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Sailing in Sicily (Part 7)

Sailing in Sicily (Part 7)

Author: Sandy Keil
Date: 2012-08-01
I am sure you know the saying "between Scilla and Charybdis", which is the Homeric version of "between a rock and a hard place". According to legend, the entrance to the Strait of Messina is where these two perils lurked, waiting for the unsuspecting sailor to venture into their territory. Our seafaring hero, Ulysses, was warned by Circe of "Scilla, the Render and Charybdis, the Sucker-down". Scilla was said to live in a cave atop a sheer cliff on the eastern side of the strait. She had six long necks with monstrous heads with which she plucked sailors from passing ships. Across from Scilla, Charabdis was supposed to be a giant whirlpool, which sucked down unwary ships.

Myth and legend aside, this narrow part of the strait, which separates Sicily from mainland Italy, has been feared by sailors for centuries. The strong tides, whirlpools and strong winds gusting from the mountains were certainly a sailor's nightmare in antiquity. Today, the passage through the strait is not as fearsome, because an earthquake in 1783 altered the local topography and the infamous whirlpool disappeared.

It was however, with some trepidation, that we approached the entrance to the strait, on our way from the Aeolian islands to southern Italy. Shipping in the area was hectic, so we had to be on constant watch for high speed hydrofoils and cargo ships. We were fortunate that it was a calm day and that we caught the tide at the right time, in some places being pushed ahead by more than 4 knots. So all in all our passage was not as fraught as that of Ulysses who "in travail, sobbing, gaining on the current, we rowed into the strait - Skylla to port and on our starboard beam Kharabdis, dire gorge of the salt sea tide." (The Odyssey. Book 12 translated by R Fitzgerald - quoted from Italian Waters Pilot by Rod Heikel.)

We have said good bye to my daughter, Michelle and her husband, Anthony, and are now tackling the last part of our journey. We will over winter Graceful in the Marina Laghi in Sibari, southern Italy.