Termini Imerese - 13 - 14 October 2021

We were up as usual around the time the sun rose, and were very relieved to see that the fishermen were out re-gathering their nets. The guy who had been closest to us last night, was back, this time with a helper on board to land his catch. We watched as the net came in, but could not see many fish in it. It must be a hard and at some times soul destroying existence. In all there were more than a dozen boats in sight, of varying sizes.

After breakfast we deemed it safe to move, but even so, after the anchor came up, I was stationed on the bow to look for any nets that were still down. Fortunately there were none, and we escaped into deeper water.


We were keen to get to our next destination because we knew that heavy rain was arriving later in the day, with strong winds overnight. We sailed along the coast in rather mixed conditions, at one minute flying along in a good breeze, and then suddenly becalmed. We had overtaken a fishing boat, heading to port chased by a large flock of sea birds in one of these spurts, but then found he was catching us up again in a lull. Eventually, as the wind seemed to have complete died, we resorted to the engine, and made our way to the harbour at Termini Imerese.







We had been told that this was to be the site of the container port being relocated from Palermo. It is a large harbour, and apparently boasts a mile long harbour wall. We entered and made our way to the marina area, separated from the commercial port. There is not much sign yet of a container port, although there is probably the largest fishing fleet that we have seen in Sicily so far.

We walked towards town to get a little exercise before the rain arrived, but turned back earlier than planned because there was rain in the air. It was just as well that we did, because although it only started 5 minutes before we were back on board, we were wet enough to need to change clothes when we arrived.

Overnight the wind and rain set in harder than ever. There rain was pounding on the deck, enough to wake me a couple of times during the night, most unusual. It is always very nice to be snug and dry inside and hear the rain drumming on the outside.

Thursday morning the wind and rain continued unabated. It was well after lunch time before it was even reasonable to poke our noses outside and step on deck. The forecast is for more wind but less rain. I’m glad we are in a marina.

Steve (and Tricia)

Distance today              10 miles

Total distance 2021:   435 miles

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