies duly served in celebration. Ben helming reaching 7.7 knots we put the first reef in. Night watch and the boys did first stint 2200-0200, Nige and I volunteering for the graveyard watch. A couple of dolphins, 3 tankers, a shooting star and, of course, the luminous sea micro-organisms entertained us; together with the ever impressive pitch-black sky studded with the galaxy of so many bright stars – ahhh!!

Boys on Tour

 01.05.08

After brekkie a pod of 10 dolphins decided to perform for us, staying with the boat jumping and diving for some time – magical. Boys sunburnt from yesterday – I did warn them to cover up – had their siesta before night-watch. Nige and I awoke to our 0200 start to the sight of land – hurrah we had made Sicily with mast in tact!! So good to see land after 2 nights/2 days at sea.

02.05.08

We decided to skip going into Cefalu and head on for Portorosa as the facilities were much better especially having showers – well needed by all 5 of us salty sea-dogs! So worth another full day at sea. Again, we were entertained by dolphins, a basking

shark (not of the Jaws type thank goodness!), a huge pink jellyfish and hundreds of Velella Velella (a mini-jellyfish which looks like a small bubble of plastic floating on the surface of the sea but which apparently can inflict a very nasty sting). Ain’t nature grand … finally we arrived in Portorosa at 16.45 having motored along an impressive Sicilian coastline with WOTN yet again!!

Tor tackling the new kite.

03.05.08

Up at 07.30 and Matty scaled the heights to the top of the mast (I hasten to add that I had to do the same thing whilst in Sardinia to attached clevis-pin shackles and new halyards to first spreaders and that was pretty high) to feed a new spinnaker halyard into the mast. Set sail under blue skies to end of the Sicilian coast and into the amazing Messina Straits with full sails and new Gennaker flying – what a marvellous sight! Nige was like the cat that got the cream – proverbial Cheshire!! Fantastic sail for 3.5 hours, wind up to 12 knots, great fun - we were screeching down those straits dodging the many ferries that crossed from Sicily to Italy at regular intervals and who looked like tower blocks compared to us. Arrived in Reggio di Calabria at 1800 exhilarated but exhausted – so pleased for Nige after all the dramas of the past year. Another welcome shower even though I had to share mine with Nige in the male portacabins and the water went cold on us!! Stocked up on supplies for our next two- nighter at sea en route to our evening meal in the town.

04.05.08

0800 hours and off again. The sea was not kind and became decidedly lumpy which was not conducive to pleasant sailing but the thought of reaching Greece at long last spurted us on even if it was 260 nautical miles to go. Cooking was a nightmare but I was getting used to being thrown about the galley on all fours and attempting to control crockery and stuff sliding from one work surface to another whilst praying the boiling water on the gimbled oven didn’t over-spill on top of my head whilst getting the food out of it – superb bruises on knees!! The autopilot was also U.S. so we had the added pain of having to helm manually through the night and following day – oh joy!! We ate in shifts on deck to keep whoever was helming company but the sight of a couple of turtles enlightened the evening added to the fact we only had one more night and day to arrive at our destination.

Dodging the ferries in the Strait of Messina

05.05.08

Everyone feeling jaded today and slept intermittently during the morning to re-charge batteries. Colder too – sun but windy and still a lumpy sea. Saw another turtle and had Fray Bentos pies for supper which were amazingly tasty and comforting with mashed spud and vege. Boys saw yet more dolphins and a funny little yellow bird which kept them company for half an hour attracted to the steaming light. Nige and I had the pleasure of the Ionian Queen, a massive cruise liner which imitated Blackpool illuminations a treat!

06.05.08

Dawn broke to reveal the coastline of Lefkas and we called up the boys from their slumber to have a ceremonious raising of the Greek flag at 0700 hrs. We timed it well to reach the top of the canal and lifting bridge at 0900 hrs and duly made our way to the town quay and perfected a bloody marvellous manoeuvre stern-to!! Well after this voyage of 6 days and 605 nautical miles from Sardinia, 4 over-nights at sea, I think we deserve a moment of back-patting!!

Lifting bridge at Lefkas.

Now we intend to make the most of the boat in the Ionian and we will up-date this Blog as and when and in between having a relaxing and jolly social time with visiting friends and locals alike – pass me my Ouzo Nige ……..

With love to you all. Nige & Tor x x