Mediterranean Sea outlook - July update

Mediterranean Sea © noonsite.com

Italy: Mid-July the Italian health ministry placed 12 cities under the most severe heat warning as a wave of hot air from Africa baked southern Europe and the Balkans and sent temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Greece and Turkey have also suffered extremely high temperatures since June.

Cruiser Patrick Catellani spent the month of June on Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost island located halfway between Sicily and Tunisia. Patrick was there to scuba dive, but while in Lampedusa he experienced a mini-tsunami. "A Marrobbio is a kind of mini-tsunami, where water drains out of the harbor quickly, creating rip currents, and high waves enter the harbor from the south," he told Noonsite. "We encountered it once, and fortunately, we only had minor damages (a bollard broke), but a few fishing boats damaged their rudders by hitting the bottom." Patrick also discovered that it's possible to clear Customs from Lampedusa and exit Italy, which they did in order to sail straight to Tunisia without needing to return to Sicily for clearances. Read Patrick's full feedback in Italy comments (Explore country + speech bubble icon).

Greece: Lefkas Marina, in the Ionian, report that the Lefkas Swing Bridge has announced new, more frequent, opening times for the next 12 months. See the Lefkas port page for more details.

This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com.