The
sail was uneventful bar a few meeting with dolphins and a sea turtle
but I was a little to slow with the camera so it will have to wait until
the next time. We sailed most of the way, and at times we sailed faster
than the wind speed, but like the rest of the med, the wind died as we
neared the mouth of the Straits and so we motored the last few miles to
the marina.
On
leaving Stromboli we noticed a small leak in the repaired muffler. At
this point the muffler had been welded once in Palermo and now it was
leaking again.
Out
with the fold-able bikes and off we were in search of a welding
company. Not one mile for the port we found a guy who spoke no English
but said he could do it. We waited and sure enough he did what he seemed
to indicate he was going to do... and we were on our way again. Italy
is an interesting place, and garages like the place that did the welding
are like scenes from a movie. Lots of shouting, smoking and general
confusion. Not really sure what was going on :)
On
the way back to the boat we passed a grocery store and decided to stop
in order to buy some supplies for dinner. Joseph offered to cook and so
it was going to be steak night :) I love my meat! Later that night
Joseph cooked the steak and it was fantastic... 
The
next morning the wind picked up and so we planned another day in port.
Joseph started the process of putting the boat back together and testing
the newly welded part. The big stainless piece to the left was the
cause of all the problems. Once installed we tested.... but to our
disappointment it still leaked! UHGGG
We
went on deck to take a break only to find a bag of fresh croissants!!!
We had read about this... a "local" guy stops by and drops of fresh
croissants in return he offers taxi and "other" services. The food was a
welcome sight and we ate the lure :) Saverio, taxi driver, sometime ormeggiatori,
fixer and supplier of liquid victuals! (his homemade red wine was
delicious). He is actually mentioned in our Italian Waters Pilot book!
Joseph
started to call around to see about getting a replacement muffler, in
fears that ours was not fixable... but it turns out that it's custom...
like many of the boat parts are and might take a while to get a new one
made up. So we needed to find another welding company... one that
specialized in stainless steel... and our new "friend"... the fixer
might be able to help.
Sure
enough Saverio knew just the guy he said. We took the muffler off
again and hoped in the back of his "taxi" ... a Mercedes with all the
equipment to be a taxi but we believe he did not have license to operate
as one. He took us to a metal yard and this looked like it might be the
right kind of place. They had lots of stainless steel "stuff" and big
welders. On entering one of the warehouses I saw what can only described
as a picture of the godfather and a shrine... see left -> We needed
no more evidence we might be mixing with the wrong problem... Joseph
said it was all ok, as long as they liked us :) 
One
the way back from the welding guys, our fixer had a little surprise for
us. Now after where we just were, I wasn't sure what that might mean.
But it all turned out ok. He had a vintage caddy with NJ plates in his
garage. I think he's seen one too many movies.. if you get my drift. 
After
dropping us back to the boat, the fixer invited us to dinner. Now how
can you say no to that. 8pm he said !!! And so it was, at 8pm sharp he
and his girl friend showed up in the white taxi that we had become so
used to seeing. We were off to the middle of no where for a traditional
dinner... It started out slow. The girl friend, Christina had no
English, but good food and wine livened things up and by the time it was
time to leave we were all in a good mood :)
The next morning we packed up again and headed for the seas... one more stop before Greece :)
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