I had originally hoped to be able to take a hop up to visit our friend Marie on Corsica, as she had said she would be visiting her Mum along with son Jules, (who was 5 yrs old when we saw him last in San Diego in 2008). Unfortunately, the charging system on the boat had been playing up with hot battery warnings a few times a day, and an AC fault warning at least every other day. Whenever I left the boat I would unplug it from shore power and plug back in when I was aboard. We still had a good supply of frozen food in the freezer and I didn’t want to shut that off in order to leave the boat for any period….that and the thunder storms and the short bow mooring lines meant I wasn’t comfortable taking off. I looked at flights as well but couldn’t find an up and back in the same day, and nothing under 400 euro. We’ll have to make our way to French Guiana and see Eli, Jules and Marie there!
The boat was shining brightly after deep cleaning inside and out (and several pressure washes from the storms), when Todd returned on 8/11. It was great to see him and I was ready to hand the baton back over to the Captain. He had picked up a cold along the way but did have the satisfaction of passing the owner/builder regs test so we could now officially list the cabin. We ended up spending a few more days in the marina so he could catch up on sleep and get the supplies unpacked, stowed, and final provisioning done. I had rental car again for two days and we zipped around to marine stores and dive shops picking up a few odds and ends we needed. Todd replaced the impeller on the generator and it ran like a champ again, and he wired the remote VHF and another autopilot control for the port helm.
Sandy and Doug came into the marina for a few nights at the end of the week, as their guests were heading off on the sixteenth so it was fun to hear about their travels and new favorite anchorages. We left the marina early on the eighteenth, and stopped off at the fuel dock before heading to the anchorage I had seen off Solano beach. It was slightly breezy when we arrived and we had a good hook in sand, but 3 hours later wind had switched and built making it a lee shore and very lumpy. Sandy and Doug had anchored briefly with us, then they left to anchor around the point on the East side of Villasimius. We headed around a couple of hours later. There was one big bay West of the marina at Villasimius, and a pass between the headland and an island to the big sandy bay on the east side.
It was marvelously calm compared to the previous spot and again, lots to look at ashore. There were 2 large power yachts in the bay and one called “Cloudbreak” had a helicopter. We Googled the boat name and found it had a Russian owner who offered the boat for charter at 750,000 EU a week..one presumes that includes helicopter rides! The other yacht turned into a floating nightclub at night with music, flashing lights, and a smoke machine..pretty cool!
We slept fairly well until Todd awoke and noted a different wave action around 1.30 am. I joined him at 2 am and we made sure all the ports were closed, the safety strap was on the dinghy, and sails furled firmly, as we could see lightening over the hills and hear thunder as a storm moved in. There is some exhilarating energy around when these storms roll in and of course the anxiety builds while you watch it approach. You can see, feel, and hear the wind and rain as it arrives and then you hope like hell you or any boats around you don’t start dragging. After the first solid gust when you stay put and the rain begins in earnest, then its invigorating watching mother nature do her thing. The next morning there was a residual wind chop in the anchorage so it was no good for paddle boarding. Todd went over and helped Doug out with a rigging project and I pottered and made sauce for chicken and eggplant parmigiana, as we were hosting Sunday dinner. Fortunately things calmed down by evening and a fun time was had by all.
Another thunder-storm showed up at 8.30 am to interrupt my sleeping-in plan, and there was an uncomfortable Easterly swell so we retreated to the anchorage just off the marina in Villasimius, which was lovely and calm. The following day, Doug (who is an electrical engineer by trade), came over and started going through the generator wiring and charging system with Todd, drawing up a layout and trying to get a grip on the gremlins. Sandra and I started cleaning the hulls but had to stop for another thunder storm around 2 pm. By 5 pm all the other boats showed up and we were getting uncomfortably squeezed so picked up and moved to the Western side of the bay..only a couple of French boats followed us.
There were clouds around and a few episodes of increased wind gusts with one good rain shower, but not a dramatic T-storm that night.
Our water maker had been running well at the dock and I had been able to get the backlog of laundry done while Todd was away. After we cleaned the filter though, water quality was terrible at an average 1400 ppm (we didn’t like to put it in our tanks until it was 180 ppm). We exchanged the filter for a new one but this didn’t make a difference and now the ppm fluctuated from a low of 1050 back up to 1400 in a 5 min period. . We figured we should check out the marina and see what the potable water situation was. Sandy and Todd went on a reconnaissance mission while I cleaned the cockpit and bilges. They returned with the good news that there was potable water at the fuel dock which was free if you bought fuel, but a”small fee” if you just wanted water. It was still somewhat breezy so we figured we would head in first thing and tie up before they opened. Todd wanted to keep working on removing stainless washers (which were adding resistance to the electrical system), that had been put between various battery connectors, so he dropped Doug, Sandra and I ashore for a hike up the hill.
We had a walk through the beach-side area which was mostly a couple of resort hotels and a big parking lot, before taking a trail up the hill overlooking the bay. The water looked amazingly clear, and the boats were bobbing happily at anchor. The terrain was pink/yellow/orange crumbly rock with a solid marble-looking backbone, sand and pebbles, prickly pear cactus, stunted cypress and pine, and another short twiggy bush. In shady places the ground was still damp from the daily rain. After a circuitous path we found ourselves at a plateau which was a junction with a fire road, so we returned to the beach that way. (Carefully climbing under the barbed wired gate at the bottom with a private property sign on it..oops!) After a much deserved beer from the beach bar, Todd returned to collect us.
The beach was steep-too so Doug was wet up to his chest for the second time as he held the bow while us girls scrambled aboard. With the exception of a small squall that evening, it was a restful night, but the next morning I was up at 6 with the sound of distant thunder. This time there was a cell moving towards us from our stern, and another larger one moving down the valley ahead of us. I admit that this was not at all comfortable, waiting to see if we were going to get squeezed between the two systems. Ultimately the one to stern got within 2 miles before getting pushed back by the larger cell in front of us. Rain arrived and the wind stayed in the 20’s then dissipated, whew!
Sandy and I decided to run into the marina and drop rubbish/recycling and pick up a few items from the mini-mart. Meanwhile, Todd made 2 trips back and forth to Doug/Sandy’s boat Sah Sen collecting water from their water maker (thanks again!), until we had enough for the next week or so as we weren’t using a lot and we might not be able to get to the fuel dock if weather deteriorated. When Sandy and I left the marina, we stopped at the fuel dock and checked water quality which was excellent at 124 ppm. As we left the dock though, dark clouds moved in and the wind increased again. By the time we got back across to our boats the wind had made the anchorage very choppy. A large power boat came in right behind me and anchored on top of us soon after my return, but either way, we decided to high-tail it back to the other bay again. Todd was in the water as I secured the dinghy and said the chain had hooked on a rock. Fortunately it unhooked itself with the next gust! It was not a smooth exit as for some reason the chain jumped off the windlass and dumped itself in a pile on the bottom. Todd knew what at happened and quickly came forward and got it hooked up again so we could retrieve everything and make good our escape.
We spent the rest of the day planning our crossing to the southern Sicilian islands, readying the boat for passage, and weathering another thunder-storm..we were good and sick of thunder storms by now!
I strongly disagree with the title of this blog entry.