Sailing to Byzantium - 13

It is all too easy to get wrapped up in your own problems and think the worst of it but time and events always take their proper course, if not a little protracted at times. We maybe a little disappointed at or progress but last night 490 passengers were taken off the Vicenzo Florio, a Neapolitan registered car ferry en route to Palermo.

The Vicenzo Florio being hosed down by tug boats 6 miles north of Palermo

It is reported that a fire broke out in the hold 25 miles offshore and since then the vessel has been towed to a position approximately 6 miles offshore and hosed down by tugs repeatedly throughout the day in an attempt to put out the fire(s). The volume of smoke reduces intermittently and the horizon would clear every so often but not long after the ship would be engulfed in smoke once again.

Life rafts being towed ashore

We sat on the tender for half an hour and viewed the tragedy unfolding and returned to shore to venture up the town to take in the flavours and scents of a summer evening. The media report that the ship will be brought in to the port of Palermo later today, however this will not happen today as the fires have not been extinguished.

Tuna roe in its raw form for sale in the Mercatto della Ballaro

The tuna boats have all but gone pursuing their prey and the market is not short of large tuna. One interesting by product of the tuna catch is the availability of tuna roe, or bottarga, which is sold in various stages of preservation fresh, cured salted and dried. The end product varies greatly in consistency and some may be a deep dark colour while others are not dissimilar to a mis cuit foie gras. Bottarga is sold throughout the Mediterranean but principally in the places where the tuna pass. In Palermo Street sellers appear from nowhere with small stalls and wooden blocks selling this prized delicacey which can be eaten with lemon and olive oil or grated and sprinkled over cooked into spaghetti like a condiment.

A Palmeritan street seller selling Bottarga and his stall

The sea is calm this evening and there is a gentle breeze which should make it easier to deal with the disabled car ferry. We will leave tomorrow and make our way eastwards towards the straits of Messina and Greece. There has been very little wind forecast for the next 24 hours but thereafter the situation is beginning to develop. The most recent forecast we have received is giving us head winds for when we expect to pass through the straits of Messina and for the initial hours of crossing the Ionian Sea. We may not get to do as much fishing as we would like but at least we will be sailing and not as dependent on the engine.