Best Route from Rome to Malta ?

[babbos]

Hello there,

We are about to travel from Rome to Malta...

Which would be the best route to take?
West of Sicily?

Or East of Sicily and through the Messina Straight?

Thank you

[MarkJ]

387nms Vs 418nms

I would go the short way via the west of Scicily.

We are going the other way up the Straits of Messina... its gotta be dirty wind. Going to the west must be clear wind But there could be local knowledge I dont know about

[bobnlesley]

I would go eastabout Sicily, even though it's further and has more potential to be rough-going (messina straits & hurd bank) if the weather's bad; you say you're going in the near future, so the latter shouldn't be too big a problem if you keep an eye on the forecasts.

Whilst it's slightly further, it won't feel so, because there's so much to see; we've sailed both routes and reckon that the best sightseeing is down the line of the eastern route - the Bay of Naples, Aeolian islands and Taormina/Syracusa on the east coast of Sicily are far and away our favourite destinations in Italain Waters.

Whichever you choose, enjoy!

[edsailing]

Just come southbound through the Straits of Messina, a great passage but we had the wind behind from the North - it would have been messy going the other way as the wind accelerates through the Straits and we saw a couple of boats going North and making heavy weather of it. We had a solid 35kts as we popped out of the bottom making nearly 9 kts and heavily reefed.

[goboatingnow]

Would use the straits just back from a sail from France to Greece no problems with straits we had little wind , do your tide calculations avoid reggio if you can it's a dump tropea at the northern end is a nice place to jump off from for the straits

Dave

[isamar]

If you are not in a hurry, and want to visit some of the best cruising sites in the world, I suggest this itinerary:

Rome, Ponza, Procida and Ischia, Capri, Amalfi, Agropoli, Cape Palinuro, Stromboli, Panarea, Vulcano, Ustica, S.Vito lo Capo, Levanzo, Favignana, Malta.
All of these are incredibly wonderfull places.
Let me know if you need details.
Procida, Agropoli,Panarea, Vulcano, S.Vito and Favignana have good anchorages or marinas.
Ciao.
Sergio

[Anto54]

I made the same cruise last year in July. First leg Rome to Favignana no-stop. Then Pantelleria, Gozo, Malta. After a week spent in the isles I made my way back crossing the Strait, after a few beatiful stops in east Sicily. In Siracusa I found many happy cruisers from Malta. Original plan was to proceed to Eolian islands and Ponza, but wheather was changing and I had to find a safe port of refuge, Cetraro was a solution at hand (Calabria). Then I continued to sail north along the Tyrrenian coast, with non other stop.
Antonello.

[yeloya]

I did south and north of Sicilly both direction twice. In the north side the west/northerlies are predominant wind. Heading towards the west tip of Sicilly might be difficult. You can probably make to Aelian islands and they are all beatiful, Liapri in particular.i It will be a mess in summer tough..You can easily skip Paşlrmo, you won't miss anything. Otherwise wherever you go, it's a beauty.. The southern pqart of island is not very attractive. If you want to go faster, go strait to Messina. It will be an easier sail. Catanaia is definately worth to spend couple of days. Syracusa is also interesting but Catania is my favorite.
Before heading to LaValetta, don't miss Gozo island.
Lastly, if you are sailing the north of Sicily close to shore, it will be full of fishing nets. They are mostly marked but not always..

Cheers


Yeloya

[Yellow bird]

I think babbos already arrived to Malta a long time ago