Spinnakers are light weather sails that are very expensive and don’t get used all that often. Ours has paid for itself multiple times over this season and the run from Sardinia to Sicily was no different. Five boats had left Villasimius more or less at the same time, and four of us were flying spinnakers at one point or another. It was a beautiful sight to see!

The overnight sail turned out to be one of the best of the season with flat seas and good solid steady wind from the right direction. There was only a sliver of a moon, which meant we had a star-studded night. There was lots of chatter on the radio – one funny voice we had heard a few times now calling out in a whisper: “Mario, I cannot see you but I can smell you!” It was definitely worth a giggle when he came on. A more serious radio experience was that of the authorities asking for boat name and numbers on board. We later learned that it was the Coast Guard near Lampedusa Island, the closest point of landing from Africa, and migrants were attempting to come in. We only heard part of the broadcast, but a fellow cruiser later said that people had already jumped out of the boat and into the water trying to make it to land. It’s a sobering reminder of the desperation that others are facing today.