aroving  click
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Before Cape Blanc
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From Cagliari to Bizerte
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moorings left on
July 12,1997 at 8,00. Head 161°. A force 4-5 NW
wind drives the boat at 6-7 Kn
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Jonathan sails fine until
sunset, on pretty rough following sea
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by night wind falls to
force 3 and speed to 4 Kn. The night is very clear under starry sky
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at dawn, wind falls
further and we start up the engine. At 7,00 of 13 we raise Cape Blanc:
it's Africa!
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at 8,00 rises a force
4 East wind, that drives the boat at 5 Kn. We round Cape Blanc and sail
along the coast to the port of Bizerte.We enter it at 12,00. At 13,00 the
boat is moored.
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 Jonathan
at Bizerte
The old port 
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Bizerte
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Our first contact with Africa's land is Bizerte, that we
visit on 13 and 14
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The Old City includes the Medina and an inner port,
utilized by small boats, defended by an imposing Turkish forteress.
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The New City, with colonial and modern districts, is
pretty cute. A magnificent seafront promenade with palms and other plants
stretches along 6 Km from the port to the beaches and Cape Blanc.
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The port, spacious and well protected, includes a quay and
a warf for leisure boats, and is located before the mouth of a ship canal
leading to a great inner lagoon.
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Before Cape Farina
Moorings at Sidi Bou
Said
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From Bizerte to Sidi Bou Said
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Moorings left on 15 at 7,00 under total
lack of wind. Engine started , we make for Cape Zebib, where the course
is barred by a long row of buoys that we round 6 Ml offshore: a tunafish
net.
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overcome the net with some danger,
we head to cape Farina, round it, drop the anchor before a beach for us
to bathe and have lunch.
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weighed the anchor, we sail southward
driven by a light East wind, along the coast of Camart and Marsa,
crowded by cottages and villas, to Sidi Bou Said
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We enter the port at 18,00. After wandering
pretty long among the wharfes looking for free moorings, at last we can
moor the boat along the main pier.
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 a
house at Sidi Bou Said
a domus at Carthago
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Sidi Bou Said and Carthago
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Sidi Bou Said is the sea resort preferred by the inhabitants
of Tunis. It's a village perched on Cape Carhago's promontory, with
cute white houses and turquoise-blue windows.
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The leisure port, very functional, is situated 100 mt downhill
, by a beach crowded by middle-class Tunisian families .
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Carthago covers a very wide area between S.B.S. e La Goulette,
where tourists can visit the many lots of Roman and Byzantine ruins interspersed
with modern built-up districts. Very attractive the thermae of Septimius
Severus,the theatre, a bloc of Roman domuses and a palaeo-Christian basilica.
All amongst green meadows and trees.
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The Punic remains are scarce: the tophet. the military and
merchant ports. However many Punic finds are displayed in the Archaeological
Museum located in the old seminary, built by the French close to an awful
cathedral in neo-Bizantine style.
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The mosque az-Zitouna
Hammamet |
Tunis, Hammamet, Kairouan
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On 17 we visit with a rented car Hammamet and Kairouan; on
18 Tunis, of course by foot.
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The Medina of Tunis is large and incredibly crowded. Includes
many monuments as: the az-Zitouna Mosque, the Medersas, the tombs of the
Beys and the greatest souk of Maghreb.
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Tunis' modern districts aren't so interesting. The downtown
is caotical and pretty dirty. The urbanistical and architectural layout
is typical of many colonial cities built under French rule.
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Hammamet is neat and cute. The medina includes a borj
of the tenth century, and the modern districts, that stretch along the
beach, remind of Antibes.
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The Medina of Kairouan, encompassed by its imposing ramparts,
includes dozens of mosques, among which the Great Mosque built in the 8th
century with great reutilization of Roman building pieces
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From Tunisia to Sicily
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After refueling, we leave the port of S.B.S on 20 at 7,30,
with force 4 NW wind, moderate sea, and poor visibility
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the navigation goes on at 5-6 Kn until sunset. Past
the island of Zembra and Cape Bon, the wind lowers slighty
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By night we lower intentionally our speed to avoid reaching
Marsala before dawn. The sky is cloudy, preventing us to take avantage
of the full moon.
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On 21, at 6,30 we raise the island of Favignana and later
the Sicilian coast. At 9,00 we enter the port of Marsala where easily
find free moorings at a wharf reserved for leisure boats
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In the afternoon we go downtown for shopping. Back in the
port, we embark Carlo's daughter and niece, Carla and Laura, who
were just coming from a sea-bathing day spent at Mondello with some friends
from Palermo
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at Favignana
Cala Rossa
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Marsala and the Egadi
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Marsala is wide and dusty. It doesn't impress much, apart
some streets of the inner city. However you can eat very fine.there.
Everywhere memories of Garibaldi, the Mille and the Florio family
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On 22 we circumnavigate the island of Favignana driven by
a fresh NW breeze. We find shelter at Cala Azzurra, where drop anchor to
eat and bathe.
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on 23, with Carmelo, a friend of the girls, we sail
again to Favignana and moor the boat in the port. After visiting the village,
we sail to Cala Rossa, where drop anchor
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Cala Rossa is beautiful : the cobalt-blue water looks like
crystal and the bay, surrounded by ancient tuff quarries, displays
a paradisiac look
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by day
.by
night
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From Marsala to Sardinia
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we leave Marsala on 24 at 8,00 instead of scheduled 5,00,
after a delay due to strong sirocco until 7,00 and afterwards to stranding
on an unbeaconed seaweed bar near the wharf
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we sail quite easily until sunset, driven by a force4 East
wind, that shifts to West at 21,00
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By night, sailing close to the wind is less comfortable because
the rougher sea and the girls start getting seasick
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On the dawn of 25, the West wind raises to force 5-6.
The girls suffer for the whole day and since 18,00 Franco starts
suffering himself.
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At 19,00 we raise Cape S.Lorenzo: Sardinia is in sight. But
the wind increases to force 7, a moderate gale. The sea grows very rough
and hinders the course towards the coast. We realize also that both bilge-pumps
don't work
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of necessity, since spending another night offshore would
have been too dangerous, for Carlo was the only man valid left and already
slumberous for not sleeping since 36 hours , we radio for rescue.
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Porto Corallo, the day after
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Sea rescue!
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our call is received by Cagliari-radio and forwarded to the
Coast Guard operative center, that take charge of the rescue
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at 20,00 a Danish cruise ship, the King of Scandinavia,
joins us, stops and invites us to shelter the boat past her lee side
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At 21,00 the cargo ship Calabria invites us to leave
the K.o.S and put the boat past her hull. We thank the Danes and handle
to join the new shelter
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At 22,30 comes the Coast Guard vedette boat CP811 and hands
us a cable that we fasten to the forecastle. The girls tranship .Afterwards
the vedette tows us while the Calabria sails in convoy assuring her shelter
until near ashore
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at 3,00 we enter , always atow, the port of Porto Corallo
and moor the boat along the quay. Both the cabin equipment
and ourselves are soaked wet. In spite of it we manage to sleep until 10,00,
after thanking the rescuers, of course.
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One week later, fulfilled the bureaucratic duties, we sail
to Cagliari
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful, for
their effective disinterested and friendly partecipation, to all people
who took part in our rescue, namely:
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The Officers and the Operators
of the Coast Guard Operative Centre of Cagliari
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The Captain and the crew
of the Coast Guard vedette CP811
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The Shipowner Tirrenia
SpA, the Captain and the crew of the cargo ship "Calabria"
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The Shipowner, the Captain
and the crew of the cruise ship "King of Scandinavia"
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The operators of Cagliari
Radio and the radio-operator of the ferry ship "Karalis"
Carlo Maccioni and Franco
Falconi
 Jonathan's
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