Naxos Marina (Part 2)

27 September 2023 – 8 October 2023

We ended up being in the marina for a total of 31 days waiting on the transmission being repaired. It was not a bad place to be stuck, the weather was lovely apart from some days when the the Meltemi winds were blowing, we enjoyed the time we were there. When we weren’t doing boat jobs we explored around the town and dined in at some of the many restaurants.

We visited “Oto Nadoxapto” again and enjoyed a wine while we waited for our meal.

We were early but wanted to enjoy the sunset.

The chef came to our table and finished off the slices of angus beef on a hot stone.

The steak was cooked to perfection and we shared it together with the grilled vegetables and yummy Naxos fries.

After dinner we went for a walk through the Old Town to walk off our dinner before going back to Calista.

Paul spotted a lonely mannequin and tried to strike up a conversation. She showed no interest.

Paul went to get a screw driver out of his tool bag one day and discovered there was alot of water in the bilge. Luckily it was fresh water, but nevertheless Paul had to empty the tools from the tool bag and place the bag and tools in the sun to dry. Paul probably moped up 70-80 litres of water out of the bilge.

Over two days and eliminating several possible courses Paul managed to find where the water was leaking. It had to be in the worst possible place to access. The hose had come off the tee section (there was no clamp) and it was where the hot water overflow joined the air conditioning condensate pipe.

Paul had to remove the saloon table and disconnect the airconditioning duct, so he could get in and reach the hose. Not easy access, right at the bottom of the bilge.

Once the waterleak was fixed Paul got onto another job and that was to sand and apply several coats of teak-oil to the cockpit table and rear steps to the swimming platform which needed freshening up.

We finally received good news that the transmission had been fixed and was being sent back from TR Transmissions in Athens. Yay. It was a good excuse to go out for dinner and celebrate.

We went to the “Pink Flamingo” one night. Every night we could hear live music coming from the restaurant so we decided it was time to go up and check it out for ourselves.

We had an enjoyable meal while listening to the two chaps playing typical greek music. It was a lovely evening.

The restaurant had a lovely outdoor deck area looking down over the marina and was another great spot for watching the sun set.

It was a welcoming sight to see the Volvo guys turn up with our transmission.

Once Stratos had installed the transmission to the engine and shaft, the transmission was tested. All was working how it should be. We were now back in action.

It turned out to be the electrical solenoid control valve unit, that in turn caused both forward and reverse clutches to burn out, and also affected the internal oil pump. Paul asked Stratos what had caused the problem, he answered “God only knows“. We had a chuckle at his response. Unfortunately as we are outside the warranty period it turned out to be quite expensive, but I guess that’s just part of boating life.

The neighbouring yacht got in a bit of a pickel as they were trying to leave the berth. The wind suddenly got up and as they had released all their lines, the yacht was pushed onto the slime lines of the old launch next door. They couldn’t budge, as the lines where trapping their keel, so Paul got our dingy down and went and pushed the front of the yacht out away from the lines and they were soon on their way. What a drama for those on board.

Over the course of our stay, Calista was getting a hiding from the northerly winds and the fenders were certainly working hard doing their job and getting a good crushing. We will need to get some new fender covers next season as several got riped on the concrete wall of the pontoon. We ended up getting our two mooring springs out and attaching them. This made a huge difference dampening the great shock on the cleats everytime there was a surge from the giant Seajet ferries arriving.

Fellow cruisers Graig and Janine from Inelsamo and their friends were visiting Naxos for the day and we caught up at “Bacco” over lunch and a wine. Last time we met, was back in Licata, Sicily when we both shared a taxi to check in/out with the Port Police.

We walked around the marina and out along the foreshore to check out the beach on the southern side of the town.

We passed the modern replica of the Naxos Sphinx that stands proudly in front of the Naxos Town Hall facing the Portara. The original art is housed in the Delphi Museum.

The Sphinx was a mythical creature with the head of a woman, the body of a lioness, the tale of a serpent and the wings of an eagle.

We wandered up to Portokali which has been abandoned and in disrepair. With the location, it would have been an awesome venue in it’s time.

There was so much graffitti and rubbish lying about, such a shame.

On the last night Paul put the lights on Calista, and she was all lit up and shining bright for her last night in the Marina.

On the morning of our departure, it took us awhile put away the hose and shore power leads and to release the two spring lines and remaining dock lines. We departed from the dock by backing up with one line still attached from the stern to a bollard on the pontoon which sprung the bow to starboard into the wind, and with the aid of the bow thruster after the slime line had sunk, we negotiated our way out of the marina. It was a great feeling to have the transmission working properly again.