Moana Kuewa

|Home Page |Back to stories |

		2009.09.02 ITALY Strait of Messina Location: ITALY: Sicily Island, Messina The whereabouts of many of the places visited by Odysseus in the Odyssey have been disputed, but there has never been any doubt that Scilla and Charybdis existed in the Strait of Messina. In antiquity passage through the Strait was considered perilous in the extreme, but was pursued for the obvious reason that the alternative was to sail all the way around Sicily. In a small craft, a yachtsman is in a much better position to understand and appreciate the dangers encountered by Odysseus on passage through the Strait because of the tidal streams and mountain squalls. Scilla was said to dwell in a cave atop a sheer cliff on the eastern side of the Strait. She had 12 feet which dangled down and six long necks with horrible heads which reached down to pluck dolphin and swordfish from the Strait or sailors from passing ships. At the bottom of the cliff a whirlpool sucked down unwary ships. Across from Scilla, Charybdis was said to be a giant whirlpool which swallowed ships which strayed too close to it. Today the Strait does not strike terror into the hearts of sailors, but to mariners of old the narrow Strait with its tides and eddies, its whirlpools and violent squalls descending from the mountains, must have appeared frightening. A whirlpool did exist under Scilla until in1783 when an earthquake altered the local topography. There are many written documents recording waterspouts in the vicinity of the Strait and the supposition that ancient Scilla was simply Homer’s description of such waterspouts. Even as late as 1824, the Strait was considered dangerous when Admiral Smyth wrote: ‘ to the undecked boats of the Rhegians, Locrians, Zancleans, and Greeks, Charybdis must have been formidable; for even in the present day, small craft are sometimes endangered by it, and I have seen sever men-of-war, and even a 74-gun ship, whiled around on its surface.' This was after the earthquake of 1783 which altered the sea bottom and to some extent tamed Scilla and Charybdis. Because of the Strait’s tumultuous weather history, Captain Christine planned the Strait of Messina crossing with great care, especially because of her niece who was a novice seaperson. The planning, and luck, made 2009.09.02 the perfect day with ideal weather conditions. Marie’s seafaring heritage may have surfaced because she enjoyed every minute of the cruise. It is a very special life living on the sea. Traveling Individuals Names: Marie Messina, Jeffrey Cheske, & Christine Bauman * Many of the descriptions are taken from the Imray Italian Waters Pilot by Rod Heikell