Sues fast asleep down below, so typing up a couple of blog entries in Word (too far from land to secure a regular web connection), whilst also trying hard to connect to radio email. From my current position the only radio stations I can route through are Ostend (Belgium) and Abu Tig (Egypt), and both seem to be very busy.  Just have to keep trying.

We left Porta Rosa around midday Thursday after first filling the fuel tank, and also our 4 x 10 litre spare cans! 

The weather forecast was not looking good for the 330 miles to Sardinia as it looks like light head winds for most of the first day - and them possibly northerlies for the second.  But up side is when we awoke this morning it was noticeably cooler than we’ve had for the last weeks. 

Last night whilst berthed, we had huge thunderstorm type clouds roll through.  No wind or rain, just black clouds, but think that may have indicated the steamy weather system we’d been experiencing was finally moving off eastward, so fingers crossed for fresher weather tomorrow.

The area of low pressure sitting over the N Adriatic, that we had during our last weeks in Croatia, has in the past week been displaced with an area of high pressure that’s crept in from the west.  In the week since that high pressure has remained almost stationery – stoking the temperatures over the whole of the central Med.  As is normal, such a system results in light west / north west winds where we are.  A ****** really, when you want to go west north west.

But the first part of this leg despite the light winds, has been pretty magical. 

It is cooler which we both appreciate.  Actually nice that I’m not wiping up sweat as I type this. 

The wind has had a little bit of north in it, allowing us to hold our course and sail without engine, albeit at less than 5 knots, along the north Sicilian coast throwing in the occasional tack out to seaward.  Sicily is a bigger island than most people think.  So far we’ve had 100 miles of that coastline slide by us, and still have a further 50 to go before we enter open water.  Then it’s around 190 miles to our destination in Sardinia. Luckily we’ve picked up a west going current along the top coast which has added another 1.5 knots to our boat speed, helping us achieve a reasonable speed over the ground.

But a couple of glasses of pre-dinner red wine, swallowed as we watched the sun go down directly on our bow, whilst Botticelli sang his soul out through the deck speakers, made me realise once again how fortunate we really are.    

It’s not often you see this when on land, but a full moon came up as a bright  silver orb behind us, joining the golden sun just dropping below the horizon in front.  One can’t help but feel somewhat humbled.  In fact, were we not facing a night passage, I was feeling so good I might well have opened another bottle!

Sorry, I have to keep interrupting my typing to jump back on deck and check out for any boats too small for the radar to pick up – but so far boat traffic wise, it’s been quiet.

The last tip of Sicily is slowly rolling past off my southern (port) side, and I can just make out the faint lights of Ustica Island to our northern side.

We’re not pushing the engine tonight, after running so short of fuel on the last leg.  The weather forecast is proving to be accurate, so we’re basically following the rhumb line (a straight line twix two points) and adjusting sails / fire up motor as required to keep us on it.

Last time we visited Sardinia we stopped into the industrial port of Cagliari which is set deep in a bay on the Sardinia south coast.  This time we aim to cross the bay and call into the smaller harbour at Carloforte, on the small islet of S. Pietro that’s part of the Antioch group of small islands set just off the SW tip of Sardinia.  Should be there Saturday midday if things work out.  Our plan is to refuel yet again for the next 250 mile leg to the Balearics, maybe  find a local sheltered anchorage to loose a day swimming / sleeping, before heading onward next day for either Menorca or Mallorca.

Need to also avoid the finance police on Sardinia.  They’ve recently introduced a local cruiser tax on boats above 14M (like us = $500) and whilst it’s not being applied religiously, it has been applied to some visitors.

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Now 1800 Friday 27th.  Had to throw over two flying fish that jumped on board last night.  Slimy little critters.  Did not see one of the as I walked forward to adjust a sail, and turned it into a fish cake.  As he came up through my toes, I remembered why deck shoes are so useful.

Wind has remained light all morning, so we continued to motor sail until things got better around midday.  Skies had a few clouds, but otherwise a warm sunny day.  But not red hot.  HURRAY!

A F3/4 northerly piped in midday, and since then we’ve been bucking along at 7 to 8 knots with the engine taking a rest.  Nice one.  Sadly we’ve at the same time hit an adverse current, which reduces our speed over the ground by 1 knot, but we can live with that.  

Our Sardinian target port is still 120 miles off, so revised ETA now 0200 tomorrow. 

We’re discussing sliding right past Sardinia and maybe extending the leg another 200 miles so we end up on Menorca instead. 

Suits me fine, but methinks Sue will want to sleep on that one and decide early morning.  Aye-aye Captain.

0300 Saturday 28^th

Winds eased last evening approx 1800 so engine on whilst we’ve plugged onward to now be just in line with the most eastern shores of Sardinia.  We’ve still to cross Cagliari Bay and find our island.  I’ve just had 4 hours sleep off watch, and Sues gone down now whilst I do my bit until daylight hours.

We’re still in open seas, but the full moon light is lighting up the water.  We are approx 18 miles south of Sardinia’s lowest point, with a further 70 miles to our destination of Carloforte on S. Pietro.  Never been in there before but the pilot says it’s a pretty islet and town – and we’re hoping not frequented by the finance police too often!  Here’s also hoping, as we’re now into the Italian summer holiday season, there’s room for us somewhere, as the idea of going onward direct to Menorca was binned by the boss.

Interesting sailing across this bit of sea midway twix Africa and Europe.  The chit chat languages on VHF range from Arabic to English.  Even picked up calls from Tunisian and Libyan coastguard stations.  The US and Italian navies have been running some form of surveillance exercise also, as they’ve been busy checking lots of commercial traffic.  I could feel insulted.  Why have they not checked up on us yet?

It’s all another world, but a reminder it’s only just over the horizon. 

Lots of yachts going our way choose to divert into Tunisia for a few days, not least to fill up with cheap diesel and dates.  If we had a bigger fuel tank (say 1,000 litres) we’d probably do the same as it would obviously save money – but with only 250 litre capacity, it’s not worth going out of our way.  And I don’t like dates.

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0730 Saturday 28^th

Wind kicked back in at 30 knots at day break.  Talk about making you work for it.  With only two big winches I had rope running across the cockpit like a spiders web doing it all as we bucked along burying our lee rail.  Think Sue went airborne a few times on her bunk before I got it under control.

But was hard yakka.  Headsail in, reef in, headsail out, second reef in, second reef out, headsail out, first reef out, and finally it was all done.

And what’s the wind done then?  Soddin’ disappeared!

Motor on.

Cheers

JOHN