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

[MapisM]

A small update

Well, there’s a first time for everything, as the old saying goes.
In three decades of boating, I never had to head for cover while half way in a leg.
I did slow down a bit sometimes, or change route slightly to avoid waves straight on the nose, but that's just about it.

Otoh, this morning we left Capo d'Orlando marina with a forecast of westerly F4 weakening, and since our route towards Palermo was exactly westbound, in a sense I was also curious to see how the DP would have performed in some head seas.
Trouble is, after a first hour cruising at 20/21 kts solid, with just very occasional drops of spray reaching the f/b, the "weakening" part of the forecast did not materialize. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Long story short, after a couple of showers on the f/b, initially we moved downstairs, and eventually we decided to head for cover and call it a day.
The lucky part of this is that the nearest port was Cefalù, whose marina frankly is nothing to write home about, but the village is a gem - really stunning.

Oh, and we got a confirmation to have made the right choice several hours after our arrival, when a 32m fast ferry carrying tourists back and forth between Cefalù and the Aeolian archipelago moored near our dock.
After seeing a few passengers which kissed the dock right after leaving the vessel, I asked them about the sea conditions, and they told me that a transfer supposed to last 2 hours took 3, with several passengers onboard throwing up all the delicacies that they enjoyed in the Aeolian Islands… :ambivalence:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

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:

Yes I saw the tuna nets or at least the buoys marking them off the north end of S Pietro many times. Having seen that I was wondering following Portofino's post how it is possible to 'rearrange' the tuna fishing season because AFAIK the tuna migrate when they like not when the fisherman like

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Re: A small update

Well, there’s a first time for everything, as the old saying goes.
In three decades of boating, I never had to head for cover while half way in a leg.

Welcome to P boating! Must admit I cant remember ever abandoning a trip in the Med due to sea conditions but have done it more than a few times in UK waters in P boats. FWIW I remember MYAG saying that he encountered boisterous conditions off Sicily on his way to CF. I know that the Messina strait has a bit of a reputation; didnt realise the whole of the area around Sicily was known for it!

 

[MapisM]

Re: A small update

FWIW I remember MYAG saying that he encountered boisterous conditions off Sicily on his way to CF.

I can't say to be happy to hear that!
Aside from reaching the W tip of Sicily, which is all coastal cruising from where we are now, the last leg is a 180Nm passage - i.e. 9 hours at 20kts.
Finding sea conditions similar to those of today, while half way during that passage, would not be fun! :ambivalence:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Re: A small update

Finding sea conditions similar to those of today, while half way during that passage, would not be fun! :ambivalence:

No question you would have to be as sure as you can be on expected sea conditions for that crossing. If you do meet bad head sea conditions on the nose from W-NW you do always have the option of heading north of your track to put the sea more off the beam and seek increasing shelter behind Sardinia itself and maybe even bailing out at Vilasimius

 

[MapisM]

I was wondering following Portofino's post how it is possible to 'rearrange' the tuna fishing season because AFAIK the tuna migrate when they like not when the fisherman like

Correct, but my understanding is that only the bluefin tuna follows a rather regular migration pattern/timeframe - hence the need to adapt to it also the fishing dates, as it happens in CF.
Otoh, there are other types of tunas which happily swim around the Med, waiting to be canned, all year long.
So, maybe they are the ones "targeted" by the rearrangement.
I'm just speculating, though.
I had no idea that tuna like jellies for breakfast, before reading the above post.
My understanding is that they actually go after smaller fishes, but my experience with tunas is mostly focused on recipes, and doesn't stretch to their habits!

 

[MapisM]

Re: A small update

maybe even bailing out at Vilasimius

Yup, in fact I'm half thinking to head towards Villasimius anyway.
That shortens the open passage by almost 40Nm, without making the overall route too much longer.
And the surroundings of Villasimius are not bad, as you know! We'll see...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

My understanding is that they actually go after smaller fishes, but my experience with tunas is mostly focused on recipes, and doesn't stretch to their habits!

Just out of interest do you know whether the tuna harvest has ever failed off S Pietro as in the fish didnt turn up one year? With the island so dependent on tuna fishing in the old days it must have been very worrying standing on the north end of the island wondering whether your whole annual income is going to bother to swim past you this year! No wonder they have a festival to give thanks!

 

[MapisM]

Afaik, a completely missed season is something unheard of. They did have better and worse seasons, of course.
But nowadays, with the rather strict quantity allocations granted by whoever is in charge of controlling these things, in practice every year they must stop fishing tunas well before the migration period is over.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Afaik, a completely missed season is something unheard of. They did have better and worse seasons, of course.
But nowadays, with the rather strict quantity allocations granted by whoever is in charge of controlling these things, in practice every year they must stop fishing tunas well before the migration period is over.

I guess the tuna fishing industry is a much smaller part of the island's prosperity these days compared to tourism or am I wrong?

 

[MapisM]

Absolutely correct.
In a sense, tuna fishing itself is now one component of the touristic attractions of the island.
And not only from a gastronomic viewpoint - also diving inside the "tonnara" is a rather unique experience!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

also diving inside the "tonnara" is a rather unique experience!

Yes I bet!

 

[Cheery]

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?

A large part of the problem with turtles is they mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. Disgusting indivduals who litter the ocean (and the streets) with these, are responsible for a large part of the situation. I went on a turtle tour in 1999 and this was a part of the reason I set up an environmentally friendly business years later. The seas are the life blood of the planet and the forests are the lungs and both need protecting.

Off for a lie down now!

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Re: A small update

I know that the Messina strait has a bit of a reputation; didnt realise the whole of the area around Sicily was known for it!

Nah the Tirrenian is most of the time (99%) very predictable.
The Messina OTOH strait has its bits, and I know in cases where both Tirrenian and Ionian where forecast as flat calm, and the thermo effect of Italy and East and Messina on the left create a mess. Helped also by the step of depth which exists between the Tirrenian North and Ionian to the South. If you plan your crossing in the early morning or late in the evening this should not be a problem you encounter.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

A large part of the problem with turtles is they mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. Disgusting indivduals who litter the ocean (and the streets) with these, are responsible for a large part of the situation. I went on a turtle tour in 1999 and this was a part of the reason I set up an environmentally friendly business years later. The seas are the life blood of the planet and the forests are the lungs and both need protecting.

Mmm, not sure we moboers have the right to pontificate about saving the planet but certainly preventing plastic pollution is everybody's responsibility

 

[Cheery]

Yes, but you can be virtuous by turning all the unnecessary lights off, re-using your plastic bags and then firing up those engines knowing that you've done a little bit.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Yes, but you can be virtuous by turning all the unnecessary lights off, re-using your plastic bags and then firing up those engines knowing that you've done a little bit.

Thats alright. We're doing our bit for the environment by using old copies of the Daily Express for bog paper on board

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Mmm, not sure we moboers have the right to pontificate about saving the planet but certainly preventing plastic pollution is everybody's responsibility

But if plastic is so bad to humanity I cannot understand why it comes in the responsibility of the end user. If something is bad stop it.
Are we so much slaves of the Petroleum Chemical giants who are creating this mess where we cannot say no.
Are our politicians so in debit to these guys that they cannot stop the crisis of micro-plastic.

Why it is always the end user to blame, when for the sake of capitalism plastic has been fed as the ultimate disposable product.

This I cannot understand.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

But if plastic is so bad to humanity I cannot understand why it comes in the responsibility of the end user. If something is bad stop it.
Are we so much slaves of the Petroleum Chemical giants who are creating this mess where we cannot say no.
Are our politicians so in debit to these guys that they cannot stop the crisis of micro-plastic.

Why it is always the end user to blame, when for the sake of capitalism plastic has been fed as the ultimate disposable product.

This I cannot understand.

Easy to say but the fact is that 90% of the world's plastic pollution comes from just 10 rivers, all of which are in 3rd world countries https://news.sky.com/story/just-10-rivers-carry-90-of-plastic-polluting-the-oceans-11167581 so our politicians actually have very little influence over the global situation. The reality is that the only way to deal with this problem is to raise living standards in the 3rd world until 3rd world citizens start to worry about their own pollution rather than about where their next meal is coming from

 

[Portofino]

Plastic - tell me about it .

A few years ago we were weather bound in Bandol ,mistral for 3 days .
There’s a shop ( even bigger than the Antibes game fish shop )
So I bought the latest ,arguably most expensive big game fishing gear .
It’s something I always wanted to do .

Chap in the shop said as rule of thumb. 6 miles out , 6 knots , for 6 hrs

So armed with this vital info and the dogs wedding tackle in kit ( October 1/2 term btw ) off we went .
Wife on the helm @ 6 knots .

Kids and myself on the bathing platform.I took the liberty of wearing my old climbing harness and clipping on to a guard rail( Sunseeker 35 then )
After a couple of hrs

“ beeeze , beeeze “ sound as the reel unwound .
I had 400 M of stupido 800 lb line out with a lure / spinner .
When it started smoking my daughter poured water over the clutch reel
I ask wife to stop and back up , water was lapping back on the bathing platform, it seemed like ages as I “ fought “ the fish .

Rod bent right over my arms killing the harness stopping
me from being dragged in .
When we got to the last 50 M of line it went a bit limp .
Great it’s knackered I thought .

Nope turned our to be a Tesco Carrier bag - fully open .