Saturday 4th June

After a peaceful anchorage at Capo D’Antonio we headed out at 6am in a millpond sea bound for the Messina Straits.
Feared by ancient mariners it is one and a half miles athe northern tip and the difference in density between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas causes whirlpools (Charybdis) and tides which along with the squalls from the mountains can make it pretty scarey. Scilla the six headed monster lived in a cave on the other side of the strait and plucked sailors off their boats according to legend. Wafts me right back to Senior school.
Indeed within about an hour of the straight the wind and waves had picked up to 25 – 27 knots (on the nose). We could see the swirly water where the whirlpools are supposed to be. We were fairly pleased to arrive on the Italian Mainland for the first time at Reggio Calabria. Told off by the coastguard for not asking permission to enter the harbour, but pretty tired to care. Scruffy commercial port. V pleasant neighbours.