the fair is in town!

We had until 11am to vacate the marina at Nautica Galizzi in Palermo so there was just enough time to take a look at the holding tank pump that decided to fail with zero resistance at our last pump out.  The holding tank and Henderson pump reside under the rear cabin bed so we basically sleep on top of our sh*t. It's not an ideal location but utilises unused space that would otherwise be wasted. However gaining access to this area is a nightmare as it requires removal of all the bedding, mattress, insulation, mesh air matting and boards all of which have to be relocated into the main saloon through a relatively narrow cabin door which generally requires a bit of pushing, pulling, yanking in amongst some cursing between us.  After taking the pump out and checking the casing and internal seals everything seemed fine but we found that the nut had come off the main spindle which ended up being the cause of the problem.  There was just enough time to return everything back to its rightful place before we departed to go off 'gunk holing', not in creeks or muddy rivers as in the true meaning of the word but instead to meander from anchorage to anchorage whilst we waited in anticipation for the temperature to soar. 

Our chosen anchorage at Terrasini Sud was located on the outer perimeter of Palermo airport and was a perfect location to be entertained by the occasional plane taking off and landing literally over us whilst we tried to cool off in the sea as and when we felt the need.   On the shore the evening fairground provided us with music and colourful lights interspersed by total darkness and cheers from the crowds as power cuts occurred throughout the evening.

We honestly thought that we were through the worst of the heat however by late evening the wind shifted southerly and we kid you not we were literally blasted with hot air for almost 24 hours. Nothing could have prepared us for this and by midnight we knew that sleep was going to be impossible. The air was so dry and intense that we felt as though we were in a sauna, sweating profusely with dry sore eyes. Below deck the internal cabin temperature recorded 37-39 degrees and we were unable to charge our mobile tech because of overheating. Outside, with our digital thermometer pointed (as only we would do) towards the glass fibre and stainless steel we recorded a whopping 43 degrees! Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant experience and one that we would prefer not to experience again but we count ourselves lucky as we were able to sit in an anchorage and able to cool off as necessary for temporary relief. Our thoughts were with those ashore with no air con and no access to the sea... it must have been unbearable. 

Total distance this season: 422.95 nautical miles