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Sailing in Sicily (Part 8)
Sailing in Sicily (Part 8)
Date: 2012-08-08
The last part of our journey was plagued by really strong headwinds, contrary to what the "Italian Waters Pilot" led us to believe. "Light southerlies" were supposed to be prevailing at this time of year, but unfortunately we hit "very strong north westerlies" for days on end. Our route took us from Reggio Calabria in the strait of Messina, around the toe of Italy, to Rocella Ionica. What a lovely refuge after a couple of hours bashing against a 32 knot headwind, even though the harbour entrance is prone to silting up and the channel was barely wide enough for us to sail through.
From Rocella, we faced the notorious and aptly named Golfo di Squillace, famed for its fierce squalls. Even though we left early morning, the wind was already up and once again it was a long and uncomfortable sail to Le Castella. The coast here sports miles of sandy beaches backed by high mountains. The coastal towns are mostly normal working towns with holiday resorts and beach clubs here and there. In an effort to stimulate the economy of the region and encourage tourism, the Italian government has built a series of marinas along this stretch. We did not encounter many foreign yachts, though, because most sailors use these harbours as purely a stopover between Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean.
From Le Castella, it was a short though uncomfortable hop to Crotone, one of the marinas with the best facilities we have been to - and fantastic fresh seafood from myriad fishmongers around the harbour! Our next stop was Ciro Marina, where we had to hole up for another day, waiting for the worst part of this unusual weather pattern to pass. Fortunately the long passage to our final destination at Sibari was in calmer conditions.