Sea trial of the rigging the next day showed no problems just a half turn needed on the side stays.

Bureaucrats

Well, we finally had the rigging in sails on and most things we knew about repaired. It was definitely time to leave. We wanted to leave the next day but the only item we hadn’t finalised was how to get the VAT back. So we left the boatyard to anchor out in Rinella Bay to sort out last few issues. We were exhausted as well and in no state to start out that night.

You may think we had left the VAT issue fairly late but this battle /discussion/ arguments had been going on for weeks!! Talk about getting the run around from government officials!!

Firstly we asked the boat yard but they said they could not offer us VAT exempt invoices. They suggested an agent who sorted it for super yachts and he said flat fee €3000 to look at it!! Then we asked the VAT office- they said only yachts run as a business could claim it back. We stayed that any foreigner leaving the EU could on departure. Their answer was not a yacht as it is not a person!! Next we tried the customs office at Msida marina – no one there but said call this number. We did so and were told he would be there soon. Nothing for half an hour so then called back and same person said sorry he is not coming in today.!! Come to our office at Grand Harbour. With yacht in Msida and fairly windy we decided to do it another day.

Next try went to Customs office at the ferry terminal in Valletta. Two chaps behind desk- I had been here before to have papers signed. Asked these chaps, they said no nothing to do with them and no one else in building could help us and to call these 3 numbers.

Depart and call the numbers got nowhere. Got interrogated as to why we should get VAT back as it was a tourist tax!! ….,,

Tried another number from the internet listing and got a really nice chap who said yes it was the right office and the other two on the desk should have done it and come in.

Hew goes over has a good chat all sorted can do it next day but you have to book yacht into marina so they can come and see all the rigging on the yacht!!

Too late that day as the Marina offices all shut. Get on the phone the next morning and start calling the marinas – all full. Finally one called back to say they coukd fit us in for 4 hours for €120!! Then Hew rang customs to tell them where we would be and … Oh no ….”we don’t go to you you come and tie up to our dock”😬😬

Cancel the marina then go and look at dock near ferry terminal finding somewhere to fit in. Finally found a spot right outside office and tied up.

Along comes a man who says “you shouldn’t be here it’s private” ???? Apparently he rents the building and that part of the pier to customs. Anyway when we told him we had been told to tie up here he laughed as if the shambles we had was normal.

Next a customs guy comes out and asks why we were there- “because one of your guys told us to!!!!”

Hew gets all the forms together and off he goes..

Two hours later he comes back with Captain Customs. Nice enough chap. Tells me he had a cousin from Australia at wedding on Saturday who raved about how good Aus was and how bad Malta was and ruined his day. Then to top it off the power in the building has been out for 3 days!!! He was still grumpy!!

Anyway after sitting on the boat and looking at all the invoices and forms he took them away to stamp them and post them to a crowd who now handles all the VAT refunds for the government. He said we may not get any back…he does not know.?

Gremlins

Left the pier and went back to Rinella Bay to tidy up the yacht to leave. The reason we weren’t going straight out was that the charts at the Nav Station were playing up again. We seemed to be losing the connection between the helm station and the nav station. Also the new toilet put in as part of the starboard aft cabin alteration was leaking!!! Hew was so happy- NOT!!

After pulling off the kitchen cupboard doors, and unplugging and plugging in all the connections again, and talking to the local expert we seemed to have settled it down enough to leave. Tied up the dingy and headed off.

Departure

Hoisted the main and the topping lift unclipped!! Luckily got it back before the pin was lost and set off. Genoa up and off on a 10kt breeze in the right direction- NE.

Through most of the first night some sailing and some motor sailing. New Iridium go working well but taking a while to get through all the intricacies. Yacht routing seems good but winds about 20 degrees off and more aft. Had to start the motors about 3 am as the wind died.

Day break and we put up the genniker and gull-winged it most of the day, a great day cruising along. Wind directly aft and amazing that the sails held so well. Catamarans are not supposed to be able to sail downwind like this!!

Gremlins continue

Then the gremlins appeared again. Starboard motor water pump leaking. Not fixable at sea. 24 volt fridge compressor pump loosing suction when boat speeds increased and the Port engine leaking oil!! Well we had a beautiful sail despite various issues.

Sailing and Weather

Change in forecast caused a slight alteration to track. Wind going west instead of east. About 5pm rolled up the gennaker, very dark clouds to the west of us looking like a squall. Rolled out the Genoa and were busy discussing reefing for the night. Fixed the reefing lines and topping lift which had come off again the previous day. Started the Radar and Doppler and west of us it was bright red! Radar works very well 10 min later lightening started , then the squall and pouring rain. First 15 min was a fun ride with full sail up 25kt wind and +13kt boat speed. Lightening all around us.

We got Genoa half reefed and rode down one side of the the front for the next 30 min. Finally it passed behind us and we watched the spectacular lightening display for the next hour as it lit up the evening sky as dusk fell. We were glad to be out of it.

Wind kept backing and eventually we gybed over onto a deep reach straight for the next way point.

Decided to recheck all the weathers we had but none mentioned thunderstorms for our area or westerlies, all were ESE to SSE. Got some good practice in on the iridium-go!!

Settled in for dinner and night shift thinking a good steady wind , but like the typical Med it died away and needed to start the motor again around 2300.

Fairly steady night motoring until about 3am when the wind and waves got up again. Now the wind was from SE and waves from South. We tacked just before I went to rest. Sea got up to about 1.5 m but short and cross seas with a very nasty short chop. Boat fell off a wave several times or got slapped from below. Very noisy. Very little we could do about it. Same conditions continue all the way until just north of Corfu with the wind rising steadily and peaking at 27 knots boat speed peaked at 14 with help from the waves.

Reefed down to 1 on main and 1 on Genoa, then again to 2 on both. Better ride and still averaging 9 knots with many brief spurts of 12kts.

Ooops

At the peak of the wind and crossed sea state I decided we needed a sandwich. Opened the large fridge door and all the cheeses and a half dozen egsgs lept out at me. Quickly shut the door and proceeded to clean smashed eggs off the floor. Obviously we have been cruising the Med too much – this fridge is not designed for a bad seaway!! Decided to not open that fridge again to get to the new bread and instead use old bread from the small fridge. Went to open that one very carefully and the entire door feel off in my hands!!! Couldn’t get it back in so yelled at Hew for some some help .Finally he heard me and came in to assist.

Got to the channel between Corfu and Albania and the wind finally calmed down. Unfortunately completely on the nose so started both engines and motor sailed the rest of the way. With Hew sleeping on the seat. You will note that we are wearing many more layers of clothing than a week ago – autumn has come!!

Arrival Albania

Arrived in Sarande at 1705, called the port and got answered by the agent who said the harbour master would be there in 30 minutes, and no marinas available due to impending storm!! Anchored in front of the beach with a couple of other yachts and the anchor seemed to have caught well.

Went ashore with passports and finalised the paperwork. Jelja from Sarande Summer tours is a great agent and lovely to see her after 2 years away. https://www.sarandasummertours.com/ Got an updated forecast which was not very worrying, in fact for Sarande only low to moderate winds but rain for the next three days. We decided that if the anchorage became untenable and we had to shift over to Corfu we would get a clearance out that night. did all the paper work then went out and had dinner. Albania was the same as previously – lovely people and simple and reasonable prices, we must come back some day and explore this country. Started raining before we got back to the yacht but still light winds.

Woke up in the morning to torrential rain and decided we should stay in bed. Next minute hit by a really strong gust and the yacht took off out to sea!!! Out into the pouring rain. Tried to re-anchor twice and then gave up – all we were doing was plowing up seagrass by the anchor load. Decided change of plan again and we should head for Corfu, two hours away.

Corfu Arrival

As we motored along the wind died and we could see the Albanian coast clearly and fairly calm. Wishing we hadn’t checked out and could stay in some of the little coves. Half way to Corfu we finally had reception with Greece again. We got a new forecast from Meteo blue and it did not look good, thunderstorms, squalls and rain for three days. Hew was trying to get hold of A1 yachting about whether we get a marina and whether they could clear us in. we had been We had been recommended them fby a friend as we had not used any in the past and had had no real issues but this time was a real test. I was steering and looking at a wind line ahead – pitch black to the south and further west of our position there was a lot of wind and waves – reassessment time. Hew got the report of no marinas available, no slots in the old harbour so we did a 180 and headed for a northern bay we had discussed as a bolt hole the night before. A good decision soon we were motoring at 8 knots and as the wind and waves caught up with us we were doing 12 kts.

Another 30 minutes and we were inside the bay anchoring in 20kts of wind. Lots of chain out and we had a really good hook in. We waited with engines going for some time to make sure we did not shift. Then settled down for the day. Shortly after we anchored the yacht in front of us dragged and you could see they had anchored on a patch of sea grass as we had in Sarande and their anchor was full. After two more goes they finally got a good spot and settled down.

The wind and rain came in patches and in between you could look around this beautiful bay in realatively calm conditions. we were really glad we had changed our mind when we did. Having internet and phone again communication was recommenced with the outside world. looks like we will be here for several days. Paperwork for Greece was finished, A1 yachting https://a1yachting.com/ were handling it all except the TEPAI which we had done on line on arrival in the bay. Now time to relax and catch up on the current blog which I wrote on a long night watch, perhaps even some of the unfinished ones. Looking at the forecast we will not see sun for at least three days.

Just before publication have had another squall of 30kts through and another yacht drag. Finally caught very close to us – then up anchored further away. I am very glad as he came in late and was too close. Looks like it may be a long night.

Malta Air Show

We visited the static display on Saturday morning. Tickets could only be bought online. Once you got there it was a long queue. Temperature check, then ticket check, then covid vaccination check, then armband. Next, you were kept in groups of 100 to move around the display in a clockwise direction. It was supposed to be a single file so if too many bunched up the Marshalls would come along and smooth out the line.

The static display was not particularly interesting but it was interesting to see all the different services and the huge new hanger just built and another going up. Obviously, they are expecting a lot more business.

The static display went from 0900-1400 then the flying display was at Bugibba on St Paul’s Bay and right in front of the aquarium. We secured a spot at a cafe just down the road on the beachfront. Got in a swim as well.

The displays by Coast Guard rescue helicopter, the Rafael https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/news/rafale-solo-display-2021-schedule/ , and the F16 https://m.facebook.com/100SoloTurk/ were spectacular.

But the two highlights for the formation flying were the Swiss Air Force https://www.pc7-team.ch/en . Then the red arrows from the RAF, https://www.raf.mod.uk/display-teams/red-arrows/ . A good video here by Emily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLP15Sm6BXM

Brilliant and well worth the trip out to see them. Since they were performing over the water and the viewing area was elevated it made it even better.

Here are a few clips from me: https://youtu.be/CJbW-Qe8gi0

Hotel Juliani

We stayed at Hotel Juliani in Saint Julians on Saturday and Sunday nights. https://www.hoteljuliani.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiuPI24yd8wIVibHtCh0x7QmwEAAYASAAEgLfiPD_BwE .

Great little boutique hotel, lovely staff, and great rooms. It was so good to be somewhere really clean and tidy, we could sleep in and the food and view were spectacular. First Asian fusion meal we have had in Europe and it was great. Plenty of Wifi so updated the computers and finished the blogs.

Would have loved to stay another day but back to the boatyard to chase unfinished jobs.

Next Blog: https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2021/10/departure-gremlins-and-bureaucracy-issues/

Well, we got out of the boatyard early Friday and motored up to Comino for a long weekend of relaxation . We anchored in a very cute rocky cove for two nights. Several caves all around the edges.

Great at night with only 2 or 3 other boats. Unfortunately, daytime boats of all shapes and sizes were in and out all day. The water ended up like a washing machine. Many of the ferries were full of people who would come in at 10 knots and huge wakes.

This video will give you and idea of the area above the water. https://youtu.be/o5i17iWcPF0

This second video is taken in the water swimming around the caves and rather long.https://youtu.be/5nApyllM2l4

Sunday we moved to a beach on the east coast of Gozo.

A gorgeous bay and lovely afternoon weather. Hew had his first flipper swim of the year and helping me to do some prop and shaft cleaning. https://youtu.be/Xx72dwRg6VQ

We had a nice afternoon but when the wind changed and increased we decided we would try for Dwerja bay. We had loved Dwerja last time we had been there. There were no boats this time but a very mixed chop all night. The swell outside was SW, then sometime during the night it changed to a northerly swell. The wind stayed NW and did not move to the East as the forecast

Anyway, we got going in the morning and motored to a bay on the SE corner of Malta. A quick 20 mile trip from one end the country to the other. Another beautiful bay with sun, swimming and lazing about.

Around 5 pm the wind started to increase and was tending easterly. The forecast was for 20kts so we decided to go hop into Grand Harbour at Rinella Bay.

Fireworks and Jazz

When we got back to Grand Harbour we found Rinella Bay was closed for the day due to a big fireworks display. This was the eve of Independence Day. So after a discussion with the water police, we anchored very near to the southern breakwater light. Any area closer to the bay was full.

The real bonus was that we got a fireworks display. We were also next to a ferry playing jazz with a Sax player on board. A lovely evening full of music. They love fireworks here and the display went on for over an hour and a half.

Many of the boats left about midnight. When the Easterly finally arrived around at 2 am, and the holding where we were was not great. We shifted further into the bay despite the fact that the bay was closed by Mariners Notice until 7 am. We then fell into bed again and woke at 6 to find another yacht had moved into the Bay with us. Shortly after two motorboats arrived, and then a continuous stream of yachts and launches.

Independence Day

The day was nice but overcast. The bay contained the fireworks barges from the night before full of empty containers and a lastng aroma of gunpowder. A boat with two friendly water police turned up about 10 to tell us and another yacht to shift so the tug and barges could get out. They were ready now!!

The water police left, we shifted and the barges hadn’t moved in about an hour. By this time another 7 or 8 yachts had all anchored in the gaps. The tug driver had an argument with one motorboat that would not shift. Then the other catamaran tried to shift but the motorboat had anchored over their lines so they couldn’t. Next, the cops turned up. The the motorboat owner still tried to argue his case. Next the water police told him to move or get fined. This was followed by much arm-waving and yelling then finally he left the bay.

The tug got 2 of 3 barges away. Then the first of two refueling boats arrived for the fuel wharf which was now very close to us. We managed to inch forward until the fuel boats moored then sat back and relaxed. We were assuming the rest of the day should be fairly calm. Not so – another tanker arrived to park nose to tail with the first. This guy wanted three boats including us to move to give him room. Again we pulled forward, two other boats shifted and then we settled back for a rest. Everyone in the bay seemed to be enjoying themselves.

During the time near the wharf, we also had an instructor taking/teaching RIB driving using us for a mark. Nice guy and fairly easy-going on students. Here everyone with an outboard over 30hp has to have a license issued by the coastguard. In Italy it is 40hp.

Around 4 pm we headed back to the boatyard expecting this to be the last week. We were again hoping that the rigging would be there all and all the other gremlins would be fixed. We await tomorrow with fairly low expectations.

Next Blog:https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2021/09/malta-air-show-and-hotel-juliana/

The Three Cities

The Three cities are Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua the fortified cities that sit on the southeast side of Grand Harbour and Marsa is on the very southern tip. Most of our travel is by Ecab between the boatyard and the Birgu apartment. If we go to Valletta or Sliema we go by ferry/bus/ferry which is very efficient. The bus between the ferries is free and the ferry for a ride one way is €0.50 Euro. Often we take the small local boats for the second part of the journey on the way back €2 and get dropped right at the gateway into Birgu.

I thought I should just show you some of the everyday landscape around where we live. and show you that it is not all about boatyards!! This blog is more of a photo and video essay. I hope this will give you a feeling for the area.

Firstly you need to understand that Malta’s population is 95% Roman Catholic and there is 1 church per 1000 people. Therefore churches are everywhere and their festivals occur all the time so very ingrained in life here and very much part of every community – day and night. Maltese like flags, fireworks, and bangers( fireworks with noise but no lights for daytime) and guns, therefore, all the celebrations are also accompanied by lights and noise (and usually processions – but not under current covid rules). The two maps below will give you an indication of the numbers you can find even more by decreasing the scales on google maps.

Close to the apartment is the marina and all the restaurants and the Malta Maritime museum which has unfortunately been shut for renovations.

Saint Dominics Festival

One evening on a walk after dinner we came across the celebration for Saint Dominic. 800 years since his death 1221 – 2021. The streets had been shut off due to the requirement of covid numbers limits but you could still get a very good view. Normally they would walk St Dominic on their shoulders from one of the other cities all the way to his church before putting him up on his pedestal. The whole village was out helping. All helpers in special T-shirts and the brass band in great form.

A fairly long video https://youtu.be/wbGtXfYc9Gc

500m away is the small village with shops and little cafes, then 1 km away is the town center of Cospicua with more little shops and additional cellphone, appliance and clothing shops. The politicians get bronze statues and the Madonna statue gold.

Masks are everywhere here. Many disposables , but also many coton masks often depicting the company logo or matching dresses. There are also a few plastic face – some full face and some chin only as in the photo below.

I have not mentioned the Maltese people but they are a very friendly and helpful bunch general. The other noticeable trait is that they are generally much shorter. Anyone tall is a visitor. It is difficult to take photos of the difference but here is an example. this is not distortion. Some of them are very short and would look like children in New Zealand.

Senglea

Over the estuary is Senglea with more restaurants including a very good fish restaurant. There is also another very prominent church. Saint Julians mentioned in the video above.

We will leave the three cities here and talk of Valletta and Sliema next time.

Unfortunately, still no alternator due to lack of staff and no inverter due to lack of wiring because the shop was shut for the holidays!!

I had been trying to get the new modem and aerial going but after only being able to get the mobile pick up working and a frustrating day I reverted to calling a friend!! Andrew from “Katherine”

Motor Cruising

Decided to go away again and this time for 3 days with light winds expected for two of them.

This time we headed off in the same direction but the intention was to spend one night at the southeast end and one or two at the northwest end of the island.

On the first day, we went past our bay of the previous weekend but then decided we had not gone far enough so continued past the neighbouring bays.

Past the big commercial port of Marsaxlokk and westward up the southern coast.

We tried out the water maker which was going well so spent the trip cleaning the dirt and dust off the boat. Yes – again.!!! It was very satisfying.

Not many places to stop at and some that looked good either had boats or were non-anchoring reserves. Quite a few old look-out towers around. Most places on that side of the island had very high cliffs.

I was amazed to see fishermen fishing off the top!!

Gnejna Bay

Early afternoon we pulled into Gnejna Bay or Ras it-Raheb. Very nice spot with three large boats there and several small day boats tucked right into the head of the bay.

We settled in for a swim and siesta. Late afternoon we were expecting a wind change and we looking up above the cliffs then suddenly saw two gust devils – a sudden squall hit with 180-degree wind change. The big yacht next to us obviously had a picnic out as everything went flying- plates, napkins, table cloths, and sundry other items. All accompanied by the big boats taking their time to swing in all different directions.

Luckily we were all anchored well and after 30min everything settled down and we were back to 5 kts. In the interim several boats left – must have decided that was it for the day.

By evening there were only us and one other big boat, but several small boats anchored close in and a couple of campsites.

We went to bed fairly early after a casual BBQ and ready for a good nights sleep.

More Issues

But…Life is never simple on a boat. 2330 approx the bilge alarm went off… took 2 buckets water from the starboard bilge. Engineer aka Hew says no worry just fridge lines defrosting.

0230 bilge alarm again. Another 2 buckets of water – all fresh but a bit salty but Malta water is like that. Not too concerned but I am thinking ‘1 bucket per hour??????’ So lying awake wondering what next!!

0430 – bilge alarm- up again. This time get water out then take up more floorboards in the aft bunkroom- as we took up bunk boards we found one section was all wet. Under that board, we found a spray of water coming out of the hot water hose!!! Turn the valve off. Bail out the water. Go back to bed. Should be ok we think.

Get up at 0630 – no alarm. Go look at bilge on the port side just to check – full of water again. 6 bucket loads!!!! What now???

Seems that the nonreturn valves in the bilge pumps in that section are leaking !!! Never-ending maintenance. Turn off the water cooling for the fridges and that seems to have finally stopped it all. More maintenance.

Decided to give up for day and have a swim then a nice slow breakfast.

Afternoon we took a trip in the dingy around this bay and then the next into the next two – which are Golden bay and home to the Radisson hotel. The area was full of boats and the beaches full of people. We were glad to return to our spot down the coast.

Gave the dingy another good clean and made some padding for where it leans against the passerelle. Followed by a reading afternoon.

North East

Sunday dawned fine and clear and we decided that we better move around the coast to the other side of the island. By the time we got around the northwestern end the wind was up. Motored past a lovely-looking grotto ( left for next time) then on to Selun Bay. A few boats but not too many. Decided to stay for lunch then move later.

As we were considering where to go in the afternoon we watched a very ungainly rower row a RIB downwind to the rocks behind us. Then obviously could not row upwind and decided to get out for some reason. After watching the shambles for about 5 minutes we put our dingy in the water and went and rescued them – as in fact there were five of them four who could not swim upwind back to their boat!

We motored off down the coast looking for another bay for the night which would be closer to the harbor and boatyard in the morning. Couldn’t find anything that looked appealing and/or had space so continued on to the bay just inside Grand Harbour close to our swimming spot in Bighi bay under Fort Ricasoli. The water was not as clear as some of the other anchorages but a good safe anchorage.

We settled down peacefully for the night with few boats around and then the “bangers” started. They continued for half an hour with the battery on the other side of the port firing and then seconds later Kalkara firing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Rinella

What a racket and we were right under the fort with all the bits of paper and cardboard flying down through the air. The Maltese’s love these shows but this was so loud that lots of the kids on the beach were screaming each time the gun went off!! https://youtu.be/NoPl3ce_C9c

Back to Boatyard

In the morning it was up early. It is very nice here on the harbour at that time of day with the sun a very mellow yellow colour on all the old stone battlements.

Back into the boatyard to only find our spot on the wall was taken by the owner’s boat!! Lined up were the owner’s 80 foot Sea Falcon, his son inlaws RIB, his son’s RIB and his daughter’s speed boat.

We parked in one of the lifting bays and waited for the management team to turn up. The difficulty was there was no power in the lifting bays – so later on we shifted across the dock directly opposite the smell!

Next Blog:https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2021/08/euro-plugs-and-euro-policy/

Great spot on the edge of the harbour and lots of cafes nearby. Very cute little town centre up behind us and also another about 500m away.

By Friday we had decided that even though the alternator was not going and no inverter no air conditioning and dodgy fridges. we felt that we had to get away from Marsa and the boatyard for a weekend.

We spent the morning walking around Fort Saint Angelo which the apartments are part of. Amazing construction and great views of the harbour.

At the end of our walk, we spent some time watching the Maltese’s Falcon being moved from their current position in this photo where they were refuelling to an outer berth for collecting passengers the next day. The procedure of shifting took about an hour. They changed the angle of the mast and booms to help with the windage. Hew was very envious of the flag – they had changed from a tatty old one to a brand new one prior to uplifting the passengers.

The evening was dinner at our favourite restaurant this trip “Chill” with Clare and Vic, some more of the MDR cruisers. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g674784-d19976759-Reviews-Chill_Cafe_and_Bistro-Birgu_Vittoriosa_Island_of_Malta.html

We left Sunday morning for two days and just went down the coast to Ponta tal-Grigal. We anchored on the southern end and had two great days there. Lovely to just leap off and go swimming 2 or 3 times a day. The weather was fairly breezy but sheltered from most of the Northwesterly. Other benefit was there were some great caves and not to many boats.

A link to a short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RTFocgChnM

I had to give the dingy a thorough scrub underneath as it already had a lot of growth on it from being in the water for two weeks at the boatyard. Also then washed it with our amazing stainless cleaner, which also really cleans up fibreglass, and the bottom went from yellow to white – very satisfying.

There were enough boats and wakes at night that we lifted the dingy both evenings.

Tuesday morning we left early and back to the shipyards in time for the fridge man and other contractors due on the boat.

It is not often that you intentionally leave one boatyard for another. This year we had so much work we had planned to do in order to cross the Atlantic that we felt it was better to do it all at the beginning. Leaving work until after cruising might not leave enough time to never get it done. Hence the cruising has been sacrificed for work on the boat.

Therefore, after getting several quotes for rigging we decided to go and visit the company we had talked to in Malta before confirming the rigging work. We could get the work done on the power monitoring system from Victron in the same boatyard.

Leaving MdR at 0515 in the morning and arrived outside the breakwater at 1215. The yard wanted us in by as early as possible in case there were any issues with entry formalities so we motor sailed all the way as. There was a company summer party on Friday and a holiday for many the next week.

When we arrived outside the breakwater into Grand Harbour we were denied entry. The issue was that the NZ Vaccination certificate is not recognised by Malta. The boatyard acted as our agent and obtained the approval since they were carrying out work on the yacht. Also, we had applied two weeks previously when we had our first PCR test but it had expired and the Port Medic wanted a copy of the new one.

Two hours later after several phone calls with the boatyard, MMH, exchanges of emails and more documents, and then another two calls to the port radio operator, we finally made it into MMH at the very far end of the harbour.

Once inside the breakwater, Malta felt and looked just the same as we had found previously. The boat yard was far further down the harbour and amongst all the commercial boats, oil rig supply ships, cable laying ships, tankers of various types, fishing boats, and cruise liners. Previously we had stayed in the northern harbour. The historic feeling from all the forts and towns around the harbour is overwhelming.

The MMH Boatyard

Once we arrived everyone came down to the boat – very speedy. Very different feel from MdR.

Matt the project manager and Matt the rigger were both here immediately and Chris, the fridge guy, followed shortly after. Amazing. Decided that we would get the rigging done here due to their fast and clear responses and professional approach to the work. Since the big decision had been made we then proceeded to discuss all the other issues on the boat that had not been resolved during our previous four weeks at MdR.

The next morning, Thursday, we woke up to the disgusting smell of sewerage and burning offal. Repulsive!! We really wondered what was going on. Further inquiries revealed that there is an abattoir right in the MMH area and a biowaste disposal plant run by the government. There is also a court case going on about the effluent and air quality.

The local paper made interesting reading and as you will see from the attached links the issue has not been resolved.

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/unbearable-paola-stench-driving-customers-away.772439

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/paola-stench-returns.797913

https://environment.gov.mt/en/Documents/ministerialConsultations/longTermWasteManagementPlan2021-2030.pdf

What is very amusing is the sign outside that Hew found later during the week. Also note the street name!!!

After that rather nasty wakeup, Hew and I removed the code zero and the genoa. In the afternoon the riggers Matt, Alan, Brian, and Santo turned up and took off the main and all the wires and checked the rigging for any problems.

Next, the stainless person and sailmaker turned up to make a cover over the steering hatch. Chris was back again because the air conditioning didn’t work and in 40deg C with the smells, we really felt a need for it. All the other times we have not bothered and when anchored out we always face the light breezes and do not need it. Here in Malta we really do!!

This was not the end of the procession of workers! Next, the alternator arrived but needed some modifications to fit. Followed swiftly by a window specialist to discover why they were leaking(actually very old sealant) and what was the best option for repair. This was an interesting discussion as he was an aircraft technician and did not like the product the yard was suggesting as it was not guaranteed for use on acrylics. Much research followed with us finding another product which was guaranteed and available in Malta (despite being told it wasn’t)and people wonder what you do on the yacht!!!.

Lastly, the online groceries were delivered. The riggers working on the yacht helped unload the van and I frantically tried to get it all in the fridge before the heat hit all the perishables. The freezer at the end of it showed plus 8C and the fridge plus 16C in an outside temp of 38C and inside the boat must have been 5 C higher. I was reduced to a dribbling mess as were the others. I passed out the newly arrived watermelon and cold water to our rigger mates.

Friday was all about taking out the mast and checking various items on it for wear and replacement. The riggers kindly bought us lunch after from the local store. In the process, we discovered that the rig was 1300kg and taller than we thought – from the waterline 29m to the top of the aerials!! When we went under the Sibenik bridge we were supposed to have a maximum rig height of 27m!! The following video is a fast version of a process that took 4 hours.

The yard was on a holiday cruise and so no one else was around. Normally during the week, they are pulling out about one boat a day commercial and private. They have four lifting slots and one very big crane as you can see from the ferry in the photo below. It is hard to get an impression of size here but the two small boats in from of us are both around 30m. That crane has 6 pulley blocks and 12 straps. Our yacht usually gets hauled out on 4 pulley blocks and 4 straps. The crane in the distance is old and out of use and needs to be dismantled. The quoted cost for the dismantle and removal is €2m, so nothing has happened.

The whole dock area we are in can also be drained and used as a dry dock. You can hear the pumps running – recirculation water at night. The dry area gates are behind the oil rig boat behind us – so a huge area.

A Weekend and Days Off

The weekend luckily was much slower. Saturday we got out of bed late and launched the dingy and went down the harbour to Fort Ricasoli close to the eastern breakwater for a swim. A lovely little nook under the fort. Stopped at a harbourside cafe for a cold drink after a week of hard work!

Cruising around the harbour and we were very impressed by numerous very large flags flying for the celebration of 1221-2021 and the feast of St Lawrence.

On arriving back at the yard we meet some other boaties who had come in early. They could not find a spot in the bay they wanted due to the number of boats out over the weekend. We thought they were mad really! They were lifting out for some maintenance but had done a lot of cruising. It is amazing how many boats are running blogs. https://zingala.online/ https://salanasailing.com/zingala/

I asked if they had any issues coming into the harbour and they said that the last time they called up and it was a waste of time and a hassle so this time they did not bother and no one even questioned them. Seems Malta is a bit like Italy – far too many rules to be patrolled!!

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday with a couple of small jobs thrown in at the end – late start, swim and cafe visit.

You are probably wondering why we haven’t taken the yacht out??? Our status is slightly indeterminate at the moment as we have no official notification to quarantine, self isolate or not to do either!!. The yard thinks we are supposed to stay on the yacht and they cannot get an answer one way or the other. Seems our double vaccinated status is accepted as was the PCR test on entry. But the paperwork with the approval said no isolation/quarantine on the first clearance document then normal isolation/quarantine on the next ???

Back to Work

Monday workweek was upon us again and although a holiday week many people were around in the yard. Petar, from Medcomms, landed at the airport, disembarked, the plane and came directly to the catamaran. Then ensued a 2 hour incredibly worthwhile discussion on the design for the Victron power management system on the boat. It is amazing when you get the right technically competent person to assist. No wasted time. We did discover that some parts that we had already purchased would not be up to the job. Better now than later. Since the parts are brand new, hopefully, we can swap them out.

Monday afternoon Hew helped derig the mast so it could be measured. Hew then cycled off to get a sim card and I had another grocery delivery. Hew found that the roads are not great for cyclists and although the map looked flat it wasn’t!!

Clare and Vic turned up from MdR late in the day and came over for a drink. They had the same problem trying to come into the harbour as us but seems their agony was prolonged further than ours for little gain. Their boat was pulled out early Tuesday. They were thinking 10, we said it would be early and the guys and lift were there at 7. They got a bit of a shock(especially after the slow pace of Sicily).

Tuesday was stifling, by 2 pm it was 40C and no wind. You can hardly think in this sort of temperature and we left for a swim again. The harbour had few boats on it and then suddenly Hew got pulled up by the harbour police for speeding!! Didn’t see them coming!! The maximum speed in the harbour is 10kts and in the marina areas 3kt. Though I am not sure all the boats abide by this, and we don’t own a speedo for the dingy. Anyway off we toddled a little more sedately and cooled down in the same little cove we used in the weekend.

Tuesday was big fireworks night on the harbour for the feast of St Lawrence which we could even see it from our position and it was a nice way to end the evening and our first full week in Malta. We really should have gone out on the dingy. The Maltese love fireworks.

Next Blog:

https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2021/08/shifting-into-an-apartment-and-a-mastless-cruise-for-the-weekend/

Some of the photos are from along the northern cliff of Gozo on the way back to Malta.

Put the sails on Tuesday morning with the help of the new crew – hard work. The sea trial for all the new instruments was a fail as all the screens blanked – software bug…!!!. Back to the marina for an upgrade. By now it was too late to head off to Malta.

Wednesday lovely morning but lots of software and line problems and then our instrument man Pietro had to accompany his daughter to a play in the old Greek amphitheatre in Syracuse so gone for the day at lunch time. Lovely day so we decided to go out and do our own sea trial. Went for a light sail and a swim. Very pleasant and all seemed well except for already identified instrument faults. But we felt great.

Back to the marina where Christine and I tried to sort out a long-standing issue with the gennika furler while Alan and Hew tried to sort out the engine instruments and speed transducer. We succeeded but the boys had to change the connection unit for the instruments and they were still not entirely right.

Thursday dawns windy and more software programming – finally good to go by lunch time. Not as nice a day as Wednesday but more wind so set sail with overcast skies and 15kts. Sails were up and we were off, instruments all looked good and then our starboard bilge alarm went off. Much running around and floor board lifting and discovered that two minor problems- float switch was jammed by a hose and so alarms was going but not bilge pump. After much investigation it appears tp be same issue we had last year. At some stage in the yachts history some “not so bright spark” had disconnected the  fridge/freezer drains and decided they would be fine emptying into the bilges. Very difficult to fix as on the other side of the keel and behind and under the fridges. Anyway, once the bulge pump and bucket were out the water was soon gone and on we continued.Christine and Alan took the helm for most of the day while Hew and I had a nap.

Arrived at Malta around 8pm in time for sunset. Very welcoming feeling with the old fort and bangers and fire crackers going off in the evening. 4 other yachts already anchored outside the water polo club in Marsamxett harbour. As we were manoeuvring into anchoring position discovered the windlass not working- no power-we had had the same problem at MdR on the hard when we were marking the chain but had replaced a relay and thought it was all fixed……. but not so. More scrambling down hatches and behind switch boards for a temporary fix. Finally anchored and relaxed.

Friday morning was chandlery shopping for Hew and I, but another fail – it was a public holiday…. grrrr. Latest toy boats in Malta are the Eco Donuts below with the solar powered electric engines.

Alan and Christine had gone off to view the fort and old town so we retired back to the yacht for a relax and read.

By the time they got back Alan decided to cool down with a swim. Small boat in the background is for sale for USD18m.

Too late to really leave so we decided to make use of the restaurant at the yacht club which is excellent and had a lovely meal. 

Saturday we rose early and set off at 6am for Gozo the northern island to some recommended bays. Here are some photos on the way up the coast . Motored all the way as not enough wind. The only others up were the fishermen. Here are some photos of the sites along the coast. Note the graffiti on the foreshore.

Also many hotels along the foreshore and especially any beaches or good rock ledges.

Between the beaches and the low hills are many magnificent cliffs and caves

Also similarly to Sardinia and Corsica a collection of watch towers all along the coast. Many of these have their own names.

Finally we reached the northern tip of Malta and now crossed over to Gozo. We did not stop at the main town of Mgarr as we had been given some directions to continue to Dwejra Bay, so here are just some passing photos of the town and the very large Cathedral.

Again many interesting formations on the cliffs around the coast.

Dwejra Bay was so magnificant that it needed its own post.

Left early for Pozzallo to clear customs then continue to Malta. Weather very foggy less than 5 k visibility not a great way to start the first trip. Thank goodness for charts and mobile apps like Navionics.

At Pozzallo we firstly had to tie to a small private marina as we couldn’t get into the main marina. EU 70 for 2 hours. Then went to find customs – it should have been the Carabinieri but we didn’t know that. Found customs and a very officious person who “made a meal” out of the process. Four hours later we had our clearance after he had called every department in Sicily and got the Carabinieri to come over and agree he could stamp the document. Then he told us he would drop us back to inspect the boat but in fact what he wanted was to see the owners cabin and  get a photograph of himself in the salon area!!!! Unbelievable.

There are two ferrys a day at Pozzallo from Malta and little else and they have 5 departments at the port for those clearing the country or coming in – too much bureaucracy and as one person said to me “they fight over who can stamp what”. We finally got out of there and motored to Malta with very little wind. Arrived on dark anchored outside the water polo club and close to the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Great to see so many people just swimming off the rocks – all the surrounding area marked off by buoys.

The biggest surprise was that we saw a yacht we recognised. This belonged to the Irish Aussie who had sold us the catamaran.  As soon as they saw us they were across in the dingy with beers. There then followed a discussion of all the problems we had had and how they never realised any of these parts that we had fixed were faulty or failed!!!! Believe it or not!! But as the night got longer it became apparent that the story kept changing from “it never happened “, changed to “sometimes happened”, or “didn’t really matter”, or “can’t you just live with it”, or “not too bad enough to fix” or “didn’t really use it” etc etc. On the issues we had had trying to get a departure clearance from Pozzallo  – we discovered he still did not have a Costituto for his new yacht and intended to clear into Sicily through Augusta but had been told he had to go to Pozzallo to get it anyway. At this stage we decided we would probably be safer clearing into a different port on our return.

Thursday

First thing in the morning we set off to find immigration and customs. It was great to speak English or a mixture of English , Maltese, Italian and French.  After several vague answers we asked the Marina office and they sent us to the right place which we had missed by only a few meters in a previous attempt because a local had sent us somewhere else.  The Customs and Immigration (Polizia and Guardia Costiera) were two great guys who could not see why the Italians were making such a big issue out of it since we should have just been treated the same as everyone else under the Schengen agreement. Anyway, they stamped a whole heap of forms for us so the Italians would have what they needed and said we could clear on Sunday- which was when we intended to leave.

The Marina office also gave us a quote for a berth which was EU 270 per night – this was the first of many high berth prices we were to be quoted. We felt we really needed a berth to fix all the problems we still had on the boat so decided to ask the RMYC since the commodore had suggested they might have a couple we could use. They were really helpful and friendly and offered us one for EU90 which we took for two nights but then extended for a third.  The staff and the handyman who helped with the marina were all great. It was so pleasant to have helpful friendly people who actually got something done. 

Late afternoon we set off on the never-ending hunt for boat parts with some good directions and an easy trip by boat. Surprise, surprise we found a whole boating and yachting area filled with every type of boat shop you could wish for.  This was heaven after Sicily and we ended up buying 3 salt water pumps (2 for the fridges and one for the deck wash) and a muffler – even though we had ordered them in MdR for our return. We decided while we could get spares we would as there was no guarantee the parts would be in MdR when we got back. We were very wary after the last two months.

Malta was also interesting in that they kept a normal English day as in 0900 to 1700 so after Sicily and the siesta period we had to readjust our operating times!!

Friday

Hew went to talk to the Nanni agents about the salt water pump on the port engine which was not operating correctly and the agent agreed to fix it then, while Hew was there. Very informative and helpful person. Seems that Mata does understand that now means now – not next week or next month. Hew spent all day working on the boat and putting the pumps in.  Valletta town has all sorts of festas. They say there is one for every day of the week and they all have to have fireworks( pretty lights and very noisy ones with no lights) . This racket goes on every day and it is apparently above international recommended noise levels . There is a saying that there is 3t65 churches in Malta so there is a festa every day and sometimes they all have them at once so they compete to make the most noise. Houses are decorated and streets shut.  

Saturday: More work on the yacht. We were also invited for a prize giving at the yacht club for the Marina di Ragusa – Valletta race and so went along. I was amazed only four boats took part but there were prizes for every person on every boat. Very generous sponsor who happened to to own a large family chandlery.

Sunday:  Decided to cycle around the town. Went up to the old fortified town of Valletta – very interesting. Huge amount of military history and great museum. You can see both harbours and the whole town from on top of the fort. Amazing view. Under the Order of Saint Johns who ruled there for many years the crusaders were really just pirates(bucaneers). A very colourful and interesting history.

We returned by 1500 and I went back to clear customs – no one was there, even though we had been told they would be. So  we would have to leave the next day.

Hew working on the boat again and had been out to see the sponsor for the yacht race to source some more parts.

Monday :

More pumps – this time the high pressure water maker pump – either a fix or a new one  but at the time hew went to get it fixed or buy a new one he had also organized the refrigeration engineer to come and look at the big fridges art 1100.

Meanwhile I went to immigration and customs but had to come back as one of the guys was off on holiday – his partner was surprised that he hadn’t been there on Sunday for me. He then kindly offered to give me a lift into the main office at the commercial port on the other harbour at 11. So the fridge man was left on the boat muttering that they were all right and H<Ew hadnt returned.!!!

I returned to customs and was duly given a lift over to the main customs and immigration building and all docs were signed and we were given 24 hours to leave.  They also told me that effectively ships masters and crews could stay in the EU for years as long as they were living on the boats they crewed.  The official was very interesting as his hobby was World War II motorcycles and Land Drovers and knew a lot of the history of the area.

When both Hew and I got back to the boat we decided to vacate the marina and anchor for the night then leave early in the  morning so we could make the trip in one day on Tuesday. Since we were doing that we took the boat out for a sea trial and to swing the wind vane and the compass which had not been reading correctly on the way over. We returned and anchored in the same place as we had on the first night all packed up to leave early.

Tuesday

We headed to Licata to avoid Pozzallo. the trip was longer but we thought there was  less likely to be hassles for the Costituto. The trip took all day and was mostly motoring due to lack of wind. About an hour out we were wending our way through trawlers and fish farms and the wind was slowly getting up so we decided to roll out the gennaker. In the middle of the process the steering failed – (one of the few systems we had not checked) – the yacht did a 90 degree turn to the left, the gennaker on the way out lost pressure and the reefing line tangled around the drum. I initially thought we had caught something a net or line but no the autopilot had let go since the pressure on the steering was too high. Dropped the gennaker as couldn’t roll it in or out and manually steered slowly into the port at Licata – Marina di Cala Del Sole. Thank goodness we had some left.

We arrived and  tied up outside the Marina office with the help of a french couple along side and two marina staff.  Hew went off to the chandlery (again) to get some hydraulic fluid and I went off to the marina office for the paperwork. After paying the cost to stay I asked about the Costituto and they were really helpful and called the customs(Guardia Costiera) for us and they agreed to see us that night since we wanted to leave early in the morning. Brilliant. Very good and helpful officials.

The  marina was not very full but very nice surrounds and we had a drink at the marina bar which had a  nice wine and a really nice free antipasto plate. We then ate  at the pizzeria next door. Meet one of the local English sailors who over-winters and he was really positive about the area and marina so had a good chat. Interestingly it is a working fishing village and not really a tourist village so a very different feel to Marina di Ragusa.

[See image gallery at kiwiflyingfish.com]