By Thursday lunchtime the wind had died back to under 10knts after 3 days of 20knt + winds. Most of the boats sailing the islands had been holed up in Pignataro and were now all leaving. It was a mainly charter boats with crews of 8 (mostly blokes). We got to know some of them (including one of 4 greek flagged boats with Brits on board). They were all British Gas employees on a boys week out). Pignataro was 50 Euros per night (it is June now) with little in the way of services apart from the usual water and lecky. They did have a fax machine (useful) and posted weather forecasts - and ran round tying all the boats up as they threatened to break away. A German charter boat crew we got chatting to said that last year a couple of boats had banged masts with just the swell from the tour boats. This isn't the most secure place to tie up!
Lipari was a very good town to look around. The museum - what was open of it - was very good with loads of old pots and stuff. Well worth a trip. 6 Euros each to get in. The buses turned out to be very good. Monday and Tuesday was a holiday so no buses but all back to normal on Wednesday. Euro 1.30 a trip but cheaper to get a return or even a 10 trip ticket. Pay on the bus. The taxi from Lipari to Pignataro was 10 Euros. There is a good supermarket and an internet cafe. Bars are expensive though.
I think next time we will moor on the quays nearer the town. It can't be much worse than Pignataro providing there is not easterly swell.
We left after lunch Thursday and headed over to the island of Salina, a 10 mile trip (part drift, part sail, part motor) and went into the harbour there. 30 Euros a night (the cheapest yet). We looked at the anchorage by the harbour but the one boat there was rolling very badly in what looked like quite modest swell. Salina was a pretty little village with some nice restaurants but the small food shops were expensive. We didn't get chance to look around the Island as the forecast for Friday and Saturday nights was again 20knts plus SE which would not have been good in Salina. The harbour is open to the SE and was very rolly the night we were there with little wind. We were parked on the left as you go in - it is plenty deep enough despite what the doom and gloom book says. They seemed to be parking the "big" boats on the outerbreakwater - ie 50ft plus. We are one of the smaller boats here! This also is the first harbour (I won't call it a marina) where there are toilets and showers since arriving in Sicily....but still no internet or woolly mammoths.
Given the wind direction, we had decided to back to Ponente on Vulcano - the only anchorage (or berths) protected from SE in the islands. We will go back to Salina before we leave to bus ourselves round the island. We left Friday afternoon and arrived in Vulcano a few hours later. Only 11 boats in the anchorage and very good protection from the increasing wind. We went ashore to look for somewhere to go and eat but there is not a lot of choice here - just a few very empty hotels. We went back to the boat instead for a beer. We got some really good photos of the sunset - but as usual no internet connection to upload them!
We heard from Trevor and Lesley who are now in Sicily (3 days behind us). We are now very much looking at the weather. If we get another blow like earlier in the week, it will be far better to push on and go through the Messina straights and on to Greece (only 4 days away). However if it is a settled week then these islands are a good option and it would be good to do at least another one and then leave end of next week.
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