Aeolian Islands, Part 1 of 2.

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Sailing North through the Messina Strait, the narrow passage between mainland Italy and Sicily, requires a bit of planning since it is one of the few areas in the Med where the tides can cause strong currents (up to 4 kns at springs).

We have no tide tables for Messina but according to the pilot book, the North-going stream begins at about one hour 45 minutes before high water at Gibraltar and for Gibraltar we do have the tides in the chart plotter.

Coastline mainland Italy, Reggio Calabria as seen from the boat at anchor.

It would take 2 hours from our anchorage to Capo Peloro, the narrowest point, North in the strait and at 11.30 we weighed anchor to ensure we had favourable currents all the way through.

Capo Peloro, Sicily. Although there were some whirlpools when exiting the strait it was an uneventful sail and we turned Westwards to our anchorage for the night on the East side of Capo di Milazzo.
Our location, almost at the tip of the cape.
The anchorage is very small and at the time of our arrival at 5 pm was still filled with day-trippers, enjoying the clear waters and the sunset. At 7pm they were all gone so we could re-anchor closer to shore, with our anchor deep and safely set in a large patch of sand.
Sunrise the next day at the same anchorage that we now had to ourselves. After finishing our morning coffee we headed for Isola Vulcano, our first Aeolian island just South of Lipari (see map above).

The Aeolian islands form a volcanic arc in a location where the North moving African continental shelve dives under the Eurasian plate. This generates magma that rises to the surface as volcanos. Two volcanos are still active, Stromboli, the main goal of our visit, and Gran Cratere on Isola Vulcano, that we will visit first.

This is what a volcano looks like upon approach. The islands are VERY touristic and car ferries and fast passenger hydrofoils require a constant lookout.
The ESHILLO, a hydrofoil fast ferry carrying 220 passengers, equiped with 2 x 2000 HP engines and roaring past at an impressive speed of 36 kns!!!!

Gran Cratere is the active crater on Vulcano. The ferry port is right next to it. It is a commercial port and off-limits to yachts. The marina was too expensive so we aimed at the anchorage. The approach looked uneventful…………..

..........but what a difference 10 minutes make. We were overtaken by two ferries. We slowed down to not interfere with their required manoeuvring space. The two captains were continuously informing each other about their actions over the VHF radio channel 11.
This is what the situation looked like on the chart plotter. The distance between us and the ferries was about 3/8 Nm. To put things in perspective, on open water, anything less than 1 Nm is considered a "near miss".

The roaring hydrofoil leaving again, just after we dropped anchor, laying a thick smoke screen.

The next morning we took the dinghy ashore and crossed a field with bubbling underwater thermal springs. There was a light smell of sulphur in the air (rotten egg smell) but not too bad. The closer to the rocky beach, the warmer the water. The boat is moored at a safe distance since the light acidic water is corrosive for the antifouling paint.

At 8.30 we started our ascend on the West side (shade side) of the mountain. It took us an hour to get to the rim of the crater at 386 meters. The name of the island derives from the Roman belief that the tiny island was the chimney of Vulcan’s workshop, the Roman god of fire and blacksmiths. Around 450 people live on the island.

Close to the top and the going got a bit tougher.

View from the crater rim to the North. Behind the rock is a thermal mud pool that we will visit later. The right arrow points to the boat. Lipari island in the background. Vulcano has been quiet since the eruption of March 1890. In November 2021, 150 people were evacuated from the island's harbour area due to increased volcanic activity, however no eruption followed.

It was very quiet on top of the rim. There was almost no wind and we were too far from the fumaroles to hear the hissing. It is a special experience to be surrounded by bubbling seas, warm waters, a breathing mountain and that special sulphur smell. After all impressions had sunk in, we went back down to look for a suitable place for lunch.

Restaurant Il Castello it was. Nothing special but it had a clear view over the hot spring mud pool.
The mud was really warm and you had to select your location carefully. Too close to a "bubbel" and you would get burned.
Sunset over the restaurant and surroundings, viewed from the rock next to the mud-pool.

At dusk a beautiful medieval ship had anchored to our starboard. We took the dinghy closer for a better look.

"La Grace" is a replica of a brig from the 18th century. A "brig" is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. They were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship.
Our route and anchorages: 1 Vulcano - West, 2 Stromboli, 3 Lipari, 4 Vulcano - East.
Leaving Vulcano for Stromboli. "La Grace" is still at anchor in the pink circle.
Lunch stop, about half way in the tiny anchorage of Panarea.
Puffing Stromboli, clearly visible from our lunch spot in Panarea.

The crater rim stands at 920 meter above the water and represents the upper third of the volcano. Its population is about 500. The volcano has been in almost continuous eruption for the past 2,000–5,000 years its constant activity is visible from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the island’s nickname “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean”. The last serious eruption occurred in 1921.

The rumble that you hear is not the volcano but the wind noise. The island is mentioned in some literature:

  • Homer is believed to have described Stromboli in the poem “The Odyssey”. The ancient author named the island Aeolia and made it the home of Aeolus, the god of winds.
  • The island of Sicily appears in the pages of Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. It is through this volcano that the main characters of the novel return to earth.
We sail along the North coast to the anchorage since that route offers the best views of the caldera. Where on earth can you sail that close to an active erupting volcano?
View from our floating home of the other boats at anchor. Just like we will, most of the crews will keep their boat at anchor or on a mooring ball and take the dinghy out to the North coast again to see the eruptions at night.
The sensitivity of our older iPhone X is insufficient for decent photos although Liza managed to take a very acceptable shot. Hear the onlookers cheering?

The following day we will step ashore on the island, but that is for the next post.

Thank you for reading our stories, Liza and Frits.