We're on the Move!

Cap'n Buck is Back

We say goodbye to some good friends as the days click by.  Venice Lion, Lulu, Feisty, we may never see again.... Argonauta who we hope to see again.  Its the fact of life in the cruising world, but feels surreal and very sad.

We have a very nice couple of weeks tied up to a ‘free’ mooring in Sliema Creek close to the lift out area, which was obviously a great opportunity for us…free!!.  Another yacht larger than us has spent 10 windy days there and says it is ‘good’. 

Saying goodbye to Lulu is hard.  We don't know when we will see each other again.

However fortunately for us one quiet night (actually around 5.30 am) the mooring lets go and we drift on to the sharp old rusty anchor of the boat behind us.  We say fortunately, because the night before this happened we were sitting in a 30 knot easterly and it would have been nasty if it had let go then. 

Jenny and Robert leave Venice Lion on the hard close by.   

The upper part of Sliema Creek is a dog’s breakfast of untidy privately owned buoys, floating plastic cans of various colours, some of them with phone numbers painted on them.  They are tied off to large concrete blocks and chains on the bottom, with decent sized ropes.  It is deep close in and can accommodate keel boats.  We understand during July and August they are occupied by their owners, but for the remainder of the year most of them are unused.   We heard of one cruiser who had spent several seasons on and off these buoys without a problem.  We also hear that in the past some boats taking advantage have been mysteriously cut free in the night. 

Nicely tied up bow and stern but the OB won't go now!

The very calm and windless morning our mooring lets go, there are some curious noises outside which we do not think about until later.  Before we hurriedly depart, Richard pulls the mooring rope up to see what has broken and there is a very large shackle on the end minus the shackle pin.  It is hard to figure out how this could have happened?  Maybe those noises were the sound of an early morning diver… but it takes a few hours before we consider this possibility.

We aren't having a good day!

We feel bad about the broken mooring, but there is not much we can do about it as our outboard engine has also decided it will not work today.  Initially we tie off front and rear to another free mooring, but once the OB gives up the ghost, we head for the Breakwater again and manage to get the last mooring space available.  

Pippy uses the water on the dock with relish

We are there for the next couple of weeks.  

We swim a lot from the rocks nearby - Richard finds it relieves the pain....and battle it out at times with the rebellious kids (they look about 12 years old) who hang around the harbour area, just waiting for an opportunity to start a fight or get up to mischief.  They really are a problem at times and the yacht club staff are frequently seen chasing them off the pontoons. 

This lovely little yacht was broken to bits by some of them in one instance of vandalism.  We are  sworn at and often harassed by them while minding our own business on board, wanting a light for their cigarettes or a beer. 

The outboard, suffering from bad fuel (carb) gets fixed with the help of our lovely friend Axel, who feels like one of our family by the time we depart.

Its very sad to say goodbye.  Hopefully we will get together again one day.

Our social life has been fun. 

Lights of Valetta in the background. Its nice to have company...Aussies and Kiwis

We bet the owner of this brand new lovely new Jeaneau 57 regrets not keeping a good lookout as he rams it into an anchored ship outside Malta Harbour while on its maiden voyage. 

One day a boat identical to ours arrives, skippered by a slightly mad Irishman, but one who we grow to like enormously and to respect for his wonderful attitude to life. 

Marcus Seigne on SY Fuller Spirit has spent time in Bluff in New Zealand on his way past via Cape of Good Hope, Bass Straight and Cape Horn, non stop back to Ireland.  We spend quite a few hours with Marcus hearing his many tales and adventures.

He has the gift of the gab and Richard reckons he not only kissed the blarney stone, he swallowed it whole!

He is not a marina person and soon heads off to an anchorage, where his dinghy is promptly stolen and then he finds it again in the next bay.  Whew!!!




While all that is going on, Richard has his back jabs.  It’s a few hours in hospital, a nice sleep and he is up and about again, with his doctor’s blessing to go sailing tomorrow and to expect it to take around a week before we can know if the procedure has had any effect.  A physiotherapist gives him a pep talk and reminds him to do his exercises regularly and ‘take care’.  He feels instantly better and more positive, so we don’t stay around any longer than necessary.  Honestly we really do not know what the future holds, but at the moment Richard says he feels 75% better.  He still has pain some days and we feel a bit glum then, but mostly he is so much better it is a huge relief.  He is religiously doing his exercises and being very careful about bending in the wrong way as that instantly puts him back there.  We can already say that the sailing is fine but the rope work when we come into port is really hard on his back.

On Wednesday 26 June we leave the breakwater and sail one hour to St Thomas Bay to catch up with our Irish friend Marcus before departing Malta.

27 June 2013

Night falls on our first night at sea in 2013.  We are late this year.  We depart St Thomas Bay a little worse for wear after a few too many drinks with Marcus and Jenny. 

The sun is now a red ball in the sky and its passing below the horizon signals the end of the wind which has been light and patchy.  Our average speed under sail has been a measly 4 knots into a lumpy sea.  Not to worry as we have had a very relaxed day of it and both had 40 winks in preparation for the night to come.  We will be crossing a busy shipping channel, so with the sighting of the first ship we fire up the AIS.   On the screen we can see our position on the chart, plus every ship within 1-2 hours of us.  It is comforting to be able to check the CPA (closest point of approach) well in advance and keep out of the way.

The waning moon which has been too close to the earth and caused all the weather events around the world, lights up our night sky for us while we enjoy a full meal of chicken and veg then settle into our 3 hourly watch routine.

Richard goes forward to check the nav lights are working.

It is midday the next day by the time we pull into Agrigento which looks inviting from the sea.  We have motored all night and it is time to stop.  Ironically as soon as we tie up in San Leone Marina, the wind fills in and blows very fresh – and cold – for the remainder of the afternoon while we take a bus ride into Agrigento and fire up our wind telephone and WIFI dongle, which is a waste of time as it does not work and as soon as we log on we get kicked out again, probably due to poor quality or overloaded telephone lines in the tiny village adjacent to the marina.  The marina tell us WIFI is included in our berthage, but it does not work either… WITRY is more appropriate.

We know we will be here for two nights as the forecast for tomorrow is not good.  A Maestral  is on its way and it brings with it a freezing wind which slices through us.  San Leone is the closest port to the Village of Temples dating back to the Greek inhabitants of 500 BC so we leave the boat, catch a bus and are quickly relieved of Euro 20 so that we can walk up the hill to inspect this temple close to - you can also see it from the road – then walk around the remainder of the site which is mostly just piles of broken stones thanks to the Christians needing to cleanse the area of the pagan gods. 

A rest stop in an orange grove is a lovely break from the heat while we eat our home made sandwiches.

Richard wants to take the photo while Pippy is eating her sandwich but she won't look up as sure her mouth will come out wrinkly in the photo and she is right!!

Eventually we make our way back to the bus stop for the return journey which takes us on a slightly different route but conveniently drops us right outside an amazing Gelateria, where we order massive sized double scoops of gelato, jammed into a hamburger sized brioche for Euro 2.20 each.  

The brioche buns are on the counter

This is a huge contrast to the ridiculous prices being charged for miserable servings of gelato at the entrance to the Valley of Temples.  Now we suspect we know part of the reason for so many of the overweight children and adults we are seeing.  Not inhibited at all, we tuck in and devour ours with relish.

We are reminded of the emotions which accompany leaving the boat in a strange harbour.  Pippy is having an anxiety attack about the fenders.  Are they low enough?  There are nasty metal fittings and chain just waiting on the edge of the pontoon to chew a hole in the side of an unwary boat. 

The swell was beginning to find its way into the harbour as we left and by the time we return, giant breakers are crashing into the sea wall which in the past has been broached in a couple of places.  Fortunately SY Matelot is just fine and we feel tired out as the overnight passage appears to catch up with us.  Its delicious to snuggle up down below out of the freezing wind and have a unscheduled nap....

That is where we are heading tomorrow

Then rug up and go for a walk later on... 

0830 this morning finds us sailing away from San Leone and Agrigento, with an open plan to see how far we can get, but hoping at least to make some westing up the coast of Sicily, at least to Sciacca.  The forecast is for NW up to 12 knots.  We get a westerly with consistent 30 knots.  We are well wrapped up in fleecy tops then sailing jackets over the top. 

Pippy also resorts to woollen socks and a fleecy hat as the freezing wind continues to bite into us all day long.  We sail 46 miles as we tack our way along, making actual distance as the crow flies of 30 miles.  It has been a hard won day.

We are in Sciacca - a very special town which is inviting us to visit from where we sit in the town harbour.  We have made some westing today!!

Sciacca Harbour entrance 

Go with the Flow...!

Friday 14 June 2013

We are painfully aware that time is marching onwards.  

The days slip by as we enjoy the beauty of Sliema Creek and a mooring we have picked up which nobody seems to mind.

Richard is having constant back pain which limits him in every way.  He is limited in what he can do on the boat, cannot walk far without pain, cannot stand in one place for long and when it hurts only gets relief from lying down.  We never thought this would be us when such a short time ago Richard was so fit and strong.  

We have been lucky… so lucky.   On the good days we are close to sailing out of here, but then Richard’s pain grounds him and we know we will stay in the hope that things can be made a little better. 

Malta is a really nice place to be.  Quirky, ancient, dusty, untidy, cars everywhere and a truly lovely Harbour here on the Marsamxett side of Valetta.   Maltese is mostly spoken amongst locals, – a very unusual sounding language with its roots in Arabic and Italian, but English always an option.

Our Medical Insurance has covered Richard for an MRI scan and the specialist he has seen has suggested hydrocortisone injections into his lower back joints to relieve the symptoms of arthritis.  We are currently working through this option.

Many of our friends both on and off the water are quietly getting on with much worse than this and living each day with major health issues.  They are a huge inspiration to us at this time.

In the meantime, small things amuse small minds....

The Duck Village at the entrance to Manoel Island is a source of much amusement and time spent looking over the fence as we pass by on our way to visit friends.

Naturally we are talking about the feasibility of our future on the boat, but not making any decisions at this stage until this suggested treatment has been undertaken.

Currently back on the breakwater at M’Sida, but thinking of grabbing a free mooring again in Sliema Creek.   

In the meantime we are enjoying the company of friends on board boats here and doing what we can, pottering through those jobs which keep on popping up.  

Summer is just tentatively showing its face, with nights still cool, but warm enough to swim during the day for the past two days.  Hopefully this will mean more stable weather, less gales, less red dust… that would be good.  We know its summer because suddenly we are blinkered by sunglasses and hats as we walk the streets of Sliema.

Hopefully our next blog will have some better news and we will be on our way.

Signing out…. Cap’n Buck and Pippy