We decided on the trip along the coast to Sant Agata as the forecast for the following day was for strong winds from the north-west and we had read that the bays around the Aeolian Islands were not very sheltered (we subsequently met a boat that had been fine in Vulcano).

The journey itself left us with the current common choice, drift along in F2 winds at 2/3 knots or put the engines on. We chose the latter and had simple motor-sail past attractive green hills and valleys until we reached Sant Agata. The roadway along the coast here is supported on tall viaducts across the valleys and the view was a sequence of hills and bridges along the coastline.

We have read that the harbour at Sant Agata was built with EU money and they still haven’t found a good use for it. We don’t know if that’s true but the scale of the sea wall and the harbour it creates is such overkill for the use we saw it seems likely. The wall looks about 1.5 kilometres long and has around twenty smallish fishing boats, a one pontoon marina holding a handful of charter yachts and a few mooring buoys dotted about. The enclosed water is huge, you could anchor over 50+ yachts there – we were the only boat.

A sand bar has developed since the harbour construction and on arrival you can see a clear change in the water as sand seems to stretch across the whole entrance. We nosed in about two thirds across towards the port shore and actually found 6m all the way in despite it looking shallower. We understand near the mole it has silted to only a shallow depth however.

We sat out Sunday at anchor as twenty – twenty five knot winds created some good surfing waves past the entrance behind us. We were well protected but decided not to venture ashore due to the conditions. We saw some surf come over the walls occasionally but they are substantial and we’d be happy here in stronger weather than we saw that day. We just relaxed and read and wrote the last blog entry to pass the day.

The next day we took Fid to the beach and walked up to a supermarket we had identified on the web. It was actually both good value and well stocked so our supplies for the trip out to the Aeolian Islands were secured.
After a coffee we left the harbour around 11.00hrs, as a bolt-hole to shelter this place has a something to offer but otherwise it’s not very interesting.

Photo: Part of the harbour wall and some of the few inhabitants at Sant Agata