Mondello - 17 October 2021


We are a bit surprised by how the day light hours are changing. The sunrise seems to be getting slightly later each day but the time of sunset is moving forward rather quicker, so the days are getting shorter. This is not a big problem, as we are only doing short distances each day and are happy to be secured for the night well before dark.


The weather is a big influence on our lives, and it seems as if the excesses of last week are starting to disappear. It was a joy to be back to short trousers today after a couple of days that were colder.

We continue to retrace our steps as we head back west. We left Solanto reasonably early as rain was forecast later in the day and we want to avoid being out in it. As we left we could see an array of small fishing boats in the bay, fortunately having removed the nets that were down nearby. As it was Sunday, we guessed that there were lots of leisure fishermen out, as there seemed to be a variety of different types of boats, from the traditional to modern.

The wind was forecast to be variable and this is exactly what we got, changing direction and speed especially around the headland. Eventually it died off entirely and we had to resort to using the engine.

As we moved towards Palermo we were aware of a tug dogging our trail again, and from what we could see it was probably the same one as we saw a few day ago. They proceeded to go slowly across Palermo Bay and then turned back. We speculated why they would do this, but couldn’t think of a good explanation.

We managed to avoid the various larger ships coming out of Palermo. A ferry and a coaster both caused us a few moments of concern, but all was well.

We arrived back in the bay at Mondello and anchored as near as possible to where we were before. The exact spot was taken by a day boat who went steaming in just before us.  It was good to see other boats out and about, it has been rather quiet over the last few days, but that must just be because the weather was bad and everyone was holed up in port, the same as we were.

There appeared to be entertainment laid on for us. From one side of the bay a succession of rowing boats appeared, and it seemed that they were having races. We could see spectators on the shore, and there were people in ribs on the water shouting encouragement. There were also two sets of small dinghies being sailed by children, who were being coached but someone in a rib. Both sets seemed to use us as a turning mark, so we saw them from all angles.  There was also a guy on a powered surfboard roaring about. It looked as if he was still learning how to use it, as every so often he got the weight distribution wrong, burying the nose into the water and going headfirst off the board.

Gradually the activity diminished and we saw dark clouds appearing. We felt as if it might be groundhog day as we had very heavy rain when we were here before. Luckily most of the rain missed us but we were able to watch electric storms all around us. Mother nature in all her glory over both the land and the sea.

Once this died down a couple of other boats came and one in particular caused us some boat envy, it was beautiful.



Steve (and Tricia)

Distance today              15 miles

Total distance 2021:   462 miles

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