Ciao everyone and greetings from Riposto, Sicily.
It has been a little over a month since my last blog post and Maelstrom and her crew have most definitely been on the move.
52 NM across the Ionian Sea from Orikum, Albania to Otranto, Italy. 25 NM down the heel of the boot to Santa Maria di Leuca. 72 NM across the Gulf of Taranto to Crotone, then 134 NM along the sole of Italy and across to Porto dell'Etna at Riposto, Sicily. We will sail 99 NM to Ragusa this Friday (weather permitting of course). After a couple of weeks there we will say 'arrivederci' to Italy/Sicily and head to Malta, where we hope to spend a month or so, before heading south-west to Tunisia at the beginning of June.
Being on the move feels a lot closer to the sailing adventure Ron and I had envisioned. As with anything, there are good parts and new/challenging parts.
So grab a coffee, or better yet a glass of wine, and I'll tell you all about it :)
Overnight crossings have become our thing. As it happens, the distances to our chosen destinations have required us to sail overnight if we want to arrive well within daylight hours. And while it may sound counter-intuitive, it is actually easier to bump along at 5 NM/hour across a big expanse of open water when it is pitch-dark than it is to navigate land, shallows, fishing buoys, and perform anchoring or docking maneuvers when you can't see sh*t.
We were about 12 hours into our sail from Crotone to Riposto when our "confident sailing in the dark mojo" got interrupted by a new phenomenon: lightning.
I'll paint the scene: Ron finished his watch at last light, gave me the debrief on our sail trim, wind speed/angle, gusts, wave action and the bogeys he was tracking on AIS and then went below for some well-deserved rest. I was getting myself settled in for my shift. Music: check. Big mug of hot tea: check. Safety gear, and extra warm clothes: check. Feeling good. Then it happened. The whole bloody sky lit up like a freakin' Christmas tree.
As a rule, I am not afraid of thunderstorms - but as a rule, I don't walk around wide-open fields with a giant metal pole in my hand when they are happening either. Being the only vessel on the water for miles with a big ole' lightning rod reaching up to the sky - that's exactly what it felt like.
Now, the lightning didn't just appear all of a sudden when the sun went down. The scariest part is the lightning had been there the whole time...we just couldn’t see it. In the light of day we could see the clouds in the distance. We could see they were no where near us. We could see that we were fine. But in the cloak of darkness, those far-away clouds with their far-away lightning felt like they were directly on top of us. No matter how many times we checked radar for the cloud coverage/movement, or the weather apps for the reported lightning strikes - all validating the lightning was not going to be in our path - I could not shake the overwhelming anxiety that manifested in my heart each time the lightning struck, forcing poor Ron to spend his time-off sleeping in the helm station with me so I did not freak out.
The learnings: a deep dive into CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) and its role in safe sail planning, assurance (more or less) that scary things don't get closer or more dangerous just because it is dark, and continued gratefulness that Ron and I typically take turns being the irrational lunatic...and we need to keep it that way.
Anyways :) Other fun things from the last 6 weeks, with highly credible ratings:
>>Taormina is by far the most beautiful place we have visited so far. I totally understand why it was selected as the filming location for White Lotus Season 2 (love that show!!!). Pics below. 5 stars
>>With the warmer weather comes more foot traffic at the marinas. This means random people stop at your boat, stare in, and often take pictures. Maelstrom tends to be one of the bigger vessels (although never the biggest) and attracts a lot of attention. Living in a fishbowl is taking some getting used to. 2 stars
>>Being docked at the bottom of an active volcano (Mt. Etna) is the coolest thing ever! We did a trek to the top (~3000M above sea level) and somehow hit the jackpot getting to watch it erupt while having dinner on the boat a few days later. Pics below. 5 stars
>>Food and wine. We're in Italy. Enough said :) 5 stars
>>Watching the world go crazy, and my investment portfolio bounce around more than Maelstrom in high seas. 0 stars
>>Watching the Flames work really hard for that coveted playoff spot. 5 stars - come on Flames, just a couple more wins.
>>Learning or seeing something brand new, every single day, that makes me eternally grateful for the opportunity and privilege this adventure has afforded us...100 stars :)
Well, that's it for now. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who is following along and reaching out with love and support. Your messages and kind words make us feel not so far away. Although, if anyone can figure out how to send me Kraft Dinner, Twizzlers and Hot Tamales (I miss them sooo much) I would be forever in your debt.
Until next time, may you have fair winds and following seas.
Charity, xo
Some pics from the last six weeks:
Otranto, Italy.
More pics from Otranto, Italy. Loved this little medieval fort town.
Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy. It was a chilly stay with not much to do being out of season for this tourist/beach destination.
But even though there was not much to do...Santa Maria di Leuca was certainly beautiful.
Crotone, Italy. A pretty little port town with miles of beaches. Come May, this spot will be hopping with tourists.
My small hands might exaggerate the point, but the size of the produce here is crazy. It's amazing what happens when your growing season is all-year-long.
You bring your container and they fill it with wine. Delicious, amazing, wine. At 2 euros/liter. Heaven!!!! Etna Wines in Riposto, Sicily.
Our guided trek to the top of Mt. Etna. Car, then cable car, then cat, then feet. ~3000M above sea level. If I imagine what Mars would look like, I think this is it.
Mt. Etna.
They carve out the snow for the cats. Everything looks like a B&W picture. Mt. Etna.
View of Mt. Etna from our spot at the marina when she is not erupting (just letting off a little steam).
View of Mt. Etna from our spot at the marina when she IS erupting. Sounded like thunder for hours leading up to the event. Crazy cool!!!!!
PS. YouTube videos are Ron's responsibility and to say he has been lax in getting them published is a serious understatement. We have lots of videos to share (including of the eruption) ...if you want to see them, please send him a nudge. A girl can only nag so much - especially is these close quarters. Remember - any man/woman overboard event should be regarded as suspicious.
Taormina, Sicily. Stupid beautiful. Like - how is this place real? beautiful.
Taormina, Sicily.
A pretty great spot for a glass of wine. Taormina, Sicily.
The best part of Sicily is they bring you tasty snacks every time you order a drink. Thank goodness we brought all of our workout stuff onto the boat.
