2015 ALMA'S AEOLIAN TRAVELS 23 to 28 May At last ALMA is afloat and we’ve gone cruising. ALMA’s mini re-fit over the winter wasn’t completed in February as planned - mostly as wet weather delayed the work on replacing the deck caulking. Thankfully this was paid for by Sika as the work done last year had been done with a batch of faulty Sika compound and after some discussions they agreed to pay for it to be completely re-done. But after many delays the re-launch eventually only happened 15 May!! And we still had other jobs to finish with the last job being completed only on the morning we left Malta! Andy, Doug and David had arrived 21 May for our annual cruise but we delayed departure by a day because of strong winds and also to get the final jobs done. We (minus Helen who stayed behind as her Mum was in hospital and it seemed likely she would need to fly to the UK) set off on Sat 23rd heading across the Malta Channel to Sicily (approx 60 miles) and had a fast passage across the straits. the wind held up as we headed north along the east coast of Sicily towards Siracusa. Doug was keen to stop there but by a majority the decision was to keep going as long as the wind held. Around 3am we eventually ran out of wind and motored on to Riposto where we moored up around 10am just in time for coffee! Our first introduction to Italian culture - even though Riposto is a slightly scruffy commercial town that looks as if its best economic times were some years ago, the glamorous people were out on Sunday morning for coffee (and to be seen!). 4 old boys in their sailing shorts/shirts after 24 hours at sea felt distinctly unfashionable! For our first cultural trip we took the train to Taormina to see the magnificent Greek theatre. However we showed our lack of experience of travelling by failing to frank our tickets before boarding - severe admonishment from the guard but fortunately we were let off from a fine. Monday we continued north to Reggio Calabria (on the mainland coast) for an overnight stop. We had quite a lively sail with a boisterous wind funnelling through the straits. sadly we didn’t have time to visit the museum there which has two wonderful greek bronze statues - but plan to see them on the return south. Tuesday we headed through the straits of Messina, creeping along the shore to avoid the worst of the tide and passed Odysseus’ historic Charybdis whirlpool - although now its a relatively tame whirl after an earthquake apparently altered the seabed. I’d earlier texted Helen to ask the time of high tide Gibraltar which caused her to ask where we were going! The tides in the Messina straits are reported based on HW Gibraltar. Next stop the Aeolian islands - the seven main islands are part of a volcanic ridge stretching from Etna to Vesuvius. I think the only one’s showing signs of life are Volcano which smokes almost continuously and Stromboli which from time to time pours out lava. Our first stop was Lipari - nice town with fabulous food shops, cafes, restaurants and (according to Doug and David) a great museum. The castle that now houses the museum was (I think in the 1930’s) Italy’s Alcatraz for political prisoners. Lipari is also the centre for cruising the Aeolian islands with ferries almost continuously coming and going - and so a rolly mooring! Then we went on to what I think is the best of the islands - Salina. A truly beautiful island with a very relaxed, friendly ambience. Also famous for its capers and Malvasia wine. We also tried to visit Panarea but not able to anchor off the town and no buoys yet laid so we headed to Milazzo on the north coast of Sicily where Helen was arriving via Catania. Commercial town but still a nice centre and we had our best dinner of the trip - great finish to a great week’s cruising. 29th May to 5th June After David, Doug and Andy jumped ship on Friday morning, Helen and I headed back to Lipari. Helen’s cruise started with a beat into 16 to 18 knots so it was quite a lively (but exhilarating) sail. We then continued to Salina and liked it so much we stayed 3 days! Great restaurants! But also as we’d arranged to meet friends Phil and Caroline (from Provence) there. They were cruising on another boat and we persuaded them to visit Salina. Great to catch up with them. Phil has sailed on ALMA several times and we’re both Endeavour sailors (the replica of Cook’s ship) (and fans of everything nautical/historical so have endless chats!). Next stop Filcudi - second most westerly of the Aeolian islands. Not much happening on Filicudi. Main attraction is the remains of a bronze age village. Didn’t appear as if much has happened since but if you wanted somewhere extremely quiet to hide away this might be just the place. Panarea is a significant contrast - equally attractive island but with much more life. The next Capri some say (well residents of Panarea). But apparently the wealthy escape from Milan and rome to relax in their villas on Panarea. And it is quite chic with some very good restaurants but yet delightfully retains its relaxed and unspoilt feel.