Crossing from Scilly to Malta & The Perfect Anchorage

Sailing is not always a planned affair. Case in Point is our crossing to malta. The initial weather forecast did not show significant wind. Great was our surprise when we woke up at Marina di Ragusa, and found a leisurely five Beaufort tugging at the SaltyPaws. We made a quick calculation, and estimated that we could make it to Malta by daylight. Not ones to waste any diesel, and cause unnecessary contribution to the greenhouse effect, we immediately lifted our anchor and set sail for Malta. With the wind on our beam we made progress with a steady 7 knots. We were very careful to keep our sails trimmed, as we knew that the preferred anchorage needed daylight to enter. As we progressed in our crossing, so did the reefs add up into our mainsail. First reef quickly became second reef. On our way over, we had a close encounter with a jack-up rig, and two big freighters.

The landfall into Gozo was spectacular. Gozo offers vertigo inducing cliffs all around, for added dramatic views. 

We proceeded into the Perfect Anhorage. Envisage the perfect anchorage: surrounded by high cliffs, allowing only swell and wind from perhaps 10 degrees in the wind rose, clear sand at 10 meters depth, offering the perfect hold for any anchor, and rugged cliffs and caves to add to visual splendor. And lets not forget the location of the rocks, in relation to the sunset for added dramatic effect. As every Yin Needs its Yang, even the Perfect Anchorage has its points of weakness. While the storm of 7 Beaufort was raging out a the sea, the cliffs managed to dampen this a great deal in our anchorage. However, not without letting us experiencing wind gusts that went from 0 bf (0 knots) up to 7 bf (27 knots) in a matter of seconds. The other yang: the place is barely big enough to anchor 2 yachts. I was glad with our over-sized Rocna anchor, as with the 10 meters water depth, we could let out no more than 35 meters of chain. However, the 1:3 scope did withstand the massive gusts, and anyone seriously considering cruising, I can offer you a piece of advice. Forget the anchor size you are currently thinking about and go at least 15  kg over! We were so content in the Perfect Anchorage that we spent 3 nights at the place.

The Star Spangled Banner flying stout and proud over Salty's Stern

  

Tuxy knows which cupboard holds his chow

Luny Relaxing on the lookout spot

Elizabeth likes 7 knots!

Skipper temporarily relieved from duties

Evasive maneuvers!

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Elizabeth on the Helm

Landfall in Gozo

yup, second reef

Do you spot the entrance to our anchorage? We didn't either at this distance!

Ok, now you can see it. Elizabeth is on the dolphin spotting chair, piloting us in, and looking for rocks.

The entrance to the anchorage was barely 60 m across! Imagine entering this with a current running, and swells in the back.

Sunset over the anchorage, Note the small entrance. Entry at night highly disadvised

The anchorage was barely enough for 2 yachts. 

Delicious breaded aubergine (=eggplant for the Americans)

Elizabeth proudly serving the eggplant dinner.

SaltyPaws on anchor in the Perfect Anchorage

Close-up of one of the caves

Enjoying Alicia's crema di Limoncella

Book review – The Cat Who .... by Lillian Jackson Brown.

Book review – The Cat Who XXXX Lillian Jackson Brown.

Jim Qwilleran, is rich, good looking, witty, and wears a moustache. To top it all off, he is a philanthropist, and bachelor! He looks very well after his two Siamese cats,  Kao K'o-Kung (Koko for short) and Yum Yum. There is only one reason to stay well clear of him: People get murdered around him left right and centre, all the time. Point in case: PickAxe, Jim's hometown has experienced a murder rate of at least 1 per year! Most of the rest of the novel is then spent on Jim solving the murders. However, most of the heavy lifting is done by Koko, who seems to be much smarter than his owner. But because Jim is such a good guy, he actually acknowledges this. The novels are from the days without Amazon, cell phones and internet (the first book in the series was published in 1966), and this makes the stories very cute. Must read for all the cat owners and detective genre readers out there. 

For more on this series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_Who...

An unlikely commute

The Netherlands is one of the smallest countries in the world. Yet the Dutch have managed to pick up the largest average commuting time in the word. Whilst normally one can travel from one side of the small country in about three and a half hours, the average Dutch commute is one hour, mostly spent breathing the fumes associated with traffic jams. Commuters... This  post is for you.

Dawn broke on the SaltyPaws. It was a morning like any other mornings, the sound of small waves lapping on the side of the SaltyPaws, and the sun charging up the solar Panels. We went, rushing for the cappuccinos, orange juice and breakfast cereal. And make sure the cats were in their apartment with fresh water and food, and the SaltyPaws was secure. We loaded up the bicycles into the dinghy, and made our way to the closest beach. We found a makeshift jetty to unload bicycles, and Elizabeth, and I proceeded to beach the Dinghy. After carrying up the dinghy, and locking it up, we assembled our bicycles and cycled from the Paradise beach on Malta, to the Ferry Terminal. The Ferry took us and our bicycles swiftly across to the harbor of Mgarr, on Gozo, while providing a view on the blue lagoon, situated between the two ferry terminals. From Mgarr we cycled uphill to the charming town of Xaghra, where we visited the ancient Ġgantija temples, one of the oldest man made religious structures in the world, significantly predating even the pyramids and the lighthouse of Alexandria. Elizabeth suspiciously described the temples as "a pile of old looking rocks". The temples were nice enough, and it was good to see Elizabeth's ancestors being such industrious people. The temples have been declared a World Heritage Site, and this has lead to some uglification of the site, by installing rusty, plate iron monstrosities, undoubtedly installed by an overpaid "Artist".

After visiting the temples, we made our way to the grain mill, which played such an important role during the second world war, keeping the flour supply running. Upstairs we could admire the residential quarters, and see how the people lived in the days before the wooden CPU chips.

We managed to find a local deli & fruit & veg shop, and we stocked up on melon, fresh &dried figs, pepper and local cheese. After the windmill and the shop, we managed to find the city square, where local lunch was being served. Walnuts are in plentiful supply here, and very good. Also, the feta cheese does not quite taste like the Greek Feta cheese, but the taste was wonderful.

Onwards to the Citadel in Victoria. We had seen the citadel the day before from the sea, standing high and proud over the cliffs, but now we got to admire it in the stone. After the citadel, we managed to make our way back to Mgarr, and catch the ferry back to Malta. Now it was only  short bicycle ride back to the dinghy. After a day well spent, finally back in the safety and comfort of the SaltyPaws. We will not repeat the commute anytime soon!

Elizabeth enjoying the ferry ride from Malta to Gozo

Ferry and defensive tower on Comino

The cliffs on Comino

Cathedral in Mgarr

Welcome to Xaghra, home of the most ancient temples. Note the Maltese spelling of "H".

Take away the funny hat and the rashguard, and this is how Liefje would have looked 5500 years ago.

Elizabeth admiring the temples of Xaghra

"Old looking stones" framing slightly less old stones

World's oldest shelves. This is what people did before the invention of IKEA.

Shrubbery leading authenticity to the old looking stones 

Its a Porthole!

Yes, people on Malta drive on the WRONG (=left hand) side, drink their PG tips (=tea for non commonwealthers) with sugar and milk and there are red telephone booths!

Welcome SPITERI clan

Cycling to the citadel

The Citadel in Victoria