Open does not necessarily mean finished

Capo d’Orlando, Sicily

We were moving quickly to put Berkeley East in a marina for a few weeks while we traveled back to the states. One of the most difficult things about cruising is being far away from home for long periods of time. Things happen, good and bad, which require your attention, and often your presence. As much as this life is mostly cocktails and sunsets, there are times when it complicates, rather than simplifies, reality.

The plan was to go to a new marina in Northern Sicily, but as luck would have it, the marina was late in opening. Just as we were turning south for an alternative option, we got a call, “the marina is open,” the voice said enthusiastically. So we turned left instead of right, and headed north through the Straight of Messina.

The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southwestern tip of Italy, which connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea. The strait was greatly feared by sailors in antiquity because of the rocks and strong tidal currents, which were personified in Greek mythology as female monsters. Legends aside, the currents do present considerable navigational challenges. The main current runs from south to north, but a secondary current flows in the reverse direction. These usually alternate every six hours, and the water falls six to eight inches during the main current.

We’ve navigated the Straight of Messina before. It requires planning for good weather conditions, attentiveness due to constant freighter and ferry traffic, and patience when the currents drastically slow the boat’s forward movement. On this passage, the weather was benign, with flat seas and no wind. We stayed out of the shipping lanes and managed to dodge the gazillion ferries zigzagging around Berkeley East. And we entertained ourselves watching the swordfish boats.

Swordfish have been fished in the Strait of Messina since ancient times. While much of the world now uses more modern methods, here swordfish are still fished with traditional wooden boats, called Felucca. These harpoon fishing boats have cables connected to ladders connected to lookout stations, and a horizontal ladder extending 150 feet from the bow of the boat to the harpooner station. Spotters perched high, locate the swordfish on the surface and the harpooner throws (by hand) a spear into the water to catch the fish. The harpooner is strategically extended as far forward as the cables will support from the bow of the boat so the sound of the engine does not scare the fish away. Clearly, the harpooners have to watch their weight, and be swift on their feet.

Once through the straight, it was a clear shot to the newly opened marina, with a couple of stops along the way. Not known for its beauty, Milazzo is a bustling town engulfed by industrial development, and is a gateway for tourists to visit the Aeolian Islands.

But away from the refineries and busy dock, the town is interesting with the walled city at the top of Milazzo, the “Old Town” of medieval origin at the foot of the hill, and the more modern city at the bottom and along the harbor. Unfortunately, the steady parade of freighters and ferries makes the harbor less than ideal for cruisers at anchor.

Looking to relax for a day before going into the marina, we dropped BE’s hook off Capo Tindari, a large bay and marine preserve. The area is best known for the monastery on the cliff, 750 feet above, which houses a Byzantine Black Madonna thought to work miracles. Pilgrims flock to the monastery to witness the Madonna’s powers, but since she couldn’t elevate us up the cliff in the 100-degree heat, we decided to visit her another time.

While getting BE ready to leave for just a few weeks is nothing compared to the work required when putting her up for the winter, there is still a lot of preparation. We can’t just lock the door and leave. So with four days left before our flight, we went on to the newly opened marina at Capo d’ Orlando. When we saw the new breakwater, we were impressed; it looked well constructed and it was tall, so tall that we could not see the masts inside. As we turned Berkeley East into the entrance, we realized that there weren’t many sailboats, just a couple. In fact, there were hardly any boats of any kind, but there was construction, lots of construction going on. The marina was clearly open, but it was definitely not finished, far from it.

For our purposes, as long as the dock had electricity and water, was protected from the weather, and was secure, we didn’t really care. Fewer boats just meant less chance that BE’s fenders would be smashed between hulls. No stores, restaurants or activities to distract us kept our focus on the work, where it needed to be.

Fast-forward three weeks. Upon our return to Sicily, as we turned into the marina, we saw people everywhere. Shops were open, there was a gourmet meat and cheese cafe, a sushi restaurant, and a wine bar; it seemed this marina was planned with the Berkeley East crew in mind. While it is still not quite done, it is being completed in high Italian fashion. We spent a few days getting BE ready to go again, enjoyed the marina and explored the town, all the while wondering if this could end up being Berkeley East’s winter marina, once it is finally finished.