18th July

What a frustrating day. We were meant to be lifted out before 9 a.m. It was actually past noon by the time we were on the hard, just in time for the men in the yard to knock off for lunch. While they were away I failed to get the propellers off despite phoning the UK agents for help. Eventually about 4 p.m. I managed to get help. Once the right bolt had been removed it was simple. That left just enough time for an ice cream before catching the bus to the airport. After that things went well until we arrived in Stansted where there were long delays for passport control and then again to get our luggage. When we eventually got to our flat we were glad to be there.

17th July

We're passing time waiting to get lifted tomorrow and then set off home. In the morning we went for a walk. After we cleaned and tidied the boat a bit more. In the evening we went for a meal in town. Light winds are forecast for tomorrow which is good. They would have been too strong over the last few days.


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16th July

We set off early to visit Ragusa. This is the old town some 20 km away. The buildings consist of a crowded heap of houses mixed with palaces and churches all crawling up and down a small stump of mountain. Fortunately the wind kept the temperature down. Back on the boat and it was time to chill and then carry on cleaning Imagine.

15th July

Well now we know, the Maestrale reaches Sicily. We were woken this morning by a thud as Imagine bounced off the harbour wall. All day she strained at her moorings as the wind pushed her onto the quayside. At least it was nowhere as hot. In the evening we put on long trousers and fleeces to go for a walk, and even then Lucinda felt cold. Waves were breaking over the harbour wall. The beach was deserted but the kite boarders and surfers were enjoying the waves.

14th July

Well this is our final stop until we come back in September. It seems a pleasant enough place. Today we prepared Imagine for her summer rest. She'll be lifted out of the water on Monday so I can take the propellers home with me. That will stop someone stealing her.

13th July

We left to Ragusa on the last leg of this section of our journey. We motored across a large bay so we saw very little of the land along the way. Once in Ragusa we refuelled and were directed to our berth. Tomorrow we'll explore.

12th July

We said farewell to the Greens and headed out to Licata. Nine hours of motoring later we were there. So were Anne and Peter on Whitecat. It gave us the chance to catch up over a beer in the town before we headed back to eat on board Imagine.

11th July

Today we headed further east to Sciacca. The marina is tucked into one corner of a large fishing harbour. The old town overlooking the harbour is reached by ascending several terraces of steps. Sue and Roger leave tomorrow and we had our final meal together in a restaurant overlooking the sea.

10th July

Lucinda cleaned the boat, Sue and Roger went shopping and I read the paper. We headed out mid morning, destination Mazara 14 miles to the south east. Later we hit a dense fog bank but we sailed out of it by heading back inshore. Then we were visited by four Dolphins. They were pretty big and languidly made a few passes under our bows before heading off. Clearly not the leapy sort. We eventually arrived in Mazara, the largest trawler port in Italy. At the entrance a man in a boat beckoned us to follow him to the other side of the harbour. He wanted us to moor alongside a grotty motorboat where we would almost be touching the bottom. We said no thanks. On the way out we touched the bottom but managed to plough our way through the mud to deeper water. We then went to the pontoon where we were charged a steep fee. The wind was in the wrong direction to anchor outside the harbour, we didn't want to go back and it was too far to go on so, reluctantly, we stayed.

9th July

It was time to leave the islands. We sailed the short distance to Marsala on the mainland. From the harbour it was a long walk into the old town. It only started to come alive late in the evening by which time we were eating and heading back to the boat.

8th July

We decided to stay one more day in the islands. They are lovely but there aren't many places to go on them. We sailed back across to the main island and picked up a buoy in a popular anchorage where we remained for the night.

7th July

Before breakfast Lucinda and climbed to the castle on top of the hill overlooking the harbour. The castle was not very interesting but the views were magnificent. We then sailed across to Isola Levanzo and picked up a buoy. The water must have been warm as Lucinda and I both had a swim. In the evening we took the dinghy round the corner to the small village that counts as the main urban centre on the island where we ate supper.

6th July

There was no urgency to get up this morning. Sue went for a swim and then we went round to the other side of the island and anchored for lunch in a small bay. Later we motored to the harbour and negotiated a mooring on the quay. We then walked to the tuna museum which, perhaps surprisingly, was fascinating. There is an enormous tuna canning plant. It used to be a huge industry based on enormous nets to corral the fish. We managed to reprovision. After supper I went to watch Wales unsuccessfully take on Portugal in the Euros.

4th and 5th July

We set off early back east along the coast. At Villiasimius we filled up with diesel. The forecast looked OK for the crossing to Sicily so we decided to go for it. While in sight of land the we managed to sail, although the sea was lumpy and unpleasant. As we got further out the surface smoothed out but the wind, although light, was from the east. A few Dolphins came to give us the once over in the late afternoon. They came leaping through the water, went to our bow and then disappeared. The night was moonless and, looking up, stars studded the sky. At mid morning we spotted the first of the Egadi islands, wreathed in fog. Eventually we dropped anchor off the south coast of the island of Favignana. The weather was perfect for the crossing, but only in the opposite direction. We needed the engines almost all the way across. In the evening we went ashore and walked across to the main town on the other side of the island, about one mile.

3rd July

Sue and Roger flew into Cagliari so we had to go there to meet them. The light winds turned out to be strong easterlies so we bashed our way 20 miles to windward at a painfully slow speed. They had already arrived by the time we got there. We went into town to eat before heading back to Imagine for an early night.

2nd July

We had a tedious 11 hour motor with BOTH engines to the southeastern tip of Sardinia. We're picking up Sue and Roger tomorrow in Cagliari which is 20 miles away. We spent the night anchored off a beach close to the marina.

1st July

Today was Sophie's birthday. Lucinda exceeded her step target on a long walk along the cliff edge in the morning. Another day in harbour gave us the chance to get the washing done and clean the boat. In the evening I watched Wales take on Belgium in the Euros and gain an unexpected but well deserved win.

30th June

All too often the wind is against us. It was again today. We motored slowly south across a big bay until we finally reached Santa Maria Navarrese, about half way down the east coast. In the evening we had a meal on a terrace overlooking the bay and then I watched Portugal beat Poland on penalties after extra time.