Jetski to Gozo

As we had new jetski's onboard we needed to run them in a bit to reach the 10h service mark and me and George decided to take a sight seeing trip to Gozo while getting two flies in one blow. We set off and the seas were rather calm and we could keep up good speed. While getting to the NE corner of Malta Island the seas coming in through the sound between Malta and Gozo became quite high. The view of Comino Island and Gozo were breathtakingly beautiful with their rugged cliffs. We stopped on the way to Baia beach lounge as some crew was there spending a Saturday in sunshine.

Mgarr ix-Xim

Mgarr ix-Xim

We tied up the jetski's on mooring buoys and chatted for awhile. Then we were off again as we felt hungry and wanted to have some seafood on Gozo we swam out and hopped on the jetski's to carry on our trip. It was not long before we came to the long inlet of Mgarr ix-Xim and we slowly puttered in there as it was full of visiting sailboats and swimmers. 

Entrance to Mgarr ix-Xim

Entrance to Mgarr ix-Xim

Again we tied the jetski's at buoys and we clambered ashore. We did not need to walk far and we sat at the one and only fish restaurant at the beach and we ordered calamari and rockfish with salad. The food was delicious and we enjoyed it very much. We sat a while digesting the meal and contemplated the view. Then it was time to start head back before it became dark so we paid the bill and ambled along the beach to the jetski's. 

George giving it his best

Gozo and Comino

On the way back we stopped again at Baia and Bethany and Liz there took a spin but we had to interrupt their fun as the fuel gauges showed almost empty. We could not find anywhere anyone selling gasoline so we started towards Manoel Island on "economic" speed, i.e. not pedal to the metal and expecting the engine to die anytime soon. As we came closer and closer to Manoel Island the engines kept running without any problems and eventually we arrived safely back to the ship. It turned out the gauges were not very accurate and we had had an unnecessary scare.

Diving HMS Maori

HMS Maori is probably Malta’s most famous wreck, although she is far from the best dive in Malta, a visit to this ship is a significant brush with the island’s history.

HMS Maori

Launched in 1937, HMS Maori saw action in the Mediterranean, Norwegian campaign, Atlantic convoys and North Sea duties prior to returning back to the Mediterranean in order to attack and Rommel’s supply lines and assist in the defence of Malta. In fact it was the HMS Maori that established radar contact with the Bismarck and brought about the ultimate destruction of that ship in early 1941.

On the morning of February 12th at 02:00AM when she was moored at the entrance to the dockyard Creek she received a direct hit as a bomb exploded in her engine room.

From the exit point we head out across rock strewn seabed for approximately 120 metres until we come across a very small drop off down to a sandy seabed at 9 metres, almost immediately we notice that the entire port side has been engulfed by a sandy slope and is, therefore lost to view. What remains of the bows and part of the starboard side are, however, available for close inspection.

We then discover what is left of the windlass and a certain amount of anchor chain. Astern of this, at deck level, are twin bollards, on both side of the vessel, and then some form of splash guard stretches right across the deck. Close to this is a hatch and the framework on which the forward gun was mounted.

The sides of the wreck are well rusted through enabling us to swim in and out. 

Very nice dive but as I was used to diving in the tropics I was thinking that I could go with my shorts and usual rashvest but I was at times literally freezing my 'nads off as the temperature went down to 24 degrees Celsius from the ambient surface temperature of 35. There was not much life in the wreck and no corals either and as you can see from the pics above the visibility was not great as well.

Job offer on m/y Serene

I had been a few days ago offered a job on m/y Serene (134m) through Russel Stockil from YCO and had been having some careful consultation and deliberation. The position offered was as Chief Officer cum Relief Captain with the Captain having no rotation.

m/y Serene at Capri

Salary was more or less the same, the yacht was new and bigger but probably had all the teething problems to deal with. I also learned from an acquaintance that the deck crew was insufficient with all the tenders that had been installed onboard, at least if they all would be in water and used. I was told that the previous C/O had left due to that the contract had been changed twice during the build period. 

m/y Serene at Capri

So, realizing that the Russian Owner was unknown to me and I had no knowledge of the intended operation compared to my current employment. Also the no rotational position was a good recipe for burning out people.

At least on IE I was known and I also knew the people in the Organisation the decision finally became obvious. I decided to decline the offer as it was not furthering my career in any way, not in position, not in leave nor in salary. I wrote to the skipper, Captain Elliot Bibby and politely explained my position that I was in.

BBQ in Sliema

Went in teh eevning to Sliema to meet Diaz and Jasmond and they had whipped together a Vietnamese and Maltese BBQ with Rose' to flush down the good food.

I met several of their friends and had an interesting chat with a guy called John-Paul who was a fisherman. He told me about the relationships of the Italian and Maltese fishermen. There was not much love lost in between them judging of the horror stories he told me about gunfights and murder on the high seas, whether true or not.

After the BBQ we had some ice cream at the local Gelateria.

Sightseeing Malta

As it was Saturday I go out to meet my friend Diaz in Valletta at the Triton fountain, the meeting is happy and we had lunch in the Old city while catching up. I ate a Maltese dish that was rabbit stew. Although the restaurant was impressive with 15m high rooms I think the food left much wanting.

One of the many staircases in Malta

Msida church

Saint on top of church

The Triton fountain in Valletta

After lunch Diaz took me to see the Tarxien temples nearby (outside of Valletta though). The temple is a prehistoric ruin dating back 2800BC. It was not much than just stones and rubble but I was impressed how the stone walls had lasted so long thorough time and all kind of upheaval. I also tried to visit two other venues but one was closed for visitors and the other required pre-booking about a month in advance due to queues. 

Tarxien temple, in those days they apparently believed in feeding their women

Tarxien temple

Tarxien temple

Tarxien temple, well

Malta is also a place for old cars...

This site was closed to the public but I managed to have a peek

As I was done with my cultural education for this day we headed for Marsascala where Jasmond, Diaz husband, was at the time and I had a few beers while chatting and soon we headed back and I was dropped off at the Marina with an invitation for a beach BBQ the next day. 

Maltese flora

Maltese flora

In the evening I have dinner with Anil as it was his birthday and we celebrate it with all Indian crew at the Taj Mahal restaurant in Gzira. After dinner I head with Nick for Muddy Waters in Sliema to listen to some good music and a few drinks.

Birthday dinner with Anil & Co

Arrival Valletta

We arrived in front of Valletta around noon and we took onboard a compass adjuster before going alongside. After the swing we made ready to go alongside and started our approach.

Valletta

The walls of the Capital are still impressive, one can only imagine the thoughts of would be conquerors in olden times when they approached the Island in wooden sailing boats with cutlasses, muskets, cannons and their faith as their weapons. As we approached it appeared that the wall is solid but when you got even closer an aperture appeared and the extent of the port becomes evident. We did not go into the Grand Harbor but just next to it, to Manoel Island Marina. Slowly we glide in with engines doing a kick ahead to keep the speed at about 2-3 knots. At the jetty we do a port about turn and go astern while dropping the starboard anchor to put port side alongside the old hospital. The jetty is pretty much rudimentary with no frills. We can get freshwater but thats about it. The old hospital (as it was during WW II) is pretty worn down and cordoned off probably due to risk of collapsing walls etc.

View towards Valletta and T'ax'biex

Opposite us it T'ax'biex with its fancy villas and then Valletta with the imposing fortification walls. Not a bad place to stay in terms of the view. I went ashore and gor a SIM card and called an old friend I had met in Vietnam, my friend is now married and living with a Maltese but we'd kept in touch via social networks. It is a small world...

Castellammare di Stabia - Valletta

On the 7th early morning we hoisted anchor and set course for Valletta, Malta for a little downtime. More maintenance and jobs to be done as usual. My old Bosun once said: "the work is never completed on a ship" and he was right to his words, once you get to one end you can start anew from the other.

Last view of Capri 

Our route took us by Capri Island down South along the Italian boot in the Tyrrhenian Sea and through the Strait of Messina. We pass there during night time and there is a small "S" curve to do at the narrowest point. The whole Strait is VTS controlled and separated by a TSS so there is very little cowboys mixing the pack so to speak. However when we round the"S" we encounter some weird currents and we have to keep a close look at the autopilot lest it would lose the plot.

View over Valletta

After the Strait we are already in the Ionian Sea, we sail around around the boot, Sicily, and there we were at Malta. The ancient massive fortifications of Malta are still impressive to look at. We make the approach towards Manoel Island and it always looks to me like we are sailing into solid bedrock until the channel opening is discerned and one can see that there is more to it than the wall. This time though we make a compass swing before we enter.

Cruising Italian riviera

On the 30th we depart Castellammare di Stabia for Naples. It don't take us many hours before reaching there and we anchor off "Molo Luise" (Mergellina Sannazzaro), the local yachting mafia's marina. They claim we could come alongside but all publications we have suggests a maximum length of 70m and I'm also agreeing seeing the small rathole and how packed it is with yachts. 

"Molo Luise" (Google satellite)

San Martino National Museum in Naples

The Borgo Marinari Fort in Naples

Naples city view

Later in the evening we heave up anchor and sail down South to anchor off Capri Island. Due to the weather we do it on the South side of the Island at the Marina Piccola.

Cruising points (Google maps)

The 1st is spent at Capri Island, the swell could be quite rough at times and we roll as we don't have zero speed stabilizers. Capri is historically renowned for Caesar Tiberius who lived in Villa Jovis for 10 years in political exile from Rome. Tiberius was said to have had wild debaucheries going on Capri but nowadays these stories are regarded by many modern historians merely as slander. We are also joined by 3 other yachts, m/y Glaze, m/y Odessa and m/y Capri that are following us. Surprisingly they are all Captained by US nationals.

Li Galli Islands (Google satellite)

Li Galli Islands 

On the 2nd we sail to Li Galli Island (or Gallos, or Le Sirenuse) where according to legends several sirens were said to have inhabited the islands, the most famous of whom were Parthenope, Leucosia, and Ligeia. One of them played the lyre, another sang, and another played the flute. They are mentioned in the 1st century B.C by Strabo. 

Capri Island 

Local cruise ferry for the masses, they seemed to have a very good time with music and everything 

On the 3rd we sail back to Capri Island and anchor in front of the Marina Piccola. The historian and Greek geographer Strabo thought that Capri broke off from the mainland. His theory has been confirmed recently, both from geologic findings that link the island with the Sorrento Peninsula and from archaeological discoveries.

Positano 

On the 4th we sail from Capri Island to Positano, after that we shift to Nerano. In Nerano there is an excellent restaurant worth visiting called "Quattro Passi". For the evening we sail in front of Naples and by midnight we are back at Capri Island.

Nerano 

The 5th we stay anchored off Capri Island. To give a picture how people (or yachts) are charged I could mention that a Doctor's visit onboard to look at a sprained ankle cost 300€, without medication.

IE in front of Capri Island 

On the 6th we sail to anchor in front of Sorrento and by afternoon we anchor in front of Naples. I might add that the cliffs of Sorrento were holed by caves like an Edam cheese, quite quaint actually. Perhaps natural formed caves that had been additionally carved up by people. For the evening we go and anchor in front of Castellammare di Stabia. There is transport for the crew to go ashore but nobody has any interest to go.

Sorrento 

Sorrento 

Islet in front of Marina di Stabia

Next morning we heave up anchor and set sail for Valletta, Malta for some downtime.