Under way, eventually (a 1200+ Nm cruise around Italy)

[Portofino]

You mean cool down yourself and your crew, if I understand correctly?

I'm asking because, just for the records, I've seen that in my boat the e/r temperature gets actually higher, at D speed.
I never bothered checking the exact temperature, but I'm sure of that because there is a double thermostatic control of blowers: one is set at 45 deg, and is active while the engines are running, and the second is set at 50 deg, and becomes active after the engines are turned off. The logic is that obviously after turning the engines off, the air exchange inside the e/r becomes close to nothing.

Now, the interesting thing is that while cruising at 1700/1800 rpm, the e/r temp never reached 45 deg so far, because I've never seen the blower going on automatically. But in a few occasions when I cruised for a while at D speed, the blower did start automatically...

Yes cool the people down , get a breeze .
Tbo never really thought about ER temps .
I guess @ 825 rpm they pull a heck of a lot LESS air in than 1825 rpm .
Water temps drops to 81 from 84 and EGTs go under 300 from N of 560 .
Dunno about actual air temp of the ER .We have no blowers at all .

Anyhow glad to hear you seem to be adjusting happily to P speeds ,trip seems to be going well .:encouragement:

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Yup, the whole southern coast of Sicily is stunning.
If that client of yours is based in Ragusa, chances are that he's already aware of the chef Ciccio Sultano, in the very center of the town.
But if not, tell him that it's an absolute must.
If his restaurant were based in France, they would have given him 4 instead of 2 Michelin stars!

The restaurants in the area are top top top. Scoglitti more then Marina di Ragusa has half a dozen running in Summer which are all top.
I ate in a Michelin rated restaurant in Licata a couple of years ago which was very good.
The treat IMO is always the Anti Pasto di pesce with various small dishes which makes the main plate un-important.
Another place to go for superb fish is Acitrezza North of Catania.

 

[Cheery]

As an aside, I edited the previous post linked directly to the dynamic webcam of the marina, because while opening the thread I noticed that the cam catched the electric scooter which we rented right in front of our boat, together with myself on the passerelle, while I was unloading some bottles of Sicilian finest wines, which we couldn't resist to buy...

We had a splendid afternoon yesterday in Manchester at an Italian cafe bar which sell the owner's own wines from Sicily. Some very nice wines indeed and we did the wine tasting menu so sampled quite a few.

 

[MapisM]

Anyhow glad to hear you seem to be adjusting happily to P speeds ,trip seems to be going well .:encouragement:

Yup, can't complain so far, thanks.
A bit stuck due to weather atm, but exploiting the electric scooter to explore the area is great fun!
Swmbo is already half thinking to buy one for CF...

Btw, I never expected the adjustment to P speed to be a problem - with my first sea boat, I used to cruise in the high 30s (she topped 42+). In fact, it took a while to adapt to D speed instead, but back in those days we had long distance cruising in mind, for which there's no realistic alternative to D speed.
Now that we are older and wiser, we are well aware that pleasure boats best usage is as floating caravans.
A partial exception being sailboats, which are the only sensible choice for those who really enjoy spending weeks at sea.
For me, till they will invent something faster, I'll stick to jetliners for going places! :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

The treat IMO is always the Anti Pasto di pesce with various small dishes which makes the main plate un-important.

LOL, yeah, if there's an Italian word whose literal translation (i.e. something like "pre-meal") is a massive understatement, it's bound to be antipasto.
Particularly in southern IT - all of it, I have to say, not just Sicily! :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

We had a splendid afternoon yesterday in Manchester at an Italian cafe bar which sell the owner's own wines from Sicily. Some very nice wines indeed and we did the wine tasting menu so sampled quite a few.

Funny you should say that, because I also have a distant memory (VERY distant, actually - like 20+ years ago) of an IT restaurant in Manchester.
I was there on a work trip, and some Brit colleagues thought it was a good idea to bring me there for dinner, while I almost never go to IT restaurants while abroad, 'cause they are often disappointing, when you are used to the real thing.
But that one was remarkably good indeed! Don't ask me the name, though...

 

[JerryC]

I'm a bit late to comment on the Croatian bit of this thread as you've now crossed the Adriatic. I like this thread especially because the pictures of some of the cruising grounds remind me of very nice memories, when as a student, nearly half a century ago, I and my g/f boarded a train from London to Rijeka, then cruised down to Spilt and on to Dubrovnik, at night kipping on deck in sleeping bags. Back in those days, Hvar was a very pretty and friendly port, I'm sorry to hear that maybe it's going down the same route as Magaluf or Aiya Nappa.

Edit: Split, not Spilt, LOL

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Back in those days, Hvar was a very pretty and friendly port, I'm sorry to hear that maybe it's going down the same route as Magaluf or Aiya Nappa.

IMHO thats very unfair. Yes Hvar has become a bit of a party town but no it is nothing like Magaluf or Aiya Napa. Firstly it is still an attractive historical town like many along the Croatian coast and second there are still plenty of upmarket bars, restaurants and hotels where you can avoid the party crowd if you are so inclined. For me it is still one of the must visit places on a Croatian cruise. On the other hand, having visited Magaluf once, I wouldnt go within 50 miles of the place ever again

 

[petem]

IMHO thats very unfair. Yes Hvar has become a bit of a party town but no it is nothing like Magaluf or Aiya Napa. Firstly it is still an attractive historical town like many along the Croatian coast and second there are still plenty of upmarket bars, restaurants and hotels where you can avoid the party crowd if you are so inclined. For me it is still one of the must visit places on a Croatian cruise. On the other hand, having visited Magaluf once, I wouldnt go within 50 miles of the place ever again

You often find that the stag and hen destinations like Magaluf, Aiya Napa, Kavos are on very nice beaches. Avoiding 50 miles of Magaluf is rather harsh as it would rule out the whole of Mallorca! Perhaps avoiding going within a mile of Magaluf would be a better approach.

Regarding Hvar, I believe it's more akin to Ibiza which in itself is very nice. Even the San Antonio Bay of Ibiza is pleasant providing you ignore the hard core 'bar street'. I'd be very pleased to keep our boat in Ibiza if it wasn't for the €10k per annum mooring fees in Santa Eulalia (10m boat). I do need to establish what a berth would cost in Botafoch, a similar amount I would think. Interestingly, people do say that San Antonio marina is great for some of the smaller islands and of course you get fantastic sunsets. Not too expensive either.

 

[petem]

IMHO thats very unfair. Yes Hvar has become a bit of a party town but no it is nothing like Magaluf or Aiya Napa. Firstly it is still an attractive historical town like many along the Croatian coast and second there are still plenty of upmarket bars, restaurants and hotels where you can avoid the party crowd if you are so inclined. For me it is still one of the must visit places on a Croatian cruise. On the other hand, having visited Magaluf once, I wouldnt go within 50 miles of the place ever again

You often find that the stag and hen destinations like Magaluf, Aiya Napa, Kavos are on very nice beaches. Avoiding 50 miles of Magaluf is rather harsh as it would rule out the whole of Mallorca! Perhaps avoiding going within a mile of Magaluf would be a better approach.

Regarding Hvar, I believe it's more akin to Ibiza which in itself is very nice. Even the San Antonio Bay of Ibiza is pleasant providing you ignore the hard core 'bar street'. I'd be very pleased to keep our boat in Ibiza if it wasn't for the €10k per annum mooring fees in Santa Eulalia (10m boat). I do need to establish what a berth would cost in Botafoch, a similar amount I would think. Interestingly, people do say that San Antonio marina is great for some of the smaller islands and of course you get fantastic sunsets. Not too expensive either.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I do need to establish what a berth would cost in Botafoch, a similar amount I would think. Interestingly, people do say that San Antonio marina is great for some of the smaller islands and of course you get fantastic sunsets. Not too expensive either.

We liked Botafoch a lot. Away from the party crowds in Ibiza Town and the noisy teenagers in S Antonio. Best marina in Ibiza IMHO. Also convenient to get to Formentera

 

[jrudge]

And e650 a night !

I have never spent that on a hotel !

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

And e650 a night !

I have never spent that on a hotel !

Yeah well you dont go anywhere near Ibiza in Jul/Aug. Outside the high season its a lot cheaper!

 

[jrudge]

Was there last week. Every bay teaming with huge jelly fish. Won’t go back this year.

 

[JerryC]

IMHO thats very unfair. Yes Hvar has become a bit of a party town but no it is nothing like Magaluf or Aiya Napa.

Well if you're leaping up to defend Hvar's reputation Mike, that can only be a good thing as I would like to revisit the place. I was just going by the comments in posts #145 and 146 which seemed to imply the opposite. I did say "going down the route of"... so hopefully it will take a good few years yet to plummet to those depths. Unfortunately it seems that when the teen n twenty singles latch on to a destination, it seems to a one way process with no recovery.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Was there last week. Every bay teaming with huge jelly fish. Won’t go back this year.

Must say we found the Balearics the worst area for jelly fish compared to any other cruising area in the Med. Never saw a single jelly in 4yrs in Croatia and dont remember many many if at all in Sardinia. I'm definitely no marine scientist but it seems to me that they get attracted by nutrients in the water running off agricultural land and they get blown around by wind induced currents in that we tended to find them in bays which had been subject to onshore winds for a few days. Also I'm told that they are on the increase because their only natural predator, the turtle, is on the decline. Thats probably all bollox but its certainly true that jellies are a big problem around the Balearics!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Well if you're leaping up to defend Hvar's reputation Mike, that can only be a good thing as I would like to revisit the place. I was just going by the comments in posts #145 and 146 which seemed to imply the opposite. I did say "going down the route of"... so hopefully it will take a good few years yet to plummet to those depths. Unfortunately it seems that when the teen n twenty singles latch on to a destination, it seems to a one way process with no recovery.

Hvar is more of an upmarket party town. Prince Harry was snapped by the paparazzi partying in Hvar a couple of years ago. I would bet a load of money that he wouldnt be seen dead in Magaluf or Ayia Napa

 

[Portofino]

Must say we found the Balearics the worst area for jelly fish compared to any other cruising area in the Med. Never saw a single jelly in 4yrs in Croatia and dont remember many many if at all in Sardinia. I'm definitely no marine scientist but it seems to me that they get attracted by nutrients in the water running off agricultural land and they get blown around by wind induced currents in that we tended to find them in bays which had been subject to onshore winds fohr a few days. Also I'm told that they are on the increase because their only natural predator, the turtle, is on the decline. Thats probably all bollox but its certainly true that jellies are a big problem around the Balearics!

There was an issue in the Cote d Azur approx iirc 7 y ish ago with medusa .
Councils netting off beaches , hiring marine eq of combine harvesters to scoup them up etc etc , tourist trade and revenues down .
After a big comflab of the various stakeholders it was dicided to slightly rearrange the tuna fishing dates .

Something to with rising sea temps and trying to get the tuna to eat the baby/ immature ( have not developed sting cells yet ) jelly fish , - trying to sinc the tuna migration / development cycle to the junior medusa .
So they changed the tuna fishing season dates .

It worked

Tuna eat juvenile medusa - remove them too early by fishing and = bingo a medusa infestation .
There’s also s sunfish who feed exclusively on medusa but adults .
Theses sunfish lack manoeuvrability so get easily caught up in fisherman’s nets and indeed run down ( near the surface ) by us - moboers .
Not sure but I think they encouraged FR fishermen to release them back .
A typical sunfish can eat hundred s maybe over a 1000 adults / day .

So it’s just a case of tweaking the predators.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Actually the one season we had in SoF in 2003 before moving to Spain was pretty bad for jellies. In fact my SWMBO got stung when she sat on one but thats a story for another time! Interesting to hear that sunfish eat them too because we have noticed quite a lot of them off the coast in SoF in the last 3 seasons so wouldnt be surprised if they're being encouraged to breed

Regarding rearranging the tuna fishing dates maybe youre right but I heard the problem with the disappearing turtles was that they were being caught in those vast tuna nets so maybe it was a case of killing 2 birds with one stone. There definitely does seem to be fewer jellies in SoF compared to 2003 so maybe its working?

 

[MapisM]

I heard the problem with the disappearing turtles was that they were being caught in those vast tuna nets

Just for the records, afaik what you are saying is correct, but it only applies to the so called "flying" tuna nets (if that makes sense in EN - I'm just translating literally the IT term), i.e. the huge nets deployed by big fishing trawlers, often supported by choppers to search large schools ot tunas during migration season.
With the traditional method which you surely heard about in CF, if any turtle gets stuck in the net (which is an extremely rare event anyway), it's released upon the daily checks made by the divers during the fishing season. :encouragement: