Wednesday, June 19, 2013

We departed the marina at Riposto under power and sailed in light wind—8 knots from the SSE—but it only lasted one hour.

We stopped at the Ciclopi Islands to view these amazing towering rocks formed from underground volcanoes. They are in a marine reserve so anchoring in prohibited but we found some moorings to the south, picked up one and Jon and Paul went for a swim to cool off. Lots of tourists are on the beach, and on the islands which can be visited by dinghy & tied off on a moored line in a designated area. A bride and groom were rowed out to one of the islands with photographers; then they climbed the long steps up to a statue of the Madonna for photos and returned to shore.

We continued on under power. There are few suitable or desirable spots to stay along this section. Catania and Augusta are both to commercial for us but we could a great spot for this very calm weather. We could not find it in the Imray Pilot but our plotter shows sufficient water and shelter from the west, east and south. Jon found a name using Google Earth: Baia di Arcile. Ashore is a private resort, with housing, a private beach, and park-like facilities—very lovely.

During the night we found that this spot is apparently a favorite for fishermen. Numerous small boats were around us for part of the night. Around 0530 the wind direction changed and a swell rolled in. It was tolerable for a while but after breakfast we got underway for Syracusa instead of going for a hike on the undeveloped shoreline to the south.

Photo: One of the islands of the Ciclops. We were too busy avoiding swimmers, small boats and the restricted areas to get many good photos.