This small sea port is on the N.W. Corner of Sicily, just below Marsala. I covered over 60 miles in 13 hours. Except for the last two hours it was all under sail. One of the best sails I have had. So there is something good to say about the Med’s sailing. The water was smooth, at first I had to tack against the N.W. wind then it slowly lifted me with a S.W. wind. Full main and the # 2 Genoa, I had to reef for about half an hour. Hardly any of the other sail boats I saw had their sails up. This is not uncommon. Why don’;t they buy/charter a power boat?

This is a delightful small town. It is supposed to be the home of one the largest fishing fleets. But they must be all out fishing. The guide book talks about trawlers but all I see is drag queens or possibly long liners. There are several good size ship yards. A good size river runs though the town into the sea. There are still left overs to see in ruins/building/museums of the different periods of occupation/colonization since it’s origin from around the 8th century. Saracens/Arabs/Greeks/Romans and the Normans were here. Till half an hour ago, when a French boat arrived, I was the only white man in town. There are no other tourists than the Italians here. The ineternet service is stone age. I finally found one from a park bench. The one in the marina is as slow as molasses. I will go to 9 a.m. mass here at the Cathedral and then take off for the S.W. corner of Sardinia , close to 200 miles. This might end up a two nighter. But apparently the winds are again favorable. Today they are from the South. I walked a jerry can of diesel to the boat. Folded sails, did laundry and planned my destinations. I figure that I’ll spend two weeks on Sardegna and Corsica and then directly to the Cote d’Azur. And I should be on my way on the Rhone by late August.

Three days ago there was an American couple in this marina, Petersons on “Gemini” (my boat before “Fleetwood” was “Gemini”, being a twin and at the time I was dating Susi Stern, also a Twin and born under the Gemini sign) . Peterson is 85…. and his wufe 82 they are on a round the world cruise. So, maybe my kids don’t have to worry about me moving in for a while after all.