Sicily

[daleboutm]

We are heading west from the Ionian to Sardinia in May this year. What is the best route to pass Sicily to the south or to the North this in respect to weather, anchor aches and reasonable priced marinas? We prefer daytrips.
All suggestions will be welcome.

 

[nomadic star]

Hi,

We passed through last summer from W/E, South route , stopped over in marinas : June in St Antioco ( island west of Sardinia) 22 euro p/d, Cagliari (Sardinia) 32 euro p/d, Sciacca (Sicily) 28 euro p/d , July in Licata (Sicily) 40 euro p/d, Ragussa (Sicily) 38 euro p/d , Siracusa (Sicily) 60 euro p/d.

All the above marina' s were day sail, on 40ft s/y. Good weather all the time, and really nice marina's with good staff. Siracusa bit pricey but not to be missed as by far the most romantic beautiful setting, and you can anchor in a big well sheltered bay, our only regret was not to stay longer as we had to push on to reach Kefalonia. Where we found a free deserted marina opposite side of bay to town !

 

[Tranona]

North is shorter and you get to pass through the Messina Straits but there is little on the north coast of interest, unless you fancy the fleshpots of Palermo. South is the scenic route and better if you have the time.

 

[sailaboutvic]

This really depends on how adventure you want to be and if your happy on your hook .
Has said the south side there lots of marinas but that's it , if you head thought the Messina straight forget what you read it no big deal if you time it right just the other side you have the islands , lots of anchorage and plenty to explore , a late evening sail to Stromboli Is not to be missed to see the fire works , good anchorage on lipari , Vulcano nice walk to the top .you can anchor on the south side of Filicudi from there is Just under 40mn to Cefalu anchor on the west side of the town Under the old wall or use the Marina on the east side .a 20 NM sail will get you to Fango and the small Marina or head straight for Palermo around 34nm where you can find a space on the town wall or if you feel safer head for the Marina , very old town run down in place but very interesting lot to see . Now it get a bit tricky , you can use Palermo as a jumping point , 193 nm to Villasimus South East corner Sardinia where you can anchor out side the Marina of just along in the bay or head for San Vito still on Sicily some 37nm little Marina or anchor out side if the weather ok .lovely Sicilian town , from there it just 160 nm to Villasimus or you can just hit all the Marina on the south side of Sicily .
By the way there no day trip to sardinia from Sicily at just point you are going to have to do a long trip .

 

[jordanbasset]

Certainly agree Siracussa is a must to see, excellent anchorage and lovely town.
As to North or South route, would probably go North next time but the Southern route does have the benefit of an excursion to Malta, which we liked.

 

[macd]

...Cefalu anchor on the west side of the town Under the old wall or use the Marina on the east side .

Lovely old town. Best anchorage is in the harbour containing the marina, south of the pontoons. Excellent holding over sand and clean enough to swim. Sherltered from all but E. There's a splendid deli on the stroll from the harbour to Cefalu town.
Mondello bay, further W, is also a decent overnight anchorage if no sea/wind from E (and saves going into the dump called Palermo).
East of Cefalu, the hammerhead Capo de Milazzo has good anchorages on either side and is a relatively short hop from the Straights of Messina.

+1 on Vulcano, Stromboli etc, although the anchorage on the latter is only tenable in settled conditions.

I might add that I've never done the south side of Sicily: there always seemed to be a NW'erly hoolie brewing when I was contemplating it: not uncommon in the gap to Africa.

 

[JonJon]

Have only done the north route. Just a warning if you plan to sail at night beware of the fishing nets strung out in the wee small hours across your path. Theoretically its illegal but there were many of them.

 

[jimbaerselman]

We are heading west from the Ionian to Sardinia in May this year. What is the best route to pass Sicily to the south or to the North this in respect to weather, anchor aches and reasonable priced marinas? We prefer daytrips.
All suggestions will be welcome.

Read all about it at http://www.jimbsail.info/mediterranean/west-med/sicily-malta-s-italy

Must sees are Egadi islands off the west corner, or if you like ruins, Agrigento in the south. Or there are the multiple Aeolian Isles off the N coast, but those are pretty crowded in peak season. Almost any of the many stops on the East coast (except Messina) are interesting.

Watch out for the tightly policed TSS roundabout in the Messina straits, and if Etna doing it's thing, beware of the whitewash downpour in gentle westerlies!

 

[nomadic star]

This really depends on how adventure you want to be and if your happy on your hook .
Has said the south side there lots of marinas but that's it , if you head thought the Messina straight forget what you read it no big deal if you time it right just the other side you have the islands , lots of anchorage and plenty to explore , a late evening sail to Stromboli Is not to be missed to see the fire works , good anchorage on lipari , Vulcano nice walk to the top .you can anchor on the south side of Filicudi from there is Just under 40mn to Cefalu anchor on the west side of the town Under the old wall or use the Marina on the east side .a 20 NM sail will get you to Fango and the small Marina or head straight for Palermo around 34nm where you can find a space on the town wall or if you feel safer head for the Marina , very old town run down in place but very interesting lot to see . Now it get a bit tricky , you can use Palermo as a jumping point , 193 nm to Villasimus South East corner Sardinia where you can anchor out side the Marina of just along in the bay or head for San Vito still on Sicily some 37nm little Marina or anchor out side if the weather ok .lovely Sicilian town , from there it just 160 nm to Villasimus or you can just hit all the Marina on the south side of Sicily .
By the way there no day trip to sardinia from Sicily at just point you are going to have to do a long trip .

Sorry didn't mention the many anchorages along the south route.

There are good anchorages outside of all marina's I mentioned except Ragusa, and we passed many more anchorages along the way. As you said depends on weather, and also security of tender when visiting land.

We found benefits of marina's ie services/ knowledge of immediate area as we spend some time exploring each place we visit by foot and hire car ( which marina's get preferential rates for us) and in the knowledge our yacht is in a secure enviroment.
We anchor only for overnight stays to break up the long passages we have undertaken many times.

30hrs Sardinia to Scicily depending on what route you take and speed of craft.

Hope all this information helps you on your voyage, enjoy

 

[sailaboutvic]

I am a bit lost regarding anchorage on the south coast , there porto paulo and that's about it now , Licata you can no long anchor in the harbour and if you try the fishing dock most lightly you will be directed to the Marina by he police , Empedocle too many people now have had an counters with the coast guards now and one or two fined , not a place I would want to try my luck , Sciacca again it the Marina you may be luck to get a place on the wall but you have to be lucky , Mazara , in times gone by we use to anchor out side the harbour behind the wall but again Coast guard are now moving you on not sure how long before their will be given out fines there too. Only other place which we not used for years was behind the harbour wall in Masala on e west side of Sicily . Off cause on the west coast you have the lovely island of Favignana not to missed has Jim as said and Trapani where you can after asking port control pick one of there Buoys for a night or two free .

By the way Nomadic star , I wasn't having a pop at you when I said " or you can just hit all the Marina on the south side of Sicily . "

 

[Nostrodamus]

We went the northern route and anchored the whole way so no marina costs. We also found some wonderful places to visit. If it helps please look at our website below where you will find a map which is exact on the anchorages and a write up of the places. If we can help any further then please just ask.

 

[daleboutm]

Thanks for all the useful information. I think it will going to be the North of Sicily with a side hop to the Lipardi Islands as sailaboutvic suggests. Maybe we will bite the bullet and sail directly from Kefalonia to Syracuse and from there heading north.

 

[charles_reed]

Done both - and both routes very interesting - found more safe anchorages N-about, but don't like the crowded Messina Straits.
Siracusa a must, whichever way you gyrate.

 

[rajjes]

Hi,

Apologies for piggy backing on this thread but seems better than opening a new one.

I'm planning to go up the east coast of Sicily this summer to hopefully visit the Aeolian islands. I would like to anchor when possible instead of marina hopping all the way but I'm confused on the situation with anchoring in Sicily.

I'm understanding that Syracuse is still a recognised anchorage but I would appreciate if someone could confirm other anchorages along the east coast where the coast guard will not ask you to move on.

 

[Richard10002]

Porto Palo, Syracusa, Giardino Naxus, (sp?), Taormina......

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hi,

Apologies for piggy backing on this thread but seems better than opening a new one.

I'm planning to go up the east coast of Sicily this summer to hopefully visit the Aeolian islands. I would like to anchor when possible instead of marina hopping all the way but I'm confused on the situation with anchoring in Sicily.

I'm understanding that Syracuse is still a recognised anchorage but I would appreciate if someone could confirm other anchorages along the east coast where the coast guard will not ask you to move on.

I we lost count the time over the years we have gone around Sicily and it does seen each year there more and more reports of boat being moved on , for us it a real pain has living on the hook is what we like doing best ,
To answer you question the place we have used in the past is and up to the begin of 2014 are behind the island of Passero , Siracusa which is a much one of the best street markets you find anywhere , lots to see , Catinia just out side the harbour or go to the port has you enter and find a place on the fisherman quay stern on ( use a tripping long ) , be prepared to move if you taken someone place but we never have had a problem ,Augusta just under the head land , Molini it can get a bit sloppy at time ,Taormina again can get sloppy at time but it fine has long has the weather ok , the best part of the bay has been taken over by mooring buoy , I understand the owner is a member of the CA , if that's true you may get a deal if your a member .the town is well worth a visit .
There also was a good little patch at Trecca behind the island ( rock) but I think that's out of bounds now , after Taormina we always head straight out , there a few local harbour but each time we tried then there always been packed .
Sicily , what a wonderful island even the Mafia are friendly .

 

[rajjes]

Many thanks for the feedback, very useful!

I'm based in Malta and cross over to Sicily frequently but have always used marinas so far mostly due to uneasiness in anchoring regulations.

When anchoring in the suggested sites do you need to keep 300m away from shore or does that apply only for swimming zones?

Also, any tips on securing tender when visiting inland?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Max K]

Hi,

We passed through last summer from W/E, South route , stopped over in marinas : June in St Antioco ( island west of Sardinia) 22 euro p/d, Cagliari (Sardinia) 32 euro p/d, Sciacca (Sicily) 28 euro p/d , July in Licata (Sicily) 40 euro p/d, Ragussa (Sicily) 38 euro p/d , Siracusa (Sicily) 60 euro p/d.

All the above marina' s were day sail, on 40ft s/y. Good weather all the time, and really nice marina's with good staff. Siracusa bit pricey but not to be missed as by far the most romantic beautiful setting, and you can anchor in a big well sheltered bay, our only regret was not to stay longer as we had to push on to reach Kefalonia. Where we found a free deserted marina opposite side of bay to town !

Was the "deserted marina" in Syracusa or Kefalonia?

Max.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Deserted marina opposite Argostoli, Kephallinia.

Watch out in stronger summer northerlies though; afternoons send a lot of surge into most of the berths.

 

[Max K]

Deserted marina opposite Argostoli, Kephallinia.

Watch out in stronger summer northerlies though; afternoons send a lot of surge into most of the berths.

Know it well. Was just seeking clarification.

Max.