Professional Skipper - Free Sample issue (July/Aug 2011)

more. He said he would have liked to help us more but he was presently working in Nigeria! I phoned Brooke and told him I'd run out of reasons not to get on a plane and see this yacht. Two weeks later we were in Trapani and quickly realised this was the yacht for us. We had been told the price included VAT but learnt that this was not the case. Brooke and I realised the yacht was very good value for money, even at the increased price. We phoned Luciano, who had returned to Viareggio, and finally came up with a price we were all happy with. After spending a stressful few months dealing with an Italian lawyer, the owner, Massimo Cassini and the broker – none of whom spoke much English, I found a broker in England and had the whole deal sorted out within 24 hours. Some days later an email arrived saying I should pay the money to a bank account in Switzerland. I did so wondering if I was actually paying for a yacht or being fleeced of our money. Two days later, much to my relief, an email arrived from Massimo to say that the money had arrived. Grazie! So, the four of us – Pippa and me, Brooke and Nicky, flew out to Trapani on April 27 and stayed at the marina. When I spotted Cristina sitting in her berth exactly where we had looked over her in November the relief was immense. We all went down for a quick look in the dark as both wives had only seen photographs of her. Both were well impressed, thank God. For the next five days we scrubbed and cleaned an already clean yacht, changed oils, checked and started the main engine and generator, stitched some loose cloth on the genoa protector, changed three batteries and got to know all the systems and make sure we understood them. On May 6 I called the Trapani Harbour captain and informed him we were leaving Trapani for an outlying island, Favignana. As we slipped out of the harbour at 1230 I was trying to see through my tears as I realised the stress was over and our adventure had begun. The sail across was a gentle 10 miles and we anchored just clear of the ferry quay in clear turquoise water. The harbour was busy, with fishing boats coming and going and a seemingly endless stream of ferries and hydrofoils. Favignana was built for the tuna industry. In the late 1800s the locals caught huge schools of tuna migrating through the islands from the Atlantic Ocean during April and May. Long nets were laid out to turn the tuna into box nets, where they were slaughtered in their thousands. This has all but finished, as the Spanish, Moroccans and Tunisians now get onto them as they head through and few are left by the time they get to Sicily. At Trapani and Favignana, a constant stream of fighter jets heading towards Libya were not on sightseeing missions and reminded us that while we played, others were not having it so good. We then turned east and started our trip along the northern coast of Sicily. The island of Ustica was a real gem, with a tiny fishing harbour we managed to squeeze into. The fort 200m above the town gave us views of the whole island. The town was very picturesque, with most of the buildings having either a painted or ceramic mural on any available wall. We walked right round the island, a distance of nine kilometres, with stunning scenery most of the way. We had a 70-mile motorsail due east to the volcanic Eolian Islands. Stromboli is probably the best known, as it is an active volcano. For thousands of years it has spurted lava at about 20-minute intervals, hence its name as the Lighthouse to Mariners, as it can be seen most nights. All the islands in the group are around 1000m high and as we found during our second night, are subject to vicious downdrafts when the wind gets up, causing us a sleepless night. With Pyrotek super-sound you won't have to carry any extra sound proofing equipment! absorber insulation in your boat, Pyrotek have a range of specialist products & expert advice to increase the comfort of your boat by reducing all forms of noise & vibration. Noise barriers Vro fitting GET MAXIMUM INSULATION PROTECTION FROM Ph: 09 274 4305 or 0800 865 769 Visit our website www.volvopenta.co.nz nz July/August 2011 Professional Skipper r 31 VIP.S82 VIP.S79

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