Sirens and Mythical Monsters

The Strait of Messina separates Sicily from the mainland of Italy. It has been a place of mythical stories since the voyages of Odysseus. He records in the Odyssey of having encountered monsters and demons that could swallow whole ships and pluck sailors from unwary ships to devour. And if that isn’t enough to throw at you, there are the sirens that sing songs to lure you into their clutches. The men were counseled to stuff soft bees wax in their ears to block the sounds. But if the captain wanted to hear their seductive vocals, he was to be lashed to the mast. And if he asked to be released, the men were instructed to lash him even tighter. My girls thought that might be a good tradition to continue, but fortunately they are not very good with knots.

With this legacy, we were a little intimidated by what lay before us. We wanted to make sure the weather was mild and the seas relatively calm. All the turmoil in the strait is caused by two oceans coming together. The Tyrrhenian Sea is warmer and less salty then the Ionian. When they meet in the strait of Messina, big whirlpools and eddies can form.

With all of this historic bad press, we enter with everything prepared and on top alert. But quite frankly, we didn’t really see much to even notice. There was a strong current that helped push us through, but we failed to see even a minor demon grabbing at our boat. I guess it helps to have two powerful diesels backing up your sails. You can power right through the wrath of powerful gods.