Setting Off

After a wonderful winter in Malta, we've been planning our departure for the past couple of weeks. On Saturday there was a final Barbeque on the breakwater by the Black Pearl. Ted & Trish are selling Rumb Line and going back to the USA so they had a ship-clearing jumble sale too. Both were unmissable. We've been saying goodbye to many new friends and it will be quite a wrench to leave - but that's the life we've chosen. Hopefully we will meet up from time to time.

The weather was set to be fairly nasty on Monday and Tuesday but Wednesday looked OK for a quick dash to Gozo. Then no wind Thursday (when we planned a nice lazy sunny day at anchor in the Blue Lagoon) and a nice Easterly breeze on Friday to waft us over to Sicily.
No such luck!
Wednesday (today) turned out to be showery and very windy and Thursday now is predicted to have a nice Easterly breeze so we've changed plans and we're off tomorrow (Thursday 22nd April) to Porto Pallo on the South East corner of Sicily and then do the remaining 30 miles up to Syracuse on Friday 23rd. It'll probably be a bit lumpy but it's time to get back to sea.
We're as ready as we can be, all jobs done, well stocked with food and materials. Syracuse should provide the missing ingredient - booze.
We plan to stay in Syracuse for a few days and then set off on the long treck to Cefalonia in Greece as soon as there is a reasonable weather window.