While checking out a Marina on the west side of Ibiza, I used Google Chrome to instantaneously translate the website. Google’s translation is typically quite good. But today it’s just funny. Can you spot the special service?
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Sail to TunisiaSail to Tunisia
16 September 2020
Since long Tunisia was on our desired destination list. However, traveling 2020 under the Covid-19 threat is different. Elaborate planning and preparations come before you can leave Europe. We always harbour some fear that they might not allow us to return home. The last 24 hours before leaving the safety of a friendly port always comes with trepidations for us.
Motoring out between the islands after leaving Carloforte (Sardinia, Italy) calmness gently overcomes us. Throw in a light breeze, blue sky and sunshine and hours later we are truly relaxed.
Our major worry are the entry procedures in Tunisia. Complicated further because we want to continue to Sicily within hours. Upon arrival we reevaluate the quick turnaround scenario and risk to stay for some days. This could be troublesome if Corona cases balloon and related closures occur. Our primary worry is that Europe might close their border to Tunisia. Illegal migrants coming from Africa and Tunisia are a considerable risk and we are thinking about that too.
Our destination is Bizerte on the Northwest corner of Tunisia. Phoenician traders settled the town 1100BC. Bizerte is promising even so 2020 we reduced our cultural program to stay safe.
The distance from Sardinia is 140nm, a distance we often sail in 24 hours, ideal for coming to Tunisia. We don’t want to arrive at night or sail during the night through the coastal waters of Africa.
Preparations:
We have a pre departure checklist we always go through before leaving port. Checking and adjusting the tension of the rudder cables, we found another “hmmmm, not good”.
These pictures are about our Raymarine backup autopilot. They press the top bolt into the quadrant from above. The bolt transmits the action of the autopilot arm to the rudder. The thread of the nut is just 30% engaged. Only removing the quadrant will tell me how easy or difficult it is to repair.
Last minute preparations
No Kinder Chocolate for us. Fueled 160 liters this way 🙂
17. September 2020
Early morning the Admiral works the galley. While I supposedly clear up the deck but make photos 🙂
Underway we take sailing more and more easy these days. We frequently hoist the Genaker alone for downwind sailing. With the right wind strength and direction, it’s efficient and good enough for us. We don’t have to worry about accidental gybes damaging the rig. We can sail deeper (180°) and directly to our destination. Underway we experimented with going 5 to 10° to the wrong side of the wind direction for the genaker. The Genaker took it gently without folding. That makes straight downwind sailing relaxed and fun. Net we loose maybe 0.5knots but who cares.
Sailing offshore feels like sailing away from the corona stress. And it’s not a deception. Within 100 miles there is no case when we are underway.
Pitch black night sailing. No moon. Looking up, seeing some stars and the mast top lights. Red is the preferred night light color onboard. It does not disturb your night vision.
18. September 2020
During sunrise the next morning we add the mainsail. The wind changed favorably the direction and increased to 15kts. The added sail speeds us up and we arrive at noontime in Bizerte.
5nm north of the port of Bizerte we get hailed via VHF radio by the Tunisian coast guard inquiring about crew size and destination. That was all formality up to that point. We use the northern entrance to the port, which is a shorter distance to the marina. Well, I forgot to change our chart-plotter to show high definition depth lines 🙁
In the port entrance, deep water mysteriously disappears. 5m, 3m, 1.1m under the keel within seconds. At 3m I idled the engines and at 1.1m REVERSE!!! We didn’t touch the sandy bottom. To the left is the picture of the standard nautical chart. To the right, you see the high definition depth lines.
This is the official nautical chart. We came in from the left going to the right, closer to the green light. We were somewhere between the 14 and 15m depth line 🙁
And while it says 4m, it’s not. Completely silted and shallow. The silting extends much further to the northeast towards the red marker. Looking down from the bow, we both think 10 or 20 meters further and we would have touched Tunisia with our keels first.
Immediately after arrival on the customs dock, they quarantine us. A Border control officer is unhappy about our courtesy (guest) flag. We took the bag which said ‘Tunisia’, but it had a ‘Turkish’ flag inside – not good. The border control gentleman didn’t like that. A marina employee brought us quickly a Tunisian flag. Thanks, Marina Bizerte!
The whole marina is super well organized. This includes customs and immigration. Within an hour we were Covid-19 tested. The lab reported the results 17:00h same day. Wow! The marina manager, Monsieur Mohamed Ali, picked up the Covid-19 test from the laboratory in downtown Bizerte for us the next morning- thank you.
Directeur du Port Marina Bizerte
We have seen nothing of Tunisia yet. But going by our positive experience with the arrival formalities, we are happy.
The lab technician lady is born Russian, living in Tunisia. Migration, the constant normal in this world.
PCR testing with a swab. The expectation is worse than the actual sampling.
For a marina next to an industrial port, the water is clean. These jellyfish are 30cm (1 foot) large in diameter. These are non poisonous, we are told. Didn’t try my luck and touch 🙂
During quarantine you sit in the cockpit of your boat and just watch the world go by. If you look, you can see. You know what I mean.
We close our day by sitting in the cockpit enjoying the view as in the pictures above and have a traditional LUNARA style dinner.
Cheers!
The End Of The TunnelThe End Of The Tunnel
Corona was not inspiring yours truly to write much. Ok, not at all. Sorry!
We drowned our sorrows this winter in Sicily, Italy with Prosecco. Well, it was not as extreme as it sounds. The given circumstances were a quasi quarantine in the widest sense of the meaning of the word. We carefully managed our social life, tasted and tested various Prosecco’s, Coppa (kind of ham) and other Italian delicacies. We needed a while getting used to a new variety of foods offered in Italy. Initially, we had ‘insisted’ on our tried and true recipes, but finding the ingredients for foreign recipes is a mismatch here. Now, our appetites have migrated to fruits, fish, tomatoes specialty meats and anything fresh you can use with olive oil. The rich choices of plant based food invites vegetarian cooking, which we do from time to time.
This past week (blog entry written on May 16) we were still zone orange. So technically, one can only move within the postal zip code (see map below). As we are now halfway vaccinated, we use our rental car more for sightseeing. We have done a little looking around before, but posted nothing. Maybe I find the energy after the spring boat projects are done. Our project accomplishment level is at 80%, so we should be in good shape.
Marina di Ragusa – Marina di Ragusa is the coastal village where the Porto Turistico and hence our Marina is. Anytime we return here the view wows us with its turquoise waters surrounding the port and we feel happy about our choice to berth here during the winter.
Ragusa and the area north of it
Yesterday, we drove north, past the town of Ragusa. More about this interesting town in another blog entry (if I overcome Blogprocrastinitis 😁). We found roads not traveled by tourists.
Mural in Ragusa
The mural above is in Italy. The country is Catholic, and this is not a special mural. It creates no tension or friction because of its existence. Imagine, you paint this mural on the Empire State Building. What would happen?
Country Side North of Ragusa
The landscape north of the town is hilly and alternating with small high plains making for an enjoyable drive and walk.
I have a tangential background in agriculture. I always loved the subject and being loosely involved with it in my past. Never, did I realize that far in the south of Europe (I am born in Northern Germany) the first grain harvest (wheat) begins in May and ends in July.
Imagine the smell of fresh straw and grain mixed with the song birds chirping and otherwise total quietness except natural sounds like the wind. Great!
It’s no surprise that prehistoric settlers around 20000BC to 10000BC stayed here for good. Temperatures are not hot in May -today 24°C. The soil is not rich, but good enough for a solid grain harvest sufficient to feed a family in ancient days. Water was not scarce and Sicily was rich in forests – until the Romans came. A lot of the forests disappeared during the long Roman Empire era (about 6 centuries). Sicily was the first grain supplier of the empire. The Romans deforested almost the entire island in order to enlarge the wheat crops.
Whats Next
I hope we’ll go sailing in some weeks again. We have some ideas, but do not plan anymore. Our feeling is that anytime we plan, someone high up there thinks it’s funny to throw a wrench into our gearbox. We’ll have to go to northern Germany late this month to see family and then return here and wait a little for our second vaccination early July. After that we are free.
Non Sequiturs
Creative thinkers, so I believe, are prone to drift away with random thoughts. Hey, where else should all the good ideas come from. Following are some subjects that took the liberty to pop up during writing this piece.
Stay safe, get vaccinated. See you next time.
Your LUNARA Crew
Random Sicily
I am the master of random thoughts and ideas, or must I say master finder of marginally subject related Google finds?
Here are some facts about Sicily totally new to me.
Did Sicilians invent the wheel?
3500BC Sicilians apparently invented the wheel! It took us 5500 years until we had a Tesla. What did we do in the meantime, aside from wars?
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sicily
Sicily alone has 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For reference the US totals 24 sites. If your touristic hunger leads you here, Sicily will not disappoint.
- Agrigento: Archaeological Area of Agrigento (UNESCO)
- Aeolian Islands: Isole Eolie. The group consists of seven islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea) and five small islets (Basiluzzo, Dattilo, Lisca Nera, Bottaro and Lisca Bianca) in the vicinity of Panarea. (UNESCO)
- Caltagirone (UNESCO)
- Catania (UNESCO)
- Cefalù Cathedral
- Militello Val di Catania (UNESCO)
- Modica (UNESCO)
- Monreale Cathedral
- Mount Etna (UNESCO)
- Noto (UNESCO)
- Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni (The Norman Palace)
- Palermo: Cappella Palatina (The Palatine Chapel in the Norman Palace)
- Palermo: Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti
- Palermo: Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio (also known as the Martorana)
- Palermo: Church of San Cataldo
- Palermo: Cathedral of Palermo
- Palermo: The Zisa Palace (La Zisa)
- Palermo: The Cuba Palace (La Cuba)
- Palazzolo Acreide (UNESCO)
- Ragusa (UNESCO)
- Scicli (UNESCO)
- Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (UNESCO)
See also: The Wonders of Sicily
Did you know: The Bikini was invented 5600BC and made popular 286AD in Sicily!
