Naxos

Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades. We came here to drop off our guest Nour, and we needed to find a spot that was 1) safe/comfortable from the sometimes strong north winds and 2) easy for Nour to get to her ferry from the main port of Naxos, which is on the north-west point of the island.

I had planned on anchoring just south of the main port, but expected it to be quite rolly because there wasn’t really a harbour there, just a shoreline. We would have had some wind protection but would be completely open to the inevitable waves and swells from the west and south. Victoria found a great spot about halfway up Naxos that has a short bus ride into town, a nice port and a dock! Alyko Beach. (Actually the cement dock is not so great but it is better than nothing.)

There is a partially-constructed abandoned structure, probably a resort, to the left, then a very nice beach that seems popular with the locals, and then another harbour just to the right (over a spit of land) that is larger. There are a few boats anchored in the neighbour harbour, including the mega-motor-yacht SUNDAY: 58m long and yours for only 300,000(!) euros a week. I don’t think it is rented out right now since I haven’t seen much activity on the boat.

There is no taverna near the beach, and nobody setting up and charging for lounge-chairs or shade (it is not an organized beach) so you need to bring your own food/drink and your own shade. The locals drive in and park their cars in a row behind the beach. I suspect there are not many tourists here. The water is crystal clear and there are pretty blue fish around I haven’t seen before.

From my boat right now, I can see Iraklia and Ios islands to the south, and Lefkas island to the east, and some other islands in the further distance. You can see how historical people would have moved around these islands on boats, and also why this area is so popular for sailing. It is comforting to be able to see the island you are trying to get to! Although now with modern technology it is not very scary when you can tell you are on a direct heading to your destination based on the map on your phone.

I really enjoyed the sunset last night behind the abandoned structure. Here are some pics:

I suspect we will relax here for a day or two and maybe head to the main Naxos port. I’d like to see more of the main city.

Amazing Boat handling?

This morning a Jeanneau 43′ charter came in with 2 guys on board. They came into the bay and kind of hovered, before backing up to one of the mooring balls in the bay. The mooring balls here are not meant for sailboats (as far as I know) but are for local’s small power boats. They backed up very competently, seemed like they started to hook up and then decided against it. They then looped around and started to set anchor right in front of me (!) which I didn’t like. They stopped that, looped around again and then anchored to the west of me. I’m pretty sure there are rocks over there. After a few minutes they raised anchor and looped out again. Around this time 6 people show up on the concrete dock nearby and these guys lower their gangplank and backed up into the concrete dock! I would never have considered doing that. I’m super careful when I go near there with my dingy because of rocks, and these guys are backing a big sailboat there! I couldn’t believe it, but they successfully loaded their passengers and took off. I’m not sure to be impressed or if I am a witness to god protecting fools. It didn’t look like they knew this harbour very well but maybe they were just goofing around killing time before their clients arrived.