Well we have finally left Sicily and made it to the mainland. We spent a couple of nights at the Yacht Hotel moorings in Taormina and thoroughly enjoyed it. For the first time in months we had a good internet connection (boat to boat) and managed a load of Skype calls. Taormina itself is a fascinating town and needs 2 or 3 days to do it justice. Probably the nicest place we have been to since the Spanish Rias last year! I think the yacht hotel and town are a 9/10 which is the best yet.
If anyone is coming through the Messina straights I would strongly recommend going direct from Vulcano to Taormina and missing out on the very high priced Milazzo or Messina marinas. Reggio was full the day we went and is probably like that most of the summer - and looked a bit of a dump according to one of our friends who went last month. If you are stopping in Taormina, give George (yacht hotel) a call and let him know you are coming. You can't reserve berths but if you are arriving late (after dark) he will be ready to meet you (24hr service!!). No problem getting there in the night. His number is +39 335 8224656. Mention our names if you can.
We left Taormina around 10 ish on Saturday to head up the foot of Italy to Crotone, around 135 miles. There are no stops on the way. There is a marina at Rochella Ionica (spelling!!!) half way but the doom and gloom book advises it might be silted up. We had been told it is now only 2.2m in the entrance and when we went past we heard a dutch boat with a 1.7m draft told that there was a chance of grounding as it was low water!! There was a lot of swell at the time. I would say "no chance" with a boat with a 2m draught. This then was an overnight sail in a mixture of no wind and then 25 knots. We motored for 19 hours and sailed for 5. The sea state was pretty confused and high for a day of little wind - I would hate to do that trip on a windy day! We did end the passage with 2 reefs in. The first time we have reefed in a month!!!!!!!
I did most of the night shift with Pam doing the day shift. The night was mostly cloudless but the moon had done a runner along with the woolly mammoths. It did put in an appearance about 4.30am but what there was of it (new moon) didn't light things up much. I saw one satellite, 2 shooting stars and 3 dolphins and what looked like my first site of the Mediterranean shearwater (eastern variety) with a very white underneath. We got in after 24 hours, quite knackered in zero wind. Berthed in the marina (lots of room when we got in but soon filled up) and within 10 mins the wind was blowing 35 Knots plus from the south. On the way into the marina we saw another Ronautica 400 going out of the marina. The two guys on it waved and then when they saw it was a Ro 400, cheered loudly. They came over later and came on board. One of the guys worked in the factory where they are built in Crotone - I didn't know they were built here! Good to chat in broken English but we did find out that the increasing noise and gunfire(!!!!???) coming from the town was because Crotone football team had just won Serie B and promotion to Serie A. We are in for a noisy night.
We have finally found a marina with good toilets and showers and only 45 Euros a night - a snip (comparatively speaking). We will go and have a look around the town tomorrow - and wash all the salt off the boat. The wind is due to be high tonight and tomorrow so we will stay at least two nights before we set off either for the heel of Italy or direct to Corfu. We are only 130 miles from Corfu so nearly in Greece.
A final comment on my activities with Billy. Billy no mates (no relation to Bogey no mates -who is still with us - just waiting for an opportunity to upload photos) is a small rubbery fish like thing with a big hook up his bum that is tied to the end of a line. Each time we go out, I give Billy a swim, letting the line out behind the boat with the rod and reel that is on the back of the boat. This trip from Taormina, I gave Billy a swim for at least 20 hours. I think he enjoyed it. Some people probably think this is dangerous for Billy as he may get eaten by a big Tuna but this is just not the case. We have been giving Billy a swim for weeks now and no Tuna has gone near him so it must be OK. I think there are about as many tuna in the med as there are woolly mammoths.
As I write this, Sunday evening, the noise from town is increasing, car horns and fireworks - and it is not even dark! Everyone is celebrating. It will be a noisy night!!!!!!
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