Trapani old town

Our research for boatyards came up trumps when we identified two yards in the commercial port of Trapani just 15 nautical miles further along the coastline. Both had availability, presumably because we are in the month of August when yachts should be out and about cruising which was perfect for us as it meant no change to our cruising itinerary but instead just a short break to give Flirtie some TLC and if time permitted a stroll around Trapani and a cable car ride up to the medieval town of Erice before we continue our journey onwards to the nearby Egadi Islands.

Both yards had positive reviews however we made contact first with Boat Service Trapani who promptly confirmed that we could work and stay on board so with a lift out reserved for two days time we departed Cornino to take advantage of yet another easterly wind to anchor off Trapani town giving us time to check out the yard and the facilities before actually committing to the lift out.

The winds were fickle and light so fine tuning the sails was the focus to squeeze every last knot where we could. It is a requirement to contact Trapani Port authority for permission to enter the harbour then wait to be told where to anchor. What we didn't realise is that you can only stop for one night during the summer season. Only after we explained that we had a reservation were we granted permission, this was on the eastern side in shallow water and perilously close to a detached breakwater. Any wind shift and we'd be aground. We weren't happy with the surrounding shallows until we remembered that we had downloaded sonar charts as part of the latest Navionics update. All we had to do was press a button on the chart plotter and immediately we were able to clearly see that we were actually over a 5m contour with ample distance from the shallower 2m surrounding areas. Motoring around confirmed this. Let's hope that we remember to use this facility in the future.


left image, the nautical chart providing less contour detail and certainly questionable shallow water
right image, the sonar chart providing extraordinary bottom contour detail and excellent for increasing awareness of the shallow water

Total distance this season: 462.46 nautical miles