Day 313: Monday 23rd April 2018 - Dwejra Bay and Fungus Rock

After a little school we motored the 8 miles round to Dwejra Bay. We had been recommended this place but it is only tenable in very settled weather and not with wind from the west which is the prevailing wind direction. After much deliberation and messaging with our friend David we decided to give it a try. The wind was on the nose the whole way so no sailing but it was a beautiful day to be out on the water. On the way we looked at the limestone cliffs and had an impromptu geology lesson from Patrick on sedimentary rock formations.

As we rounded the corner and motored through the small gap into Dwejra Bay we called the kids up on deck, AJ took one look around and exclaimed “this is cool!” The bay was almost perfectly still, and surrounded by steep rock sides which housed lots of caves which we couldn’t wait to explore. No sooner had the anchor dropped, the kids jumped in the dinghy to go for a row while Patrick and I checked the anchor was holding, tidied up a little and prepared lunch.

After we had eaten we pumped up the SUP and AJ and Esme paddled off to play. By this time Justin had dropped off Lynita’s Mum and Stepdad at the rocky steps for a walk; he then went back to pick Lynita and the kids up. Patrick and I got in the dinghy and we all went exploring the caves. There were really weird noises in the caves that Patrick said were waves echoing but to me sounded like some freaky sound effects from a scary theme park ride. It was a really cool adventure that the kids loved.

We then went ashore and walked up some stone steps to get a beautiful view of the bay. It seems somewhat surreal that we have sailed (or motored) our little boat all the way from the UK to this little bit of paradise.

As we walked over the rocks Esme spotted a fossil of a shell and realised that at some point there was sea where she was stood… pretty awesome!

We then spotted a track over to the “Inland Sea”, a tourist attraction where the sea enters through a tunnel in the rock and tourists can pay 4 euros for a fisherman to take them through the tunnel to the sea outside in his boat. We ignored the ice cream sellers and let the kids play in the shallow water where they swam, and then played at throwing a stone into the water for the other to “fetch”.

 

After a while Patrick got bored of the “tourist trap” and headed back to the boat whilst the kids would have gone on playing all afternoon, evening and night! Eventually though we had to leave and we walked back to Dwejra bay.

Patrick had taken the paddleboard back so AJ rowed me, Esme, Kynan, Leora and Lynita back whilst Justin took Lynita’s Mum and Stepdad back in their dinghy. It was an amazing day in an amazing place that we feel privileged to have been able to visit.

After washing the kids down using our solar shower we had a cold dinner sat in the cockpit watching the sun go down through the gap in Fungus Rock at the entrance to the bay. Perfect!

Well, we are privileged, and watching the sun go down was beautiful. However it isn’t all plain sailing. There is a bit of swell building in the bay which although not dangerous may be a little uncomfortable tonight. We are also still struggling as a family with the transition from living aboard in a marina with a fairly constant routine to a travelling life and the challenges of trying to get the balance right between formal schooling and the wonderfully experiential learning that happens from exploring caves, finding fossils and noticing interesting lines on rock formations!

Day 312: Sunday 22nd April 2018 - A walk across Comino to the Blue Lagoon

After a little discussion between the crew of Laurin and Dizzie it was decided that we would walk across the island of Comino to have a proper look at the Blue Lagoon as the Dizzie Crew wanted to see it, and I really wanted to get a little closer that we had when we anchored. Patrick fancied a bit of peace and quiet, and was a little wary of leaving Laurin so opted to stay behind.

We opted to take the coastal path and after a little while seemed to have roamed off the beaten track and onto a rock climbing mission which the kids loved. Whilst Lynita and Justin followed the kids exploring I investigated getting back on track with Lynita's Mum and Stepdad (I was a little concerned for my ankle which I had hurt the day before our crossing to Malta).

Photos courtesy of Justin Fabrizio

It took us about half an hour to walk across the island and we were rewarded by a very different view of the extremely commercial Blue Lagoon!

As it was lunchtime we bought some snacks and sat down by the tiny beach to eat and enjoy the beautiful lagoon. Once they had eaten the kids soon stripped off and waded in to the water. The had a great time splashing, swimming and generally having fun. It seemed everybody else there was on some kind of 18-30 holiday with cocktails being served in pineapples before noon, to young people dressed in their best holiday wear. The funniest moment being when the wash from one of the many tourist boats rolled in and soaked a couple sunbathing on the tiny beach... luckily they saw the funny side too!

After a good while sat chatting and watching the kids have fun, we headed back to the boats via the ice cream sellers. This time we went a different way back and on our return I saw Sarah and Ian in their rib buzzing around Laurin before coming over to pick us up. They were anchored in the next bay which had the advantage of Hotel Wifi which could be picked up.


In any case we chilled out on the boat for a while before Esmé got restless so we rowed over to Dizzie and took Kynan and Loera for a row to explore the caves in the rocks. Each of the kids had a go at rowing. Esmé is getting quite good now, and Leora had great fun trying!



We then went on board Dizzie for a chat and eventually a taste of Lynita's lovely courgette and lemon bread before heading back to Laurin to cook dinner.

During the afternoon I had been messaging a David, a friend from Marina di Ragusa about possible anchorages for tomorrow night as he has lots of experience of Malta. If the weather looks good we'll be heading over to Dwejra bay on the opposite side of Gozo which looks even more amazing than the Blue Lagoon.



As the evening drew to a close, AJ and Esmé were to be found yelling at their friends on Dizzie and catapulting shells towards them. A beautiful evening!

Day 311: Saturday 21st April 2018 - Santa Maria Bay, Comino, with Dizzie!

We spent the morning finishing off the school work that we didn't manage to do yesterday, and enjoying the shore based showers although they weren't quite as good as I'd hoped!  As we were getting ready to leave we heard a yell from outside the boat and found Sarah and Ian, fellow northerners we had met in Marina di Ragusa in their dinghy outside our boat. They had motored over on Friday but had anchored just outside the marina... they said it was a bit rolly, however we had found it rolly even in the marina! It was nice to catch up and chat, and I guess we may bump in to them again over the next few days.



By about 11:30 we had dropped our lines and were motoring back over the Blue Lagoon (along with numerous tourist boats). We dropped anchor and set about pumping the dinghy up before having a pleasant lunch in the cockpit. During this time one of the tourist speed boats advised us to move due to big boats coming in to the bay, we figured we'd have lunch and assess the situation but then the same boat spoke to the skipper of a catamaran who was about to moor next to us and who then subsequently anchored in front of us, coming to rest directly over our anchor.

Yes that is a slide you see off the side of the yellow and turquoise tourist boat!

In the end we decided it wasn't worth the hassle to stay and the wind swung round so we pulled the anchor up and motored to Santa Maria Bay which was a little quieter. I then took the kids to the beach in our dinghy while Patrick had some much needed quiet time on board. Unfortunately there were a lot of jellyfish hiding in the seaweed so the kids were reluctant to swim, however Esmé dropped her inflatable noodle in the water and we had to play chase! In the end we went for a little row and explored the caves that surrounded the bay, and then AJ braved the water and went for a few little dips off the dinghy in clear water where we could check for jellyfish!

Much quieter in Santa Maria Bay

At about 4:30 our friends arrived on Dizzie and anchored close by. They had crossed from Marina di Ragusa and after a quick tidy up invited us over for dinner. It was lovely for the kids to play together again, even though it had only been a few days, and the adults had a lovely catch up.

Photo courtesy of Lynita Howie

Photo courtesy of Lynita Howie

As the sun went down we headed back to Laurin on the dinghy, this time with AJ rowing. A lovely day but we are still quite new to all this anchoring and find it a little stressful. I'm sure it will get better as the season progresses!

Photo courtesy of Lynita Howie

Day 310: 20th April 2018 - The Citadel, Victoria, Gozo

We woke to a beautiful day anchored in the Blue Lagoon and it was a pity that we didn't have time to pump the dinghy up and explore... maybe another day. However we needed to check in to Malta at Gozo and wanted to visit the Citadel in Victoria. Yesterday we had been told we couldn't get into the marina until 12:30 unless we wanted to pay for an extra night, however we had read somewhere we could moor on the end of a hammerhead for an hour to check in with the Port Police. I gave the marina a call and managed to agree that we could come in a little earlier than 12:30 for no extra charge.

Meanwhile we got on with a little school, but as we wanted to be off by about 10:30 we made an agreement to finish off over the weekend. We then motored over to Mgarr Harbour and into the marina. It took about 3 attempts to get us berthed, the first a crazy attempt at an impossible berth before asking the marinos if we could have a different berth more suitable for our boat which has sever prop kick to port. It then took a further 2 attempts to get in but eventually we were secure.

AJ then set about making sandwiches while the rest of us got ready for an afternoon ashore. I grabbed a sandwich and headed off with Esmé to the marina office and to the port police to check in. On our return the boys were ready to go, and Esmé had her sandwich in a packed lunch box. We headed over to the ferry terminal to catch a bus to Victoria, running the gauntlet past the taxis trying to get our business, explaining to the kids that getting the bus was 4 euros cheaper than a taxi and so we would then be able to afford ice creams at the Citadel!

The Citadel was worth the journey, we also paid 15 Euros for our family to enter the visitor centre and various museums which was well worth the expense. The visitor centre had a 360 degree film about the history of Gozo and the Citadel, this was really informative and fun to watch before heading into the Citadel itself. Here we spent a good few hours exploring the walls, streets, alleyways and various museums as well as stopping for ice cream!

The first museum we entered was a nature museum showing fossils, stalagmites and stalactites as well as bird, butterfly and insect exhibits. There was also a small section on evolution which AJ found amusing!

Another museum was called the old house museum and housed a number of interesting items such as a flour mill powered by a "beast!" which interested both kids as they compared this to the water mill we had visited in Sicily.

Esmé was particularly interested in the weights and measures section as this is something she has been covering recently in maths.

We had an interesting conversation about the scales on the right, comparing them to a see saw and talking about how if AJ was on a see saw with somebody much lighter than him he used to sit nearer the centre of the see saw to help balance it out. Esmé was also pretty interested in the lacemaking!

By about 4:30 we had all had enough so headed back down into the main town of Victoria and asked directions to a supermarket so we could top up with milk before heading off tomorrow morning to anchor somewhere. The kids spotted a McDonalds and so we treated them to a Happy Meal before heading back to Mgarr on a different bus route to the way there so we could see a little more of the island. Once back the kids took advantage of the (somewhat temperamental) free wifi whilst Patrick and I had dinner for two in the cockpit. Esmé and I then took a walk as dusk fell before returning to the boat so Patrick and I could plan our next few days! All in all a busy but fun day!

Days 306 to 309: 16th to 19th April - Malta here we come!

Monday 16^th April

The plan was to leave on Wednesday so we had a lot to do. Today was tricky. School was hard work as both kids were tetchy as they always are before a big change and despite us knowing that this is always the case we still didn’t manage to keep things calm enough to prevent the shouting and arguments. However at the end of the day we were a little closer to leaving. We know from experience that during these periods of change we just need to weather the storm, trying to minimise the damage to our little family’s emotions as best as possible.  In the afternoon Julia kindly watched our kids so that Patrick and I could go together to a meeting about sailing in the Ionia. The meeting was at the Stella Marina Bar and it was nice to have a beer and enjoy what may well be our last child free time for a while.

Tuesday 17^th April

This morning we said goodbye on the Marina di Ragusa radio net. This has been a 9am constant in our lives Monday to Saturday for the last 5 months and it felt strange being the ones shouting out on the “hi and goodbye” section, particularly as at this point we weren’t sure if we’d be leaving Wednesday or Thursday. We decided on a no school day as we don’t usually do too much on a Tuesday anyway as we head off to the market as a family.

After stowing the last load of washing the next job was to head up to the chandlery to buy our Maltese courtesy flag, then the next stop was the market to stock up on fresh food. Whilst Esme played with Beau, Kai and Zoe, AJ and I went up to Eurospar to get the other bits and pieces I needed as well as the makings of a picnic to eat at the park. Afterwards I grabbed a lift back with Bianca and all our shopping whilst the kids and Patrick walked/scooted back. In fact AJ got back only a couple of minutes after me! With all the shopping stowed but still a lot of stowing to finish we had another look at the weather. There was a possibility of thunderstorms on Wednesday and what looked like great wind for sailing on Thursday so we made the decision to delay our departure a day. I also attended a meeting run by Steve Neal on his website noforeignland.com which is an amazing resource for finding reviews of marinas and anchorages as well as finding other boats. This started off as a small project for his friends but is growing by the day and he is now happy for us to publicise it for anybody to use. The delay also gave me the opportunity to photocopy/print the relevant pages of the Nautical Almanac so that I will be able to practice astro navigation on some of our longer crossings if I get chance.

Wednesday 18^th April

School went much better today after the day’s break with both kids managing to do some maths they were finding challenging, and also some history. We are using the History audio book “Story of the world” along with the corresponding activity book. I was hoping that we would have got to the Greek section by now, and AJ is desperate to start studying Ancient Greece so we made a decision to finish the current chapter and then move on to the Greeks….. luckily the printer was still out so I could photocopy the relevant sheets from the book! In the afternoon I grabbed a lift to MD supermarket to top up with bread and also take advantage of not having to lug shopping back in a trolley and stock up on drinks and other heavy items. Then it was full steam ahead trying to stow away the last bits. I’m not entirely sure if it is the same on bigger boats but I find that with four of us on a small boat there are always some items that don’t have a home and are transferred around the boat from one space to another. The other thing that also surprises me is that if I manage to put time and effort into stowing things carefully I can fit a lot more in. At some point in the afternoon we made a decision to have pizza for tea in order to cut down on cooking/washing up and more importantly as a last chance to have some fun with our friends so at 6pm we wandered down, ordered pizzas and sat and ate them looking out over the beach. Some kind people had brought prosecco and we all had a lovely evening, some getting rather more sanded up than others!

Thursday 19^th April

Still more last minute jobs so we set the alarm for 6am and pottered around filling water tanks and tidying the last little bits away. Kids eventually woke up and then at 7:30 our friends gathered on the pontoon to wave us off. It was a sad goodbye but not too teary as we are sure we will meet these guys at some point this summer. I suspect it will be harder saying goodbye if we do meet up as at that point I’m sure we won’t know if we’ll ever see them again, although I’m hoping for a MdR 2017/18 reunion at some point.  

We motored for the first couple of hours and the kids were a little subdued after saying goodbyes. It was a little rolly and I struggled to be below decks. Esme insisted on breaking open the ginger biscuits and ate a completely unreasonable quantity even though she says she shared them with her new “dog” Cocoa.

Esme was determined to spend more time on deck than usual which I was pleased about and she enjoyed our new (scavenged from the pagoda) cockpit cushions and snuggled under her “Nana Blanket”.

By 9:30 we had turned the engine off and were sailing, enjoying a reasonable speed all day except for an hour or so over lunchtime where we needed to motor sail in order to maintain enough speed to arrive before dark. 

Eventually we entered the channel between Gozo and Comino, dropped our sails and motored into the Blue Lagoon. It was beautiful but far more crowded than we had anticipated, something I’m sure we are going to have to get used to as the season moves on. During our usual circuit of the anchorage to choose our spot we were hailed by a catamaran who turned out to be another family who had wintered in Licata but briefly visited MdR and joined us for a BBQ. They too had just arrived and announced there was plenty of room…. As I said, we have much to learn about anchoring!

Once the anchor was down we had a celebratory beer (adults) and orange juice (kids) with some lovely nibbles and enjoyed the view.

Then down below for dinner in front of a movie (it had been too lumpy for us to allow kids electronics on the way).  Kids took themselves to bed and then Patrick and I followed shortly after, me sleeping with my phone next to my head monitoring our position, not fully trusting the anchor alarm or my instincts to wake up if something was wrong…. Again something I’m sure that will change as the season moves on. All in all a good day and we are glad to be on our way!