Sailing Kujira

Today is Friday, meaning that we have only one shot at clearing the authorities on time. We get up early, pack every piece of document we can think of and we leave Kujira. It is unclear whether we need to start with the port authorities or the customs. One is 700 meters away while the other one is 1.7km  away, so we start we with the latter one.  1.7km It is early but the sun is already ruthless and what should be an easy stroll feels like a workout. By the time we reach the customs, we are sweating and we really hope that we won’t have to go back and forth 4 times. The person working there is really friendly but of course, we were meant to start with the port authorities as they are the one establishing the transit log, some kind of passport for Kujira, which needs to be stamped by the customs. We also need to pay our eTEPAI, a travel tax. I have unsuccessfully applied for it a week ago but never received a confirmation with a payment request. I am not the first one, the internet

The Strait of Messina has the reputation of being treacherous, with strong winds usually from the North funnelling between the two stretches of land, strong currents also coming from the North reaching speeds of 3 knots and the seafloor plunging from 70 meters to over a thousand at the southern end, resulting in the formation of strong whirlpools and unpredictable surface behaviour. During the ancient roman empire it was feared, respected and depicted as a sea creature able to take a ship down at any moment. Nowadays, another challenge has been added to the lot, a heavy traffic of ferries, cargos, tourist boats and other vessels.   For these reasons we concluded that passing the Strait at around midday would be wise. We leave our anchorage as the sun rises over the horizon and start motoring towards the Strait. I have been keeping an eye on the weather for the past few weeks and indeed, the wind seems to always come from the north and funnels to a solid 20 knots. So of course today, t

Friday. After a week long fighting with the water pump and doubting about the future of Kujira, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel, or at least at the end of the cave. There isn’t much I can do now but wait for a pump to win the amazing race. The two questions are: which one will arrive first and will it fit? While the Polish pump should arrive first, it is being delivered by DHL and by the look of it, they don’t work on weekends as the pump arrives in southern Sardigna on Friday evening but doesn’t move until Monday morning. Meanwhile, the Chinese pump shipped by Fedex makes a run for Milan where it clears customs by Saturday and on Sunday I receive a text message letting me know that it is on its final dispatch and the delivery address can no longer be modified. What is puzzling is that the estimated delivery date is in 10 days from now. Monday. DHL makes a move and claims that the pump will be delivered before midday. Meanwhile, Fedex has made no updates in more than