Aisling I

If we stayed in Siracusa long enough, I suppose it's possible that we'd grow tired of it, but I seriously doubt it. With a history that dates back to Greek times, Siracusa is full of delightful surprises. The baroque architecture of the Piazza Duomo is enough in itself, but then you look closely at the cathedral and spot the pillars that are vestiges of its former life as a Greek temple. You see a lovely little children's playground, then notice the Roman columns on the perimeter. Never mind if you can't stand the heat in the vast archeological park....the city's 2700 year old history is around you, and over you, and underneath your feet.

Do you prefer shopping to touring? You can find everything from upmarket clothing stores to kitschy souvenir shops to an excellent chandlery, right in the historic area of Ortigia. Hungry? You'll definitely work up an appetite during your walk through the daily market. With the vast selection of fresh produce and fish on display, your biggest problem will be deciding what to cook for dinner tonight. Try some pecorino cheese and experience true Sicilian hospitality at our favourite cheese shop, the Caseifico Borderi. If you have enough room left in your knapsack for wine, walk to the little enoteca near the Ponte Umberto and buy a very drinkable insolia or nero d'avola for the staggering price of 1.40 euro per litre (bring your own container). But save at least one evening for eating out. You can have a great meal at one of Siracusa's many trattorias or pizzerias without wiping out your cruising kitty and, even better, you're guaranteed to come away with some new recipe ideas. This week's favourite was La Tavernetta's Penne alla Siracusana...with olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, green olives, capers and bread crumbs...yum yum.

Friday was a banner day. We went to the laundry. If you've never lived for weeks at a time on a boat that has no washing machine, you may not understand what a big event this was. We hadn't seen a self-service laundry in a very long time, and our wardrobe choices were dwindling. The two large bags of dirty laundry that we'd accumulated since leaving Licata were hard to handle, but fortunately the laundry is just a few steps from the dinghy dock. Figuring I'd be there at least an hour or two, I'd brought along a book to read. Imagine my surprise when the attendant took both bags from me, asked me for 14 euros and said "Lo facciamo" ("We do it"). I was free! I spent the next two hours wandering through the market and the shops in Ortigia. When I returned to the laundry at 1 p.m., my laundry had been washed, dried and neatly folded AND the attendant gave me a euro fifty in change. Apparently it had taken less time to dry the laundry than he'd anticipated. If I'd ever had any doubt that Siracusa is my favourite city in the Mediterranean, I know if for sure now.

Each time we come to Siracusa, we meet interesting cruisers from all over the globe. This week has been no different, and we've had a busy social calendar. We've shared several lively evenings with Americans Stephen and Shawn and their friend Ross on Amaris and Jennifer and Mark on Starlet (who are cruising on a Nordhaven with their two very lovable dogs, Mitchell and Tory).

Then we spotted another Canadian flag in the anchorage and met Guy, a native of Montreal who has been single-handing on his Halberg Rassy 42 Blue Tang since 2006. Last night, Guy arrived onboard Aisling with a delicious plum cake that he had baked himself, using plums from the market. A new bar has been set. I just hope he doesn't lift anchor without giving me the recipe. My mother is going to love it.

Another neat thing happened yesterday. It started to rain, and things got a bit dark below decks. I pushed back the curtains to let in some light. Lo and behold, I had a view of the cathedral from the galley! What a difference a few new windows make. We'd grown so used to not being able to see through the crazed Lexan of the old ones that I'd lost the habit of opening the curtains. I haven't closed them since.

Every day we watch the weather in the hope of finding a window to sail up the Strait of Messsina. So far no luck. Rick says we might be stuck here for a while. Stuck in Siracusa? Things could be worse!

Comments

Vessel Name:	Aisling I
Vessel Make/Model:	Slocum 43
Hailing Port:	Halifax, NS, Canada
Crew:	Rick and Bonnie Salsman
About:	Crew from Halifax to Horta: Bonnie and Rick Salsman, Dave Morse, Wally Fraser Crew from Horta to Spain: Bonnie and Rick Salsman, Al Salsman, Rob Salsman We left Halifax, N.S. in June 2007, sailed to Horta, and explored the Azores for a month. [...] More
Extra:	The info below is a copy and paste from some literature about the Slocum 43. Please excuse the platitudes. Although I may like them , they are not truly mine. Aisling I is a 1987 Slocum 43, designed by Stan Huntingford. She has been designed to satisfy the sailor who wants the blue water, "get [...] me there" ability with the amenities for great comfort at anchor and at sea. It's a combination of engineering, performance, comfort and safety, wrapped in high quality Burmese teak finish, teak and holly cabin soles and rich upholstery. She is meant to be easily handled by a couple under almost any conditions. She was built in Taiwan to exacting standards using some of the latest technologies of the time that are still admired today. LOA: 42'6" LWL: 35'10"" TYPE: Sailboat - Cutter Rigged BEAM: 12'11" DRAFT: 6' 5" BUILDER:SLOCUM DISPL: 28,104 lbs. SAIL AREA: 808 Sq.Ft. DESIGNER: Stan Huntingford BALLAST: 9,000 lbs. HULL MATRL: Fiberglass ENGINE: Perkins 4108 TANKAGE/FUEL: 120 gal TANKAGE/WATER:150 gal GENERAL INFORMATION: Naval Architect Stan Huntingford has incorporated into this sturdy double ender, both seaworthiness and ample interior space that offers steady and comfortable cruising. Below the water line, the hull shows a fine entry with a long cutaway forefoot followed by an efficient and modern keel section and a deep profile skeg hung rudder, just forward of a tapered stern section. This design combination readily separates the Slocum 43 from other traditional yachts and offers ease of handling and lively performance. This yacht is a perfect example of a classic offshore design and has a warm, roomy and comfortable interior . Incorporating a tumble home stern, bulwarks, dorades, opening ports, oversize rigging and quality construction, This yacht is a modern classic. ACCOMMODATIONS & LAYOUT: Headroom is 6'4" or better, throughout the boat and storage capacity can only be noted as "more than ample". Beautiful Burmese teak joinery throughout, solid teak staving , all doors are beveled and hand fitted, lockers are teak lined and the glossy varnished cabin sole is teak and holly plank. The interior is finished with a satin varnish with high gloss accents on the trim. Teak doors are louvered. This yacht sleeps up to six people in accommodations with the forward cabin, main salon and owners quarter berth cabin. The forward cabin design is a signature of the Slocum and incorporates an upper and lower twin bunk to port, with the top berth extending into a a settee and to port, there is extensive storage in the form of shelves, hanging locker, drawers and louvered doors. Naval Architect Stan Huntingford has incorporated into this sturdy double ender, both seaworthiness and ample interior space that offers steady and comfortable cruising. Below the water line, the hull shows a fine entry with a long cutaway forefoot followed by an efficient and modern keel section and a deep profile skeg hung rudder, just forward of a tapered stern section. This design combination readily separates the Slocum 43 from other traditional yachts and offers ease of handling and lively performance. This yacht is a perfect example of a classic offshore design and is one of the warmest, roomiest, most comfortable interiors available in a 43' cruising yacht. Incorporating a tumble home stern, bulwarks, dorades, opening ports, oversize rigging and quality construction, This yacht is a modern classic. Underneath the starboard countertop is a Stainless Steel automatic internal lighted freezer controlled by an opening top or door. Additionally, the refrigerator box opens from the front. The refrigerator and freezer have large capacity plates which were built to be easily removed for future servicing. There are 2-deep stainless steel sinks, fully gimbaled stove and generous counter space. Overhead cabinets have a moveable peg system, which allows you to custom fit spaces inside to the size and shape of your dishes. Over the galley is a large opening hatch for light and ventilation, also, there are two opening ports over the stove area for added ventilation. Directly across from the galley, to starboard, is a proper offshore, forward facing navigation station and chart table with tremendous room for an exceptional compliment of navigation and electronic equipment for easy use while navigating. The large nav table/desk has a generous storage locker under the desk top and room for the additional electronic navigation and communication equipment outboard. The nav seat is contoured for ease of use underway and the electrical panel is flush mounted here, on a swing-out door for easy access. Overhead are two additional opening ports for excellent cross ventilation with the galley and Nav area. Just aft of the nav station and to starboard of the companionway, is a large pilot berth that will be your favorite berth when offshore. There is a teak grate built into the teak and holly floor at the bottom of the companionway, to catch water from wet gear. With the wet locker and teak draining grate, which drains to the bilge, all foul weather gear is kept aft and away from the main living quarters. All locker doors are ventilated. At the bottom of the companionway stairs is additional storage behind bottom two steps. Next, to port is the owners aft cabin with a queen sized berth with storage below as well as drawers for him and her. Various shelves and locker with removable shelf and enclosed storage locker, as well as ample book storage and large teak framed mirror, mounted on the bulkhead. The aft stateroom also has excellent ventilation provided by two opening ports and an opening hatch overhead. There are 11 Stainless steel opening ports with screens and 5 opening deck hatches, plus the companionway hatch, with screens, which provides a tremendous amount of light and superior cross ventilation. There are also 2 dorade vents, one over the head and one over the chart table. Below deck ventilation far surpasses the standards in the industry. There are light colored curtains at the ports for privacy, interior cushions are a blue HULL AND DECK Hull hand laid-up Fiberglas with 20mm R62-80 Airex Sandwich. Cast iron ballast - 4.08 tonnes, flooded with resin and 100% glassed over ( encapsulated keel). Deck- hand laid-up Fiberglas with 3/4" Baltek balsa-wd sandwich core. Teak side decks - seasoned timber, quarter sawn with black bedding compound below and in seams, secured to Fiberglas by 1" sheet metal screws, countersunk and plugged. Inlaid teak on cabin top. 1 1/2" s/s shaft, tapered to ABYC std ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Conforms to United States Coast Guard and American Bureau Yachting regulations governing wire type, coding and load capacity FRP battery box, ventilated cover with quick release tie down NEWMAR (USA) electrical panel with panel light, circuit breakers with "ON" light and battery test switch, both 110v AC and 12v DC, volt Fuel tanks - New April2000, 120 gallons in 2 Aluminum 60 gal tanks with baffles, clean out ports, complete with dipsticks, inter tank connectors with valve, take off from top with s/s ball valve on each labeled and grounded More
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