Mare Clausum the Sea Is Closed

(Source: Lonely Planet)

Mare Clausum…..the sea is closed.

I had forgotten what quiet waters sounded like and the serene lullaby of the slush, slush as waves dapple lazily towards their coastal destination! Our tent was pitched as high as it would go, away from the steep, dumping surf beach that had merrily munched me earlier, hanging on for all it was worth with it’s undertow, and the loud crash, suck and drawl of the waves crashing feet away from our shelter was beginning to grate! Slightly the worse for wear I was starting to view the pitching surf with dread, anticipating ahead of the game, that it could look even worse in the morning, even though I knew that this wasn’t helpful in managing a slightly battered psychological state!

Little was I to know that these same waves would have another munching session, spinning me in their rinse cycle and extracting a pair of crocs, some neoprene socks from my feet, a pump and a few other gems for the mermaids the following morning! During a long, dark wintery evening in early 2010 we considered the possibility of circumnavigating Sicily by sea kayak. Roger had been invited out to work on a sea kayak festival, so dong a trip after this could work.

The largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and home to Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, it was part of a kingdom until 1861 and was sometimes called the Kingdom of Trinacria (kingdom of the triangle) and is surrounded by three seas: the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Mediterranean. The journey would be about 1000 kilometres. For us this was a training expedition. An opportunity to really experience what it would be like paddling and sitting in a sea kayak every day for a month, cracking out a reasonable mileage each day with fully loaded kayaks and seeing if our bodies and our minds were able to deal with the challenge!

We had allocated ourselves a comfortable (or so we thought!) window of time planning to start our journey following us being at the Vulcanoa Marathon Sicily Sea Kayaking Symposium which had been based on Vulcano, one of the stunning Aeolian Islands, situated of the northern coast of mainland Sicily and following us giving a helping hand to Francesco (our host) and his annual family grape harvest in the foothills of Mount Etna. Francesco had successfully completed the same journey solo back in 1999 over 28 days with four of those being stormbound. We had given ourselves 35 days which seemed a reasonable amount of time and had a bit of adjustment factored in for days when we might not be able to get on the water due to bad weather.

Sicily, positioned off the toe of the Italian peninsula promised a sun baked island, the bluest of blue waters and what we hoped would be reasonably calm seas. There is minimal current and tidal range around Sicily which means that any flow to assist your paddling momentum is minimal, but at the same time long hauls up the beach with your kayak and kit are not needed which can be a welcome relief at the end of a long, tiring day! This had certainly been our experience having spent the best part of a week around the Aeolian Islands and undertaking crossings to Lipari, Panarea and Stromboli.

The Aeolian Islands are volcanic. Vulcano has 3 old volcanic craters and when you disembark from the ferry your nostrils are met quickly with the overwhelming aroma of Sulphur and steam rises out of the rocks before you. Crossing over to Lipari you can find Obsidian and Pumice, rocks formed through the volcanic processes when lava, water and oxygen meet. Panarea, the smallest of the Aeolian Islands is surrounded by high cliffs and stacks and Lipari with its many arches and caves beckons to be explored. Stomboli has a craggy coastline and you can still see an awesome display of fire and steam as you walk to the top of the still active volcanic crater.

However we were embarking on our journey during what most Sicilians would describe as their late autumn/early winter. This probably explained the distinct lack of human presence anywhere on the beaches and even more prominently on the sea, albeit for a few fishing vessels on a good day! Francesco talked a bit about Mare clausum, and when we looked somewhat perplexed, he began to talk a little bit more. From the Latin, it literally means “the sea is closed” and used literally is a term in international law to mention a body of water under the jurisdiction of a State that is closed or off limits to other states. Used in Sicily informally it means” don’t be a crazy fool and go in the sea now, its cold and its wintertime” and well….why would you? However we had just spent a week on the Aeolian Islands with like minded sea kayakers, immersing ourselves in what to us was warm water (being used to UK temperatures), getting sun baked and drinking red wine like it was water…”what do you mean it’s your wintertime”……?!

Our journey commenced just north of Catania in Ognina on the East coast following a few days’ anticipation and false starts due to storms which whipped the sea up into a mass of Neptunes tails. The prevailing winds tend to be from the West so we had been advised to do the journey anti-clockwise.

When the Sicilians talk of the wind, you are transported to a different world altogether. A language which talks of the “Maestrale”, the “Scirocco” (I thought this was a Vdub!) and the “Grecale”. The Sicilians speak of the wind like they speak of their food, with great importance, passion and zest! Intrigued on the subject I spent a bit of time researching the origins of these names…well the winds were still high, the sea still swollen so what else was I to do?! A compass rose, sometimes called a windrose, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions — North, East, South and West - and their intermediate points. It is also the term for the graduated markings found on the traditional magnetic compass that we use today. The term “rose” comes from the compass points which resemble the petals of the flower. (Source: http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/michaelofrhodes/navigate_basicnav.html)

In the Middle Ages the names of the winds were known within the Mediterranean as Tramontana (North), Greco (North East), Levante (East), Siroco (South East), Ostro (South), Libeccio (South West), Ponente (West) and Maestro (North West).. On Portolan charts (navigational charts found from the 1300’s onwards) the winds would have been labelled with these names. Moving out of the safe harbour from Ognina following a false start the previous day from Taormina I was beginning to regret a number of things: too many layers and a winter cag on my body, not having drunk enough water, too much coffee, gelato and pizza (not necessarily in that order!) and not enough sleep. With a sea of F3-4 and constant undulating swell I started to feel “iffy”. Definitely an understatement 10 minutes later where I felt desperate to get out my boat and lay down but knew that I couldn’t land anywhere for another hour and a half at least! Somehow, managing to hold it together we eventually landed in another safe little harbour a few kilometres up the coast.

I have never been so glad to see flat concrete! Our first nights camp didn’t fall into the “top places you must visit before you die” list and was obscure in its location being on top of a high harbour wall sandwiched between a bush and a hotel entrance! Sometimes though needs dictate what must be done and this was a sanctuary for the night! It’s odd though the things you can get in to when you are on a trip. Faced with an afternoon and evening where we couldn’t pitch a tent until darkness fell we wandered into the nearby deserted village but fortunately found beer and an addiction to cards! All signs of seasickness having disappeared.

The following day though couldn’t have been better with the sea state and wind settling and a camp on a sandy beach just opposite a Pizzeria! Day 3 saw us successfully reach our most North Easterly point. Landing on the beach at Messina in total darkness, fatigued by a long days paddle but upbeat that we had a great open wild camp for the night overlooking the Messina Strait, the narrowest point between Sicily and mainland Italy. We gazed at the twinkle of lights on the boats and watched in awe at the huge tankers negotiating their way through the channel. Our preoccupation with gazing was jolted suddenly when raindrops started falling and lightening illuminated the sky enough for us to realise that camping virtually so close to a huge pylon was not the greatest place to be, but that we had little choice in the matter as getting back on the sea wasn’t an option!

We were getting into a rhythm and three days later, on the shores of the North coast we had a heads up from Francesco, our daily weather guru that storms were on their way and that afternoon we were forced off the water as one storm from the mainland and one from the Aeolian Islands met in the middle and unleashed their full force upon us. We paddled quickly keen to get off the water as fast as possible and feeling anticipation as we felt the approaching rise in the wind on our faces and began to see the change on the surface of the sea.

Huge rain drops pelted us with their full force as we struggled to get our tent erected and our kit inside, only to find that we had a nightmarish leak in our tent caused by the inner getting wet before the outer was put up. Several hours later following our moods plummeting as our only roof was not watertight we found a solution to the problem and successfully managed to divert our leak so that our tent could start to dry out. The full force of the storms stayed with us, with non stop rain for 18 hours, interspersed with thunder and lightening. We left this beach three days later having successfully made our way through the dumping but lessening surf and maintained our sanity by playing many games of cards! It was during this time that we started to feel frustrated with the weather and the incessant wind and wondered seriously whether we had enough time to complete the trip. Given the delay and false starts that we had had at the beginning and now a further three days stormbound we established that we had to paddle an average of 40-50kms a day to stand any chance of completing the circumnavigation.

Sicily is a island of contrasts and is one of the only long sea kayaking journeys we have undertaken where the attraction of going to explore more unban and highly populated areas has been present. This has its advantages; resupplys of food, water and fuel are easier, eating out in cafes, bars and restaurants becomes possible, transport and communication links are never far away, and you get a real sense of what “the big smoke” is like. You are able to experience all the joys and passions of Italy but also retreat back to simplicity….to your kayak…..your tent…..your stove and the relative straightforwardness of having only to concentrate on fuelling yourself, resting and maintaining forward kayaking momentum! With these contrasts and ever present “pulls” to explore comes a realisation that you cannot do it all. Well you could…..but you’d need to factor in more time! And so you focus, on the task which is getting to the end………and this was after all…….not a holiday!!

2 days after having left our stormy beach we arrived in Cephalu, 185 kilometres west of Messina to a captivating town with Medieval streets, a picturesque harbour and narrow alleys crammed with enticing shops and cafes! OK…so we stopped…just for a while…for another pizza…….! After 2 hours respite we relaunched. Back on the water the wind had picked up and we spent the rest of the afternoon and hours of light surfing a following sea, to arrive in darkness at our camp for the night next to an oil refinery and feet away from dual carriageway!

The following morning we were escorted across the massive harbour of Palermo, Sicily’s regional capital and fifth largest city in Italy, by a friend of Francesco who had come out to meet us as word had got around that we now well on our way to reaching the end of the North coast. We were invited to stay and pitch our tent at Arenelia marina and indulge our salt encrusted bodies and clothes in hot showers, freshly ready for the frenzied mosquitoes later that evening!

Ready for a further onslaught of winds, thunder and sheet lightening, we made our way in darkness to the sanctuary of the harbour of Terrasini for our next nights sleep. We were starting to get desperate to move of the North coast by this stage as so much of our journey had been dominated by incessant hindering wind and so we set our sites on getting to Trapini, just so we could turn that corner. Trapped again at San Vito Lo Capo by Mother Nature we were forced to accept two further days stormbound and checked ourselves in to a welcome hotel and accepted a tourist status as we ambled around the small town located in a valley between the mountains. Despite so much of our journey being plagued by storms we also experienced the odd, sublimely beautiful calm day and ticking off the miles as we got into the groove of stopping for five minutes every hour on the hour for a quick calorie fix and water it helped recharge our bodies and spirits.

We reached Porto Empedocle, halfway down the West coast on the 5th- November, 24 days following our start at Ognina and approximately 750 kilometres later. During that time we had been stormbound for 5 ½ Days.

Driven by the desire for one of us to at least complete the trip given our finite window of time left, and with a mixture of relief and disappointment for us both, Roger continued solo for the last 250k of the journey. Unrelenting high winds and surf forced a further 5 days off of the water but just in time a lull in the wind created an opportunity for the final push, with a couple of 70 and 90k days and a return to Ognina to become reality 9 days later.

As Roger was approaching Ognina, he was texting Gianfranco who was due to pick him up and he got a text back …What is your desire? After a moment of thinking “I cant text that”, I went with a large beer and one of those lovely Sicilian savoury pastries.

Thanks to Justine Curgenven for loan of a camera (mine ceased up early on), a cap and lighter sleeping bag.

For Francesco, and the weather updates and for his hospitality, as well as Gianfranco and Giuseppe, in particular for the sea kayaks.

High points of the exped

 Warm sea and air temperature  The people we met and who supported us on our trip  The gorgeous smell of fresh pastries which you can smell from the land even when you are miles out to sea!  Access to food and water (easy by comparison with other trips as so much of the coastline is populated)  Being invited in for espresso by two locals in Mazara who saw us arrive on the beach with our kayaks and were fascinated and at the same time horrified by our intention to paddle all the way around Sicily!

Low points of the exped

 Losing equipment  Warm sea and being in it, rather than on it..often, but not intentionally. (OK it was probably only twice….but that really was too much!)  High winds and resulting stormbound days Learning points from the exped

 Pizza, Coffee and gelato prior to getting on the water don’t mix  Factor in more time for trips especially if the your trip is about experiencing the culture of a country as well as putting the miles in. We could have happily spent a few days wandering around Cephalu on the North coast because it had old cobbled streets and walkways, masses of history and a fantastic atmosphere.  Don’t carry Marmite and Peanut Butter in your hand luggage as it’s counted as a fluid when you go through baggage check at the airport and then confiscated.  Attempt to have a clear plan of mileage that you will need to do each day and factor in enough time for bad conditions where you might not be able to get on the water. Try and tap into as much local knowledge about weather patterns as much as possible.

Sonja Ezergailis

Sonja Ezergailis and Roger Chandler

Photos By Roger

Sonja holds a Postgraduate Masters Level Certificate in Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring and runs Coaching for Life -www.coachingwales.co.uk

Roger is an active Level 5 Coach -Sea, who runs Coastal Spirit. A North Wales specialist sea kayaking company - www.coastalspirit.com

Additional Notes

Sonja and Roger paddled Overline Aretusa and a 536 sea kayaks courtesy of Giuseppe Di Mauro http://www.over-line.it

The Sicily Sea Kayaking Symposium is organised by Francesco Petralia and Gianfranco Liotta http://www.maremotu.it and www.seakayaksicily.com