29/03/13 - 04/04/13 - Sailing - Sicily

29th March - 4th April 2013
GMIT Sailing Holiday - Sicily

• The aims for me on this holiday were to enjoy the skills I learned last week on the day skipper course.
• To improve all of my skills and hopefully make them more concrete in my mind.
• To hopefully build my confidence and learn something new about sailing that I have not learned before.
• To enjoy the break away from college work and refreshen because college has been a little bit crazy over the last few weeks!

During this sailing holiday, we travelled to some of the aeolian islands off the north coast of Sicily in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

A map of the islands.

During our briefing with the sailing company, they showed us all of the best places to go and where not to go during bad weather and where we would have good shelter for anchoring in different winds etc. They were very helpful and answered all of our questions. They also said that they would be in touch with us throughout the week via text and to call them at any time if we needed anything at all.

Showing us the chart of the area.

When we went back on board, we realised that their compass was completely different to the ones we would have used at home. It was in 2 halves and triangular shaped. So we asked Lilo (the man in charge) to show us how to use them before we left.
Eventually we got going.



29th March
On the first day we went from Portorosa on the main land of Sicily to Porto di Levante on the North East side of Vulcano, the first island. 18*C - Sunny blue skies - F1-2 winds.

Our little 3 man tender!

This is where the natural mud baths are and we could smell them on approach!

We were mainly just getting used to the boat today and putting the sails up & down for the first time so we knew how they liked to work! When we arrived we anchored our boat next to Alan's and then I started ferrying people in  to the island so that they could go and explore. 

It was dark soon...but do you think that stopped us going in to those smelly mud baths?!...

The first group in to the smelly Sulpher mud baths!

30th March
On day 2, we went for a swim in the morning & some people climbed the hill while others got quad bikes to go around the island a bit.

Liz & I went for a cappuccino & ice cream in the local restaurant! :)

Then in the afternoon we travelled from Vulcano to Lipari which was the next island along from Vulcano. 18*C - Sunny blue skies - F2 winds.






31st March - Easter Sunday

Teddy & stealing Trish' giant easter egg!

On day 3 we had to stay in Lipari for the day because there was force 5 winds gusting 7 and it just didn't feel like a wise idea for new skippers to take big expensive yachts out when there was white horses in the marina. Mike had told us that as a day skipper, if it's more than a 4, then you don't take inexperienced people out and we had 3 non-sailors on our boat as well as myself, Liz & Stacy who had recently passed our day skipper.
So Trish & I went shopping and bought bits and bobs for people at home, which was good to get out of the way really! 

Jesus Bread!

There were day time fireworks for easter sunday which were cool! I had never seen anything like it before, they were like puffs of coloured smoke and sparks!
We also found some Jesus bread while walking through the town!









1st April
On day 4 it was F3-4 winds so we decided to use the wind to our advantage and get a good bit of sailing in by sailing from Lipari to Salina Marina on the next island along. It was cloudy, cold and we had a little bit of rain, ended up wearing all of our waterproofs to keep the wind chill off!

It was really nice sailing and we even got to teach the girls who had never sailed before how to tack and gybe.
We went on a small detour to Salina as I managed to sail straight past it thinking it was around the headland!

As we arrived at the marina, Hannah's boat called us on the VHF to ask for assistance as their engine had over heated and they wouldn't get in to us on sail before dark. So we had to go out and do a rescue, which I will tell you about later in 'things I learned'. Then we went to the 'Prawn resturant' until 3am and partied with the owners, Flabbio & Marchella.

2nd April
On day 5 it was too windy to go anywhere again, force 6 gusting 7-8. So we stayed on Salina for the day and rented out scooters. All 17 of us on a scooter tour around the island together, it was great craic!

We went snorkeling at the beach and then scootered all the way home. Liz & I broke down on the way home...well...we ran out of fuel and had to walk all the way down the side of the hill into a little town to try and explain to the aeolians that we needed petrol for our scooter. It didn't work very well because they spoke no English & we spoke very little Italian!!!

Eventually the man from the bike shop found us, got us petrol and gave us a lift back to our bike!

The scooter man!

3rd April

On day 6 it was too windy to go anywhere in the morning with Force 6 winds gusting 7 but it was going to die down by the afternoon. The boats were meant to be back in Portorosa tonight with the company but they called us and asked us to get to Lipari tonight when the wind died down and then travel back to Portorosa tomorrow morning in the gap in the weather.

So we decided to chill out for the day and when the sailing conditions improved, Teddy decided to clean up the boat and do odd jobs around the place.

Teddy tanning his bald patches!

Teddy on the main sheet.

Just chilling!  

Teddy sorting out the power

Having a small break 

Sweeping the decks.

Unfortunately during his busy morning, Teddy got swept off his feet and into the water where a wave nearly pushed him through a tunnel under the pontoon... his life flashed before his eyes.

Luckily, Aoife saw the whole thing happening, acted fast and saved his life.

Teddy's first cigarette with Marty after the fright of his life!

We then sailed back to Lipari for our last night. We had money left in the kitty, so we were able to go for a big family meal when we arrived at Lipari. It was nice to have all 3 boats together for the last night and to say a big Thank you to Liz for organising the whole trip for us.

We had to be up at sunrise the next morning so it wasn't a late night. Liz & I decided to sleep up on deck for our last night because we had never slept up on deck before and we had to be up at sunrise for the break in the weather anyway!

4th April

On day 7 we were up at sunrise for an early sail back to Portorosa to give the boats back. Sunrise was so so beautiful. There wasn't a breath of wind, so we had to go on motor.

I loved being up early to see the sunrise and it made me think, 'you should do this more often'. It felt so refreshing to see the sunrise and it gave me a really nice happy, wholesome, peaceful feeling inside.

We motored all the way back to Portorosa and refilled the boats with fuel, then they went through inventory with us again

We only had a few hours before our bus arrived so we went for lunch and a walk on the beach.

Then the bus arrived and it was time to leave...

:(

3 hour bus journey to the airport.

Unfortunately the crazy high winds that we avoided by leaving early this morning, arrived just in time for our flight...Our flight got transferred to another airport...

and so did we!

Tired sailors waiting for their transfer bus at 11:30pm.

Things I learned on this trip:

• To decide on a VHF channel before leaving marina's so that you don't have to catch up with each other and shout VHF channels at each other. Knowing which channel you are communicating on with your group is vitally important and so you must be clear about this. On the first day we made this mistake but after that we had it sorted. The importance of VHF became pretty clear to us when Grainne O'D had to radio us to let us know that their engine had over heated and that they were in need of assistance.

• I also became more confident on the VHF because we were using it everyday.
  
  

• I learned how to do an along side tow with two yachts. It was a great experience and everybody involved in the rescue did a great job. Everybody stayed calm and those who were not sailors or outdoor education students did a really good job at what they were being told to do.

Hannah seemed to be in charge over all and dictated to people what to do. She was brilliant. She spoke calmly to each person and told them clearly exactly what she needed them to do. 

She taught people knots from scratch and when somebody did something wrong, she didn't get mad or stressed, she just said things like: 

"Ok Mia, you see how you have the rope coming off the cleat and over the side of the boat? I just need you to take that off again and re-tie it so that it is coming under the lines on the side of the boat. That's right, perfect, thank you. And Tony, if you could hold that fender down a little bit lower, you will see how the boats will bang together much less. That's great. Good job." 

She was an absolute inspiration and she controlled the whole operation perfectly. 

Marty who was on helm of out boat (the rescue boat) also did a fantastic job. He is only a new day skipper holder himself and when Alan (the boat's skipper) wasn't around when the call came through, he took the challenge on himself as co-skipper to go out and do the rescue. 

He asked me to come on board his boat so that he had another experienced crew member, Grainne O'D gave us her co-ordinates and off he went, calmly and confidently.

We had to be careful when we tied the two boat together on springs because the masts kept clashing together in the swell, so then we had to man handle the boats and walk our boat further forward on Hannah's. This took both boat's crews and all of our strength. Now when the swell came, the masts didn't clash together.

Liz was back at base doing a great job on our boat, she stayed in contact via VHF the whole time and also got in contact with the harbour master who then started tracking our progress on his computer. We kept Liz updated on our progress and she let us know what the harbour master wanted us to do when we got closer.

He wanted Hannah's boat to have a stern line set up that he would be able to take on board his boat. 

He came out to meet us at the mouth of the marina in a small boat with a motor on the back. Liz had to call us and tell us all to keep an eye out for him because he had no light on his boat! (Italian style!)

When we came in, to the mouth of the marina, he asked us to come off the power, release our along side tow ropes and then Hannah threw him her stern line.

Marty then brought our boat in to the berth and the harbour master towed Hannah's boat into a berth so she could tie on to the pontoon.

This experience has been invaluable to me and I am kind of glad that it happened! I learned so much that night and I think if it happened again, I would definitely have the confidence and experience to make a good attempt at an along side rescue.

• I also learned how to anchor in quite a small space and allow for a good swinging distance between other boats and the land! We anchored in-between Hannah and Alan's boats and it was perfect. We took transit points for a very long time and got up every hour in the night to check if we had moved... We stayed put! :D
  

• I learned that it is good to go with your own judgement when you are on helm. The day we sailed to Salina, everybody wanted to stop off in this little bay and go snorkeling. I followed Alan's boat in to the bay and watched as he started to drop his anchor. To me, this looked like madness, the swell was much to anchor and I definitely didn't want to go snorkeling in it! So I started sailing out of the bay and asked my crew if they still wanted to go snorkeling here. Liz & Stacy did. So I told them I wasn't comfortable dropping anchor in these conditions and so Liz took the helm. Part of me thought I was being silly but I just didn't feel it was a safe option, so I let Liz go on helm and decide what she wanted to do. As we swapped, we could see Alan lifting his anchor. We got him on the radio and he said that there was too much swell to anchor there and they were not going to bother going snorkeling. So we did the same. I was proud of myself for making my own judgement about the situation and not just following what Alan did because he is a more experienced sailor.

• I also learned that it is important to play around a bit when you first get on a yacht because each yacht behaves a little bit differently. I forgot to find out about this yachts prop walk so when I brought the boat in to the marina in salina, I wasn't prepared for the way it like to travel to the right when you put it in gear. I also hadn't played around with reverse etc because when I put the boat in to reverse to go in to the berth, it was like it wasn't reacting. It needed a lot more power to move than the boat I had done my day skipper on. So I will definitely play around with the motor next time I get on a yacht!

Points of Environmental Interest...

As we approached the island of Vulcano on the first day, we could see smoke coming out of the mountain side. It was absoultely amazing. It smelt really bad, but it looked crazy!
The reason for this smoke coming out of the mountain is that all of the aeolian islands are volcanic and as the smoke built up inside, it would force its way out through the mountain side and this is what we could see.







The natural mud baths, called Laghetto di Fanghi are supposed to have health benefits. The water is rich in sulfur, which is why it smells so bad! It also has anti fungal activity and other minerals that are good for your skin. They help pull excessive oils and dirt out of the pores. It is also meant to be good for achey joints. I guess that's why there were lots of old people in there the next day.
It was so smelly, I actually can't believe I got in to it...I'm glad I did it at night time because after seeing it in the day time, I wouldn't have gone near it!!
The night before, everybody had gone in and put it on their faces and everything, when they came out and had showers they said their eyes were burning.
When we saw the mud baths in daylight, there was a warning sign up saying "Do not put it on your face unless advised by your doctor!!




The formation of the land was amazing. As we sailed around the coast we could be tucked right in close, hugging the land and our depth sounder would be reading 150m - 200m at places.
This is again because the land is volcanic and so the islands come straight up out of the sea.
However, there were also places to watch out for where there would be shelves of rock below us.
The aeolian islands are a geology rich area and has provided education for geologists about vulcanology.

All of the islands that we visited were covered in these Lizards, The Aeolian Wall Lizard. They are critically endangered and have a highly restricted range and is endemic to the aeolian islands.

All of the tourist shops had items with this lizard on them.

For a great picture of the Lizard (better than mine) please look on this page:

http://www.arkive.org/aeolian-wall-lizard/podarcis-raffonei/image-G80091.html

20/03/13 - Day Skipper Course - Kinsale

20th March 2013
Day Skipper - Sovereign Sailing - Michael
3*C - Blue skies & sunshine - F1-2

• Today I want to finish up on a positive note and hopefully get my Day Skipper...after a very long and difficult week with a less than professional instructor.
• I hope to feel happy and competent in all areas of the course and feel confident enough to take a boat out for the day.

Today we got out on the water early because we wanted to get off the water early and on the road back to Mayo!

Liz took us off the pontoon using a stern spring and then she was told to pick up a mooring. She did that fine and then Mike put me on helm.

Liz on helm.

I took us off the mooring and then came around and picked up the mooring again then he asked me to bring the boat on to the pontoon. The wind was coming offshore and the tide was flowing towards us so I decided to bring the boat at a 45* angle to the pontoon just like we had learned earlier in the week. I asked Fionan to call out distances and be on roaming fender. Dave was on the bow line, Liz was on the beam line and Martin was on the stern line. Everybody knew what they had to do and when Fionan said I was 2 metrs away I turned in quickly and then straightened up. I came in a little bit fast and should have come off the power sooner but luckily, my crew were all on the ball and they got all the lines on quickly so everything was fine!! He said that I could have come in a bit slower but that it was good other than that.

Then he asked me to come off the pontoon. So I asked Fionan to be ready at the stern with the roaming fender. I asked Everybody to release their lines apart from Martin on the stern and then once I had the helm hard over to the left, I asked martin to release his line. At this stage, the wind had already pushed the bow off, Fionan had a fender at my stern and I just put the power on to go straight forward to get out! (There was nothing in front of me). However, Mike thought that this was a good point to ask me what I was doing in a sort of 'what the hell are you thinking tone' ...so I stopped. He made me bring the bow back around and put all the lines back on. He said "Come on now Mia...this is simple stuff, we have been doing this all week!" I asked him what I had done wrong and he said that I should have put on a stern spring. 

I explained to him my reasons for not bothering with a stern spring because I didn't need it, the wind was blowing me off the pontoon so I just needed to take off the lines and then as there was nothing obstructing my way, I could just put the power on and get off the pontoon and away. Everybody else agreed that it was a good idea too. However, Mike made me do it his way.

Then he said he wanted me to do the whole thing again the approach, the whole lot and come off the pontoon my way, so I did. It worked perfectly and all he could say was "Yes...you see...that worked too..." and then told me that what I had done wasn't in a very seaman-like-manner! :/

This made absolutely no sense to me because he had taught us that you use a spring when the wind is coming on shore, the boat is pinned to the pontoon and you need to prise it off. In this case, the wind was offshore and already pushing the boat off the pontoon...so I didn't need a spring line.

I was glad I had my sunglasses on because at this stage of the long week with this fella, who was inappropriate and chauvinistic...I cried!

He then asked Martin to bring the boat on to the other side of the pontoon. When Martin had done that, he was back to me. He asked me to go into a really tight section of the marina where all the big expensive boats were moored and asked me to do a 360* turn. I did it, I had roaming fenders EVERYWHERE and I did it...but nobody else had to do it... which I thought was strange.

So anyways...then Martin went on helm again and reversed the boat into a berth next to these fancy boats in the small space. So I thought 'Oh, he's going to get him to do that instead of the 360* that I had to do...but nope...next up was Fionan reversing into a berth and then who was it back to!? Mia.

I don't know why he kept picking on me today...but he did...and it annoyed me. I had done everything perfectly all week. I would love to say that it was good to be getting more time on the helm but it didn't feel constructive at all. If anything, it felt destructive! So I reversed the boat in to the berth and then Liz reversed it in and we all went for lunch.

At this point, I could easily have got in my car and driven home.

You shouldn't feel like that on a course that you have been looking forward to doing for a long time.

After Fionan's epic sandwich making lunch time, we cleaned the boat up a bit so that we wouldn't have to do it when we got back to Kinsale again. So we packed all of our things up and packed the cars.

Awesome sang-ich making by Fionan!

Awesome sang-ich munching by Fionan!

We then went back out and did some wind awareness saiing. Mike asked us to sail to different things and we would have to tell our crew what we wanted to do with our sails, whether we would be tacking or gybing and also tell Michael what you call each point of sail is. i.e Broad reach, beam reach, close hauled etc.

When we had done that, we did some man over board drills. Mike tried to show us how to 'hove to' if somebody has gone over board. But this didn't work and failed as a demonstration. So we just picked up the man over board on motor.

Martin then sailed us in to Sandy cove where we anchored. We dropped the sails and Liz & I went up to the bow to drop the anchor. You should always let out 4 meters of chain to every 1 meter of depth. So if there was 6m of depth you would let out 24m of chain. You release the anchor slowly to avoid swing. Then you put the boat into reverse a little bit to let it bite. You have to take transit points to check you wont drift!

You should also anchor so that you are facing into the tide. If there is no tide you anchor into the wind.

Then we went back to Kinsale! :D

Michael gave us a debrief... short and sweet and let us know that we had all passed.

I was absolutely delighted to have passed but only wish I had a different instructor so that I could have enjoyed the experience more. It felt unfair that he took so much away from my week.

19/03/13 - Day Skipper Course - Kinsale

19th March 2013
Day Skipper - Sovereign Sailing - Michael
3*C - Clear skies most of the day, some cloud but dry all day.
F- 3-4 winds

• My main aim today was to not let Michael get to me and to completely ignore his negativity and inappropriate comments. There is only today and half of tomorrow to get through...so don't crack up now!!
• I also want to feel like I am polishing everything off and feel confident with all maneuvers and everything on board.

Today I spent a lot of time learning my day shapes, sound signals and lights, because Mike said he would be testing us on them in the evening. He also went through some more navigation but it was very brief. He told us about Tidal Diamonds, estimated position and dead reckoning. He showed us how to work them out and then we did a passage plan from Salve marina to Roches point.

Teddy studying hard.

We went from Cross haven to Oyster haven. At Oyster haven, Mike did a bit of wind awareness with us. He chose a few buoys out of a huge selection of buoys and then we each had to go around the course, letting our crew know if we would be tacking or gybing and also telling our crew to let the sails out a bit/ bring the sails in a bit etc and we had to know when to luff up and bear away to get out best course to steer around the buoys.

This took quite a long time as each person had to go around the course twice.

Bit of study & chocolate up on deck!

Then we stopped for lunch. I was proud of myself and knew I had done well going around the course.

I did a passage plan with Dave for Oyster haven in to Kinsale. It felt so good to be heading back to Kinsale and I knew we were near the end of the long 5 day course.

Teddy climbing the mast!

We made our passage plan and got the journey under way as soon as we could, there was a possibility of showers and an early night if we could get back to Kinsale soon enough!

Everything went well during the passage, we had accounted for the wind direction, so we knew we were going to have to tack all the way up the channel. We also accounted for it getting dark and had put in a pilotage for that too.

When we got back to Kinsale, Liz & I put the dinner on and Mike started testing us one by one on our night light, day shapes and sound signals. I found the day shapes the easiest and had them learnt off, night lights were not too hard but the sound signals are rally hard to remember. Anyways, I passed the test!

I went for the nicest shower of my entire life and could have fell into bed with a hot chocolate, but we decided we would go to the pub for a drink as it was our last night and we wanted to get away from Michael too. :/

So we all went off in search of a pub... we didn't even invite Mike... that's the sort of relationship he had built up with the group over the week!

Then in to the sleeping bag to prepare for an early start in the morning so we can get the flock out of here! :)

Points of Environmental Interest...

Today we saw lots of herons before we left Cross haven!

They were sitting along the pontoon and had their heads pulled in to their bodies. They say that their bodies are coiled and this is so they are ready to strike their prey!

For more information on Heron's in Ireland please follow the link below:

http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=148