The Tyrrhenian Sea

On Sunday 8 June we had a lazy day in Olbia and a very pleasant afternoon tea onboard Osprey chatting with Pam and Bruce. They are heading towards the Ionian as well so we may meet up again. Nicky calculated that if we left around 6pm then we would give ourselves the best chance of arriving at the island of Ustica during daylight. We had no idea what speed we would make. The GriB files showed just 5-10 knots of wind across the Tyrrhenian sea but we had been told by Frank Singleton that GriB files are computer models and often underestimate the wind. This seemed to be supported by the Italian weather forecast which talked about 10-15 knots of wind. Departing at 6pm meant we could do anything between about 4 and 7 knots and the timing would still work well for our landfall.

The wind seemed to be in our favour as we worked our way out of the approaches to the city but once we were out in the Gulf of Olbia it just died away. The skyline ahead was dominated by the very large and steep-to island of Tavolara.

As we went passed the profile very much reminded us of Gibraltar. Looking back we also scrutinised the anchorage tucked just inside Pta Spalmatore and protected by a narrow ¾ mile spit of land at the south-western end of the island. We decided that we didn’t want to start the passage towards Sicily with a night of motoring so we diverted back into the anchorage, dropped anchor and went for a swim instead.

We were definitely not alone as this is a popular place but it didn’t feel crowded. We had a lovely swim to the beach and enjoyed dinner watching the cliffs change colour as the sun set. There was not a breath of wind so we felt that we had made the right decision to stop.

We woke up to the sound of the wind blowing again and so departed quickly and had breakfast sailing south. We debated whether or not the wind was purely a coastal effect, in which case the much longer route of sailing to the southern tip of Sardinia before turning east for Sicily made sense. Alternatively if the wind was not just a sea breeze then we could stick with our plan of routing direct. We chose to route direct but unfortunately half a day later the wind died again. The rest of the passage to Isola di Ustica was, sadly, under engine, as we never saw more than 6 knots for this part of the passage. It was ironic really because whilst we were in Menorca we had been concerned about our future crossing of the Tyrrhenian Sea because the winds then were 20-30 knots.

But there are definitely worse places to be than gently motoring along. Out of sight of land and with such settled conditions the sunset was beautiful. Cooking onboard was easy as the boat was steady and, with the autopilot looking after the steering, we were free to laze about reading and sunbathing.

We ran 3-hour watches overnight and I got the dawn shift. It’s one of the best times to fish so I trailed a lure and before long the reel was screaming as the line raced out. Poor Nicky had just gone to sleep when I needed her help in landing the catch which was a small tuna (about 75 cm long) called, we think, an Albacore.

My watch passed quickly with the most of the time taken up with bleeding and gutting the tuna before cutting it into large steaks and chilling it. The wasabi paste and soy sauce came out for a mid-morning snack of the freshest sushi we had ever tasted. It was divine, and with 4 kg of tuna steaks in the fridge it was very easy to persuade ourselves to have a second plateful.

One of the consolations of not being able to sail was that the sea was very calm and so we could spot passing marine animals more easily. Overnight we had enjoyed seeing phosphorescence in the wake and watching glowing jelly fish tumbling in the disturbed water like blue-green plasma balls. As the moon set, the tiny jellyfish and plankton that rise to the surface at night also became obvious, sparkling as if the stars were reflected in the sea. During the day we saw nearly 20 turtles basking on the surface. We only saw one or two clearly as most dived for cover when they saw BV coming. Perhaps the ‘turtle telegraph’ had warned them of our previous collision with one of their brethren when we had been sailing to Sardinia!

Amazingly, we also spotted a whale which was a first for both of us. We think it was a sperm whale but we decided not to get any closer and check because we were bound to come off worst if the whale took a dislike to BV.

The volcanic (extinct) island of Ustica finally appeared on the horizon and, as we closed with it, we used the time to get some washing dried and to run the watermaker so that we had full tanks, as fresh water is frequently in short supply on the Mediterranean islands.

There is just one harbour on the island, Cala Santa Maria, on the NE side. We arrived at 1930hrs, dropped the anchor and reversed up to the quay where our lines were taken by a local gentleman and the Dutchman from the only other visiting yacht in the harbour. The evening was very pleasant sharing a bottle of wine with some seared tuna steaks. [Ed: Reg’s ‘Game Fisherman’ status is now confirmed (vice his previous ‘Rubbish Fisherman’ status). Hopefully, he doesn’t try to move on to ‘Big Game’ status as we had more than enough food with the smallish tuna that he caught and had to give away a couple of steaks to the Dutchman to ensure that we didn’t waste anything.]