David's Diary: Saturday, September 28, 2002

Crotone to Siracusa, Sicily

The day dawned bright and the wind is blowing in the right direction. We spent the morning shopping for fresh produce in Crotone. We are planning an overnight passage to Siracusa in Sicily, so everything has to be ready before we cast off.

Friendly Baker

The kids and I wander into town to do our shopping. We buy fresh bread and as we leave the retail part of the bakery we passed a narrow doorway where they actually make the bread. We looked inside and the baker invited us in to see the large ovens. Even though the baker didn't speak any English we still communicated and he posed for us.

Friendly Fruit and Vegetable Salesman

Across the street we stopped for fresh fruit and vegetables. With all of the summer and fall produce coming to market, the selection is fantastic. The salesman even posed for a picture. Everyone in Crotone has been friendly to us. We would like to stay, but with a good weather forecast and a lot of miles to go we cast off the dock just before noon.

Sailing to Siracusa, Sicily

We set the sails for downwind sailing. Dragonsinger was moving along at more than six knots (11 km/hr) as we started into our watches. It will be more than twenty four hours before we reach Siracusa.

Off the Toe of Italy

Our trip takes us past the ball and toe of the boot of Italy. During the night we can see the lights of shore side towns off in the distance. We have to keep a sharp lookout for cargo ships as we are traveling across one of the major shipping lanes. All around us are thunderstorms, yet right above us we can see the stars through clear skies. We sometimes change course to avoid a thunderstorm, but for some reason the majority seem to pass us on port or starboard. It is an eerie feeling, but now that we're out here we just push ahead.