Holed Up on La Maddalena

Marina is a great navigator and we are naturally cautious with our kids on board -- add Chelsea and Hayden and we are probably more so. We have internet so we can communicate back home (work beckons nearly every day) and also it lets us check the weather using a group of sites that have given us some pretty accurate wind and wave forecasting. Windfinder told us of two days of 35 knots of breeze coming in. Usually we're happy with 25 knots at anchor, but 35 is where we try to head to port and tuck into a nice snug mooring spot. Our slip was near the industrial part of the wharf -- with 3 or 4 ferries coming and going all day from 0700 to 2230 (they have 3 ferry berths and one was always waiting to get in). The good news is that we were only a few steps away from the centre of town and the action.

The view from Tara's berth...very busy!



Ferries contantly coming and going...interesting to watch.

We spent hours walking around La Maddelena -- those of us not glued to the video-screen, and found it a really cool place. It's funny the different mindsets adopted by the different crew members.



Happy girls!



Chelsea is really happy to be in town, shopping, checking out the architecture, soaking up culture, snapping lots of photos.

Marina is happy to be ashore -- real showers, real toilets, lots of grocery stores, some culture, restaurants and a place to buy a souvenir t-shirt or two. Jessie is interested in two things: Gelatto and bathing suit shopping -- though recently she also seems to be looking at cute boys too.
Matt likes the shower and toilets, but sees this as an opportunity to get some boat maintenance done and often spends hours repairing things when the others are off exploring.

Boys gaming...ick!



Tara would be berthed at the back right of this photo.

 Ross and Hayden video-game. If we don't threaten to take away all technology for a few days, they'll spend the entire day doing three things: eating, sleeping, and playing video games -- oh and they might watch a movie or two in that mix too. So we kick them off the boat.




Gelatto in Cala Gavetta



So here in Cala Gavetta on La Maddalena, for me this was the big opportunity to get the electronics straightened away. We already installed a new chartplotter, two new heads and a new transducer -- but we also needed to interface the chartplotter to the existing wind instruments and the VHF radio for AIS. Three or four hours of noodling, testing and finally installing got us to the point where we have operational systems for wind, depth, GPS, charts, and collision avoidance for the first time ever. We have two more installations to do: the new radar and the new mast-head light. Both require a fair amount of time up the mast so we're not really looking forward to it but, we will do what must be done! (Although not in 30+ knots of wind). By the time we head for Sicily I expect to at least have the mast-head lights installed and maybe the radar -- though we have an operational radar now so we can use the old one in a pinch.

To sum it up, one good meal out hosted by Hayden, a number of shopping excursions -- mostly for food and wine, and a long walk to the beach for Marina, Chelsea, Hayden and Ross, was basically all we accomplished in our two day stay at Porto Touristico Cala Gaveta. (Marina here regarding our beach excursion). 



It was about a 30 minute walk to our "beach".



A perfectly servicable beach for Marina and Chelsea

We went on a mission to A. get the boys off the boat and B. find a beach for Chelsea and me and C. find a spot where the boys could enjoy the wind and waves. We pretty much accomplished all that and went out for brushetta style pizza too.

Wind, waves...but a bit boring for the boys.

Pizza style bruschetta was excellent.

Jess helped Matt and lots got done in our absence. (Back to Matt) Charge-band 3-4 was 87 Euros a night for the boat -- can't wait to see what a charge-band 6 on Sicily will cost us ....