Finally, we have managed to get ourselves over to mainland Italy and into the Ionian Sea. We left Siracusa at 1800 just as this amazing motorised trimaran arrived. I have never seen anything like it.

We have really enjoyed our time in Siracusa, if only for the entertainment value of watching others moor stern to with their anchor – some nationalities appear to think that it’s an optional extra. It has been brilliant spending a few days just chilling and playing tourist. I think it has helped both of us to relax. The sail or motor over, to be more accurate, was pretty uneventful. The swell was moderate so we both managed to get some sleep during the 16 hour passage. The only memorable moment was sunrise. 

We arrived at 11am into Roccella Ionica and went straight to the Fuel Pontoon as we were planning on leaving early tomorrow. Having phoned the number on the fuel berth, a chap arrived about 50 minutes  later, which I think is quite prompt for Italy. The marina itself has finger pontoons, a rarity in the Med, although they are styled on the French ones so that they are incredibly unstable and only go half way along the length of your boat! Still, at least we didn’t have to deploy the gangplank and we will have an easy exit tomorrow having reversed into the space.

During the afternoon, a number of other boats came in and it was lovely to see so many different nationalities. On our pontoon we have Dutch, French, Swiss and ourselves. Not one visiting yacht was Italian.

We were planning on going into town to explore but Nimmie had other ideas. As water and electricity are included in the overnight stay price, we washed all the sand, sea and grime she had collected since leaving Malta almost a week ago. We pretty much did the same to ourselves as well!  We also found a leak in one of the hatches so that was taken apart and mended. All in all, we are still sitting in the cockpit at 1930!