Sunday 21 September 2014 - Stromboli

Our plan was to rise early and get a good start on a trip to Stromboli.  But plans don’t always work out and ours didn’t.  Firstly I had a terrible night and hardly got any sleep, so waking up early was difficult.  Then, although we got out of the berth with no trouble, we had a further delay.  We decided that with all the motoring we have been doing we ought to fill up with fuel and this being a very busy marina, would have a high turnover and hence a good place to fill up.  But when we got to the fuel pontoon just before 9:00am we found they didn’t open until 9:30.  So we hung around.  Made good use of the wifi, downloading the Sunday Times and finally got our fuel.  It was just as well, because we needed over 80 litres.  Unfortunately, however, the fuel overfilled and we have a rather smelly boat despite trying to clean the spill up.

So we set off, but only just get off the pontoon when Richard says we must stop urgently because the water is not circulating through the engine.  He is pretty sure it is because he did not properly fit the water filter when he put it back after cleaning it out.  So back to the fuel pontoon. Luckily, the problem was as Richard thought and we were off within 10 minutes.

The day is bright, but with a lot of thin cloud making it all rather hazy.  There is little or no wind, so other than an hour trying to motor sail, we are motoring again.  Just as well we filled up.  I am tired so try to get some more sleep in the cockpit.  We don’t really have lunch, just a snack of mushroom pate on readymade toasts.  The sea is very flat and glassy, so when I look out and see something on the horizon; it does not take us long to realise that it is a pod of 6-8 dolphins!  They are heading towards us and are lovely and graceful.  We turn off the engine, but regrettably they do not come and play.  They just dive under the boat and then emerge yards behind us.  But it is lovely to see them.  They do lift the spirits so.

We make it to Stromboli and find a reasonable place to anchor.  We have decided to stay here for the afternoon and evening and then after dinner when it is dark we will go around the other side of the Island to see the eruption.  

For those who don’t know Stromboli is a large active volcano in the sea.  It is three thousand meters high of which two thousand are under the sea and the last one thousand is above the water forming an island.  It has been constantly erupting for centuries and is referred to in the Odyssey.  It is a place we have always wanted to visit.

So we are at anchor.  There are a lot of other boats, particularly charter yachts.  It isn’t the most comfortable spots because of all the sea traffic.  Ferries come here continuously and create a huge wash which rocks to boat around badly.  This is made worse by local motor boats who seem to delight in going through the anchored sail boats at great speed creating even more wash.  But we stay to see the eruption.  We have a nice swim and relax.  It gets dark at 8:00pm, so the plan is to eat supper and go off around the island.  So I start to cook some dinner.  I am below making pork steaks with pasta when all hell breaks loose.  The swell from the large boats and a small motor boat have made the boat rock like I have never felt before.  All the cooking things are flying around the cabin.  I am certain that the boiling pan of pasta will pour all over me any second.  I shout for help and then Richard shouts out in pain.  In an attempt to come and help me he got up and was thrown across the cockpit landing on his elbow on the cockpit table which broke off its hinges with the force of his fall.  He is in a worse state than me.  I have got the cooker on gimbels so it rocks with the motion of the boat and the pans stay even and won’t fall off.  I am collecting all the other stuff from the galley and finally just about have got it sorted.  Richard gets down and his elbow has swollen up to twice its size.  We don’t think he has broken anything, but he is in a state and covers himself in arnica cream to see if that will help with bruising.  Unfortunately we have no ice, which is what he really needs for the swelling.

The loss of the cockpit table is a bit of a problem.  It is very warm below decks and we have been eating up in the cockpit most of the time.  Parts of it have splintered, so we don’t know if we will be able to do any repair.  We manage dinner below.  While I clear up Richard plots a route around the island to see the lava flow.

It is pitch dark and off we set.  It is almost impossible to see where we are going.  We see the lights of a lot of other boats, but some are quite difficult to interpret.  What does a flashing red and green light on a boat mean?  They never taught either of us about such lighting!  I guess it is peculiarly Italian!  But we make it to the other side of the island and it is spectacular.  There is a long wide lava flow going from the very top of the mountain all the way down the side and stopping at the sea.  It glows bright red and orange.  Occasionally there are small eruptions at the top where red and orange sparks fly up into the night sky.  Although it has been a bit scary getting here it has really been worth it. 

So after about an hour we decide to turn back.  We don’t go all around the island, as it is better to spend our time going back the way we came and seeing more of the eruption. 

We have been out for two hours when we arrive back at the anchorage.  We haven’t done any night sailing for over two years now and we are finding it difficult.  We do eventually find a place to anchor and we collapse into bed exhausted.