Our Passage

We anchored outside Shelter Bay the night before as our uplift time for the pilot was 0400. The Panama Canal control centre gave all the boats an update at 2100 the day before and our uplift was changed to 0430.

0330 we were up and awake, still anchored but we could see the activity of two boats, one a yacht and one a large launch both close to us and both motoring. The canal advisor arrived on time at 0430 and told us to up anchor immediately and head towards the tanker that we could see already in the channel and motoring towards the locks. We asked about following the yacht in front which had picked up his pilot first but he said no just pass him and go ahead.

As we were motoring at 8kts towards the tanker, and passing the other yacht we discovered that the motor boat had decided not to come because he wanted to be in the lock by himself and not rafted to other yachts which would cost him another whole fee. We also discovered that we would be the lead boat of the two yachts as we were bigger. I had asked the advisor if it was because he was older/ more experienced but he said no it was the advisor on the biggest boat that was the leader. Our advisor Edwin was great, calm, knowledgeable, chatty, and a really nice guy.

Approaching the Locks at 0430

Locks Going Up

Below is a collection of photos to give you an idea of the Gatun Lake environment and traffic. A Park surrounds the Lake and you can only go on the lake by boat for the day if you want to look around. When you are crossing the canal there is no time to stop. We were hoping for an overnight trip to just take it all in but no such luck. There is constant work going on at the Pacific end of the lake and the big cut through which is impressive. But there is a lot of old building materials, drilling parts, and general construction rubbish just dumped on the sides of the southern end of the lake.

Line handlers on the yachts must pay attention to keep the yachts in the centre of the lock the lines must be constantly taken in or eased depending on the way you are going. As we were rafted with another boat we only had to manage the lines on the Starboard side. Geordie and Craig assisted by Graeme managed this easily while Barb drove us through under instruction from Edwin our advisor. Hew was in charge of catering, we had been informed it was very important to feed our advisor. He did appreciate a large macaroni cheese for lunch along with afgans and slices of banana cake along the way.

The boat tied alongside was a bit of a problem from struggling to come alongside, even when we were stationary, to wanting to drive and unhelpfully turning their wheel against the direction Barb and our advisor were trying to go! We were very glad to cast off from them when we cleared the final loch into the Pacific.

Going up in the locks to Lake Gatun the small boats follow the big boats, at the other end going down the small boats go first. The gates of the locks can be taken off for maintenance and they float.

Gatun Lake

Some of the locks recycle water but not all so you need to wait for the ship going down when you are going up as the water passes from one side to the other.

Going Down to the Pacific

Canal cameras monitor all the locks and you can bring the pictures up on the internet. -Eleuthera far left at the front of the lock, yacht beside us, and tug behind. The tanker was still coming into the lock.

In the Pacific

More than 12 hours after we had started we dropped the Canal Advisor off and Anchored at Isla Flamenco for the night.

The trip through the canal is awe-inspiring and an amazing experience that takes some time to assimilate. The work in the construction and continued running and maintenance of the whole area and the great bridges are truly awe-inspiring.

This blog has had photos contributed by all the crew. We hope you enjoy the read.

Next Blog: https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2024/05/panama-to-galapagos-passage/

We had a fabulous sail from Tobago to Martinique with just over 20 hours and 200 miles from lifting our anchor in Charlotteville to dropping it in Le Marin. Perfect sailing conditions on a tight reach which Eleuthera loves with a reef in the main to control speeds so we didn’t fall off too many waves. Arriving in the channel between St Lucia and Martinique at sunrise we were treated to 10 or 15 Brown Boobies following us and feeding on the flying fish we startled into flight.

Le Marin

By 9 am we were anchored and had a nap before venturing ashore after lunch to check in at the Marina Office. All that is required is to fill in the forms on the computer, pay 5 Euro and that was it- checked in, So simple.

Le Marin has 5 dingy docks, a very large fuel dock, dry stands, floating maintenance docks, many shops, several chandleries though these are small, and numerous bars and restaurants. It is a very buzzy marine destination with several yacht charter companies. Of course, the downside is there are hundreds of yachts, the marinas are very full, and the hundreds of buoys are also mostly full both at Le Marin and at Sainte-Anne which is just at the harbour entrance. The good things are there are very good supermarkets and boulangeries.

We were fascinated by the local boats out training – you must be very fit to hike in and out on the boards. Here is a short video as we watched one training. https://youtu.be/QvQoOqnI8pg Here is more about the Martinique Yole .

Raymarine Screen Failures and Delays

We anchored close in the first night as we knew we had to check in and also take in the second Raymarine screen which had failed in Tobago. We could not make the Raymarine online system work as it kept telling us to send the screen to Sydney when we were in the Caribbean and it needed to go to Boston. No amount of emails or help desk chats seemed to be able to sort this. After several days it became apparent the solution was to take it to the local Raymarine dealer to send away. We did this on Thursday and returned on Monday to check on the progress to find it still on the floor having been forgotten. After some prompting, we had a DHL tracking number the following day and it was off to Boston.

Meanwhile, we were trying to get an update on the other screen we had sent for repair via the dealer in Trinidad which was proving difficult as Raymarine would not talk to us without authorization from the dealer.

While this was going on we discovered the Transducer for recording speed, depth, and temperature was on the blink and we needed a new one. These were unavailable in Le Marin and expensive to import so to reduce the local taxes and fees we ordered one for delivery to St Lucia. Here we could import it tax and duty-free as a “yacht in transit”, not something the French were interested in.

Le Marin

Sainte-Anne

The following day we shifted out to the entrance at Saoimte-Anne for better swimming and less crowded – if 250 yachts means less crowded!

The town of Sainte-Anne dates from 1868 and was named after a man who defended the island against the English in 1808. The famous Église Sainte-Anne was burned by the British in 1730 and then destroyed again by a cyclone in 1817. It took 12 years to build another church and today it is one of the oldest on the island. As you walk up the hill, from the town towards the beach, you pass the well-kept Le cimietière Marin which overlooks the bay. All the tombs are constructed with white tiles which makes it truly beautiful. https://azmartinique.com/en/life-in-martinique/municipalities/sainte-anne.

With the old sections, there is also the new and the artwork and posters are interesting. I was very amused to see the poster of the female Air Force pilot. An Air Force poster is not an item you expect to see in the islands, let alone a female one.

A lovely lunch – Basilic Beach

After we walked over the hill from the town to the beach we stopped and had lunch at Basilic. It was a lovely low-key restaurant with a great view and excellent food. https://www.facebook.com/lebasilicbeach

A Music Bar for Dinner – La Dunette

Another night we decided to go out for dinner and try and catch some music. Well, we got a DJ but he was very good and the bar had a beautiful view but the food was like English Pub food – eminently missable. The night was very entertaining with the locals coming and going along with tourists like us. https://www.ladunette.com/restaurant/restaurant.html

Diving

We knew that we would be in Martinique for a while, so we decided to go diving. We selected Natiyabel as they were the closest. The first day of diving was with more cruisers also on their way toward Panama. The first dive was a bit average but the second one was very good. We decided to do another day’s diving but Hew’s knee had swollen up badly. We called Mark in Australia for a medical opinion. So I went diving and Hew had a day off. Hews’ knee turned out to be Bursitis from overuse perhaps kneeling in the bilges. The first dive was at Saint Luce reef and was great with a big swim through and some nice cliff formations, but the following dive was shallow and not very interesting. It was more of a snorkel site.

Natiyabel Plongee

https://natiyabel.com/

Two days Touring

We had been diving and the battery in my watch was running low and needed replacing. The company that had the agency to fix and test Suunto watches was out near the airport a 30-minute drive from Le Marin, so we decided to hire a car for two days and use it to drop the watch off and do some island exploring. So off we went and did all the southern part of the island one day and the northern part the next.

The roads are generally very good with some 2 lane motorways as you head towards Port au France—evidence of substantial financial support from France and the EU everywhere. The guys in the dive shop were very friendly and assured us the watch would be ready the following day.

We decided to head across the island to Francois and explore the bottom of the island. The southern part is lower lying and we visited various bays on the East coast along with inland areas of farming and agriculture. Lunch in a local restaurant is always a good thing with some delicious local fish and good coffee. After some further exploring and a visit to a local supermarket (Carrefour), we returned to Eleuthera at dusk.

With an earlier start the next morning we returned to the dive shop via a different route and then on to the more mountainous northern part of the island. Narrow winding roads up and down steep terrain were the order of the day. These roads would open out into valleys and areas of flatter arable land with large areas of sugar cane and many banana plantations. Almost all the hands of bananas were encased in plastic bags to protect them and help them ripen. Something we must try at home with our bananas. There is a lot of mechanised farming with large tractors and harvesters operating, we even passed a tractor and farm machinery dealership.

Lunch proved difficult as the fare in the local patisseries was uninviting and we struggled to find a cafe or restaurant. Hungry we found a large supermarket and emerged with a baguette and the makings of a picnic to consume on the beach nearby. After negotiating the one-way system in the village we made it to the beach only to discover there were several restaurants right there! We had a very nice picnic with an old upturned fishing boat as a table followed by a walk across a sandy spit to a very picturesque little island. Barb of course had to go swimming while Hew looked on.

From there it was up into the highlands and the spectacular rainforest. The island is largely volcanic with steep hillsides windy roads, narrow bridges, and lush vegetation from the high rainfall. Much of the inland area is a protected park with various walking tracks and areas to explore. Unfortunately, we were constrained by time and could only stop occasionally.

However, we did drive up Mt Pele as far as the first Refuge at about 800m and stopped to look at the view. It was a bit cooler up here and Barb had to put on some more clothes, rather than just her bikini. The mountain is nearly 1400m and last erupted in 1902 when it wiped out the town of St Pierre on the west coast below it. On our visit, the peak was largely shrouded in cloud with several walkers heading up the trail to the caldera a 7km round trip with at least 2 other shelters further up the mountain. It felt like it would be a pretty wild place in a big storm.

We visited the small town of St Pierre last year. St Pierre was settled by Europeans who wiped the last of the local Caribs in 1658. Legend has it that the last ones uttered horrible curses invoking the mountain to take its revenge before they died. By 1900 St Pierre was known as the Paris of the Caribbean with a population of 30,000 and the capital of Martinique. Despite early volcanic activity and minor eruptions throughout April, the politicians of the day chose not to evacuate the town as elections were due and on 8 May 1902 the mountain took its revenge and erupted. All but 2 people were killed and 12 ships in the bay were destroyed by a fireball of superheated gas, famously one of the survivors was a murderer who was locked up in a stone cell.

Continuing via a hilltop town with a huge church, and on towards Port au France for rush hour on Friday. Bumper-to-bumper traffic and only a large-scale map meant a few wrong turns. We got to explore parts of the town you might not normally find yourself in, got tooted at a few times but eventually found the road south to Le Marin. Interestingly Port au France has an alternative to light rail with divided bus lanes down the middle of the road and long buses with several carriages – dont know what it cost but seemed to work well!

Recruiting Crew

Given our next major leg to Panama is fast coming up we decided some additional crew to help would be a good idea. It is about 1200 miles from here to Panama, 6 or 7 days nonstop some additional watch keepers would make the journey easier. Facebook soon produced some likely candidates with a young French couple just arrived across the Atlantic and wanting to make it to Central America and a young English guy wanting to go to Colombia.

San Andrés is a coral island, long and flat, full of tourists and nightlife, 30 flights a day, and a harbour facing east. There is no natural fresh water on the island, it is either roof collection or from the desalination plant.

Providencia is a volcanic island tall and lush, with water, a very large coral reef, few people, very few tourists, one ferry and one flight a day, and a harbour facing west.

San Andrés

Officials and Agents

When we first arrived we called port control and they welcomed us in. Then the navy turned up to inspect the yacht as we were anchoring. They were lovely young guys from the mainland of Coñombia and they had coffee and biscuits with us and stamped the passports and inspected the yacht. This was a great welcome.

Then we had to meet the agent ashore at the marina. He was recommended by Panama Posse and so we thought all should be well. I took all the papers in and met him on the dock. The immigration lady came to collect the passports, disappeared, and came back 20 min later. The port authority was there and I signed the paper and he gave it to the agent. The agent asked me for the tax money $ 35 USD each, plus his fee. I paid and he said he was just off to the bank to get the forms and would be back. That was the last we saw of him.

the agent had also organised to get the laundry done. I waited on the dock for two hours and no one turned up. I gave up at 5 pm and went back to the yacht. Meanwhile, I met Sylvie and Eduardo a lovely couple on a catamaran “Second Wind”. They told me another yacht in the bay had had problems with our agent.

The next day I went and had a chat with Oscar and Anya, who were on a cat called “Meow”. They were going in to see their agent so I asked if I could tag along and ask him some questions. Their agent Mr. Rene said he could help me with information but since I had already used the other agent I had to get the papers from him.

There were many WhatsApp messages and calls most of which the Agent did not answer. The night before we left I finally got the Zarpe so I could check out at 1730 via email. No sign of the receipts or tax card which I needed for the next stop in Providencia to prove that I had paid the tax.

After all the bad weather and anchor problems we decided to go anyway. We got Mr. Rene to give us the name of an agent in Providencia.

We called the harbour master and gave the Zarpe number and he responded with “happy journey”.

The day before we left we asked Mr. Rene if he could recommend a driver to take us on a tour around the island. He did so and it was his brother.

San Andrés Harbour

We spent several days anchored in the harbour 20kts gusting just under 40kts. The harbour is full of all sorts of boats and they are often rafted up together all on the same mooring. It also has a couple of wrecks and one schooner attached to the bottom on a sand bar. Many of the boats were not in very good shape.

The local boats are out day and night even in 35 knots of wind. the sea is fairly calm as the harbour sits inside the coral reef.

Our first anchoring was in sand and good holding but after going in for diesel and being held up, then trying to anchor in rain at dusk we missed the sand patch. The rest of the bottom is sea grass and in only 2 m of water and high winds, we were lifting the chain off the bottom.

We dragged later in the night as a squall went through at 38kts, as did the yacht behind us. They ended up badly scratched on the waterline by an old wreck.

Trying to re-anchor we popped the capstan circuit breaker when it jammed. Driving around in the dark in a storm, with boats all around, trying to stay head to wind, and an anchor chain jammed is not my idea of fun. Anyway finally got it fixed and had another go and held for the rest of the night.

The next day we put a lot more chain out and we were hoping to leave first thing the following morning. The anchor held all day and all night until about 5 am when the anchor alarm went off again. This time we just sat on the motors until daybreak and then departed with great relief to be away to Providencia.

San Andrés island tour

We decided to take a day off the boat for a trip around the island. Unfortunately, it was one of several wet days. But if you don’t take the chance you don’t know what you might miss.

We drove through town in a taxi and discovered it was a public transport-only day in town. The place is usually full of scooters, a few cars and trucks. Every Friday for half a day there are no vehicles so it is really easy to walk all around. None even parked on the sidewalks.

Just past the town centre is the airport with all the fences painted or holding panels by various artists.

There is a whole section on recycling made from recycled plastic bottle tops and pieces of bottles. The work was a great acknowledgement of the opportunity to recycle waste.

Firstly there were the sea creatures – fish, shellfish, crustaceans and octopus.

Then there were the sea birds.

The display ends at the main beach which has a wide walkway along the edge of town and ends in a tiny harbour for the local fishing boats.

Museum

The next stop was the museum which was very well done and we had an excellent guide. Entry was 10,000 pesos about $ 2 USD and you could tip the guide at the end.

The area had an old traditional wooden house from the colonial era with balconies upstairs and down and a detached kitchen and separate toilet block. The inside had old photos and period memorabilia.

There were also paintings on all the walls to tell a story such as the plantations, the music and instruments and the pirates. ( every pirate painting or statue bore a remarkable resemblance to Captain Jack Sparrow!)

When the British owned the island Capt Harry Morgan was in charge but he was basically just a pirate. He apparently had 48 wives and 150 children and died at age 50 of syphilis. Meanwhile, he was in San Andres and Providencia for 4-5 years and then became Governor of Jamacia. Many of the original island families had English names and spoke English and they still do. Spanish and Creole are also spoken.

At the end of the visit you had to go and learn the Salsa – a good laugh.

Captain Morgan’s Cave

This attraction was 20,000 pesos each and was like a wet dirty rundown discarded movie set.

The museum had a collection of old pistols, daggers and swords. Although they told us some were from Spain and some were found around the island I am not sure how many were authentic.

The grounds and paths are full of life-sized pirates of all shapes and sizes – male and female. As you can see Hew particularly liked one statue.

There are also old canons scattered around.

Captain Morgan’s cave was a large cave that was full of fresh, slightly saline water. It is apparently open to the sea somewhere underneath. This is where he hid his treasure – apparently.

More Salsa dancing lessons before you could get out..

Blow hole

The last attraction was the blow hole. We have many in New Zealand but it is not generally encouraged to stand on top of them. There is a channel which you can apparently swim through in calm water. We watched for about 40 minutes as people came and stood over the hole to get caught in the rush of air or water. You could not predict which you would get and it did not seem to make any difference depending on the angle or strength of the water against the cliff. Everyone there was happy and cheerful – just having fun. There were lots of tourist shops and many colourful restaurants and bars. The place was very busy.

Many of the buildings were partially or fully painted in pictures and various colours.

There is no natural underground water in San Andres and most of the water collection is all from the roofs of the houses into these small plastic tanks – many painted with designs as seen here.

Confiscated Buildings

Another interesting feature of the NE coast of San Andrés is the huge number of very large and expensive holiday houses. Scattered amongst all these are properties that are looking very well maintained are others that look like wrecks. The latter are properties that have been confiscated from the drug kings but where the ownership has been tied up in court to stop their sales. Until the government wins they can only just lock them up. It seems many have been in this state for several years.

Well, that was the story of San Andres. The Story of Providencia is in the next blog and also the continuing saga of officials and agents.

The weather forecast in Corfu stayed the same for three days – thunderstorms and wind.

Gouvia Marina

On the morning of the third day, we decided to make a break for it and go to Gouvia even if we had to anchor in the bay while we got the engine pump fixed. A friend had given us the name of some agents at A1 yachting and we called them to see if they could handle our entry into Greece to save us from going into town. They came back shortly after and although the marina had told us there were no berths when we called they had managed to find one for us.

We cruised down the coast which is beautiful and green and such a change after Malta which is all brown, dry, and rocky.

Video …

Corfu was very busy with charter boats going in and out of the marina, but they were having to wait for slots in their own area and we went in and were handled almost immediately.

The engineers arrived very quickly and took the pump away to be fixed. Next, we wandered up to the office of A1 yachting and discovered that the immigration police who were in the building next door were not happy with our documents. They could not find the exit stamp for Malta but they did find the entry stamp for Italy and it was over 90 days old. According to our passports, we had been nowhere else. Here we go again. There was much discussion on the ins and outs of Schengen and the individual countries’ agreements. In the end, it came down to the fact that we should have been stamped in each country so we could count the day’s agreement separately from the Schengen days.

Of course, leaving malta they treated us as crew on a yacht. Albania had its own system and stamped papers, not passports – mainly for the yacht requirements. Then the Greek authorities were treating us as passengers but decided in the final stages we should be crew. In the end, all the documents were signed and stamped and we were legitimate.

The next day the pump came back and we were all set to leave. We picked up some fuel at the fuel dock – last visited two years ago and ago. Then we set off with a forecast that would give us 30% on a tight reach than all the rest on an easy reach to Malta at about 15kts. Sounded great. As you can see from the photo – the weather was not that warm – not the Mediterranean we were used to.

Stormy Passage

We departed down the east coast hoping for a quick trip. After passing Corfu town the wind was dead on the nose again – seems to happen to us all the time. The wind was already averaging 22kts from the South rather than SW and the sea was rough already 1-2m and short. Rather than bashing into all the way on the motor we decided to tack and motor sail to the end of Corfu.

We reached the end of Corfu late in the day and turned right slightly to track for Malta. This did not seem to help as we turned right so did the wind. The wind was hard on so we motor sailed. The forecast was ok but windy. During the night the wind increased and so did the seas. At one point we were making 3.5kts Speed over the ground – depressing.

The second afternoon we were down to 3 reefs and no genoa – or now and then a handkerchief out. Making 6.5 knots and still motor sailing as the wind was so far forward. We were running forecasts every 6 hours and decided if the wind got no better we were going to head for Syracuse and not Malta and have a rest. We were running about 6 hours on ETA.

As the evening approached the wind increased from the NW we were hand-sailing rather than on autopilot which could not see the approaching waves and we had been dropping off some of the big waves. Still doing 6.5 knots but very rough. We had a good sail for about 3 hours then night fell and we had to reduce the speed of the yacht as we could not see the waves either. The forecast was for waves bout 2m at 4 sec intervals and that was about right.

The new forecast showed us right in the red patch and it had been gusting over 40kts. There was supposed to be a calm patch at one stage but we never found it.

Syracuse

Dawn rose with our entry to Syracuse. We notified our approach into the harbour and were told to remain on the yacht and then the fun started with authorities. We had not been planning to end up in Syracuse so of course had not given them the 12 hours notice required. We wanted to get in, do the paperwork, have a rest, and clear out the next day. Not so easy. The harbour master told us what was required for the health clearance and emailed us the details. We sent the documents off to 8 email addresses!! This was by now about 8 am. Then heard no more. On querying the harbour master she told us the Health department was separate and they had no idea how long it takes. They have obviously had this problem before.

We then started to tidy up the yacht and discovered that our port Pelican Stiker wire had two broked strands. Just as well we stopped. Now looked like we would not be going to Malta and certainly not sailing. On further inspection of the yacht, we discovered that we had also cracked the area under the rear davits again. One had been mended 3 months before in Marina di Ragusa and it was not too bad but now the other was showing cracking around the base. We made the decision not to continue to Malta but to go to Marina di Ragusa and try and get the wires and damage fixed there.

We then settled in for a rest. Got up after lunch and still no emails with a clearance. Called the harbour master again and explained that we would like to leave first thing the next morning because we wanted to take the calm weather window before the next storm. She was very helpful and even suggested not getting off the boat but clearing at Pozzallo. We called them but they asked us to call Marina di Ragusa as they did not speak English well. I talked to the girls there about a marina and the situation with the authorities and that we did not need to be stuck at Pozzallo if we did leave due to the approaching storm. She got back to me and had been told that Pazzallo now comes under Syracuse so if we couldn’t get the health clearance in Syracuse it would be a problem in Pozzallo.

The good thing that came out of the conversation was that they knew an agent in Syracuse who they had used before and they might help. We then called Giorgio siracusa@luise.com at Luisa Yachtshttps://www.luise.com/italy/ and had a chat. He told us that the process was with the health department there – if we did not give 12 hours notice then they threw the file in the next day’s list so we would not get it today. Sit back and relax. In fact, we would not get it until close to lunchtime the next day – certainly not first thing in the morning. We explained our problem with the weather and trying to get away as soon as possible but it seemed nothing to do but wait.

As we were sitting on the yacht waiting we had a visit from another yacht who had been in Marina di Ragusa previously. Brad and Janet were waiting for the current weather to go through before continuing to MdR. They were good friends of Chris the Refrigeration man we had met in Malta.

The forecast for the next few days was not good as can be seen from the shots of Predict wind below. The third photo was of the gust we got in the bay the next day. It was very windy and 0.5meter swell even in the harbour. The wind got up at 4am and at 6am we got the motors on an motored into the wind to get the bridle up and then release more chain. Beside us in the anchorage, another yacht was doing the same, and ahead of us one dragged so far they had to pull their anchor right out and start again. We were in around 7m and had about 60m of chain out. We really grabbed as we let the bridle out and did not move again while we were there.

The following are some views of the harbour in Syracuse. It is a lovely old town but overshadowed by the big cruise ships. I know people love them but this one had speakers going with the exercise music and dancing most of the day and the noise was awful. It dwarfed the old town and you could see why people do not wantcruised ships in some of these old traditional towns.

Hew loved this boat below, said it really was a James Bond-style yacht – big aft deck for all the fun and games!! Plenty of room for the helicopter as well. Great name.

Other boats seen around town.

When the weather finally cleared we decided we had one afternoon to walk around town – looking at the sights as seen above, the old and the new.

Departure for Marina di Ragusa

Then next morning we decided to get up before sunrise and leave at daybreak. I think the harbour wanted us to stay. The anchor came up so far and then we found we were totally entangled in an old net that had obviously been dumped. 45 minutes later we had cut it off. the movement of the boat over the last three days as shown on the screen probably aided the entanglement. What a muddy mess!!

Finally on our way to Marina di Ragusa.

We had an uneventful trip and were happy to return to the old marina. Clean and tidy and lots of welcoming smiles. Also much warmer than Corfu and even warmer than Syracuse.

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/