Sunday 12th August 2017 – New mafia crew join in Sicily
This morning, at 0900, we said farewell to Stewart and Marcel as they left the boat to make their way by taxi to Palermo Airport. We’ve had a fantastic 3 weeks sailing with them and many memorable moments……. looking forward to welcoming them back later in the voyage. We are now joined by Zoë, Nick and Adrian, as we sail off to Sardinia 😊
Unfortunately, the 9 knots of wind was in a northerly directly on our nose with a lumpy sea state…. Oh joy! The wind weakened slightly but remained constant so we managed to hoist cloth and start sailing as we tacked through the night changing our destination to an anchorage further south.
Chicken curry for dinner tonight, it sounded like an easy to cook meal, chop up everything and leave it int’ pot… Unfortunately, it didn’t help that the breasts hadn’t defrosted and further found that they still had bones and tubes inside!! Ew… so said Josh!
The week begins…
Act 2:
After living, sailing, cooking and fishing with Stewart and Marcel for 3 weeks, we had to say farewell in Palermo, Sicily. Once we arrived at this port we were joined the next day by our new crew (after giving them a true Mad Monkey welcome, by scampering down the pontoon wearing monkey masks!)
Our day out in the town was mixed… We spent the daytime walking through the picturesque town with tall traditional buildings and stopping regularly by the sea to take in the view whilst having a refreshing (for medical reasons only!) drink. However, when evening came we found ourselves in the suburbs of Palermo, eating on the side of a road in a small family fish restaurant; our plates illuminated by streetlights. None of the crew spoke Italian and none of the staff/family spoke English, so we had to call on the lady sat on the table next to us to translate the menu and order something similar to what we wanted. It was an odd experience sitting at a table having food and having vans drive past you, missing you by about half a meter! The scenery was unique too, the area had quite a gothic and haunted feel to it, and clusters of bars were set up around each corner.
Early in the morning, when we decided to leave, we hailed a taxi from the road, a 5 seater Fiat… for 8 crew. After convincing the driver that it would be safe, all 8 of us, plus the driver were rammed in the taxi, people sitting on laps and Josh’s head against the windscreen. This was a great substitute for teamwork training on board the boat!
When we left Palermo we headed straight for Sardinia, on our first night we had dinner with front row seats to an amazing sunset, filling the sky with an amalgamation of warm and golden colours, which of course called for photos.
Our week with Zoë, Nick and Adrian was spent travelling south down Sardinia, ending in Cagliari. Throughout the week we tried out the new rib and inflatable and stopped off in a selection of places where we could race’ the ring between all the big boats; Nick took advantage here by taking the skipper for a spin, a chance for payback! Also, Josh had A-Level results to receive, which meant going into town and celebrating in Villasimius. When the week ended, we said goodbye to the crew and the Chatfield family enjoyed their first weekend alone, moored next to a boat called ‘Fokker’.
Cagliari had lots of walking to offer and a 1 1/2hr leg took us to the second biggest fish market in the Mediterranean, it was quite an experience! Also, having a drink in front of traditional Spanish ballroom dancers on the street was well worth seeing.
Along then came Amalia and Max! The first surprise was when they arrived on board and gifted us with 18 litres of red wine, branded with Mad Monkey! Also, homemade jars of pesto sauce, cheeses, pasta, homemade ragu etc… the list went on… and yes, the boat is still floating!
Follow the next blog for further adventures!
Skipper! 