Life on Laurin had already been quite tetchy over the last 24 hours with our elongated passage from Rocella and struggle to find a safe and comfortable anchorage. More than 24 hours of motoring really grates on Patrick and I feel the same about prolonged periods of rocking and rolling. The anchorage we had eventually found had quietened down a little overnight but not substantially and by 8am there were again boats charging by creating wash which coupled with the existing swell made life on board somewhat challenging. Before this trip we didn't tend to anchor very much and when we did it would be on a very peaceful night up a well protected East Coast River. Now we are far more comfortable with anchoring, but still prefer somewhere that is protected from all directions and generally we feel that if we are not underway, we shouldn't be rocking and rolling!
We were still a little sleep deprived but awake anyway when I got a phone call from Mum with some horrendous news from home.... my brother's best mate had died unexpectedly on his wedding day. A lovely smiling, cheerful guy taken way too quickly. For a while this added to the short temperedness on board and so I took Wildest Dreams up on their offer to take me and the kids ashore as our dinghy had been stowed for the long passages. I figured we could all do with a little space rather than been cramped up on Laurin. Patrick got some alone time on the boat and the kids got to run and play while I enjoyed a cold drink in the shade at one of the many beach bars. I still find this Italian "beach" idea a little strange, while there is almost always a public access to a section of coastline, most of the seafront is taken up by "Beach Clubs" which charge you to enter and use their sunbeds and sun shades, sometimes offering changing rooms too as well as a bar or restaurant. This particular one had a kids playground so I bought a drink at the bar and refused the "offer" of a sunbed. Their free wifi wasn't up to much but it was pleasant to have the kids occupied so that I could just chill out. They alternated between playing at the playground and swimming in the sea, albeit in the cordoned off area as recommended by the 
beach staff due to there being jellyfish around. The kids took great interest in the chart showing which jellyfish were dangerous and which weren't.
By this time Patrick and I had already discussed that hanging around the Aeolians with their limited space in protected anchorages, extortionate pontoons (168 euros for one night on Vulcano) and general business in the Italian holiday season was not going to make a happy Gregory family so had hatched a plan to do an overnight sail to Stromboli that night followed by a look in at Vulcano, and then head to Capo d'Orlando marina for 3 nights to sit out some thunderstorms that were forecast. We knew this probably wouldn't work for Wildest Dreams as they have a more limited budget and a much bigger boat which is significantly more expensive in marinas, however sometimes in this life you have to make the decision that is right for YOUR family and we are hopeful that Wildest Dreams will catch us up on the north Sicily coast. We discussed our plans and made arrangements to keep in touch.
Back on the boat we had a late lunch and then the kids went over to Wildest Dreams for some last minute fun before our departure. We left at about 7pm and motored towards Stromboli, first doing a last minute fly past the other end of the anchorage to see if it might be more sheltered, however this wasn't so and in fact we saw some crazy Italian motor boats rafted together, bashing each other to bits! We ate stew under way, prepared earlier in the day in our thermal cooker, and then Patrick got a little rest.
As darkness fell I became aware of lightening to the North of us which always concerns me when on board. We actively try to avoid being out at sea during thunderstorms as being a lone ship with a tall mast seems to be inviting a lightening hit. The storm had seemed to be a long way away, I never heard thunder and we had clear skies above us so I tried not to worry but as the night wore on I began to see lightening all around us despite having clear skies directly above. I called Patrick for a second opinion as he is by far a better meteorologist than I am and his presence on deck made me feel considerably better. Although common sense told me that the anchorage would not have been any safer, I still felt irresponsible putting my family in this situation, particularly as we had already had a reminder of how fragile life is earlier in the day. We sailed on.
By this time AJ had headed off to bed and so Patrick and I watched the volcano of Stromboli grow ever closer whilst Esmé napped in the cockpit. There was a lot of traffic about so it was especially good to have another pair of eyes on deck and then suddenly Patrick exclaimed that perhaps our night sail would be reaping some rewards, we could already see some volcanic eruptions!
For the last hour approaching Stromboli was saw plumes of fire and sparks rise into the air every few minutes or so. Impossible for us to photograph in any way that would do the experience justice but a beautiful sight. I woke AJ as we came close and despite being a little anxious about our proximity to a live, erupting volcano he appreciated the awesomeness of this night-time adventure with the rest of us!
By midnight we had seen enough and began our trip back, opting to come back the way we came rather than circumnavigating Stromboli in an effort to get back to the anchorage in time for a little sleep before dawn. Patrick and I took 2 hours each on deck and then began the slightly stressful and precarious task of approaching the anchorage in the dark and finding a spot to anchor in without hitting another boat. Sleep was extremely welcome!
Sunday 19th August
Up again by 9 and over to Wildest Dreams to say goodbye. We hung around perhaps a little too long, updating them on our nights activities and addressing their concerns about us sailing in the storm. Although we had escaped it, the storm had passed right over Wildest Dreams in the anchorage. They had been watching us on AIS and what I can only assume was a blip in some of the software had us sailing at 16 knots.... an impossibility in Laurin unless possibly surfing serious waves.
Onwards back to Vulcano but by the time we arrived (after being buzzed by yet another hydrofoil) the anchorage was already crowded and we felt it unsafe to anchor. I very carefully weaved Laurin between the anchored boats to get close to the mud beach, asking the kids to experience the sulphuric smell and look for bubbles in the water. However it was a little underwhelming and we were soon glad to be on our way. 
The scenery on the way out of the Aeolian Islands was stunning but we were all keen to get to a nice, safe, non rocking marina berth. I radioed ahead but still had to mooch around the marina entrance waiting for a marinero in a dinghy to guide us in whilst looking at the ominously black clouds forming behind the marina. As always in a marina I hung back until I could see exactly what berth he wanted us in. Laurin does not do backwards very well but with almost zero wind and a lovely berth she behaved perfectly and we were soon tied up and ready to relax.
And then all hell broke loose!
The marineros came rushing up trying to explain in their very broken English that we had to move. They were clearly desperate for us to untie and move but by now the storm was approaching and the wind had picked up... the last thing I wanted to do was untie Laurin and try to manoeuvre her in a building storm whilst severely sleep deprived. I asked where they wanted us to move to and the answer was just a couple of spots along. I sensed that they were thinking I would just drive out and reverse into that spot.... however I knew that my prop kick would prevent me from doing that and I would need to go out of the aisle and start again to have any chance of backing Laurin into that spot in the building wind. I tried to communicate this to them but they clearly weren't listening, just wanting me to hurry up and go. We untied lines and the wind nearly took us into the next boat but I'm getting pretty good at close quarters stuff in Laurin now so much to the relief of the worried looking owners of the shiny Island Packet next to us I managed to avoid their pride and joy. Next I motored out of our aisle to see 3 or 4 motor cruisers ploughing towards us whilst I desperately looked for a space to turn round in. I did a 5 point turn in the next aisle whilst Patrick screamed at the motor cruiser blocking our exit to tell us where he was going so we could give him space... blank looks all round led us to realise we had no common language. I saw a gap and went for it but needed to hold station whilst the boat who we had cleared our berth for was helped to moor up. I needed them to be out of the way so I had enough space to manoeuvre Laurin in. Keeping a sailing boat in one position with a lot of wind is not easy and a couple on a boat close to us commiserated at our predicament having come on deck to see what all the shouting was about. I eventually motored towards our berth, making a judgement that I could probably do this without help, wondering if having the rib standing by might be a good idea when the marinero sped up towards our port bow.... exactly where I didn't want him as our prop kick is to port and if he pushed on our port bow I would have no control whatsoever. I screamed at him to go the other side and which he finally did and I was by some miracle still in control. I back into a berth at a slight angle with the nose pointing to port as I know I can always pull the stern in using the prop kick but am unable to correct the other way without pulling out and starting again. The marinero obviously didn't realise this and thought he would help out by pushing my stern round to straighten us up. BAD IDEA cue lots more shouting. He finally backed off and I managed to wriggle Laurin close enough to the pontoon to throw lines. I really would have been way better off if he hadn't been quite so "helpful".
Leftover stew and our first bottle of Italian Red in a while meant for a restful night!
Monday 20th August
Not much to say about today. Being somewhat overcast the temperature was a little cooler so we took the opportunity to get some school done and then wage war on the kids cabin which had began to resemble a bomb site some time ago. Patrick took charge of the laundry before taking the kids for a walk in the afternoon so I could continue tidying. Nice to start to get on top of things again!
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