Porto Palo

Whilst we were in Siracusa the wind had been coming from all points of the compass.  With a high pressure to the northwest of Sicily and another to the southeast, the wind was set to do the same for the next week. On Wednesday 3 May it was forecast to be a useful north-easterly wind which we could use to sail south along the Sicilian coastline.

Leaving Siracusa   

So, at 0915 we raised the anchor and, with that stowed, then set about hoisting the mainsail. To avoid any possibility of being fined, we radioed the Harbourmaster for permission to leave the harbour, and then headed towards the entrance. With barely a cloud in the sky Siracusa looked very dramatic in the bright morning sunlight.

Mount Etna   

Clear of the harbour entrance, as we turned to head south, glancing back towards Siracusa we realised that Mount Etna was standing out clearly above the clouds above the newer part of the city.

 

The wind was initially from our beam but gradually moved aft so before long we had the genoa poled out and were pootling along at 4-5 knots. Our plan had been to just sail 20 miles south to Marzamemi and so we didn’t both increasing the sail plan or we’d get there too soon. It was a gloriously easy and relaxing sail. We ran the water maker for a lot of the passage, completely filling our tanks.

Capo Passero   

As we got within a few miles of Marzamemi we decided to carry on. There is a port, Porto Palo, about 7 miles further on around the headland that we wanted to take a look at and then, if necessary, we would sail back to Marzamemi. To get there we had to sail around the outside of the island off Capo Passero with its unusual fort and monument and then found that the wind was on our nose and so we had to beat the last couple of miles to the entrance of Porto Palo.

The huge harbour at Porto Palo   

Cozzo Spadaro 82m high lighthouse   

The reason we wanted to look at Porto Palo was that our pilot book described it as the best place to wait for a favourable wind for sailing to Malta. It is very much a fishing port with next to nothing immediately ashore and we really weren’t quite sure what to expect. The large number of fishing boats heading into port attested to its primary function; it turned out to be a huge harbour, nearly a mile wide with 2 large breakwaters. All the fishing boats were sheltered behind the eastern breakwater with nothing behind the western one. We sounded in carefully and dropped our anchor in 5 metres picking a sandy spot between the large patches of weed and had this western part of the harbour to ourselves. The western breakwater would provide good shelter from the forecast southwesterly wind and so we decided to stay put rather than sail back to Marzamemi.

We had half expected a crowded and somewhat dirty-watered fishing harbour but the water was very blue and clear, and the western part of the harbour had a wilderness anchorage feel about it. Dominant over the town a couple of miles to the north is the 82 metre high Cozzo Spadaro lighthouse.

Tweaking our riding sail   

Tucked into our corner, we fitted permanent lines to our new riding sail and fiddled about with them to set it as best we could. Ideally, we would attach it to the aft cleats but we tried this and found that the lines rub on the bimini. So, we came to a compromise and set the line lengths for some rings slightly further forward and also fitted some snap shackles which should make it easy to rig next time.

A rare sight; Nicky driving the sewing machine   

We were joined by several other yachts during our 2-night stay in Porto Palo; most stayed for just one night and then moved one. We, however, were killing time (about 5 days) with one eye on the weather forecasts. We were looking for a good wind for our planned passage to Malta but, ideally, not too much. Porto Palo suited us as a pleasant anchorage for sorting out some admin jobs and a bit of varnishing but we still wanted to take a look at Marzamemi as well. With 5 days before we expected to cross to Malta (partly so we didn’t arrive too early) we’d have time for that as well.

Porto Palo, Sicily, Italy