It is quite amazing that after a mere couple of hours of sleep, the human body can be so restored and refreshed!

After a week of sub one hundred step counts, I was keen to get out for an exploratory walk. The perception of Venice is of a maze of charismatic alleys and canals (Remember Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie in ‘Don’t Look Now’) and this would be right for the central city. The islands however offer an unexpected contrast and Certosa provides just that yet is still the closest to the ‘thick of things’.

My pontoon gave way to what can only be described as a ‘wooded path’ with watery glimpses of the Lagoon. Arriving at the Northern tip of the island, I stumbled across youth socialising, Venician style.  There were dozens of speedboats moored up and rafted along a quay with the youngsters, all in swimming costumes (If you can call them that on the young girls) sitting around chatting, larking, diving in and clearly having a great time – how wonderfully refreshing ! There was even a mobile pizza van parked up to service them, in actual fact this was the only vehicle I have seen on the island.

So my walk around the island not only achieved my ‘step target’, it also suggested that this is a place of depth and contrast. A beer in the Island Hotel garden did nothing to diminish a sense that everything was beginning to go right.

Returning to Hejira and sinking into the wonderfully Air Conditioned interior and closing up shop for the evening, I started thinking about dinner and was writing my final musings with a nice glass of Rose at my elbow when, knock knock on the hull. I thought, oh, it’s the people from the  adjacent German boat asking me across for a drink (one man two ladies) – that might be nice. Of course, this was not the reality, it was the Marina Staff saying “I am sorry but we need you to move berth now”. This would not have been so annoying had I not had a drink, had  it not been so late and if I hadn’t just made Hejira secure for a couple of weeks. So I moved and sorted everything out again which would have been fine but this was clearly the Venetian Mosquito feeding time and I was bitten to death. Not as bad as the Crinan Canal but not far short. So, a generous spray, plug in zappers activated and anti-histamine liberally applied the question was what very quick meal will use most perishables. You guessed it, onions and garlic as a base, grated parmesan and the remaining 4 eggs in an omelette which was actually more than acceptable in the circumstances. I left the washing up till the morning.

Not surprisingly, sleep came easily again, a dead to the world sleep but strangely punctuated by periods of wakefulness. It would seem that I was still keeping watch!

The next time I visit Hejira will be with Paula and I have some cleaning to do. I have checked that the Marco Polo Airport has a lounge and that it has catering so, to be sure, I intend to set off at lunch time and make the most of it.

Amazingly after leaving  Baie des Anges marina, I have covered 1220 miles single handed and I think I should probably record my reflections on the experience if only as a cathartic exercise.

Excessive tiredness over an extended period of time is extremely unpleasant and debilitating; I can quite understand why it is used as a form of torture. I don’t know if it showed through in the blogs but I have observed that I have done some very strange things (notably the unnecessary starter motor replacement) and I have certainly written peculiar notes in the log book. Thankfully, I didn’t succumb to any Donald Crowhurst moments. Tiredness impairs your ability to function on a physical, mental and emotional level. With the benefit of hindsight and given the amount of traffic encountered on this passage, I should not have attempted to do it non-stop, it was a challenge and I ‘got away with it’. I will do long distance solo cruising again but in more open water. Congested areas need more concentration and after a couple of nights without proper sleep, judgement is impaired and safety put at risk.

My course has whisked me past some fabulously evocative and beautiful destinations. I have visited most of the household names on previous occasions and I can confirm that the Tuscan Islands, Ischia, Procida, Capri and the Amalfi Coast are all fabulous. There have also been some very promising, less well known and more out of the way places that I have viewed through the binoculars and I have promised myself that I will visit them one day. To achieve my targets however particularly after my forced 3 day punctuation, this cruise has had to press on and, after all, the delights of these destinations are best enjoyed in company, not solo and they will still be there in the future.

This cruise has been very special for me. It is the fulfilment of a long held ambition to sail single handed over long distances, I think I have proved, not only that I can do it but that I enjoy doing it.

It has also had several other special purposes for me. It has come at a time of my life when I have been addressing some particularly difficult circumstances whereby a period of reflection on my own has been a tonic and helped me put some major issues into perspective.

The writing of the blog has been tremendously enjoyable and wonderfully rewarding. I have taken great pleasure in your comments and the fact that so many people have logged on and read my musings particularly after its forced re-location. I would like to thank those people who regularly communicated and supported my mission. I don’t know how I might have done without your support but I do know that it was a whole lot better experience with it.

It is a truism that events that go smoothly are not remembered and don’t supplement the ‘anecdote bank’.  Memorable experiences come from when there is some sort of frisson, something goes wrong, there is a quirky encounter or something unusual happens. It is also true that sailing tends to ‘throw up’ plenty of these situations, not always of a pleasant nature but, invariably memorable and I have to say that life is much richer as a result.

Hejira has, once again, acquitted herself with great, understated competence. When I bought her in Holland in 2012, I paid a ‘Kings Ransom’ for her because the Rob Humphreys designed Southerly 135s (they only made 30) were hen’s teeth on the second hand market and this particular example (I thought wrongly as it happens) was in reasonable ‘nick’ and ticked all the boxes. My sanity was questioned by some sailing contemporaries as for what I paid for an 8 year old yacht; I could have bought TWO basic brand new French/German production yachts of the same size. Sorting the problems, kitting her out and improving her for Ocean passage making has cost at least half as much again. The fact is though that she is now a fully sorted, very solid, safe, seaworthy, well spec’d, versatile and comfortable yacht that can go absolutely anywhere in the world. Part of my dilemma is working out how best to utilise this potential and to satisfy my lust for adventuring under sail.

Of the issues on this trip, the first was the failure of the batteries after less than half their expected life. Talk to different ‘experts’ about battery life and charging regimes and you will inevitably get different advice – it is something of a dark art. Suffice it to say that I believe that leaving the photo voltaic panels constantly connected and charging while the Mastervolt charger was also connected 24/7 was definitely a mistake and this is one of the reforms going forward and I will be taking further advice on the whole matter.

I would rather not dwell on the engine problem, all I will say is, it was entirely my fault, I put it down to exhaustion and it will not happen again – I feel very stupid so that is an end to it.

So I return to ‘Blighty’ for ten days or so and I am looking forward to having Rebecca and Darcey (daughter and new granddaughter) staying with us at Thornleigh and spending time with them. I then return to Venice in about 2 weeks’ time with Paula and my next crew Bob and his wife Alison for a few days holiday. Paula and I will be staying on Hejira, Bob and Alison in a fancy hotel! Our wives return to the UK after a few days and Bob and I cast off for Croatia. Bob was crew on my first Trans-Atlantic and this will be the first time we will have sailed together since that wonderful experience in 2015. He was a regular blogging counterpoint to my anodyne ‘sail-centric’ contributions and I am sure that it was his and Stephens input which won the World Cruising blog award for Hejira. So, you can look forward to some lighter and more entertaining relief while we transit Croatia starting on the 1^st of July.

I will return with Bob from Dubrovnik mid-July for more domestic and other commitments before resuming on the 25th. I’ll save up the details of the return phases of my summer sailing partly because it still has some fluidity but it will include Dave Wright, Carl Beetham and his son Tom, Paula and two of her regular holidaying friends Marie and Kate. Destinations may include Corfu, Greek islands, Malta, Tunisia, Sardinia and Corsica. I will try to maintain a blog throughout with the crew encouraged to contribute.

Special thanks are due to my wife Paula for so many things. Since we first got together, she has always supported whatever I have wanted to do, however ‘off the wall’ and whatever the potential implications. Throwing myself into business and the financially difficult times that inevitably ensued was unconditionally supported. Having sailed throughout our relationship, she has never flinched at the cost or the amount of time it took me away from our family and I mean never a word of reproach. This is all despite not sharing my enthusiasm for sailing, in fact quite the opposite, really only enjoying the yachts when they have reached their destination and become ‘static’. I certainly acknowledge and appreciate what Paula has given and continues to give to me and our family.

It is fair to say that in order to truly appreciate the highs in life, they have to be balanced by lows. I have certainly had my fair share of both on this adventure and the experience will be remembered in HD.

Sometimes, I pinch myself !

The forecast southerly breeze of 6 knots turned out to be a southerly wind of over 20 knots with big breaking seas. This was actually quite welcome as we were able to make great pace and improve on our intended arrival time so that we had time in hand to be able to take it easy overnight.

A course was plotted between two sets of shipping lanes but this just swapped big ships for a fleet of fishing boats. Of the two, I prefer the big ships as they steer a straight course and usually have someone on watch.

For my next extended solo challenge, I feel I will need to obtain a timer with a more strident alarm as, worryingly; I have failed to wake at the allotted time even with it hanging around my neck. The AIS alarm however is so piercing I think it could wake the dead so that at least is a ‘backstop’.

You know that a ship is really big when the AIS data for its length is not quoted in feet as usual but in proportions of a mile!

Let me talk you through a typical scenario during a watch: The system will warn you of a dangerous AIS target by sounding an alarm which will only stop when cancelled and then kick off again a few seconds later. This warning probably relates to a vessel a considerable distance away which theoretically could pass within a ‘dangerous distance’ at some stage. It’s like a spoilt child and I want to ignore it. I have, when I am watching and not napping, turned the alarm system off and only re-instated it when looking to nap. As I have said before, it even considers AIS equipped lighthouses a collision hazard and alarm repeatedly to remind you of a lighthouse which is about to mow you down although to be fair, I could plough into it. So, you are aware of a vessel which might present a hazard. You interrogate the AIS data and put a ‘flag’ on the icon representing the vessel on the plotter. The ‘flag’ information continually updates so – and this is a real example as I write – the vessel ‘Galliano Micuccii’ is a fishing vessel dead on my course and coming towards me. It is 79ft long and is doing 3.5knots. The AIS system calculates that, given our respective course and speed, it will pass 157ft away in 31 minutes. What this means is that you now have to monitor the data to establish the developing relativity while in the mean time you are also monitoring several other developing situations at the same time. Now try and get a kip! The traffic has been particularly bad over the last couple of nights and there is always something going on and imagine doing it for 7 consecutive nights on your own with little sleep. This probably sounds like a whinge and it is not, I am doing this passage because I want to be doing this passage, I am only trying to outline some of the challenges.

Another thing about sailing solo is that there is no one to rub the sun cream into the inaccessible areas of one’s back. I probably have a red patch that I can’t reach. There we are, a business opportunity for somebody – ‘The SSSS’ the Solo Sailor Sun-cream Spreader ! I claim no copyright.

One of the transitions experienced on a long passage is that you don’t count down miles, you know it’s a bleedin’ long way and that you will be going for some time so it takes on less relevance. Over the last 24 hours however, the increasing proximity of the destination has induced the old channel crossing mentality – are we nearly there ?

How does this work – we were 80 miles from Venice, 30 miles from the nearest land (which is actually Croatia) and we were infested with flies ?

I made a lot of fuss in a previous blog about switching off my Ultra Sonic Anti Fouling (USAF), claiming it was discouraging dolphins. Well 1200 miles later with it switched off, we have still seen no dolphins……

Conscious of Paula’s likely impending cull of dodgy use by dated grub when she returns to Venice with me in a couple of weeks’ time, it seemed like a good idea to have an ‘out of date feast’. So, it started, as always, with onions and garlic, a pack of Jan 2019 (not too bad) potato and bacon rosti and the crowning glory, a rusty tin of not sure. The label, what was left of it, was in Spanish and it might have been chicken meat balls. I am still not sure even having eaten them. How these escaped the previous cull I don’t know, I think they probably predated dating. I then remembered that I had half a dozen eggs which needed to be used, so a couple were cracked over the top. You are probably grimacing or even retching at this description but, actually this eclectic mix was not too bad.

It was poignant to hear a coastguard broadcast this morning asking seafarers in a particular area to keep a sharp lookout as a yacht had been found sailing with no-one on board……..

I had a notification that my Iridium Satellite ‘Usage Threshold’ had been reached and that my bill would be $339.54. Bear in mind that this is only since I left Nice two weeks ago and was only utilised for WhatsApps, a few Emails and a very short phone call. It was only activated when my course took me between headlands and out of mobile signal range. It is certainly an expensive way to communicate and will need a review after this contract expires at the end of August.

So, after an extremely quiet night, the Venice Lagoon entrance hove into view at about 09.00 and the entrance was very simple with seductive views of charismatic Venice glimpsed as I sailed past.

I was directed in and onto an alongside berth – dead easy.

The berth is very sheltered, quiet and my AC outlets will not offend anyone. The Marina is on Certosa Island opposite the main island complex. The Vaporetto (water bus) service stops at the Island every 20 minutes and there is a 40 minute ferry to the Airport every hour. I first came across the marina on a stand at a boat show and always kept it in mind. My 18 day stay is cheaper as a month contract and with a 10% Cruising Association discount, at 805 Euros is half the price of my Baie des Anges berth – hmmmmm. The check in process was turgid and took an hour but they were very helpful and the location, facilities and price are exceptional. It is exceedingly hot so it was a relief to return to Hejira, plug in my credit and turn on the AC to catch up with the paperwork – ie. write this blog !

I am trying to hold off turning in until I can resist it no longer, I guess it may be necessary to set an alarm for this time tomorrow, would it be possible to sleep for 24 hours and miss my flight? The views of my bed are hugely seductive and I might just give in and get horizontal, for the first time in a week, under a light duvet in the air conditioned cabin – BLISS………….

The weather continues to bless us with clear skies and since the wind has diminished, the sea has become reasonably flat as well. Reviewing our course options after the next headland, the prospect of taking a longer inshore route had its issues with lots of ‘stuff’ just offshore so I favour the direct route taking us well offshore but inevitably losing the mobile signal. With the light airs and the likelihood of using the engine more than I would have liked, I identified a harbour, Vieste on the headland so, establishing that it had fuelling facilities, it was a no brainer to pop in and fill up with diesel. The pilot book said it had charm and the view from the sea seemed to confirm this. I must remember to put my clothes back on!

I was beckoned onto the fishing quay to refuel and a long pipe was dragged out to the boat. I had run the port tank well into the red on the gauge and only swapped over onto the starboard tank just before the needle hit the stop. Even so, there must have still been nearly 40 litres in the tank as it only took 210 litres. The starboard tank was a different matter, I expected it to take less than 60 litres according to the time run. Imagine my surprise when they insisted it had taken 110 litres! Sorry to bore you but this is very simple. The tank has a capacity of 250 litres and it was full to the brim. The gauge showed the tank to be more than ¾ full and I had calculated less than 60 litres used. I may be wrong and I have become very suspicious after the battery saga but it seems to me like another Italian extortion. I must have a ‘please screw me’ kinda face.

Motoring on a flat sea prompted me to have a play with something I had made some years ago. Sailing the Atlantic on the trade wind route necessitates downwind sail planning and one of our arrangements was twin foresails. I only had the one spinnaker pole so I purchased a telescopic whisker pole so both sails could be poled out together. It did not need too much imagination to make a bracket to fit on the whisker pole for a camera mount so that pictures could be taken of the yacht from some distance away. The tiny Sony camera has a waterproof enclosure – well it’s almost waterproof as I discovered, it was all a bit much on my own to balance and adjust all the components and the camera got a good ‘dunking’ in the sea. As a result a whole tranche of photos were obscured by ‘mist’. I then had to dry it out and rig the kit all over again but I am pleased with the result of the second attempt. The camera was just left to take pictures at 5 second intervals and it threw up some interesting results as I went about my business given my recent habit of eschewing garments !

I am anxious to use up the older food stocks to avoid a repeat of the massive cull that Paula, my wife inflicted on the stores before I left the UK. ‘You will have guests, what would they think if the use by date has expired’ – well, probably nothing actually! Anyway, so it was that some red beans and minced beef caught my eye as being on death row so it screamed ‘chilli con carne’ at me. For my Atlantic stores I had bulk bought chilli flakes (a feature of Hejira is masses of stowage) imagining that I would use a load. They were kept loose in a Tupperware with no label so they escaped last year’s cull but being over 4 years old, I imagined that their potency must have diminished. On this basis, I spooned in 4 teaspoons. Not surprisingly, I knew all about it and I imagine I will again.

I didn’t really supplement my stores during my unfortunate Roman pause so I had the last banana today and the apples, even when they had just been bought, tasted half rotten so throwing the remainder away won’t break my heart. There is still plenty of onions and garlic and that, as regular crew will confirm, is the foundation of every meal on board the good ship Hejira.

This sixth night at sea didn’t start well as we sailed through a fleet of at least 7 large fishing vessels. Thankfully they were showing on AIS but they tend to steer an unpredictable path and with nets over the stern, their presence is always a challenge. In the early hours, I found it necessary to call the tanker ‘Santa Lucia’ bound for Malta and doing 9 knots which was projected to pass too close for comfort. A brief exchange on the VHF resulted in the agreement that we both alter course to starboard to pass ‘port to port’. Bugger me, 30 minutes later I had the same situation with another tanker ‘Basiluzzo M’ then the ‘Grande Italia’ and it went on all night. AIS is the most brilliant safety tool, like so many new technologies, it makes you wonder how you managed without it in the past.

My wife ridicules the setting on my phone that congratulates me on doing 6000 steps claiming it should be at least 10000 before you get a pat on the back. I checked my report for yesterday and it had recorded 80. That will have been when it was carried from the saloon to the cockpit, to the push-pit seats and back again several times.

I asked ‘Gandalf’ (as my son refers to our IT guy Phil) about the peculiar boats seen in the Strait of Messina and mentioned in the blog of that name. He has done some research and the following link makes very interesting reading and needs no further comment.

https://kateludlow.wordpress.com/2013/06/29/swordfish-hunting-in-the-straits-of-messina-an-ancient-and-noble-battle-has-become-very-one-sided/

I had corresponded with Alice at the Venice Marina, sent her my documents and had confirmation that a berth was being held for me. I kept her appraised of my delay and, confirming my revised dates, I asked for an invoice so I could pay the 50% securing deposit that she had requested. Not having heard back, I phoned today to be told that Alice no longer worked there. I had one of those cold shivers that seem to greet surprise bad news and humbly asked if anyone was dealing with her Emails and whether they had a note of my booking. Thankfully they were phlegmatic about it and said: ‘just turn up, a berth will be allocated and you can pay on arrival’ – Phew.

Currently my arrival in Venice is projected for Thursday morning. I think I will then sleep until my departure on Friday afternoon, waking only to check in for my flight home!

The continuing adverse current coupled with a short chop and the wind directly on the bow made the morning slow. This was not helped by my decision to ‘skirt’ a military firing range between Otranto and Brindisi, I figured that, given my luck on this passage, I might take a shell just below the water line.

Beyond Brindisi the coastline is low, straight and pretty uninteresting. Having booked my flight back from Venice on Friday evening, I am now looking at my watch and choosing to take a course straight to the tip of the ‘spur’ – another toe, heel, leg analogy… Despite a semi promising weather forecast, the wind disappeared completely and the only option was to motor over an increasingly flat sea overnight. At least the route I am taking should not be peppered with shipping so I am hoping to get FULL 20 minute naps without the incessant AIS alarms which seem to even consider lighthouses a collision hazard.

At 19.20, I was in the galley doing the washing up and there was a bang under the hull. Not a collision sort of gradual bang, more of a ‘chop’ bang. I dashed up on deck to view anything in the water but nothing. I reckon the propeller chopped something thankfully light as there is no vibration or untoward noises – phew ! Just goes to show how vulnerable you are.

When you have been sailing your yacht for a number of years, it’s a bit like a relationship (see the Desmond Holdridge quote in the ‘Resonant Quotes’ on the home page) and you begin to understand her moods and her utterances. Every sound has an explanation and a meaning: is it ok or is something wrong, are you making her work too hard and she doesn’t like it? I even think that when asleep, an unusual sound, no matter how subtle can actually bring you back to consciousness. Some years ago I was ‘chasing’ the source of water in the bilge and, in order to eliminate the keel box, I fitted baffles to restrict any possibility of ingress. I found the source elsewhere but never removed the baffles.  Consequently, as the water is forced up and down the keel box by the passage of swells and waves, so it expels and sucks in air past the baffle restrictions. The sound is like an old lady sighing or wheezing. I think I should re-open her airways and improve her breathing, it will make her less animate.

I am now five consecutive nights into my ‘sleep deprivation torture’ and, if anything, it is getting easier presumably as my body clock adjusts to the new regime. Just sometimes during the day I am overwhelmed by the absolute necessity to sleep and I have to take a spontaneous nap. After this I feel fine again. I am worried that this narcolepsy becomes the new norm and I get a reputation for falling asleep mid conversation – it’s normally the person I am talking to! Adjusting to normal sleep patterns may be a challenge but I am sure that sleeping horizontally in a bed will help.

I wrote a letter that was published in the December 2016 Yachting Monthly entitled ‘Slack the stack-pack’ (features in the Articles section of this web site, just search ‘slack’ on the home page) and the photograph was of my previous yacht. I have adopted the same philosophy on Hejira and it cannot be denied that it cleans up the appearance and must enhance the air flow over the foot of the mainsail.

Having ‘turned the corner’ and with Venice metaphorically in sight, I have felt able to confirm dates and destinations to the various crew who will be joining me for the more leisurely elements of this adventure. Some of them are expressing reservations after the disclosures in the ’Naturist’ blog.  I have had to assure them that I will not be enforcing a new (un) dress code and that my new proclivity is reserved for solo sailing. Having a good 4G signal inshore close to Brindisi has enabled the sending of Emails and the booking of flights so; once again, I have introduced the deadlines which I was so eager to avoid. Well it’s either that or sail solo for the whole season and go completely mad.

With this post uploaded, I will be sailing a more direct route which will take me offshore, probably out of mobile signal range. As a result, tomorrows offering is likely to be devoid of pictures as it will be posted over the Satellite. Well what is there to photograph I hear you say, you would be surprised as this random craft spotted well offshore clearly demonstrates.

At 14.00, a most remarkable thing happened. The wind picked up to a nice F3/4, Just in front of the beam and with full sail, on a flat sea, in cloud free sunshine, WE SAILED !

This blissful situation turned into a lively romp as the wind built, cracking along at 6-7 knots. This was surprisingly (given experiences up to now) sustained until 23.15 as we approached the Cape at the ‘heel’.  The wind then dropped away and it was on with the engine – supplied from the second tank.

There was more proof that there are tides and currents in the Med as we experienced a 1 ½ knot adverse current at the Cape. 1 ½ miles from the Cape, the wind built again (quite usual around headlands) to F6/7 and keeping a good lookout, there was nothing showing on AIS and no visible navigation lights against the lights ashore. Imagine my surprise when a powerful spotlight was shone out of the blackness directly at Hejira from about 30 metres off the beam! This was a frightening experience and very telling in the context of my mission.

Dawn found Hejira motoring into a light wind with one reef left in the main from the overnight shenanigans. We had, at least turned North and Venice showed as 415 miles away as the crow flies.

Rigging the washing machine to deal with a build-up of dirty clothes got me thinking. It’s warm, I am in the middle of nowhere, I am on my own so there is no one to offend or disgust, why bother with clothes at all? Clothes only create washing – no clothes, no washing!

I have to say that being ‘fabric free’ is fabulously liberating and enjoyable.  I can now quite understand the appeal of naturism, it is a revelation, I could very well be a convert.

The only downside is that it does rather highlight the aspects of our bodies that we would rather keep hidden. The bulges and wobbly bits which have gradually built up over the years and that we have tended to ignore and disguise with a judicious choice of garments. What better motivation to address the matter – I only had breakfast and a banana yesterday !

I do think, however, that it would be prudent to be vigilant in this relentless sunshine as large (?) parts of my body are not used to exposure and sun burned ‘bits’ could be inconvenient and probably very painful. Photos to follow – only joking !

I understand that you really don’t want that image remaining in your heads so to help you replace anything unpleasant, I have attached a nice picture of a dolphin – from a previous Hejira cruise of course.

To say that my relationship with the Iridium satellite system had been ‘troubled’ would be a gross understatement. To receive a bill for over £6K for data apparently consumed in one afternoon (I had apparently forgotten to reinstate a firewall) on my return Atlantic crossing was definitely one of the lowest of the lows. So it was that I had approached re-connection for this challenge with a great deal of caution. Prompted by my experience, the providers, Mailasail, now offer a cut off limit and I would only consider re-connection with such a precaution written into the contract. I didn’t expect to be using much data as I would only enable the system when out of mobile phone range so that is on crossings and between remote headlands. I saw the new WhatsApp function as being useful as indeed it is. Billing periods are in calendar months so the limit relates to the consumption over a month. You can imagine how I felt to receive yesterday (the 9^th) the following Email into my ‘Mailasail’ address from the billing company:-

‘Auto suspend limit of 120Mins based on voice used has been reached, service suspension is now pending’.

Firstly, I had not made any phone calls, as far as I was concerned, this facility was for emergency use only. Yes I had sent and received WhatsApp messages but this was meant to be cheap and the only Email I sent was to Mailasail asking them what the hell was going on! I didn’t expect to get any response on a Sunday afternoon so imagine my surprise when an Email popped straight back from the very helpful Helle saying:-

‘I have had a look on the portal, and the information there right now is that you have used just over 8MB data which on plan 0/0/128 should give a bill of approximately  $112 + VAT.

There is no sign on portal of voice usage, but I think Iridium have had an outage, so all this information is not 100% in stone.’

This was of some comfort and it was followed at 10.30 that evening by :-

‘We have heard back from Iridium – they confirm no usage of voice on your SIM and no planned suspension, so please regard this as an error for now. Apologies for the inconvenience.’

Now, to get this response from Mailasail on a Sunday evening when the issues actually lie with Iridium I think is pretty outstanding and I thank Helle for putting my mind at rest so promptly.

You might think that the title of this blog suggests an encounter with the United States Air Force, well you would be wrong – read on.

The period of sailing after the boisterous exit of the Strait was short lived as the wind disappeared once again and I had to reach for the key to the ‘iron tops’l’ which responded without objection.

Motoring into the evening, I took a longer inshore route to ensure mobile connection before the expected mobile signal desert as I cross the instep. Even after dark, it was notable that the evening temperature was not just warm, it was hot – balmy!

After a quiet night under engine again, dawn brought a backing and increase in the wind so that, with one reef in the main and a reduced jib, we (I seem to refer to we but I mean me and Hejira) enjoyed a sprightly sail just off close hauled. Unfortunately this only lasted for an hour before the wind dropped and we were headed so the engine had to be re-engaged – yet again.

Hejira is very generously equipped with two 250 litre diesel tanks which should give me over a week of non-stop motoring, more if I run the engine at 2K revs as I have done on this passage. I also have the ability to carry a further 160 litres in containers concealed on the aft deck, strapped against new grab bars and fashioned into seats – you may have seen them in photos. I had chosen not to fill them on this trip thinking it unnecessary and the containers had all been ‘dosed’ for empty storage.  I had also chosen to leave the fuel ‘bladder’ stowed. This holds a further 80 litres and straps onto the foredeck – if you search ‘bladder’ in the search facility on the home page it should show blogs where the bladder is pictured – if you can be arsed. These are as a precaution on long Ocean passages when periods of motoring are expected like the return from the Caribbean through the windless Azores high. With it being 1200nm from Nice to Venice, that is probably ten days of motoring. I was expecting to do at least some sailing on this trip but, as I know from experience, the wind in the Med is capricious, often too little or too much for sailing. Unfortunately, to date we have mostly experienced the ‘too little’ conditions and we have motored nearly all the way.

Approaching the end of the first tank with the needle hovering just above the red, I have a decision to make. I am aware that even when showing empty there is still quite a lot of diesel remaining in the tank but one would normally not run a tank dry although this would extract the maximum volume. Having given the situation superficial thought, I have decided to switch to the second tank, hope to get some wind later in the week and stop for a refill when convenient and if I feel it necessary.

I am feeling particularly dozy this morning after my third night on this passage and I think I am entering a critical phase so I will try to catch up with some naps once clear of the coast and crossing the bay.

One of the delights of sailing offshore is the visit of dolphins, or even whales as we had previously experienced off the Azores. The sight of a pod of dolphins playing in the bow wave and looking up seemingly for approval of their antics is priceless and a truly humbling experience. It was significant however that last year all the way from Portsmouth to Nice, we only saw dolphins in the distance and they never came to play. This is so unusual that it seems highly probable that my new ‘Ultrasonic Antifouling’, (USAF) system is to blame. The system uses two transducers bonded to the inside of the hull which emit a random series of high frequency pulses, it could be that the cetaceans can hear the pulses and they find it unpleasant and to be avoided. In that the system was disappointingly ineffective, I have now turned it off and await a visit so watch this space.

Not having photographed anything remotely interesting since the last ‘mega blog’, here is a picture of the instruments at the chart table for what it’s worth.

Not wanting to disappoint my burgeoning readership which may by now have expanded into double figures, I will try to get this message away earlier than usual as I alter course to pass close to Capo Rizzuto and try to pick up a signal.

A telephone conversation with the hugely knowledgeable Barry has been very reassuring and once I have carried out a few precautionary adjustments, I feel that the next time I feel compelled to turn the engine off and experience the joys of silent sailing; I will have a better idea of how to address any ensuing problem.

The view from offshore of the coast of Campania and Calabria suggested a different Italy to the more northern regions. The coastal villages were small and the individual white dwellings were clustered together around the central church, all with terracotta roofs. The pilot book suggested that the villages were mostly charming and worth a visit. It is a shame that I have to speed past them and not explore ashore.

The wind continued to die away and at 16.30 there was not a breath and the sea had become glassy smooth. Just imagine if I had not managed to start the engine and had been wallowing around, going nowhere !

I had intended to take the direct route overnight from Capo Palinuro to Messina but there was a large fleet of 12 fishing boats showing on AIS clustered directly on the course. It seemed prudent therefore to skirt around the coast which should also retain the mobile signal. This seemed like a good plan until I spotted a line of small, semi submerged orange floats in the water across my course dead ahead. I thrust the controls astern and 15 tons went from 6knots to nil just as the floats and the now visible suspended net disappeared under the bow. They say that bad news comes in threes so I hope this is the third and final issue I will encounter on this cruise. The net emanated from a rusty fishing boat some way away which was not on AIS. As I approached to go round them, they seemed most grateful that I hadn’t crashed through their net but they could have done a lot to prevent the situation, they could have called me by name on the VHF had they been on AIS. This area must be alive with fish to justify this much fishing activity. Despite being inshore of the glut of the fishing fleet, there was a stream of vessels crossing my path throughout the night, presumably as they returned and left their home ports.

I have to confess that I slept through my alarm on one occasion in the night. I have replaced the battery and it now makes a more strident appeal for wakefulness.

At about 0915, 17 miles before the Strait, a menacing grey boat descended on Hejira at speed. The caption on the side was Guardia di Finenza – again. They ordered me to stop, which was difficult given that I had a full mainsail and was doing a few knots in the light wind even with the engine in neutral. They were busy deploying fenders and I dreaded them coming alongside from the way they were handling the vessel. They took exception when I brandished my camera intending to record the incident for the blog but were preoccupied trying to bring their boat alongside. We thankfully settled on shouted questions and answers across the gap between our boats, ‘where had I come from, where was I going – what – you have not stopped since Ostia?’ they asked with apparent incredulity and clearly not believing me. Their reaction to my reply to  ‘next port of call?’ – ‘Venice’ suggested they had just realised that I was a mad Englishman – they may be right!  When I explained I had a copy of a form filled out by their colleagues in Ostia they seemed visibly relieved and I stretched out and handed it to one of their crew, boy, was I glad I insisted they use their carbon paper in Ostia. They handed the form around amongst themselves and nodded to each other, handing it back seemingly satisfied and pleased no doubt that they didn’t actually have to ‘come alongside’ and board. They sped off from where they had come while I took another picture – sod their ‘National Security’, I’ve got a blog to illustrate.

The Strait of Messina separates Sicily from mainland Italy and is barely 1 ½ miles across between Capo Peloro and Torre Cavallo. Our (me and Hejira) passage passed inside the evocative volcanic islands of Stromboli, Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Filicudi and Panarrea (not a bread intolerance) before reaching the shipping separation lanes. This is a volatile seismic area and as recently as 1980, 5000 people died in an earthquake in Reggio, the main harbour in the Strait.  The Strait has been famous since ‘The Odyssey’ with two legendary whirlpools, Scilla and Charybdis. It is commonly thought that the Mediterranean is not tidal but in the Strait there is a tidal current of 4 knots at springs. The South going stream starts 4 hours after high tide at Gibraltar which was at 0732 so our arrival at 1300 was bang on. In the words of the redoubtable Admiralty Pilot: ‘The currents and whirlpools, famous from antiquity, are such as to necessitate some caution in the navigation of the Strait, moreover, in the vicinity of the high land, on either side, vessels are exposed to violent squalls which descend through the valleys with such strength as, at times, to inconvenience vessels.’

I chose to tackle the Strait on the eastern, mainland side outside of the shipping lanes. The approach commenced opposite the town of Scilla, named after the legendary whirlpool.  It was here that I was fascinated by half a dozen of the most curious and unusual craft which were just circling and running up and down. They were clearly fishing vessels of about 60ft in length with a huge lattice mast with 3 people in a crow’s nest at the top. Wires from the mast supported a horizontal walkway nearly twice the length of the boat with someone sitting at the end. I am intrigued to know what this is all about as it must be profitable to support at least half a dozen of these unique and inevitably expensive craft, each with a crew of about 7. My guess is that the lookouts in the crow’s nest, spot the highly prized fish (large tuna maybe?) and the individual at the end of the huge bow sprit, harpoons the hapless fish, I await correction. The Strait is very busy with ferries of all shapes and sizes seemingly plying their trade from a number of locations on either side. The most striking feature of the passage though was the tide. We carried a favourable tide and while the log of speed through the water showed 5.5 knots, we were reading a speed over the ground in the gut of the Strait of 9.6knots which is a helpful current of over 4 knots. We also encountered a whirlpool which, but for timely intervention on the helm, could have spun us completely around.

Mount Etna on Sardinia, just to the south west of the Strait is a massive 3,350 metres in height. She is still smoking having erupted again in 2014. I remember it as where Professor Lidenbrock and his party returned to the surface in Jules Verne’s ‘Journey to the centre of the Earth’. Funny what you do remember when I struggle to recall people’s names that I have only just been introduced to. Unfortunately, it’s too hazy for a decent picture. Incredibly Etna has two ski resorts on its slopes – I bet you didn’t know that!

Having all but transited the Strait, it’s notoriously capricious nature didn’t let me off without reminding me not to be smug. The wind piped up along with a big sea and it was from directly behind. We were doing over 8 knots and I began to feel Hejira yawing and the auto beginning to struggle to react sufficiently quickly so, to stay the right side of the wind and a potential gybe, I had to take over for the next hour and a half until our course turned east and the gybe potential had passed. The early part of this transition was not helped by dozens of kite surfers off the turning point directly on the course that I would have ideally chosen to take. As a result I had to sail closer to the lee than I would have liked but it was either that or run the risk of a tangle of kite lines in the rigging. Having turned the corner and shaken out all plain sail, I flirted with the engine off button. Looking at the weather forecast, it would appear we will be able to sail into tomorrow so, yes, I turned the engine off. Unable to help myself, I started it again without a problem. Let’s hope this is still the case when next it is really needed.

So, it’s out of the Tyrrhenian Sea and into the Ionian Sea which is new to me. Having successfully negotiated the toenail of Italy, I have to negotiate the toe, past the ball of the foot and across the instep, and so it goes on.

The wind died progressively through the evening but maintained sufficient strength and angle to keep the main full drawing while Hejira and I motored languidly on the flattening sea.

My first night back underway should have been a gentle introduction allowing untroubled 20 minute catnaps in empty open water. In the event, I began crossing the busy Bay of Naples just after midnight and, for the next 4 hours, it was eyes peeled for shipping. In fact, there were only a handful of cruise and container ships that needed to be monitored and none of them passed within half a mile. I took no chances with the alarm and strung it round my neck on a short lanyard so it could’t stray far from my ears. I have to say that I did get some snatches of sleep, waking up in a panic on one occasion having dreamt that I had drilled a hole in the hull under the water line and we were taking on water!

With the breeze turning overnight to the east to blow off the land, it has taken on an earthy smell. I have experienced this in the past and in the right circumstances; you can smell the land well before you see it.

Dawn saw us past Capri and into the ‘twilight zone’ again with no mobile signal. My Iridium Satellite communication system is accessed through the ‘red box’ which provides varying degrees of firewall protection. I have recently upgraded the software and there is a setting which facilitates the use of WhatsApp which seems to work very well and I will be able to send and receive messages from anywhere in the world – one of my messages will be to ask Mailasail how much it is costing! I can also send compressed Emails and make and receive phone calls in an emergency. I will post blogs when out of mobile range using the system with the kind help of our Company IT support man Phil, aka Gandalf. Pictures will have to be added later once back in mobile range.

At 09.15, the wind picked up a little and was free enough to attempt to sail. The silence was magical and I used the time to check the engine oil and belts. Inevitably it seems, sod’s law conspired again and the wind dropped so we were making only 2.9 knots. The sailing experience, under a cloudless sky, on a flat sea, in total silence save for the slap of the waves on the hull was so totally sublime, it made me gasp with joy and want to sing – this is what it is all about and I am gutted that the indulgence has been largely robbed from me with the forced stop and my notional deadline. My original plan incorporated sufficient time to accommodate languid periods under sail but the 3 days lost with the battery saga has consumed the buffer and if I am to attend some meetings and assume my grandparent duties, I will have to press on. With the wind picking up slightly, and achieving 3.9 knots, I hung on to the experience until the wind dropped and headed our course forcing me to reluctantly reach for the engine key.

That’s when my problems really started – or didn’t start because I turned the key, pressed the button and nothing. I could hear a clicking but, particularly being solo, it’s difficult to try the button from the cockpit and test what is happening at the engine. So, tools out and start the diagnosis. When I shorted the terminals on the starter motor, there was a whirring but no engagement. It sounded to me like a problem with the starter motor and I carry a spare. So in the sweltering heat and the heat from the still very hot engine and working in the confined space, I changed the starter motor perspiring like a waterfall, optimistic that this would rectify the problem. Key, button, – nothing. I tried shorting again and just the same whirring. I then started looking at ports which I could reach in daylight sailing at 2 knots and where I could anchor outside to seek assistance. I thought of ‘phoning a friend’ but I had no mobile signal and I couldn’t get through on the Satellite phone. I thought I would just have a final fiddle with the connections on all the terminal blocks and I tried again, nothing, nothing, nothing,  then the engine started – what a result! (I have added this note in September after the passage of time has made my stupidity less embarrassing. It was all my fault, I didn’t need to change the starter motor at all. Having started the engine many hundreds of times in the past, I somehow thought it was started by pressing the stop button. I can only put this down to tiredness and it is a telling example of how judgement is compromised by lack of sleep.)

My dilemma now is, do I press on and just not turn the engine off (I have a week to go) or do I put in and try to get a coherent solution – in a foreign language with an intermittent fault…….? For now I have decided to press on and once I get a mobile signal, I will phone the ever helpful and very engine competent, Atlantic crossing crew mate, Barry Locke-Edmunds and then review my situation.

I slipped the lines this morning at 0610 and made my way out into an expected F4 on the nose in a lumpy sea under grey skies. The forecast is for the wind to drop but not till much later. Helpfully it is forecast to veer and the sun is due to make an appearance. In the meantime, I am happy to plod on down the coast. I have to say it is good to be out of the marina, not a very pleasant ‘stop over’ for all sorts of reasons although the micro-brewery was a highlight. The oppressive Ostia housing viewed as I pass sort of sums it up.

One of our long standing employees, the very capable Emma, left yesterday to take on new challenges. One of the staff drew a cheeky cartoon on the envelope of her leaving card, he could have given Hejira a mast though!

It is clear that many of the fishing vessels and some of the smaller pleasure craft have not made the discretionary investment in the AIS system. This is not surprising as it is expensive and this situation is not unique to Italy, it does however confirm (as if it were necessary) that a watch cannot be kept only electronically and necessitates the use of the old fashioned eyeball. I have just seen my first lobster pot marker buoy since leaving Nice – just another reminder about watch keeping.

At 12.20 there was sufficient angle on the wind to deploy the full main and derive a little extra drive and stability expecting to pinch up onto our course before long as the wind goes round and the sea breeze further helps the wind to veer. The angle will continue to be too tight for the jib unfortunately. And I can happily report that the sun is out !

Staying inshore does give a better view of the coast and the towns as we pass. Anzio was the location of ‘Operation Shingle’ in February 1944 when the Allies landed to be opposed by German troops (not Italians – I resist drawing any conclusions) and the campaign led to the capture of Rome. A film ‘Anzio’ starring Robert Mitchum based on a book by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas was released in 1968. On the 18^th of February 1944, the British light cruiser ‘Penelope’ was struck here by two torpedoes and sunk with the loss of 417 crew. I resist trying to pass this history off in the way of the slightly irritating Timothy West smugly imparting knowledge in his Canal Journey programmes on TV as though he is fully conversant with the minutiae of the various locations they visit. No, I confess, in my case, it’s all down to Wikipedia !

My return to the office saw the electrical specialist leafing through brochures of batteries, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had promised to return to Hejira 3 hours before. The news was depressing, the nearest battery to my specification was listed at costing over 1000 Euros each and dimensionally longer necessitating modifications to the battery bay to accommodate them. When I grimaced at the price he confidently suggested that the elusive Alessandro could ring and get a better price. Well, he did eventually, he gave me a 10% discount and added 20% VAT !

So the deal was struck at 3,300 Euros (very generous I was assured) and the order was placed to arrive the following morning.

I have to say that, to mitigate a compromise to my whole summer cruise, I am happy to pay what it costs and I am relieved that I should be back on track, albeit having consumed the slack I had in my schedule to allow for slow light wind sailing.

Unable to really do anything else and to assuage my frustration, I ventured ashore that evening intent on finding a decent beer. What an amazing discovery to find a micro-brewery/pub/bar just at the end of the dock. They served a pint of very acceptable IPA and a curious pasty thing in the shape of a skull…. There was a choice of fillings and I chose the one claiming to be ‘goulash’. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either and eating a skull was not particularly inviting; I think they need to re-appraise their product and marketing.

Wednesday morning and after another good night’s sleep I was champing at the bit to get things sorted. When I had no news by lunch time, I made a visit to the office and I was assured that the batteries were on their way, would arrive in the afternoon and they then successfully plundered my card for the full amount.

Thinking that a visit to the supermarket would be prudent, I tried to find the one I remembered in the Marina. Such is the level of deterioration in the Marina that the supermarket and even the MacDonald’s have shut. Asking at the first bar outside the marina confines, the helpful proprietor was just leaving and offered to drive me to the supermarket over a mile away. He cautioned me to stay on the main road on my walk back and not cut through Ostia, a maze of seedy apartment blocks where he said it was unsafe due to gangs, the mafia and gypsies, robberies and murder were apparently regular occurrences. He blamed the Marina problems on the mafia but suggested it was improving. I was charged 65.50 Euros a night for the berth and there were no seats on the toilets – I think that is a form of robbery !

My wait was also punctuated by the arrival of two charming officials from the ‘Guardia di Finanza’ who had mistaken Hejira’s defaced RVYC (Royal Victoria Yacht Club) special ensign as that of a dodgy offshore country flag of convenience. Checking the rules for flying the special RVYC ensign when abroad, there is the following recommendation – ‘Foreign Cruises: When cruising in Foreign  waters a Yacht for which a permit to wear a Special Ensign has been issued should take care to avoid any action which might result in complications with a Foreign Power’. – was this a complication? Checking my paperwork and filling out copious forms convinced them that Hejira is British registered, VAT paid and currently has EU rights of passage. I dread to think what will happen if we Brexit. The officials were actually most courteous but refused a photo for the blog citing ‘National Security’!

I am very aware that the battery saga has been going on a bit and anyone who has stuck with it is probably glazing over by now, so, suffice it to say that the batteries arrived, the wrong capacity, the wrong terminals and doubtful spec. They apologised for the mistake and offered to replace them but it would take some time. With some adjustments and compromises I have made do with what they supplied but I think I have been royally shafted! Maybe the mafia still have a hold over the marina after all – they are known for extortion.

It is 275 miles from here to the Straits of Messina between the toe of Italy and Sicily and I am anxious to tackle it in the light. Not only is there heavy shipping, ferries and fishing boats, there are currents and strong winds between the mountains so I will need my wits about me. At an average pace, it will take 55 hours to get there so I am planning to leave at 06.00 tomorrow, Thursday.