We left Catania at 10.39hrs and initially tried to get fuel at the fuel berth in the fishing harbour. We had walked there the previous day to check it out and the guy said any time after 08.00 but we couldn’t see how his hoses were to reach the rather tricky berth and there was no common language to discuss this. On approach there was a motor boat in the berth so we hung around in the harbour. It became clear that the boat wasn’t actually refuelling; they were all waiting for something. Our eventual conclusion was that a tanker would have to pull alongside to refuel at this berth and there wasn’t any sign of one so after 20 minutes we gave up. We thought we had just enough fuel to reach Siracusa.

As is often the case in the Med there was little wind in the morning, about 4-5 knots, so we had one engine on to support the sails most of the time. We had about 40 minutes of really good sailing with 12 knots on the quarter and Splice making 6.5 knots but this soon faded. Most of the trip was engine power, mostly only one engine as we were preserving fuel so progress was only about 4.5 knots.

As we approached Siracusa we called the Harbourmaster on CH16 as required. They are one of the ports that get very stroppy if you don’t ask for permission and there are regular reports of boats being fined E300 or so. The call was straightforward and we were assigned berth P18 on the town quay. We visited the fuel berth on the way into the port and topped up both our tanks...ouch!..... an expensive business when you take on 350 litres of diesel! As we approached the quay we noticed that there was another Broadblue Cat at anchor in the bay. This is very unusual as not that many were built so we motored over and said ‘Hello’. She was a BB385, slightly smaller than us but a very similar design, called ‘Imagine’. We had a brief chat across the water and invited David & Lucinda to visit us on the quay.

We then went off to do our first ‘stern-to with anchor’ in Splice. So far all our stern-to manoeuvres have been using the ‘lazy lines’ provided by the marina that you pick up and use to secure your bow. Here there were none, so you have to drop your anchor as you reverse and use this to hold the boat off the quay whilst the stern is held with lines ashore. We did this a number of years ago with charter boats and this time it actually went very well despite the lack of practise, we got secured and comfortable first time.

We were just tidying up and putting the spring lines on when David and Lucinda appeared, closely followed by a rotund man and a harbour assistant. They told us we shouldn’t have moored there as it was reserved for the ‘wedding cake’ (Chris’s term for a large motor yacht with multiple layers/decks) that had just appeared in the bay. We explained we had been allocated the berth by the Harbour master and an hour of confusion and waiting around followed. Eventually we had to move to berth P10 so... up anchor and repeat the process, at least it was good practise. The mooring went well again but by the time we were secure it was 19.00hrs and we were hot and tired. We agreed with David and Lucinda that we would meet up with them the following evening. We stayed on board and had a beer or two and a simple pasta dish.

Then Chris noticed a screen had been erected on the quay next to a bar and football was on. It was the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus of Italy. The Admiral conceded a shore pass for the second half and Chris was surrounded by increasingly despondent Italians as Real put Juventus to the sword. It was a very high quality game and good to watch. Not sure the crowd there enjoyed it much though!



The screen on the Quay

It’s free to anchor in the bay and on the quay but on the quay you have to pay E10 per day to have your rubbish taken away – even if you have no rubbish! It’s a cheap mooring overall!

The next day was Sunday but another rule here is you must present your papers to the Coastguard within 12 hours of arrival. They had been closed by the time we berthed so Chris went off at 10.00am to the office. All closed up and no-one answered either of the two push bells by the front door. We kept an eye on the building but the doors stayed locked all morning. At 14.00hrs Chris tried to radio, no answer and he then rang a telephone number we had for the Coast guard and was told they were open, come now! He did, doors still locked and no answer on the bells. After some head-scratching he went around the side to peer into the car park, there was another bell there so he pushed that...... an answer and someone came to open the doors. After this it was simply filling in a form and being given a copy. Don’t think they have ever heard of making it easy for the customer! It was a good job we persisted as our copy was checked at the quay the next day but a somewhat officious chap in a white uniform – we passed!



Old balconies and corniches in the narrow streets of Ortigia

In between these games we wandered around the town. The streets of the old town of Ortigia on the peninsula are narrow with tall buildings to keep the sun out, many in need of renovation but with lovely old cornices and iron railed balconies. All very attractive and a great place to just wander about. We looked in the Cathedral and tried ‘Granite’ – a traditional ‘shaved ice’ treat flavoured with lemons (or any other flavour you fancy these days). It was nicer than expected, we’d have that again.



One of the small beaches on the outside of Ortigia's walled peninsula

That evening David and Lucinda came on board for drinks and we compared the differences between our boats, they are happy with their BB, just as we are with Splice. We wandered into the old town together and found a pizza place to eat. It was very good, the pizzas were the best we have had in Sicily. When we checked the next day it was No1 for Pizza in Siracusa on Trip Advisor – a lucky decision. We recommend ‘Schiticchio Pizzaria’ on ‘via Cavour’. The deli/restaurant next to it is good for meals too according to ‘Imagine’.

Monday was shopping, dragging the trolley along hot dusty streets to try and find a supermarket of a decent size. Whilst there are small stores in the old town it’s a good walk into the newer areas to find a larger store. Enroute we visited a very helpful nautical store and brought a few bits and bobs for Splice then on to the ‘Familiar’ supermarket which was closer than the Lidl further along via Elorina. We stocked up the boat as our eldest son Mitch is due to arrive on Friday, the trolley was somewhat weighted down with beer and wine! We relaxed aboard the rest of the day doing small tasks.

Next to us on the quay was an unusual vessel, she’s called ‘Bridget Bardot’ and is part of the fleet of ‘Sea Shephard’ a rather more assertive version of Greenpeace. They actively put their boats and people between the whalers/illegal fishermen and their prey and run campaigns to protect threatened wildlife. This particular vessel started as a round the world motor boat racer, and we were told it once held the record about 20 years ago. They wanted to use its speed to match that of illegal harpoon boats in the Antarctic but its fibreglass hull didn’t get on well with ice! It lost most of one ama (side float). Now it does publicity visits and campaigns in quieter waters! They do free visits so we were shown around, it would be fun onboard at the 32 knots maximum speed but not comfortable. The ship also runs as totally vegan so they can’t be accused of being hypocritical – we wouldn’t volunteer!



Sea Shepard's 'Brigit Bardot' next to Splice on the Quay

On Tuesday it rained - did a good job of it too. Apart from a couple of hours in the morning when Chris popped out to the shops – Carolyn didn’t join him as the plank to get off Splice is very steep against the quay, a touch tricky in the wet wearing crocs - the rain came down constantly all day. We got some bits of washing done, Chris played his guitar and we read a lot. We also play ‘spider solitaire’ on the Ipads and a few hours can be passed trying to beat the most complicated ‘4 pack’ level! We deliberately don’t have a TV on board and whist we could watch stuff on the lap-top we seldom bother, preferring to read on our ‘Kindles’.

The wind was getting up this morning and would make the quay less viable so after collecting some bread we moved Splice out into the anchorage. You have to radio and get permission to move around here but this time it was easy. The sun has returned in a somewhat cloudy sky today and around 15knots is blowing, the most for a week here. The bay is large and we have plenty of space amongst the 15 or so yachts out at anchor (4 Dutch, 3 French, 2 German,2 Belgium, 1 Australian, us and a few without visible ensigns - probably local Italians). We may do some more sight-seeing tomorrow whilst we wait for Mitch to arrive.

Main Photo: The Quay at Siracusa - the bars are useful when they have screens for football but they play loud music until the early hours each night!