August 23-25, 2013
While
the Aeolian Islands may be so named
as they were believed by the ancients to be the home of Aeolus, the God of Winds, apart from the odd thunder storm, wind
was something we had found very little of during our stay and the trend
continued as we departed on our passage south to Sicily at 6.30am.
The beautiful town of Cefalu proved to be an excellent first stop on Sicily |
The port of Cefalu is overlooked by a dramatic hilltop fortress |
Initial
glassy seas and still air eventually gave way to a very light breeze which at
least allowed us to raise the main and motorsail across the flat Mediterranean.
Our destination was the port of Cefalu located about midway along Sicily’s
north coast. The trip was very uneventful and we were able to anchor midafternoon
in the very attractive little bay overlooked by a fortress set high above on a
cliff lined hilltop.
We were able anchor Alcheringa outside of the marina at Cefalu but in the shelter of the headland. |
Friday Aug 23 Gelso to Cefalu, Sicily– 50.0 Nautical Miles – 8 Hours 33 Minutes Average Speed 5.8 Knots – Max 6.6 Knots |
Kieren on the bow in Cefalu trying to tan up his London skin. |
We
enjoyed a casual afternoon onboard in the sun then headed ashore the following
morning. Following the road around the headland we discovered an incredible old
town centre of narrow streets lined with extremely well preserved buildings, a
great beach and lively café scene. The town is dominated by the towers of its Norman
cathedral that dates back to 1131. Like most of the town, the exterior is well
preserved, and is largely decorated with interlacing pointed arches; the
windows also are pointed.. The round-headed Norman portal is worthy of note. A
semi-circular apse is set into the east end wall with a groined vaulted roof,
while the rest of the church has a dramatic wooden roof. Two strong matching
towers flank the cathedral porch, which has three arches corresponding to the
nave and the two aisles. Despite all of us suffering a degree of ABC overload (Another Bloody Cathedral) this was one
of the more memorable examples we’d explored during our European wanderings.
The view back towards the old town of Cefalu from our lunch spot. |
It
was a very enjoyable time wandering the cobblestone streets and laneways followed
by an excellent late lunch washed down with a generous quantity of fine
Sicilian vino at an open air café on the headland overlooking the bay. Yep,
Cefalu was a good place to begin our Sicilian sojourn.
The
anchor was up next morning and we motored westward past the old town towards Palermo
over crystal clear, mirror finish waters. We were very pleased when a good wind
did appear later in the day and Kieren was able to enjoy a spirited sail on the
boat after a full week of motoring. He was flying back to London the following
day and had all but given up on experiencing passaging under sail that his
Uncle Marc had been spruiking about. We were even able to coax Alcheringa up to
a peak of 9.2 knots at one stage which is excellent for a 42 foot Jeanneau.
Dramatic cliffs near Palermo |
We
threaded our way through the maritime traffic in the huge harbour at Palermo
and found our way to the berth we had organised next to the water police base
and about as close to the city itself as you could get. Shortly after docking
good friends from home arrived at the boat which seemed an appropriate excuse
to crack open a bottle. Anthony and
Lynda had been holidaying in Europe and been in Palermo for a couple of days. They were
going to join us the next day for some time with us on the boat before
continuing their trip.
That
evening we all headed off to a local restaurant they had discovered and had yet
another awesome meal which served as an Alcheringa send off for Kieren and
welcome to our new temporary crew mates.
Sunday
Aug 25 Cefalu to Palermo
33.7 Nautical Miles – 6 Hours 20 Minutes
Average
Speed 5.3 Knots – Max 9.2 Knots
|
AN
APOLOGY
Since
returning to Australia at the end of last European summer’s wanderings around
the Med, we have been extremely busy, catching up with friends and family,
finishing and publishing our first book, ‘Stuff
it. Let’s go sailing anyway’, mounting a very successful exhibition of
Karen’s artwork and buying a new boat. While spending much time preparing ‘Our
Dreamtime’ to sail off into the western Pacific and South East Asia, we’re also
working at finalising the this blog’s story of our adventures in the Med and
getting it all back to current so keep checking back for new instalments.
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway. We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
Cefalu is just breathtakingly beautiful, especially with the shots you took of the town and the panoramic view of the hill. I guess it's a frequent stop for sailing enthusiasts, for having all the amenities a sailing life requires, which is a definite plus. I've never been there myself, but I'm definitely putting it on my list, once I embark upon my own Mediterranean adventure! Hahaha! Thank you so much for sharing that!
ReplyDeleteJacquelin Newton @ Jefferson Beach Marina
Thanks for the comment Jacqueline. Cefalu and in fact all of Sicily was a delight. We loved it.
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