Blog 2: Gibraltar to Crete

BLOG 2

30th April – 31st May 2017

We have now made landfall in Greece; in Crete to be precise.  It has taken us a month to cover the 1700 miles from La Línea (Gibraltar).  (Eleven days were, however, spent in Palermo sourcing, collecting and installing a replacement Autopilot drive motor.)  En route to Crete we stopped in Mallorca, Sicily and Malta (see narrative below).

Route: Portugal to Crete

GIBRALTAR

Our stay in and indeed passage to Gibraltar from Portutgal were both delayed by easterly gales.

Weather forecast – Gibraltar Strait gale

Not a major problem – one just has to be patient when sailing and find something that you’re interested in to do!

Mike enjoying a G&T in the cockpit

We finally left Gibraltar at dawn on 30th April once we could see a favourable weather window for the next 24 hours – enough hopefully to get us along the Costa del Sol and round Cabo de Gata.

Europa Point lighthouse, Gibraltar

We departed in a strong westerly which increased, as forecast, to a F8 during our first night at sea. It was rather like a sleigh ride in total darkness, since there was no moon.   We simply put two reefs in the main, battened down the hatches and let S.I.D., our third ‘member of crew’, get on with it.  

S.I.D.  Our third member of crew steers the boat in a F7

We achieved our objective of utilising the weather window (and gale) to get round Cabo de Gata before the easterly winds kicked in again after 24 hours.  By then we were travelling north and therefore benefited from them on our passage up the Costa Blanca and across to the Balearic Islands – by which time the wind had died down completely and we had to motor.

         Helen relaxing on the crossing from Costa Blanca to the Balearic Islands

MALLORCA

Our luck ran out weatherwise as we tried to continue to and past Mallorca since we ran into a new F7 (‘near gale’). We therefore pulled into the lee of the island and anchored in Santa Ponsa (north-west of Palma) considered to be one of the best anchorages in Mallorca.

Aerial view of Santa Ponsa anchorage and marina

We gave the adjacent 520-berth private marina owned by the Club Nautico de Santa Ponsa a miss.  It was eye-wateringly expensive for visiting yachts.  The out-of-season rate was 108 euros a night, as compared with the 12 euros we paid in La Linea and Portugal!

            A picture of the delightful old anchorage in Santa Ponsa which has now been developed into the marina referred to above

Surprisingly the Club actually allowed yachts at anchor to use their laundry facilities.  At 3 euros for the use of a very large industrial washing machine it must have been the cheapest wash in the Mediterranean.

Island Drifter at anchor in Santa Ponsa on wash day

SICILY

After the front blew through and another favourable weather window opened up, we weighed anchor at 0200hrs and left Santa Ponsa for Sicily. 

This time we put a new third reef in the mainsail so that we were better prepared for the forecast F8 which we had to sail in when rounding the south of Sardinia.  In consequence, with a smaller sail area, we travelled more slowly but in greater comfort.

Helen on watch during gale off Sardinia

The wind dropped once we were past Sardinia and the gale blew itself out.  We therefore ended up motor sailing the last 100 or so miles to Sicily.  Next morning, at 0645hrs precisely, our electric Autopilot drive motor made some very nasty noises and stopped working. Fortunately we could still hand steer and did so for the remaining 30 miles to Palermo, the capital of Sicily.

Unusual shot – Mike hand steering!

On arrival at Palermo we pulled into the La Cala (Old Harbour) which is full of yachts on small private pontoons, in family boatyards and on moorings off  the harbour walls.

Nautica Fratelli Galizzi boatyard’s pontoon where we stayed for ten days

Palermo’s commercial harbour with our boatyard’s pontoon to the left

With the assistance of the boatyard’s engineers and a phone call to Lewmar in the UK, it quickly became clear that our 13-year-old drive motor was probably beyond repair.  

Autopilot motor on workbench in Palermo boatyard

Since we were being quoted 4 weeks to get it replaced and fitted, Helen returned to the UK on the next available flight and went directly to Lewmar’s factory in Havant, where we were able to purchase a replacement  Autopilot at the factory selling price – albeit that since they assemble to order we still had to wait for the next batch to be built.

Helen collecting new Autopilot motor at Lewmar

While Helen was away in the UK, Mike did some work on the boat and got to know the old quarter of Palermo quite well.  By coincidence, Louize Hurst and a friend Andrew were holidaying in Sicily and arranged to meet Mike.  (We bought our beach chalet from Louize’s brother-in-law!)  They all clearly appeared to have had an excellent evening.

Eating out in the Old Quarter of Palermo with friends

On Helen’s return from the UK, it took less than an hour to replace and test the drive motor, after which we left for Malta. 

Mike with local engineers Gabriele Galizzi and Jacomo celebrating the successful installation and testing of our new Autopilot motor

MALTA

We elected to sail east with the wind for the 120 miles from Palermo to the narrow Messina Strait which separates Sicily and Italy.  We even had to slow down on the way to ensure we got the timing right at this tidal gate which has a fearsome reputation going back to Ancient Greek and Roman times. Even so, we were surprised by the two miles of overfalls that we had to sail through at ‘slack water’ and impressed by the icy-blue embryo whirlpools (bastardi) that were already forming in the area. This passage must be horrific if one gets it wrong.

Overfalls at slack water (!) at the entrance to the Messina Strait narrows

Once past Messina, we enjoyed a more sedate 24-hour run in a northerly F4 down the east coast of Sicily before motoring in zero winds the 60-mile stretch to Malta.

Overnight we were stopped by the Italian Coast Guard who wanted to know if we had any passengers (illegal immigrants) or drugs on board.   As if we’d have told them if we had!  As it was, they simply recorded all our details without boarding us for a search.

We pulled into a berth in Msida Creek Marina soon after midnight, some two days after leaving Palermo.   The marina is situated at the western end of Marsamxett Harbour to the north of Valletta, Malta’s capital.  

Valletta with its two harbours: Grand Harbour to the left, Marsamxett to the right

Valletta’s two harbours – Marsamxett to its north and Grand Harbour to the south – are considered to be the best natural harbours in the Mediterranean.  Once the preserve of the Royal Navy, which has now left, they have become major yachting centres with four boatyards and six marinas (plus one under construction) that can accommodate  1550 yachts among them.

Mega yacht berthed in Grand Harbour Marina as seen from Valletta

According to the GPS in Helen’s phone, we walked a total of 20 miles in two days viewing the capital, its war museums, memorials, marinas and boatyards.

WWII War Memorial in Floriana, near to our marina

Malta lies like a stepping stone between Europe and North Africa. Consequently it has been fought over and invaded by successive powers throughout history. During WWII both the Allies and the Axis powers recognised the strategic importance of Malta.   As a consequence the Allies expended enormous naval resources to support and defend the island while the Axis powers attempted unsuccessfully to bomb the population into submission. 

Fallen Warrior Memorial

On a lighter note, we watched the ceremonial firing of a cannon at noon from the Saluting Battery overlooking Grand Harbour.  Traditionally the gun was fired at noon to allow ships to check their chronometers in order to help them more accurately ascertain longitude on their subsequent voyages.  

Noon day gun being fired at the Saluting Battery in Upper Barraka Gardens overlooking Grand Harbour

Before leaving, Helen topped up our fuel tanks the Maltese way: from a bowser with a 150m-long hose!  (A pink job…)

Helen about to top up Island Drifter’s fuel tanks – Maltese style 

We bought fresh fruit and veg from one of the many mobile roadside stalls that we were so impressed with.

One of the many colourful mobile fruit and veg stalls

CRETE

While the weather forecast for the 450-mile open-water passage to Crete was not particularly favourable, in that winds were expected to be variable in direction but not unduly strong, we nevertheless decided to push on east rather than get stuck in Malta.   Hence we left our berth after signing out with Customs & Immigration and headed off at 90° for Crete.

The Carmelite dome dominates the Valletta skyline – as seen from Island Drifter as we left for Crete

After initially motor sailing, we put up our light-weight genoa, main and mizzen in the light winds that prevailed and made our way steadily, almost sedately, east. 

      The light-weight genoa came into its own on the passage to Crete

Since the water between Malta and Crete is over 2000 metres deep we were able to deploy our towed generator.  It very effectively generates 5 or 6 amps an hour, 24 hours a day, when sailing.  More than adequate for our needs!

Our towed generator gave us 5 amps/hr for 24hrs a day – more than adequate for our needs

As we approached Crete the wind disappeared completely and we had to motor for the last 30 hours of our passage to Chania on the north-west corner of the island.

Sunrise on Day 5 with no wind and a flat sea

Nearing Crete, we were called on the VHF by the Greek Coast Guard asking us to identify ourselves, etc., etc.  Clearly in this part of the world they are very interested in boats that move around in the dark!

Our approach to Crete as seen on the chart plotter

Since the harbour entrance has a reputation of being “difficult” for the first time, we slowed down a bit and made sure that we arrived after dawn so that we could actually see what we were doing.  As it happened, it was a non-issue, but the light on the mountains behind the port, which still have snow on them, was stunning.

Entering Chania harbour through the wide but shallow entrance

Nobody was about when we arrived so we found a space and moored Mediterranean-style to the public quay.   We later discovered that mooring there was going to cost us as a visitor all of 6.50 Euros a day!  Somewhat different from the 108 Euros demanded (but not paid) in Mallorca.

Island Drifter moored Mediterranean-style on the quay in Chania.  On reflection, she does look on the small side compared with our neighbour!

CONCLUSION

Our passage from Malta to Crete was 450 nautical miles which we covered in four and a half days.    We now plan to stay here for a couple of days, get our bearings and then move on.