Our Transit to Sicily & the Calabrian Coast of Italy

On the 21st July we set sail to Sicily. This was not a one day trip so we had to work out where along the Italian coast we could take shelter each night in comfort, a bit of a challenge as the forecast was for variable winds from North to South and West to East!.

Our first stop was a place called Sibari, after 44 NM’s, We had wanted to go into the marina slightly upriver from the coast, which most uncharacteristically was free. Pic from the internet shows it would have been exceptionally peaceful, however we soon understood why there was no charge when they advised us that the entrance had silted up and they could not long accept yachts with a keel!

We therefore had to settle for anchoring off and hope for the best on this seemingly exposed and shallow coast.

After watching the sunset, we settled in for the evening with some vino and a simple easy bite to eat, (chicken salad), knowing we needed to be up early to make the most of the winds the following day. It wasn’t a bad night, not the best, and we were awake before the alarm went off at 6am!.

We set off in a nice W4 on a broad reach….. hahaha, this will explain what happened after 15 minutes…

After a peaceful night, we set sail again on the 23rd for another 58 NM’s, to the east side of the Calabrian coast, whilst the winds weren’t exactly on our side, at least we had winds and we tacked our way along, stopping at a place called Cala Landusa, again seemingly exposed, but grateful to our Navily app recommendation, in perfect millpond conditions with beautifully clear turquoise waters for the night.

Off again the next morning for another 48NM’s to our final stop before reaching Sicily, it was on the southern most tip of Calabria, a place called Galati. Lovely and sheltered to start with, but we weren’t so lucky that night as the swell turned and the night had to be included as one of my rationed rolly polly nights, Suffice to say we were up and off the next morning at dawn, for the final 50 NM leg to Naxos Gardiana and Taormina on Sicily. We even had a little race with another yacht to spice things up! Apart from the swell that kept side swiping us, it was a good sail until, as we approached the coast, we wondered if we had made the right call. Reminiscent of a couple of years ago, it seems that the whole bay has been engulfed in smoke., We weren’t wrong, there were about 4 or 5 fires on the go……although it did seem the Italians were better at getting them under control than the Greeks, thankfully.

We tucked into the Naxos side of the bay to get some shelter from the swell, along with everyone else, at first all seemed fine, until the wind changed direction quite ferociously, swinging us not just round our chain but the chain all the way round our anchor so we were now encroaching the entrance to what they call a marina, we clearly had to move. Sadly to a spot not quite so well protected. An hour later the winds changed again and were hit with an unforecasted storm, bouncing us all over the place and praying our anchor held. Thankfully it did and when the storm passed, we dropped the dingy and decided to go ashore, the first time in days for a bite to eat and feel terra firma.

We took our dinghy into a dinghy dock in the so called marina to be charged €10 for a couple of hours… a sweet introduction to the posher side of Italy, not! Still at least it was safe. we had a wander along the front and finally flopped in a bar called Chantal of all things…..it was only then that we realised that the swell was now working its way into the bay, as we sat and watched Seaclusion rocked from side to side! Knowing what was to come, we stayed out until we were dead on our feet, then dinghied back to her, risking dinghy and limbs trying to get back on her amidst, what were now quite violet rolls.

Suffice to say it was the worst night David has ever spent on a boat, and my second, only being beaten by my time in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, a few years ago, Washing machine, well that is actually an understatement. we should have moved but there were quite a few buoy fields in the bay, unlit so that was hazardous in itself. After absolutely no sleep we did do just that as the sun came up and found a better place under the cliffs of Taormina, where we tried to catch up on some much needed sleep!

A few hours later we dinghied back into Naxos for some much needed provisioning. We decided not to make the 40 minute trip up to Taormina, we just didn’t have the energy, besides we had been there before and remembered it quite clearly. Again, here’s the link to our blog from that time, all those many years ago.

We stayed put another night, to recharge our batteries still further, and admired the view of Taormina from below!

We were now ready to set sail again, up through the Messina Straits.

26th July 2023