Trapani is one busy place! That harbor has fishing boats, ferries, freighters, and, of course, pleasure yachts coming and going at all hours of the day. Being anchored out in the outer harbor means you get allll the rolly wake! So I didn't need any more encouragement when I woke up at 0600 with the boat rocking and rolling like a Roy Orbison song!

Up I jumped and headed straight for the anchor locker and we weighed anchor. I particularly glad about the timing because it meant we had a chance to get around San Vito lo Capo at an early hour. This cape, like so many other capes, looks like it could get really nasty. It is the westernmost point of Sicily and just hangs out there exposed like a flasher in a raincoat. With our early departure from Trapani, I estimated an ETA to the cape at around 0800, hopefully early enough to miss any nasties. We got our single sideband (SSB) working yesterday (more on that later). The weather forecast we downloaded said we should have fairly calm winds, but I didn't want to take any chances - I know how forecasts can be!

We motored north up to the cape and I was right (or lucky!). Calm seas and a 10k northerly in the face was just fine by me! When we got the cape there was a convergence of sailboats. Four of us turned the corner at the same time and headed east. One was a Bavaria 48 coming probably from Sardinia. Then there was the little red boat that I had seen in Trapani and must have left just a short bit ahead of us. Finally, a Dutch-flagged sloop left the port at San Vito and joined our little armada.

As soon as we turned the corner we all turned off our motors and started sailing close hauled in the northeasterly. The race was on! Unfortunately, when the wind quit our little race was suspended as we all hoisted our 'iron genoas'. That was OK because it gave us a chance to look at the beautiful and dramatic cliffs of Sicily. These cliffs are different from the rock formations of Greece. Greece has cliffs that are hard, chiseled rock with a cold look to them. These cliffs were more rounded and fertile, but equally as dramatic.

Finally the wind kicked in and we turned off the motor and did some real sailing. The American team was looking pretty good. We were leading the fleet. I am not sure what the Bavaria's problem was because they would make these erratic course changes like they were headed back to Sardinia and before we knew it, they were sailing again in our direction. The little red boat occastionally used "engine assist" to keep up which I felt was fair since she was the smallest in class. The Dutch boat, which I affectionately named "The Dutchman", was well sailed and appeared to be our toughest competition.

The red boat tacked to clear a point and after awhile we tacked to cover. But then Will and I got into some heavy-duty Yahtzee and we ended up overstanding the layline to the next point by about a mile and a half!! Ooops!! By that point the Bavaria 48 was somewhere way back trying to figure out how to make the thing go. The Dutchman had started his motor rather than face the embarrassment of tacking and the little red boat called the layline perfectly and had caught up to our line when we overstood. Of course, we were still to weather of him and I figured we would rotate in front of him as we cracked off and reached for the last main point before Palermo. Boy, was I surprised when that little bugger didn't rotate. I think he might have been using his engine, and I am going to ask any judges around to penalize him accordingly! Eventually we did rotate in front of him and started to catch up to the Dutchman, who by now was sailing.

But, alas, just as we rolled out "the secret weapon" (the spinnaker), the Dutchman rolled out his secret weapon (the iron genoa). As the red boat motored past us rounding the point we were left in a distant 3rd. Of course, I wasn't racing, so it didn't bother me at all! And besides, I was happy to let them "think" they had beaten us. But as soon as I finish this, I am writing a letter to the World Cruising Union (or whomever!) requesting redress!!!

We got into Palermo (or Portobello or Palmero - I kept calling it something different every time!) around 1800. I bellied up to the bar for a night's lodging in a marina. Whoa! Hey, Big Spender! Well, let me tell you. 60 euro ($75 USD) doesn't buy what it used to. Sure we get to touch terra firma. But we also have to endure the wake of every boat coming and going from this marina. And did I mention there is no wifi? And the water is NOT potable! I got a shower tonight by using the owner's personal shower in the warehouse he rents. It was only one step up from the shower in Cagliari I had last summer when I was showering in front of God and all of his people...in the marina!!

So this has been a bust. I suspect, like Trapani, we will be outta here. I mean, what does a big city have for us? This one doesn't have much I don't think. Our neighbor went to an ampitheatre tonight for an opera. That is cool. I might even be interested in enduring one night of opera just to show Will how painful music really can be!! But other than that, unless there is some really cool castle, cathedral, walled city, or something, a city is just another city. So I think tomorrow we find some potable water and then head outta here for the Aeolian Islands. I gotta feeling we are going to like hanging out there and I want to get there soon to spend as much time as possible there.

Will got the SSB modem working yesterday. That means we no longer have to run blind. If we don't have wifi (which is pretty common now in Italy) then we can at least download a forecast via the SSB. Will discovered a screw had punctured the cable connecting the modem to the computer. Once he extracted the screw, presto! SSB modem works!

I really need to put a good word in for a couple of outfits who helped us out. Gary at Dockside Radio (out of Florida) really helped us troubleshoot our problem. I had bought a few random parts from Dockside when I installed the SSB. But it wasn't any earth-shattering purchase. But when I went to him out of desperation to help us get our modem working, he gave and gave of his expertise.

And when we had explored all of his options and it looked like the problem might be with the modem, he referred us to SCS, the manufacturer of the Pactor modem, and SCS also has tremendous customer support. So if you planning on getting a SSB radio, I would highly recommend getting an Icom M802 radio with Pactor IIusb modem (with Pactor III license) AND buy them from Dockside Radio. You will be heartened by the customer service he/they provide. (By the way, it was Gary's suggestion to try replacing the USB cable which ultimately solved our problem.)