OF CHARTERING
Clockwise from top left: The passage between Lipari and Vulcano is scattered with vestiges of volcanic outcroppings; the road to Malfa on the island of Salina; the crew of six aboard their Beneteau 51 (skipper Steve Wallach on the upper right); the Lipari citadel; a typical Aeolian lunch.
time a sandy bottom with good holding on the southwest side of the island. The town of Rinella was larger than Filicudi, yet still small enough to have maintained its charm. Day 7: An early morning, two-hour hike to the top of Monte Fossa delle Felci was a must. It's the highest point in the Aeolians, with a commanding view of the islands. We raised anchor and headed around the corner to Santa Marina Salina. There was wind, but it was too short a distance to sail. We docked in the public marina, which was full of beautiful 45- to 55-ft monohulls. Salina turned out to be everything the marina looked like: quaint shops selling locally made products, pottery, art, olive oil and Malvasia wine. That night, we ate at one of the best restaurants in the islands, Casa Lo Schiavo. Usually, we'd do a little research for dinner before heading out, but Santa Marina Salina had such charm and grace that we literally stumbled into a fabulous restaurant. Day 8: After a leisurely breakfast, the group decided to break up for a day of personal exploring. Two of us rented scooters, and the first stop along the way was Malfa, which had been on our radar as an evening anchorage. However, after seeing it from the vantage point of the top of the hill, I'm glad we passed. From a small village at the very top of
the hillside, everything went downhill from there, all the way to the water; with a central church and square, a number of patio bistros, and apparently, a summer music festival with some fairly large European acts. Pollara was the farthest and western-most city on the island, directly across the width; on the east was Santa Marina Salina. It was the backdrop for the movie Il Postino. Sleepy is probably not the truest adjective; more like: asleep. The views of the coastline were spectacular, and we managed to stop in at the Il Postino Bar, where they played the movie every night! Day 9: We left early for what everyone had anticipated since the beginning: Isola di Stromboli. At three and a half hours away, this was our longest leg, and there was no wind again. Stromboli is probably best known for two things: the regular eruption of its volcano, and the filming of the movie Stromboli starring Ingrid Bergman and directed by her future husband, Roberto Rossellini. We went up the west coast of the island, seeing the volcano in daylight as we rounded the top and headed for Ficogrande, a small bay ringed by a black sand beach. Other than some black smoke belches, we couldn't see any lava spouts — at first. After anchoring in 25 feet of water on a rocky bottom, I was immediately on the phone, setting
up a charter boat for volcano viewing that night. I found a boat that picked us up, and for two and a half hours, the viewing was spectacular, as the volcano seemed to burp up orange lava about once every 15 minutes. Day 10: The town of Stromboli proper had lots of quaint shops, plenty of restaurants and bistros, and a large church at the top of town. We walked by the Casa Rosa, or Red House, which is where Bergman and Rossellini stayed during filming of Stromboli. Finally, we had wind that day, and sailed all the way to Isola di Panarea on a nice broad reach in 12 to 15 knots. How do you say "Old Faithful" in Italian? Stromboli, on the island of the same name, puts on a show. A local charter boat was key to this view.