Reggio Calabria to Crotone
16th to 18th May 2024
My last post finished as we arrived in Queen Marina, Reggio Calabria. It's small but protected from the winds and tides in the Messina Strait, the facilities are clean and the staff are very pleasant to deal with.
Sailing is often referred to as a ‘sport’ but when you spend days at a time on a small sailing boat the opportunities for exercise are limited. You can’t take more than a few steps in any direction and there are only three stairs, down into the main cabin, rather than the two flights back at home. This means that once safe in harbour the highest priority is to have a walk.
Reggio Calabria was no exception. Before we set off an older guy, Saviero, approached our boat. He had a photocopy of a Rod Heikel article about this marina in his hand which mentioned him by name. He offered to bring us some croissants at 8am tomorrow, and wine, a taxi service, you name it. Croissants sounded like a nice idea but the rest weren’t necessary.
Eventually we set off towards town, hoping to find a supermarket and maybe a restaurant.
The marina is within the ferry port harbour and divided from the town by a railway line and motorway, protected by high concrete walls. As we exited the port gates a security guard challenged us. He was very polite when we told him we were in the marina and waved us on.
There was no obvious way to cross the railway/road so Google Maps was the answer (we thought).
The walking route seemed to take us towards a three lane highway and there was no footpath, so we turned around in order to exit the port from the opposite end. I noticed a small entrance under the railway, a little smaller than the size of a domestic doorway. It led to a passage full of litter and there was no lighting so I assumed it was some sort of service area for rail workers.
We walked through the port, a full km from end to end, and turned towards the town.
There were lights from a Co Op supermarket so no problem getting provisions for dinner. There wasn’t much else, just lots of residential buildings and an illuminated sign advertising the British School, no restaurants.
By the time we got back to the boat I was far too tired to cook our ‘victuals’ so we treated ourselves to our last but one tin of curry. What will we do for a quick, easy meal once the final one has been eaten?
It was such a luxury to sleep in next morning until nearly 8. I made sure I was up and dressed for when Saviero arrived, he called to us and there on the deck was a paper bag with two croissants, still warm. Igor paid him. He asked if we needed a lift to town, laundry, anything else but it wasn’t necessary.
Conditions today weren’t great for sailing. When I walked to the amenities block, very small but spotlessly clean, I could see that the Strait was very choppy and the wind was howling.
Igor had already decided against setting off today. He needed to buy diesel so walked to the nearest garage (the fuel pontoon in the marina was closed) and I needed to clean the boat. Once again it was covered in red dust.
As I was rinsing it I got chatting to the man on the boat next door, a 38 foot motor cruiser. He mentioned that the dark ‘doorway’ I’d seen the night before was a shortcut to town, but it was filthy and smelly. Igor arrived back, hot and sweaty, with canisters of diesel. He’d asked directions into town but the person he asked took a very roundabout route. On the way back he tried the ‘doorway’ and found the shortcut.
After lunch we set off for more fuel, taking the shortcut.
While unpleasant, it was very quick and led through the carpark of some flats and up a very steep gradient to the street with the garage. I waited in the shade while Igor filled another canister. It was hot, no breeze. I tried to buy an ice cream from a shop, London Café, that had ‘gelato’ written on the window but they didn’t have any. By the time we got back to the boat I was tired out. I suggested having a nap until it was cooler. Great suggestion.
As there weren’t any restaurants we liked the look of I cooked an aubergine and cannelloni bean curry for dinner, one of my few remaining tins of French aubergines. The Italians have lovely stuff in their supermarkets but very little in the way of tinned produce apart from tomatoes. After this it was time for another walk into town. It was starting to get dark but we took the shortcut. Definitely needed the torches on our phones for this.
We walked along the streets, all interchangeable, the only building of note was a church with a pretty fascia.
Apparently Reggio Calabria has been destroyed twice by earthquakes, the last time in the 1980s, and they’ve obviously prioritised function over aesthetics. I looked up ‘attractions in Reggio Calabria’ online and learned that there is one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy here, but it was nowhere near the port. There was a supermarket though, so we stocked up with food and returned to the boat, taking the long route rather than the dodgy tunnel, aiming for an early start as the weather should be good to go in the early morning.
Saturday 18th May 2024
Igor got up very early to prepare the boat and by 5.45am we were leaving Queen Marina. I admit, I was very grumpy as I hadn’t had enough sleep but we couldn’t wait until later as the conditions would likely worsen.
The morning was calm and overcast and leaving the marina went smoothly and without any drama.
There was little wind but it was on our nose so we had to motor. The direction kept shifting so from time to time Igor would open the jib, it would fill, the boat would speed up, then it would flop around and lose power so he’d have to roll it in. The wind increased over the course of the day, reaching around 20 kts.
Apart from having to motor, and not being able to see very much as the coast was obscured by thick mist, it wasn’t an unpleasant journey. Nothing really happened, we just chugged along, lulled by the sound of the engine.
I had a nice long nap, then at around 5pm decided to cook dinner so that it was ready when we stopped for the day. This also meant I could save on gas by cooking on the electric induction ring as the engine charges the batteries.
I’d fried some sausages for lunch but only used half of them, so dinner was a concoction of onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika, the sliced sausages, a tin of chickpeas, a tin of tomatoes and a some small farfalline pasta, classic boat slup. Once it was ready I took it off the heat and wrapped it in a blanket to keep it warm for later.
By now it was time to find an anchorage but the Navily app told us that pretty much everywhere was exposed due to the wind conditions. It didn’t seem too bad, the boat wasn’t throwing us around so we decided to anchor at Roccella Ionica. We could have pressed on to a marina but were ready to stop and wanted to set off early again tomorrow. It’s much quicker to raise an anchor than it is to exit a marina.
The setting was scenic, a huge castle that looked like something out of Game of Thrones dominating a pretty town. We set the anchor and I served up dinner, which was really good, and washed it down with a beer.
It got dark and I went to bed around 9 as I was tired out. Igor decided to sleep on deck to keep an eye on things. We discovered that the Navily app hadn’t lied. It wasn’t a calm night. The boat just rolled all night long. Every time I got comfortable it would roll in a different direction and wake me up. If Igor had woken me at 3am and said ‘let’s go’ it might have been preferable to trying to sleep like that. The weird thing was that the sleep app on my watch reckoned I’d had the best night’s sleep ever! Just shows, you can’t always trust technology.
Sunday 19th May 2024
It was another early start, away by 5.45 am, but it wasn’t like I wanted to attempt to sleep in. It was daylight and the visibility was a bit better than yesterday. The wind was northerly so the jib was out but 20 minutes later the wind shifted so it was brought in again.
I decided to have bread and Marmite for breakfast. I found a jar in the cupboard, but on checking it said use by July 2018. It probably would have been OK but I wasn't going to risk it so I threw it away and opened a fresh jar I’d brought with me. The bread was pretty horrible. I’d bought it in Palermo. It was one of those long lasting loaves but although it didn’t have any visible mould it didn’t taste fresh at all.
By 9am the sun was out.
At 11.40 Igor raised the mainsail and put the jib out to try and get us an extra point of a knot which it did. The next step was to switch off the engine to see whether the wind would give us enough power to carry on at a decent speed but we slowed right down so it was on with the engine again. The engine was running at very low revs, if we relied on it we’d only be travelling at a couple of knots but with the sails it just gives that extra boost to keep us on course and not be slowed by bigger waves. We were heading for the town of Crotone and wanted to be there before the marina office closed for the night so couldn’t afford to slow down too much.
As we motored along I saw what I thought was a small bird approaching our cockpit. This has happened before, as you’ll know from previous blog posts. It landed on the sleeve of the black fleece Igor was wearing. It wasn’t a bird, it was a magnificent Deaths Head Hawk Moth. The wingspan must have been six inches. It sat on his arm and didn’t seem to want to move.
Approaching Crotone we saw a lot of official boats heading in our direction: the carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza and the police. We’d spotted a couple of boats anchored in an area the charts show to be a marine conservation area but this response seemed a little heavy handed. We’d also seen a small boat leaving after a huge loud explosion, as if he were dynamite fishing. None of this would merit all these law enforcement officers.
The Death’s Head moth was still on Igor’s arm so he very carefully transferred it to the inside of his hat, which he placed on the cockpit bench, out of the way. He didn’t want the moth to come to harm while we docked and his sleeve just wasn’t convenient.
The chart for the marina entrance showed a depth of 3m, and we draw 2.9m with the keel down. I raised it in case the actual depth was less than the charted depth. Good move, it went down to under 2.6 m.
When we got inside the harbour a bunch of guys were waving at us to show us where to moor. They offered me the mooring lead line which I picked up with the boat hook, my old friend from all those locks going through the French canals. I put it down on deck…and it fell into the water!!!! Oh no, it was a really good boat hook, Igor made it himself and it worked really well, an essential piece of kit, and I couldn’t fish it out because (a) I needed to secure the boat and (b) I didn’t have another hook to hand. I stood there staring at it as…it floated on the water! What a fantastic boat hook! One of the marineros fished it out and I placed it carefully on deck so that it couldn’t get away again. (I’d secured the line by now).
Once the boat was properly moored we got chatting to the owners of the boats on either side. To our starboard side was an Italian-Australian woman about my age, single handedly sailing a 44 foot catamaran. On the port side a guy in his 30s, Chris, working from his sailing boat with a magnificent cat called Horatio for company.
As we chatted to him I sat down. There was a series of loud squeaks. I’d forgotten the Death’s Head and sat on the hat. The moth grabbed hold of my middle finger and grasped it really tightly. Poor little thing, I don’t know who was more alarmed, it or me. It just wouldn’t let go, it’s prickly legs tight around my digit. I wondered how long it would stay there but Igor put his fleece under the spray hood and I encouraged the insect to go and sit there. I’d read that these moths could squeak but had no idea how loud it could be.
The woman explained that today is a local festival for the Virgin Mary of Capo Colonna. There is an ancient icon of her feeding the infant Jesus, which was originally kept at Capo Colonna, 12 km away, but now stays at the cathedral in Crotone. Once a year she is walked back to Capo Colonna and then returned to the town by a parade of boats, and today was the day. This explained all the police presence and the crowds gathering along the waterfront.
Our plan was to consider leaving Crotone early tomorrow morning so we dashed to the fuel station to fill our canisters with diesel with minutes to spare before they closed, then to the harbourmaster to pay for our stay. If you belong to a British sailing organisation they don’t charge you VAT. Igor showed his RYA card and got the discount.
As it started to get dark various police boats gathered in the harbour.
I made dinner. We stood on deck waiting for the Madonna to come back. Crowds were gathered in the harbour and along the seafront. We got hungry and went to the cockpit to eat and realised we’d missed the Madonna’s entrance as there was a terrific bang and coloured lights, signalling the start of the fireworks.
Well, these were magnificent. They went on and on, filling the sky with colour and the air with resounding explosions.
The display would put most others I’ve seen to shame. Eventually it finished and we decided to take a walk into town to see what was going on. I asked Chris how Horatio reacted. It turns out Horatio has a GPS chip so he checked it. He was really concerned as it showed Horatio’s location in the harbour water. I was worried but he reassured us that Horatio was a good swimmer and the most likely explanation was that the GPS positioning was faulty. We promised to keep an eye out for him.
The town was 10 minutes’ walk away and buzzing. There were people everywhere, with restaurants and bars serving drinks.
We bought a beer from one and drank in the party atmosphere as well. One street had brilliant lights its whole length, think Oxford Street at Christmas time. Definitely merited investigation.
It was closed to traffic and there were thousands of slips of paper on the floor, each one with a prayer to the Madonna, for families, for peace, for all the other things we pray for. We ended up in a square with a few stalls and a puppet show, everywhere full of people. We turned down another street, more lights, and followed some people in uniform carrying a tuba and a trumpet to the cathedral on the edge of the old town.
Crotone isn’t as immediately appealing as, say, Palermo but we were entranced. We walked back to the boat through the streets strewn with the confetti-like prayers. The crowds were thinning but only a little. Don’t these people have to go to work on Monday morning??
When we got back to the boat who should be waiting to say hello to us but Horatio, as dry and as self-possessed as a cat can be. I was so relieved, I’d worried about him all evening.
Monday 20th May 2024
At around 6.30 am the engine on the boat next door fired up. I kept very still and pretended to be asleep in case Igor woke up and said, ‘let’s go!’. Happily for me, he was as intrigued and enchanted by Crotone as I was and decided to stay put. There was plenty to do to justify a day in harbour.
We ate breakfast and I went for a shower. As I walked back to our pontoon I did a double take: Chris’s boat was back! He set off but the conditions were nothing like the weather forecast suggested, very lumpy and uncomfortable seas, so he’d turned back. All the guilt about wanting to stay here evaporated and I felt vindicated.
My major task for the morning was to do the laundry. The marina has two washing machines but no dryers. Given the amount I needed to do, and the fact that the weather was overcast and humid, I faced the prospect of having damp washing hanging from every surface of the boat for hours and hours. Luckily there was a laundrette in town so I took myself there. Despite the wonky wheels on the trolley it wasn’t too much of an effort and I spent a happy half an hour watching the harbour while the washing did itself.
I managed to pick up some salad and bread from a small greengrocer as well, so all in all a very productive morning.
The town itself was very different from last night. Nobody was about, all the shops and restaurants were closed. The only sign of last nights festivities was the debris of multicoloured prayer confetti. It felt like the whole place had a hangover.
After lunch it was time for a walk. We bought ice creams from the only gelateria that was open. The plan was to walk to a Conad supermarket, about a km away. The directions on Google maps were less than clear and it turned out that the shop was around a hundred metres from where we expected, plus it was closed. We had to find a different one.
It was very hot and sunny by now. I’d done a lot of walking today, over 17,000 steps, and by the time we got back to the marina it felt as though my feet were on fire. I took my shoes off, sat on the lip of the transom at the back of the boat and dangled my feet in the water. Unfortunately it’s very narrow and I didn’t have room to turn around without running the risk of falling in the water so Igor had to help me up. Just as well he’s big and strong!
All in all it was a very busy day. The town of Crotone is fascinating. It’s not as beautiful or in-your-face as Palermo but the more you scratch the more history you uncover. The Greeks founded the town, Pythagoras lived here and many champion sportsmen of the ancient Olympics were from here. It’s really growing on me.
Tuesday 21st May 2024
Woke up after a wonderful calm night. The harbour is very protected and quiet. We are both hugely enjoying being here so decided to take another day to properly explore the old town and castle.
The castle is close to the marina, up a set of stairs and a steep slope. It has gardens and it was pleasant to wander under the trees but there was no sign of how to get in. I asked a man who was standing by a small door which opened at the bottom of a tower and he directed us to the main entrance. This involved walking up another steep hill (it was hot again) and paying the 4 euro entrance fee.
The young woman on the desk gave us our tickets and a smooth white pebble each. She explained that Crotone people leave these stones by a shrine to the Madonna to say prayers for the sick.
The castle was built in the 9th century and rebuilt in the 15th century. It has four towers, two round (the older ones) and two rectangular. The entrance to the castle takes you to the rooftop of one of the round towers and as can be expected there is a wonderful view.
You then walk past the old barracks and into the castle itself, blessedly cool. Inside was an exhibition about the Madonna of Capo Colonna. Even though the video was in Italian we managed to catch the sense of it.
The icon of the Madonna, the one that came to town by sea yesterday, was seized by the Turks who tried to burn it but it wouldn’t burn. They then tried to steal it but their ships wouldn’t move while she was on it. Eventually they threw it into the sea, where a fisherman rescued it and hid it until his deathbed, when it was returned to its rightful place. As I mentioned earlier, once a year the holy icon is taken from Crotone, where she is kept, to Capo Colonna where she was originally housed.
On the way in there was a wooden plank with ‘The Madonna is the defence and heart of this city’ inscribed in Italian and Latin. At the bottom was a pile of white pebbles so we added ours and said a prayer.
The volunteers at the exhibition were really friendly and gave us a postcard each as a souvenir.
From here we went down a level, a dark and narrow staircase leading us to the base of the tower. There was an exhibition of photographs by Mario Vetere called Negativo é positivo, colour negatives of his photos. If you had Instagram or an iPhone you could see the positive images too but we don't. A curator showed us how a positive print of a couple of the photos would look, it was eye opening the difference this made. Even as negatives they were very beautiful, like watercolours.
We exited the castle via the small door we’d seen earlier and went to have a look in the nearby local museum. By the desk was a machine selling cold drinks. I was very grateful. We spent an hour or so marvelling at the ancient artefacts and the sophistication of those ancient people.
By now it was lunchtime. Igor suggested buying samosas from a tiny café selling Indian food near the old town. They were pretty good. We sat and ate them then carried on walking and were tempted by another café. The samosas weren't very big so we got some more food. Not bad. We spent a while looking in the window of an estate agent, maybe we should move to Italy (unlikely).
Back at the boat it was too hot to do much so took it easy. I’d given the galley a good clean in the morning and this was our last night here so an executive decision was made that we should eat out. I’d heard there were some excellent restaurants in the fish market by the marina. We set off for yet another walk around town, then back to the waterfront but the restaurants were closed. I could have bought fresh seafood but didn’t want to make a mess as we’d be leaving early next day. Instead we went to a pizza restaurant where we had the most intriguing pizza I’ve ever eaten. It had a dark wholewheat sourdough base and was topped with gorgonzola, shaved truffles, walnuts and honey. Travel truly does broaden your outlook (and your hips – we had a big bowl of chunky fries, cooked to perfection, with it).
Tomorrow we’ll be back at sea so it was early to bed and time to say goodbye to Crotone.
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