Wednesday September 16th started very lazily as we all needed a good rest after our overnight passage. After breakfast and a swim we set off up the Messina Straits. There is a  current of up to 4 knots so you need to time it right or you could find yourself not going anywhere fast. We also needed to get some fuel so we popped into Reggio Calabria. There had been very little wind all day but of course it blew up just before we came alongside the fuel pontoon! The Straits is a very busy stretch and, although there is a traffic separation scheme in place for some of it, you need to keep your wits about you. We managed to touch 9 knots at one point.

We returned to the mooring buoys of Scilla harbour where the lovely men throw in a water taxi service for free.  Scilla is renowned for its swordfish as the local boats fish for it in the nearby bay.

We needed to shop for food but decided against meat as the fridge is playing up again. What we really needed was ice as the beers were definitely getting warm! We walked up the steep stairs to the main town about 20 mins away to find the shops and came across a wedding party who had commandeered the local tourist road train to take them from the church to the reception. There was much honking of horns as they were sent off by many friends on scooters in full morning dress!

We found the supermarket and an excellent greengrocer but alas still no ice so we stopped for a drink at a bar on the harbour front. Liz persuaded them to part with some ice.

Back on board, Katie cooked us a lovely pasta dish whilst Jo sorted out the front heads (toilet) as it wasn’t working properly and parts needed replacing – lovely job for 9pm!