Wednesday 8 October 2014 - Marina di Ragusa

I haven’t written because really there is not much to tell.  The weather has improved and it has been really nice and sunny and not too hot.  We have got a lot of jobs done.  The sails are off and have gone to the sail makers to be cleaned and stored for the winter.  Richard has taken most of the lines off.  We have bought two new mooring lines with special metal springs to make the boat more secure for the winter.

I have done some of the washing.  I will need to do the rest tomorrow so that all the linens are more or less clean when we return.  I may even get around to washing some of the lines.

The marina is large and because of that I have been on the bike regularly.  We cycle into the town most days to buy what we need day by day so there will not be food left over.  I am getting a bit better on the bike, but I still am unwilling to cycle down hill and it still makes me nervous.

I have developed a new obsession.  It is coffee granita with cream.  There is an ice cream parlour on the main square that does a wonderful one.  Much better than iced coffee and very welcome after riding there on the bike.

Today we went to the beach for a swim, having made ourselves very hot cleaning and working on the boat.  There is a lovely beach right around the corner from the marina and there are bike racks to use when you get there.  In fact there are bike racks all over the town and marina, and everyone is riding bikes.  I guess I will have to persist.

We have booked a hire car from Catania airport and Richard will take two long bus rides there to get it tomorrow.  We hope we can get all the remaining tasks done before he goes.  We have booked hotels for the following four nights, so tomorrow is the last night on the boat.

We have found the marina to be really nice and very friendly.  There is a huge community of liveaboards, from all over Europe, who will stay here all winter and then there are those like us who go home.  Lots of Brits, including a second Southerly 105 called Tinkerbell (we met one in Rome owned by Peter and Wendy).  We have met some of the people and they all love it here.  Drinks parties every Monday and happy hour on Friday.  Social events and some practical matters such as filling gas bottles are discussed over the VHF radio each morning.  We have concluded that it is a very good place to winter.  The only problems are that southerly winds blow desert sand from Africa which eventually covers the entire boat and we are told repairs are very expensive.  We will get quotes.  If it is terrible, we might make a first stop next season in Malta, where we are told repairs are much cheaper.