A weather pattern has been setting in where it is calm in the morning and then the wind picks up in the afternoon - picks up to the level where you (or at least I) have to pay attention when I have to moor the boat. It’s OK if it is not a crosswind, but if it is, it can get tricky.
We head for San Leone and, by the time we get there, it’s definitely a cross-breeze of about 12 knots but we get ourselves on to the pontoon without much trouble. Lori is concerned where our lazy line appears to be coming from. Typically they come from in front of the boat back the the bow. Our starboard line seems to be coming from the side. We query this twice, but the marina folks say this is fine. We are not so sure, but try. to rationalize this configuration. We keep a wary eye open in this direction.
Sure enough, when the wind gets up to 20 knots or so, the lazy line suddenly goes slack and True Colors is twisting backwards towards the dock. I switch the engine on and push her into forward to keep her from hitting. I then use the bow thruster to let Lori take up the slack in the lazy line. We call the marina and someone comes to help us attach a breast line that will doubly secure us from gusts from the prevailing wind. It is fine but untidy. The lazy line must have been caught on something below the water and sprung loose when the wind strengthened. We eat on board. Eventually the wind dies and the night is peaceful.
The next morning we tighten everything up even more and determine to be on board when the wind kicks up again.
Our main reason for coming to San Leone is to visit Agrigentum (or Agrigento as it is now called). This is the site of a city founded by the ancient Greeks around 580 BC. Most of the old city is still unexcavated but what has been unearthed is quite special. Most of the remains are concentrated in the “Valley of the Temples”. This is unique as far as valleys go because it’s actually a ridge. But fortunately the temples do exist and there are seven of them in the Doric style.
Many people consider these to be the finest Greek temples found anywhere outside of Greece and some people consider them to be on a par with those in Athens. The main difference is that, while the ones in Athens were built of marble, these are built from the local stone.
We had expected, particularly on this traverse of the Sicilian south coast, to see evidence of the migrant issue. But it has been almost invisible. However, here in San Leone, police are everywhere. Apparently the Libyan foreign minister and the Italian foreign minister are meeting in town to discuss possible solutions. Our cab driver is poilte about the problem but clearly feels strongly that the rest of Europe should be doing more to help Italy which seems to be bearing the brunt of the problem.
The weather pattern is intensifying with even stronger winds for a period each afternoon. More concerning is the forecast for Force 6 winds with gusts to Force 7 for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. This is when we were thinking about going round our final cape on Sicily. This is not looking like a good plan.
The challenge now is do we go round the cape earlier and get into better weather on the east coast of Sicily or do we dawdle along the south coast and go round after the rough weather. We can afford to play this by ear for a day or two all the while hoping that the evolving forecast will point to the best answer.
We move on to Licata, a nice modern marina about halfway along the bottom of Sicily. The wind for parking is 16 knots on the beam. We are, of course, directed to a berth that is completely exposed to this wind. But we manage to park pretty well and settle in for the night. We are still concerned about the weather. We have four forecasting apps, and they are disagreeing about what to expect. What they don’t disagree on is that going earlier rather than later is likely a good idea.
The next marina is Ragusa. We get here in the afternoon and again it is 16 knots on the beam and again we are directed to a berth that has no shelter from the wind. But again we park pretty neatly. Our plan had been to stay here for three or four days and explore the interior, but this is not going to happen due to the weather.
Ragusa is a lively little seaside resort witha good stretch of beach. When we go out for dinner at about 8:00 (early for Italians) people are still playing on the beach and the evening stroll is just starting. We eat our meal people-watching (one of Lori’s favorite pastimes).
Now it’s time for a lesson in the realities of sailing planning. Those of you who like a quiet organized life may want to close your eyes for this part.
We decide to leave early the next morning to give us plenty of time to get round the cape. When we arrived the marina credit card system was down, so they said not worry we could pay them when we leave. We want to leave at 7:00 and when we go to the office it is closed and won’t open till 8:30. There goes the early start. At 7:00, the wind is generally almost non-existent and this makes it a great time for leaving smoothly. By 8:30, it is 11 knots and, you guessed it, blowing across our beam again. No problems on the exit but just a lot more care and attention needed.
The wind is supposed to blow from the west and this part goes according to plan. We get some nice downwind sailing. Three of our four weather models show the wind picking up and then dropping later in the day. Our newest source says that it will pick up but will not abate until late evening. No prizes for working out which one turns out to be right.
So our easy rounding of the cape turns into a motor-sail at 7.5 knots with a 20+ knot wind at our back and a following sea. At this point it’s more fun than annoying. When we turn the corner into the more sheltered water the wind continues to strengthen peaking at about 27 knots and consistently blowing at 23. It means we can sail but with a reduced main. 7 knots on a broad reach - nice.
What’s not nice is the sea. It has followed us round the cape. The land should have reduced the wave height if the waves had continued to come from the same direction. Instead the waves are coming all the way from Africa and are getting larger. The swell is about five or six feet in height. The really good part is that it’s not in front of us - bashing through that would not be a happy time.
We were going to go into a little harbor just up the east coast but it’s blowing 23+ knots and I don’t feel like that kind of adventure. Our speed has made us early, so we decide to push on up to Syracuse - effectively compressing two days into one.
The weather continues unabated for another three or so hours as we travel north. By the time we round the headland going towards the bay, the waves are starting to feel big. But the headland does afford a good bit of shelter from the waves at least if not the wind.
We are passing through a marine park and they have mooring buoys in the shelter of the headland We lasso one rather than continue into the bay to anchor in potentially less-sheltered waters. A few minor amendments to our line setup and we are settled down for the night.