We left Ragusa, Sicily before 0800 on the Tuesday morning as there was a small weather window between various fronts coming through. Monday would have been a better day to go as there was some wind but we had to take the hire car back to Ragusa town as they weren’t open on the Sunday and also stock up with food. Sicilians very sensibly don’t open their shops on a Sunday afternoon so we were too late when we got back from Noto. By delaying a day it also gave the sea state a chance to calm down.

The journey over was very uneventful as there was hardly any wind and the sea state was slight to moderate. The only excitement was seeing HMS Bulwark standing on station just outside Valletta. We heard a nearby yacht asking permission to get closer to take a picture. “No closer than 500 yards, Sir” was the reply. The wind picked up as we came in but all was fine. As predicted, the wind continued to build as the evening wore on and was blowing hard by bedtime. However, we were snug in our berth trying to watch one of Liz’s bargain DVD buys. Suffice to say, it stopped working half way through!

Wednesday was spend doing chores on the boat as we will be leaving her for a month. We had wanted to wash her down but we couldn’t add any money to the fob so were unable to ‘buy’ any water or any electricity as the office was shut due to moving a few doors down. Luckily, we have both a wind generator and solar panels so can produce our own electricity. We decided not to get the water maker going but wait 24 hours before washing her. Although the weather is not very hot, it is very nice during the day reaching the mid 20s and then cooling off in the evening. If the wind wasn’t still blowing 16-20 knots the evenings would be very pleasant indeed.