Another day, another gale.

Siracusa, Sicily Italy

It was a beautiful, sunny, calm morning in Siracusa Sicily. Perfect conditions to dinghy into town for one last wander, before leaving our home-away-from-home for Greece. One last visit to Sicily’s most stunning piazza, one last gelato, one last browse through the lively open market, one last gathering of supplies, one last pizza with friends.

And then, one last wet, wild dinghy ride back to the boat after lingering a bit too long over lunch. By the time we made the 10-minute trip to Berkeley East, the seas were churning and the wind was blowing 20 knots. A short while later it was gusting in the 40s. Luckily, we had just bought a spiffy new grocery cart so while we got soaked, our purchases stayed nice and dry.

The weather in the Mediterranean seems to be especially turbulent this year. That said, as we look out the portholes across the harbor, we think back on many other times since crossing the Atlantic when we have been hunkered down waiting for the bad weather to pass. With BE pitching and rolling, we say that we’d rather be in the marina, at least we could be plugged into electricity, have access to water, not have to worry about dragging, or having boats drag into us. But just last month, while BE was tied to the dock in a gale at Marina di Ragusa, we felt that we would rather be at anchor. Our opinions seem to change each day, with each location, with each, and every, gale.

A couple of weeks ago, we said goodbye to some cruising friends who were leaving the Med for the Caribbean. We asked them why, when there is so much to see and do here in Europe, would they sail more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the islands? Their reply was that they were tired of the wind; the crazy, unpredictable, paralyzing wind. In day two of this particular gale in Siracusa, we can confirm that their comments were dead on, and we are sick of the exhausting, uncomfortable blow. But tomorrow is another day, and hopefully, NOT another gale.

Dinghy Envy

While waiting for conditions to improve, we spent time shopping for a new dinghy. We love our Walker Bay because it is light, has a hard floor and bottom, and a folding transom so the dinghy fits nicely on Berkeley East’s foredeck while we are underway. But given the circumstances in the Med, it is very annoying to spend an hour hoisting, deflating, and tying down our little Beast of a dinghy, only to be delayed by weather. Worse yet is to have bad conditions prevent us from getting the dinghy on deck in case we have a chance to escape. A better option is hoisting the dinghy (inflated) with the outboard onto davits on the stern of the boat. We have always resisted this arrangement for fear that it might compromise the lines of our beautiful BE, having a dinghy hanging off the back. But we have changed our opinion and decided that a nice new tender on the back will only enhance BE’s look and show off her beautiful foredeck, rather than hiding it under a deflated dingy. Now, the only question is, what to buy?