The Aeolian Islands Sailing Itinerary
Overview
With a trip to the Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily, it seems like we are only going to sail the Mediterranean, it being our third charter in a row there. However, this was a different charter as we were heading to a wedding and only had five days of charter time with the festivities starting on a Thursday. We anticipated just a few of us to make it and booked a smaller monohull. However, the azure Aeolian sea and Italian food and wine drew friends in from all over and we filled up our modest monohull completely!
Itinerary Stops
An overview of our Dalmatian coast itinerary with locations
Charter Company - Dream Yacht Charter
The Dream Yacht Charter base is in the heart of Portorosa Marina. There were only a couple people working, so check in took a while. We didn’t pay for early check-in, which in hindsight we should have as Portorosa marina is a double-edged sword being very protected from wind but boiling hot during the summer. We also found out from the base manager that there was a perfect boat-in only beach about 45 minutes away (which we still made, leaving that afternoon around 4pm).
A few tips:
1) Drop off the check-in crew first to get paperwork going
2) Other crew can head to the larger grocery store (Supermercato Sigma Portorosa, which is a short drive away)
3) Long-term, overnight parking is at the entrance to the marina and is a little walk.
Vessel Selection - Dufour 450
We originally only anticipated a crew of four, maybe flexing to six, so we chartered a Dufour 450 monohull that had four cabins and four heads. The front two cabins had V-berths that were on the smaller side for two people. As we alluded to in the overview, the trip got late-stage momentum, and we ended up having a total of seven of us on board.
A few things to note about our boat:
1) The bow thrusters did not work. I always appreciate adding to my skill base in marinas, but for a 44ft monohull I would have appreciated the bow thrusters in a tight marina.
2) The main sail had a twin sheet rigging, which was the first time I sailed with something like it. After five days of it I prefer my single sheet rigging.
3) The heads absolutely stank after a couple days. The base manager had said to keep our wastewater valves open the whole time, which was weird to me. I don’t think the tanks had been cleaned in a long time.
Day 1 (Saturday): Portorosa Marina, Board Boat and Departure to Secret Beach at Tindari
Portorosa Marina to Secret Beach at Tindari: 3.7nm
Strategy & Where We Docked / Moored / Anchored
The base manager made us aware of this beach, which was perfect as it’s really hard to find information on it given that Tindari is technically the large strip of beach (left side of image) and Capo Cefalo is terrible to Google since it brings up the city of Cefalu! We didn’t do early check-in, but with the anchorage less than an hour away we took off late and made it here in time for a swim and then dinner on board.
We had a very secure anchorage in about 6 meters of water with a sand bottom. We twisted a bit as the winds migrated around, but held very well with a lot rode out.
Day 2 (Sunday): Tindari to Lipari with a Stop at Vulcano for Lunch
Tindari to Lipari with Stop at Vulcano: 21.0nm
Strategy
We were off season, chartering in September rather than August, which made us less concerned about crowding. Vulcano was on our list, but we ultimately wanted to spend a couple days in Lipari, so settled on lunching at Spiagga Punta Dell’ Asino.
Vulcano, as seen from Lipari
Where We Docked / Moored / Anchored
After two charters with steep cliffs that extend underwater, we were much better at anchoring and learned to really get into the coast area. On Vulcano we pulled into the marked location of the beach with multiple other boats around us in about 8 meters of water.
Our first taste of restaurant food on this trip was incredible. We ordered ahead at Trattoria da Pina, sent a team out on the dinghy to pick it up, and dined on the boat. Unbelievable take out with a view!
Vulcano fills up at lunch time especially, but don’t be afraid to tuck in close to the coast next to other boats.
Our primary docking was a reservation we had made at Pignataro marina, slightly north of Lipari’s main marina. We really liked this choice as it was well protected from swells and weather, which became important as we had some significant winds come through during our stay that actually delayed our departure.
The marina itself is well run with full services that we appreciated and an easy cab ride (or longer walk) to the center of town.
Porto Pignataro, info@portopignataro.it, +39 33 9849 7800
Onshore
Osteria San Bartolo, osteriasanbartolo@gmail.com, +39 388 630 6554
Lipari is a gem in the Tyrrhenian Sea. One of our first experiences was dinner on the night we arrived that a French crew member had meticulously analyzed. He was an expert in wine and found us Osteria San Bartolo, which blew our minds with their authentic Italian cuisine and expansive wine offering. We loved this place so much that we came back a couple nights later to try almost everything on the menu. Note, you should really make a reservation here as it gets completely booked some nights and they simply do not have room for exceptions.
Day 3 (Monday): Lipari
Onshore
On our first full day in Lipari, we walked all around the port, center of town, and down two of the main streets: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, which has more mainstream shops and restaurants and closer to the hill on Via Giuseppe Garibaldi. The second street takes you into Marina Corta, which is an impressive open piazza dotted with restaurants and bars. We spritzed and negroni’d our way around, eventually landing on dinner at Marina Corta Pasta & Co., which upheld the high standard of restaurants we came to learn of Lipari.
Marina Corta at sunset. Marina Corta Pasta & Co., +39 333 660 3188, is a great dinner spot off the corner of Marina Corta.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Lipari
Strategy & Onshore
We were supposed to depart for Panarea on Day 4, but received multiple weather warnings from the charter base and from the local weather report. We asked multiple locals at the marina about heading out to Panarea and all of them shook their head no. To seal the deal of staying at Lipari, we were in contact with a mooring ball reservation on Panarea and he messaged to us that we would not be able to use the mooring balls this evening as it was too rough. A few boats in the marina departed for Salina and Vulcano, which they had planned, but no one seemed to want to traverse the gap to Panarea.
The wind was strongly coming from the west, so we rented cars and took a tour up the East Coast of the island, stopping at various beaches. We had read about the famed white beach, with a pumice cliff, however there were a few beaches all advertising differently. We stopped at Spiagga della Popesca, which during rough weather was no fun at all with it’s short shore break. Instead, our time at White Beach – Lido was far more relaxing with cleaner looking water.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Lipari to Panarea and then back to Portorosa Marina
Lipari to Panarea and then back to Portorosa Marina : 41.0nm
Strategy
The approach to Panarea
We had planned to do two days in Panarea and then return to base on Thursday but were now one day behind. The weather eased up to where we could make a passage over to Panarea in strong, but manageable conditions. We also dealt with a last-minute realization from one of the couples that they would have to be back in Portorosa Wednesday night, so decided on lunching at Panarea and then making a long sail back to Portorosa, arriving toward evening.
Where We Docked / Moored / Anchored
Spiaggia di Cala del Morto is equally as beautiful as its more famous neighbor Spiaggia di cala Junco.
Panarea’s coves fill up very quickly and by the time we arrived around 11am there were already several boats taking the prime anchoring locations. The issue is clear when you snorkel the waters here as it is effectively an underwater mountain. There’s a reasonable zone around 8 meters, which you can maybe push to about 9 to 10 meters of depth, but then it steeply drops, making it very easy to drag anchor. The decision will come down to being close to other boats versus further offshore; I would take a shallower location that is more crowded than a deeper one here.
We had a strong Northern wind pushing us most of the way back to Portorosa. It wasn’t until the end that the wind slowed down and we saw what looked like a storm brewing over the Western side of Sicily. Some adjustments were made in case the weather shifted, but we largely had a straight shot back to Portorosa where we got in by 5pm, refueled, and docked at the charter base with no issues.
A bit of a windy entrance to get fuel and return. Be careful not to cut the corner of the marina entrance and stay center channel.