We Encounter a Couple of Greek Monsters and an Erupting Volcano

Roundabout crew in front of an erupting volcano!

We left Greece around noon and set our course for the Messina Strait. We had a nice sail over except for about 2 hours south of the Strait. The swell picked up and we needed a rest after the constant rolling about. I felt like we were riding a galloping horse!

We decided to anchor off the Italian coast, near Spropolo around 2am. As we approached the anchorage, we heard engine noise (we were sailing, so ours were off). Nothing came up on our radar (we had our guard zone alarm on) and we could not see any other boats around. All of a sudden, we get spotlighted. They started on our starboard side and went around the stern and to port. After a minute the light flicked off and the boat zoomed away. It was painted black and we assume it was the coast guard searching for illegal boats.

We hauled anchor around 6am and set off for the Messina Strait. It was flat calm until the entrance, when all turned choppy and the wind picked up (it funnels through that area). We set out for the port of Reggio di Calabria to check into the country. Upon entering the strait, we hailed VTS to inform them of our intentions. As we were a small craft, they said we were fine and to stick to the coastal transit zone, out of the way of the larger traffic.

We hailed the marina and received our slip assignment. Jared went up the mast to check on our navigation lights, as we noticed the steaming light wasn't working too well on our last night passage. Sand paper and some anti-corrosion spray set us back in business. While he worked on that, Cadence and set off to the customs office to check in to the country and get our 'constituto di arrivo' document. Being a Sunday, turns out everything was closed. We informed the marina attendant that we were departing and asked what we owed for the hour we had stayed there. He told us nothing, and so we tipped him for helping us with our lines earlier.

We exited the port and began making our way up through the strait, dodging ferries, tankers, and the occasional whirlpool. We planned the transit based on the tides and it paid off. We sped up to 11.8 knots with the supporting currents. About halfway through the strait is an actual roundabout for traffic to change directions. We kept hearing 'roundabout' on the vhf and wondered if it was the traffic change or us they were talking about.

Eruptions occur on the western side of Stromboli. This is a view from the eastern side.

We can totally see how sailors of old came up with the ancient myths and legends about this mysterious area. Upon entering the strait, the weather changed from sunny and a calm and sunny day, to bubbling water, strange currents that sweep you in various directions, whirlpools, and there's also a feel of 'something' present.  The legends of Scylla and Charybdis are well known and the superstitious or even just the cautious sailors still give them a wide berth. These two sea monsters are situated on opposite sides of the strait. Scylla, the multi-headed monster who feeds upon sailors as she plucks them off their vessels exists to the north (Italian side) on a cliff and Charybdis, a massive whirlpool with razor-sharp teeth to the south (Sicily side). Both are at opposite ends of the western end of the strait, although one can feel their effects well before arriving there. According to Homer, Odysseus was forced to choose which monster to face, as it is impossible to get out of reach of one, unless you transit close to the other. Odysseus opted to face Scylla and risk losing a few sailors, rather than lose his entire vessel to Charybdis.

Beach time on Stromboli.

We exited the strait with some excitement from all the strange phenomenons and then set our course for Stromboli. We arrived around midnight and decided to go check out the erupting volcano while it was nice and clear. We sailed around to the western side of the volcano where you can see the eruptions. What a sight! The night was clear and crisp with bright stars and bioluminescence in the sea. The neon reddish glow from the lava was brilliant against the black of night. We cu the engines and slowly drifted along watching mother nature's show; listening to the snap, crackle, popping noise of the lava as it flowed down the slope, only to be met in protest with a violent hissing noise as it met the sea. A few hours later, we anchored off the eastern side of the island in black sand and fell asleep.

It looks silver in the sunlight, but it was a deep, inky black underneath.

Later on, we spent the daylight hours doing school, chores, and swimming around the boat. We explored shore a bit and then resumed swimming and enjoying the sunshine. Jared spotted a sea snake taking refuge in the shade of the hulls. We enjoyed a pizza at a local restaurant that evening, and the kids played hide-n-go-seek around the beach and boats stored ashore. Jared and I scored some coffee beans from the only coffee shop on island and after collecting our kids, we motored back around to the western side for another spectacular show of the erupting volcano. The kids took their pillows and blankets out to the trampoline and spent the next couple of hours there watching the eruptions, shooting stars, and glowing ocean. After sending the kids to bed, we engaged the engines and set our course towards Pompeii.

Jared got better photos off the Cannon (still need to download those). 

I sure hope these memories last a lifetime for our kiddos. I know Jared and I surely wont forget this experience. After all, how often can you fall asleep watching a volcano erupt?!

Farewell Stromboli!