Leaving Licata for the final time (Terry)

 

Saturday looked good for some north so we planned to depart in the early afternoon for a 20 hour trip.  We intended bypassing Porto Empedocle due to some nasty reports of overbearing officials threatening cruisers with enormous €€€ fines for not much.  We also intended bypassing Sciacca as it would have required an early morning start to get in at a reasonable time.  This way, we would catnap, wake, watch, check, then snooze again but go “dritto” for 100 miles and hit the ↓ on the windlass, then go to sleep. 

The Navionics Route

 

Our final week in Licata was marked with some very strong winds from the West, which didn’t suit us at all.  It did suit some of our friends who were headed to Malta (Malta must be full right now!) but we sat still.  Our friends Cees and Jos, the two Dutchmen on Vasco Da Gama, were preparing to leave a day behind us to come up the same way, and Gustaf and Harriet on Miss Sophie were planning the same day but south to Greece.  Gary and Louise on Takamoana need to do a run to Tunisia to restart their VAT clock as we did and after that they are still undecided.  Martine and Patric are still there but will be out this week and off to Greece.

We made up a giant hamper for the marina staff to show our appreciation for all their work and help, particularly with medical issues and contract issues.  It truly is a well-managed marina, (as was Finike, to be sure) and we will miss Maria and Dario, Emi and the Marineros, particularly Big Tony’s smiling face.

 Emi on my right, Big Tony on my left.  Maria and Dario alongside Tony, Andy and Giuseppe at the other end

 

 A sailor's suit for Maria's new baby

We went up to town to get some money and called in for coffee at our favourite coffee shop, Roma Café, with Signore Toto and his wife Ina – the best coffee in Licata and some of the nicest pastries, and a regular morning drop in spot for us.  Then it was a quick trip next door to Vodafone to say goodbye, hugs and kisses with Antonella who helped us a lot with our various wifi needs over the past 6 months.

 Toto and Ina in Roma Cafe alongside Toto's famous machine

We did a final buy-up at Conad, loading up on milk, Coke, beer, including Carol’s Lemon Beer,  wine, chicken (for our usual Common Sense Chicken Stew, which is actually Miss Jane’s Chicken Stew J), mince for Tacos and Osso Bucco (which are €2.30 for two large cuts here, so we got 4) plus yoghurt, vegies and bread.  Carol snagged a 500ml bottle of home-preserved Artichoke hearts in the street from a man whose wife prepares them at home - €5!

Then it was final showers without a time limit, hand back the shower keys and off to Common Sense.  Miriam off Lady Blue (still deciding where to go as her eldest needs to choose a University soon) shook our lines and we motored out to only a few horns and blasters, unlike the early departers who had upwards of 40 horns going off.  We could see Cees and Jos waving, Gary and Louise, Miriam with her horn but no sign of Patric unfortunately – he has a French Cavalry Bugle that sounds great.  Carol was on the foredeck with her Bahamian Conch Shell sounding out over the whole bay and then it was out the heads and off to new adventures.

We slipped our lines at almost exactly 14:00.  The Autopilot refused to turn on again, although with a different error message this time.  I  turned everything off in sequence, turned everything back on in sequence and finally it engaged and we assumed our normal positions on the settees as we motored up the coast in 5knots True but from directly on our nose.  Nothing new there.

Passing Agrigento, capital of our Province

We continued on through a moonlit night with no variations in engine noise but with occasional currents either helping or hindering – one hour at 4.7kn, another at 6.7kn.

 

Off into the sunset again

Lots of small fishing boats out as we neared our endpoint as it is Sunday and it’s go-fishing day for all the guys.

We are anchored in a bay in Favignana on the west side of Punta Longa with about 10 other boats.  All but one will leave tonight I think (on day-trips from Trapani and Marsala).  We are at 37° 55.059N, 12° 19.147E.   The water is crystal-clear, the wind is up a little but we are dug in well, it is warm and we are all caught up on our sleep.