Sailing to Naxos and a little drama

Leaving Livádhi on Sérifos   

After a day exploring Livádhi on Sérifos, we left at 0800 on 18 July heading east towards Naxos. Our plan involved arriving at Naxos a couple of days earlier than needed because a strong meltemi was going to blow for 4 days and we wanted to be safely tied up in port during that time.

The 46 mile passage to Naxos was quick and quite lively with 20 -25 knots of wind and we both got a soaking when a couple of rogue waves threw up spray over the cockpit.

Naxos town ahead   

We sailed north of Páros and then turned southeast for Naxos town on the northwest corner of Naxos island.

BV was racing along at 7.5-8 knots with 2 reefs in the main and a small bit of genoa unfurled. It was great fun but it had us arriving at Naxos at the same time as a large fast ferry and, shortly afterwards, an even larger conventional ferry. To avoid confusion and confliction with the ferries we slowed BV down a little by rolling away the genoa.

Planning to arrive just after the fast ferry had docked, we thought that we would have sufficient time to get ourselves into the small marina before the big ferry came in. However, the small marina looked full and would be very tight to manoeuvre in with the strong wind, so we paused before committing ourselves to it. As we made our final approach to the port we saw another yacht come out from the marina and work its way back to the small anchorage just inside the breakwater.

That seemed to confirm that the marina was full and so we also anchored inside the breakwater just a few minutes before the large ferry arrived right behind us [Ed: It manoeuvred to drop its anchor about 100 metres away from us, which was safe enough but rather unsettling]. The breakwater provided shelter but it felt very uncomfortable for us. We knew that the wind would increase markedly in under 24 hours and then stay that way for 4 days. Waves were already crashing over the breakwater and we felt hemmed in by the breakwater, the quay, the other anchored yacht and the ferry manoeuvring area. We had put out the minimum length of anchor chain for comfort in the conditions at the time. If the wind got up further, we would want to let out more chain which would put us in direct conflict with the mooring ferries’ turning circle. Despite needing to meet up with Charlotte, who was already staying on Naxos, this was not a good anchorage to sit out 4 days of the meltemi blowing.

We decided that we’d take another look at the marina during a forecast lull in the evening but realistically started to look for other options on nearby Páros because  there aren’t really any good anchorages offering shelter from the meltemi on Naxos.

Naxos, Greece   

At 6:15pm, with 3 yachts heading towards the harbour, we raised our anchor and nosed our way into the marina. There was definitely no space for us so it was time to switch to plan B or plan C. Nine miles WNW of us was a large bay on Páros which offered several good anchoring options for the conditions. The only issue was that to get to it we would have to sail or motor directly into the wind and sea. An alternative was a 15 miles trek to a smaller bay on the south side of Páros; no guarantee of space and we’d arrive at night but it would be a more comfortable sail.

We were thinking of braving the closer, into wind, option but BV made the decision for us when the engine failed. Fixing the engine whilst heeled hard over and bashing into wind would not be viable, so we turned southwest and aimed for the south side of Páros. Nicky ran the deck and sailed BV whilst I pulled apart the engine. It sounded like fuel starvation so we wondered if the rough seas had shaken the fuel tanks and stirred up sediment which had blocked the filters. The fuel in the water separator was cloudier than normal so I changed both fuel filters and set about bleeding the air out of the system. The fuel lift pump has a small lever on the side of it and I spent over an hour pumping without any effect except to get a blister on my thumb. Time and again we tried turning the engine over and, time and again, it fired up but then ran roughly and cut out; it was still not getting fuel. Looking around me I was surrounded by pieces of the engine enclosure, tools and bits of diesel-soaked tissue. I should have taken a photo of the mess but there were other priorities; our anchorage was fast approaching. It was time to admit defeat on fixing the engine and focus on getting safely anchored.

Our destination was Órmos Alikí, the bay beside the village of Alikí. About a third of the bay is taken up with moorings for small craft leaving a space about 500 metres wide where we planned to anchor. For the final part of the passage we needed to beat up into the wind to the anchorage so, perversely, half an hour before arriving we had to hoist the mainsail before then rigging the halyard so that we could drop it quickly once the anchor was safely down. Nicky also stowed the genoa but unfurled the staysail for better, and more controllable, upwind performance. It was dark but there was a full moon and as we sailed in we could see that there were already 3 yachts at anchored in the bay. After the final tack we rolled away the staysail and stowed the running backstay and I went forward to work the anchor. Nicky sailed us to close behind the other yachts and slowed BV down head to wind. I dropped the anchor and paid out the chain whilst Nicky dropped the mainsail. The anchor bit nicely into the sandy bottom and BV settled to a stop.

Token photo from the morning’s engine games
to liven up this very wordy blog   

Hurrah, it had all worked perfectly and we were safely at anchor. A slick night anchoring under sail should have been cause for a celebratory beer but we still had a broken engine and the wind was set to increase markedly. Another hour of tinkering confirmed that we still were not able to purge the air in the system from changing the filters. It looked like the fuel lift pump had failed; a job for a marine engineer.

It was gone midnight and whilst eating some supper in the cockpit we remembered that Robin and Diana Brown, fellow members of the Ocean Cruising Club, had a villa on Páros and had put out an open invite to any passing OCC members to visit them. They would certainly have more local knowledge than we did and might even know a tame marine engineer. Therefore, the last job before turning in was to write Robin and Diana an e-mail.

Páros Órmos Aliki, Greece