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POST DATE AND TIME 21st September 2011
TITLE - SICILY SQUALL
LOCATION PALERMO
LAT/LONG 38 07 3N 13 22 8E
WEATHER HOT AND STORMY
BODY
IMAGE patti in patti; Madonna on parade; james in festia; festival info poster; cefau cathedral & square;
Image

We departed Milazzo on Saturday 17th, after refueling & sailed west along the coast to the little Sicilian town of Patti. As we arrived off the town we saw signs of party - how great of them to arrange this for my arrival! It was the Festival of Madonna - after an early afternoon Mass, she (Madonna) was paraded through the street of the little town & around the harbour on a boat- right past us! followed by a flotilla of local boats – it was a fantastic event. We took the dingy into town to watch her arrival back onto the shore & follow the procession back into the church. The whole town was in fiesta mood & there was a live brass/jazz concert into the evening. We would have loved to stay another day anchored off Patti, but as a result of our early morning RTTY forecast on Sunday 18th advising of a blow on the way, we left Patti at 1st light to motorsail in hot & still weather further along the coast west to Cefalu 38 02.02N 14 02.5E arriving by early afternoon. Our swim off the boat was really cold due to the very cold steams of fresh mountain water flowing into the harbour. We had visited Cefalu before in 2004 but this time we anchored off the marina, with 2 other yachts, right under the lighthouse - rather than off the town. Cefalu’s cathedral has some amazing ceramic murals, which I was keen to see again, so in the cool of the late afternoon we walked into town - to find a music festival being held the town square – great another party! We enjoyed our afternoon drinks on the cathedral steps looking down onto the town square & listening to the live jazz music. With a blow forecast we were keen to get to the safe harbour of Palermo on Monday 20th - so set off at 1st light. We were sailing well under main, cutter & genoa with the sky getting darker & ugly. We reefed in the main & genoa, just before we got hit with a very sharp squall of 50knots & then 30- 40 knots with rain, thunder & lightning for the next hour. The boat coped well, but we had some damage to the genoa, which we couldn’t get rolled away quick enough. We have never been in such violent weather, and it did leave us both upset and unnerved. As the storm moved through we motored on to Palermo Harbour and were very grateful to get a berth & be safely tired up - but the prices had increased by 300% from our last 2004 visit - very expensive! We spent the rest of the day checking over the boat, thinking & talking through the positives & negatives of our squall experience. The talk of the harbour was of storm, with 43 knots recorded in the harbour & many trees and power lines down within the City. We stayed three (expensive) nights in Palermo harbour 38 07.3N 13 22.8E as the forecast blow & sharp storms did come through. We did the ‘liveaboards come to town’ thing & made the most of the unlimited electricity and water to vacuum out the boat under the floorboards, do the clothes washing, wash the boat & have internet access. We love this old city, so full of beautiful old buildings and many, many churches – not at all a Mafia hangout.