The Messina Straits and Scilla

by Chantal & David · Published August 20, 2023 · Updated January 3, 2024

On the 26th July, we set sail from Taormina up to the start of the Messina Straits. Knowing we had to time it right to be able to get through with the tide/current that passes through, we decided to sail the 30nm to a little family run marina called Porto di Boralo just south of Reggio Calabria for the night, so we could leave in time the following day to pass through the infamous straits without going backwards! It was a great sail in a NW4 albeit with some tacking involved. We arrived to this quirky little place and snuck into the perfect spot alongside. I will let the pics do most of the talking!

The water to so amazingly clear that after a session cleaning the boat, David above decks, me below, I decided to go for a swim,. I would remind you that up until this point the waters had been 32+ degrees, more a kin to a bath. Boy was in for a shock….If only David had a camera to hand when I re-surfaced….it was the quickest swim ever this summer, but I was certainly refreshed, not surprising when having popped the instruments on I realised the sea temp was 21 degrees!

Later, dinner out, a bottle of vino and some much needed sleep was in order and we woke in the morning to do some provisioning and set off to reach the north flowing current through the straits. Unfortunately half an hour before we were ready to set off, unforcasted, the winds turned southerly and we had a very healthy 20 knots blowing us off the quay. Under normal circumstances that would have been brilliant, but not here in this very very very did I say very narrow port.

Having popped Seaclusion aggressively in astern with the wheel hard over towards the quay even before letting the stern line off, believing, hoping that would be sufficient, we let the stern line go, but before I had a chance to blink, I had lost it, the wind just took her stern spun her round, thankfully with the bow still tied off. We had foreseen this would be difficult so had requested one of the marinellos be on board the yacht on the other side of the quay in the owner’s absence, and thank God we did. He managed to fend off the dinghy, which was on our davits, making us 14 metres long not 12, as we spun. I daren’t look at the depth gauge, knowing it was pretty shallow and with David bravely holding onto the bow line we had just enough space and depth to do a 180 and motor out forward at a pace. Suffice to say it took some time for both our heart rates to come back to normal and enjoy the 15nm sail, under our genoa only with the wind behind us, through the straights and navigating around the numerous ferries all of which have right of way, until we finally arrived at the buoy field just outside the quaint town of Scilla on the Italian mainland north of the straits at 2pm.

We then spent the next few hours relaxing, putting the mornings traumas behind us before the guys who ran the buoy field came and collected us in his rib to take us to shore for a wander.

Scilla

Scilla (pronounced sheella) is a stunningly-located fishing village in the Calabria region, a rocky spur topped with an ancient fortress separates two narrow strips of seashore hemmed in by steep hillsides. Scilla is squeezed into this restricted and picturesque landscape, it is an unforgettable sight.

Scilla is straight out of myths; it is traditionally the home of the fearsome monster Scylla who, along with Charybdis, (over the sea towards Sicily), guarded the narrow Strait of Messina and menaced Odysseus / Ulysses as he sailed by. According to the town’s tourist information leaflet “the origins of the castle date back to Ulysses”. Even if you don’t believe the mythological connections, the geography of Scilla’s castle on a commanding outcrop guarding the entrance to this important shipping route must have made it an important site for millennia.

Today Scilla is a pretty little town where you can relax on the beach, visit the castle or wander through the old fishing settlement taking photographs, which is just what we did!

We had a wonderful evening in the back streets, with a platter of cold meats and cheese with some some great local rose wine, before heading back to our “ferry” home!.