Saturday April 23rd 2011
Another year, another voyage! We’ve been back on board Zaffina for a few days now and we’re getting back into the swing of life on board, although this first session on our boat is a short one as we’re just down here for a week. We flew to Tunisia on Monday, leaving behind the glorious Jersey sunshine and arriving in a slightly less glorious Hammamet. It was disappointingly cool compared to the heatwave gracing the UK this week and after the revolution, completely devoid of tourists. Talk about Empty Chairs at Empty Tables – the cafes and restaurants were almost deserted and the street traders were obviously longing for customers who have all gone elsewhere this year. Everyone recognises that they’re in for a dire season, although apart from the emptiness, there is little sign of any change wrought by the upheaval in the region.
Zaffina was in fantastic condition when we got back on board; she wouldn’t have a looked out of place in a boat show and we were relieved to find her so immaculate. It didn’t take long for us to feel at home on board and it’s lovely to be back on the water.
Our intention was to leave on Wednesday but the forecast was mixed – the weather report in the Capitainerie promised a force 8 off Cap Bon, which we would have to pass close to when leaving Tunisia, but other forecasts painted a very different and much calmer picture so we decided to take a chance on things, on the understanding that if it was too lumpy, we could also return to Hammamet. Frank went to check out with customs and immigration, bringing two officers on board to check for stowaways. When they were happy that we didn’t have any illegal crew or guests (Ian is with us, but they didn’t seem too worried about him) they then asked for a “gift”, telling us that either Dinars or Euros would be fine…no mistaking their meaning then! We paid up, albeit reluctantly, because we just wanted to be off and were worried that any failure to grease their palms would result in a delayed departure, and five minutes later, we were on our way.
Conditions were fine once out of port, and they continued to be fine as we approached Cap Bon. We were naturally apprehensive that the forecast force 8 would materialise but instead, things just seemed to improve as we went along, and the five hour crossing was pretty darn good! Zaffina sped along at an easy 25 knots, crossing the shipping lanes with ease and coming into Sicily at the port of Marsala. Naturally, we were delighted to have the first open sea crossing of the year behind us, and with so little fuss, and we celebrated with a cool bottle of rose on arrival.
It was just as well we came over when we did – there is no way we would have been able to contemplate the crossing any time in the last three days, as the wind rose up and gave us a reasonable battering in port; we were moored starboard-to, and had to put out a load of extra ropes to keep Zaffina tight to the pontoon. Amanda flew down to Sicily to join us on Maundy Thursday.
Marsala is quite a big town with a lovely old town centre to it; beautiful churches, narrow winding streets and windy piazzas. Yesterday being Good Friday, there was an enormous and silent procession – thousands of people followed a statue of Mary from Church to Church in a parade that lasted for seven hours and finished at midnight. There had been another procession the day before, with an actor playing Christ carrying the crucifix throughout the town. Despite this show of religious fervour, all the shops were open throughout and the town was packed.
The forecast promised that the wind would die down this morning, but although it was a little less gusty, it certainly hadn’t dropped off as much as anticipated when we emerged from our cabins. Again we decided to take a chance on it, and nosed out of port into a blustery channel. However, as soon as we turned to the north, the wind and the swell were pushing us along and for the second time in as many trips, what had threatened to be an unpleasant journey turned into a thoroughly enjoyable crossing. Half way to Palermo we slowed down when we found ourselves surrounded by dolphins; they put on an amazing display, leaping out of the water and diving under the boat, and I still managed to miss them in all but one photograph!
And now we’re in Palermo where it is sheltered and, even more amazingly, the sun has come out. Perhaps we’ll get a lovely Easter after all…fingers crossed!
(Sorry about the delay in posting this, couldn't remember how to log onto the blog! We're back in Jersey now and will continue with updates once we're on board again in a couple of weeks time. F)
