Sailing through the Strait of Messina, the narrow gap between mainland Italy and Sicily, is exhilarating. With a natural whirlpool in one part of the strait and strong currents throughout, it's believed this area was the inspiration for Scylla and Charybdis, two monsters Odysseus carefully had to sail between in Homer's "Odyssey" on his way home. On top of all this the optical illusion of Fata Morgana regularly occurs here, makes ships appear upside down and old sailors claimed to see fairy castles in the water. One of the crewmen on our ship mentioned the pilot boatmen in the strait were crazy. Normally the pilot boats slow down before approaching a ship so they may board to help navigate it through treacherous waters, but in the Stretto di Messina they race along like it's nothing. Sure enough as we watched the pilot boat approach in the wild and choppy waters, they were getting thrown into the air as they sped toward us, practically making a flying leap onto the ship. They could build a reality show around these guys. It's probably an everyday sight for them, but it's really cool watching the Tyrrhenian Sea come into view and with the northern tip of Sicily on the left, part of the southern tip of Calabria (mainland Italy) on the right. read more

See all