Naxos

It was so hard to wake up and get out of bed this morning. We were both awoken by the alarm and could have slept in the peace and quiet for so much longer. But we were pulling anchor again at 6:30am and quickly jostled out of our solitude.


Since today was another long one, we decided to try out ‘watches’. Mike took the early morning while I went back to bed. And then I relieved Mike while he closed his eyes for awhile. And I was lucky enough to be greeted by a pod of dolphins just south of Amourgos. At first they were behind us but then one came to play in the bow wake and 5 of his friends followed. I grabbed the camera and made my way forward to hang onto the bow pulpit while watching them. The past 4 months made up for this moment. It was only me and the dolphins bounding across the bluest of waters with no other boats to be seen. It was magical. I finally decided that Mike should be a part of this and went to wake him. But of course, as soon as I said his name and he awoke, the dolphins swam away.




The waters weren’t as calm today since there were some frequent rollers coming through. And the wind finally picked up to a whole 10 knots so we decided to raise the main sail. Only to find that it really does need some work. The tracks kept getting stuck in the slide and it was pretty difficult to raise. We are also already seeing some wear and tear where the tracks enter the slide and now reluctant to fly it until we have it serviced. One of those things where it would have been nice to have a shake down sail and the time to follow up on problems found. But overall, I am just thankful that things are going as smoothly as they are.
We arrived in Naxos around 6pm and after finding no room in the harbour decided to tie up on the outer quay at the entrance. We went on the end and fortunately the boat to our starboard had 2 strapping young Dutch lads on board to help us pull lines. Of course there was a cross wind and it was a bit challenging. But once we were finally tied up we realized that our anchor was not set well, and were informed that the ferries cause a huge amount of wake that can push you into the quay if you don’t have a good hold. Although our neighbors were very friendly and offered to let us tie a line to their bow, we decided to try it again. So this time we set the anchor first and then worried about docking second. We got a great hold and then after some more wrangling got our lines to the quay. We need to buy those boys a beer. And again, all done with an audience. At least we got a “good team work guys!” from a couple boats down.
We were then off into town to try and get a message to the Pereras for an update and a weather check. Then after a quick ‘guerilla’ shower we finally sat down for our calamari. We had a delicious meal with a Mythos and glass of local wine while watching the sun sink in the sky. Ahhhh…we are in Greece. We then took a stroll up the hill through the maze of white washed alleys and remembered spots we had been to when we were last here 3 years ago. We then made our way to the boat where we set up the day bed in hopes of it being more space than the v-berth and cooler than the aft cabin. Despite all of the activity on the quay and the sounds from town, we quickly fell asleep with the alarm set yet again for 5:30am.

Independence in the sunset

Astipalaia

We continue our mad dash to get to Athens by Monday to meet Shan, Heather and Lucca! We were up early again to get a 6:30 start because today is going to be a long one. About 73 miles to Astipalaia, which translates into about a 12 hour day. But not without a small glitch first thing in the morning. As we were pulling up our anchor it wasn’t coming up so easily. Not a big surprise because the last time we were in this harbour there were fouled anchors everywhere. Luckily, the French man a couple boat down who laid his anchor chain over ours was up and on the bow. He was able to let out more chain so we could pull up the anchor to see that in fact, his chain was right over it. Since we don’t have a trip line (on the list to purchase), Mike had to take an early morning swim to put a rope underneath his chain so we could then pull it off the anchor. It’s probably a good thing we got such an early start because we were most likely guilty of fouling our neighbors anchor as well!
We had an amazing day on the water. It was close to perfect except for the fact that we had to motor the whole way because there was so little wind. But the calm seas made it easy to get a lot of little projects done. And then there was just a lot of relaxing. We also had a visit from a lone dolphin who played in our bow wake for a few minutes. The scenery was gorgeous as we were rounding the north east side of Astipalaia, a barren island with high, steep cliffs that plummet right into the water. It was also incredible because we saw so few boats today, maybe one an hour, sometimes none. We started to wonder where everybody was and it was almost eerie as we pulled into Vathi Bay to anchor only to find it completely empty. The only others present were the family who owned a taverna on shore. And the only sounds were their voices, the goat bells and roosters. It was a perfectly calm, beautiful evening. After making dinner and eating at our new cockpit table under the stars and candlelight, we made our way to bed in the v-berth so we could took take advantage of the funneled breeze from the windscoop. We look forward to many more days, many more evenings, and many more anchorages like this.

An afternoon snack

Kalimera!

We untied our lines at 6:30am and departed Yacht Marine for hopefully the last time. Bittersweet departure because of all the sweat and frustration while here but we also realize what an incredible place this truly is and have met some good friends while here. We were a bit nervous to make this jump into the next phase of our adventure. I noticed that my hands were shaking while I was on the forward deck taking pictures of Mike motoring out of our slip. Mike attempted to quell his butterflies with a bottle of Efes before starting the engine but the 35 mile motor to Symi (today was the ‘too little wind” version of sailing in the Med) went without a hitch. The ‘without a hitch part’ was mostly due to us stopping just before reaching Symi Harbour so I could practice with the new windlass. It’s a good thing we did because when Mike pulled up the chain from being hauled out, it wasn’t flaked into the chain locker and it was a bit tangled. We also discovered while I was trying to raise the anchor that the motor kept tripping the fuse. Both of these scenarios would not have been fun if they happened in the harbour while we were trying to go stern to for the first time in 2 years. For those of you who don’t know ‘stern to’ is the common way to dock your boat in the Med. Instead of pulling alongside a dock, you drop your anchor (in a very small and crowded harbour) and then back up to the dock (squeezing in between the other boats) and then tie off with lines from your stern. It sounds simple and sometimes it is. But sometimes it is anything but simple. Today, thankfully, we did awesome on our first attempt this go around. And our steel boat (now a bright red steel boat) always grabs the attention of the adjacent crews because they are right out there helping to fend us off! Once we were all tied up, we changed out of our sweaty, grubby clothes and started the check in process to Greece. First a walk to the Harbour Masters Office who then sends us to the Port Police on the other side of the bay. Then the Police send us to Customs but they are closed. We wait a few hours and then back to Customs and finally back to the Harbour Master. And it seems more than not that these buildings are always a good walk from one another, it’s always hot and it consumes most of a morning or an afternoon. But while waiting for the Customs office to open we were finally able to drink a cold beer which immediately put us into a coma. Wow, we passed out hard in the cockpit despite the sweltering heat and then at some point stumbled into the cabin to be in front of the fans. It was almost hard to get oriented upon awakening. After a groggy arousal we finished up with checking in and settled in the cockpit for our much anticipated first g&t of the sailing season. We were just talking about how it is hard to believe the work is (mostly) done when Mike got a call back from the fuel guy. Who says he can be at the boat in 5 minutes. Shit! Our fueling system needs some serious help. The port side deckcap doesn’t open. The nozzles are always too big to fit well so we were using a funnel and it was slow. So slow that the fuel guy put a cabash on that since he didn’t want to be there all night. That meant opening the fuel tanks. The port tanks are pretty accessible, just moving a bunch of tools, but then it’s undoing the couple dozen bolts in each tank lid. Only one of the starboard tanks is readily accessible because the other is underneath the fridge. So after Mike scrambled and struggled to get the port side open, he brought the hose through the cockpit and down into the cabin and I held the nozzle and put fuel in while trying not to get oil and grease all over my dress. And it was hot and smelly. What the hell just happened to enjoying our cool, refreshing g&t in the cockpit?! We then got as much diesel in the one starboard tank as we could but it will take time to equalize. But that is probably alright because we purchased 400L diesel as it was. And not to mention all of this chaos under the amused eyes of our neighbors who are 10 feet away on either side. And what probably didn’t help my deflating mood was watching one of those neighbors simply take the hose, open up his fuel cap, easily fit the nozzle in and getting all of his fuel after about three easy minutes. Just add it on to the project list…
We then ventured out in search of some calamari for dinner. But it was one of the nights where neither one of us could make a decision on where to go. After a mild barrage of spitwads from a gang of little local boys, we ended up at an Italian restaurant and eating pizza (with real salami!) which I devoured. When we arrived back at the boat neither one of us wanted to crawl into bed because we felt like we would stick to the sheets. But the new water pump for the shower needs a filter placed. Fortunately, Mike let us overlook this fact and we took our first shower in the new head. Although it was just a quick rinse it felt heavenly. Then it was to bed with the street still full of people practically right above our heads. It’s funny how at Yacht Marina we couldn’t stand having one neighbor. Now we are surrounded on three sides with endless boats and people and somehow it is just fun!

A mid-day swim break

Where's Indy?

Day 128 - Our Final Day in Turkey

So here we are. Our last day (if all goes as planned) in this marina, in Marmaris, in Turkey. It’s almost hard to believe that we are going to be untying the lines tomorrow and making our way into Greece. Even harder to believe that we have gotten everything done today and are ready to leave tomorrow! It really hit us during our dolmus ride back from town (yep, one more trip) on how the slog is over. Tomorrow we plan to get an early start so we have some time to check into Greece, enjoy the beautiful town of Symi, do some grocery shopping for foods that you can’t buy in Turkey, take a nap… And for those who are interested, our itinerary as of now is to leave Symi on the 6th and anchor on Astipalaia, the 7th we will head to Naxos/Paros, the 8th we will aim for Kea or Kithnos which is approaching Athens and then on Monday, the 9th arrive in Poros, an island on the east coast of the Peloponnisos and within a stones throw from Athens. The winds forecasted even look favorable with some mild southerlies to help us along.
Since we will no longer have routine internet, we will do our best to keep up the blog as much as possible. We will see how the daily entries go…
Wish us calm seas and fair winds!

Frantic

There was a new noise to get used to last night…the wind generator that spins on/off, on/off. It would startle me each time and in my half awake state I worried that it was shaking off the roll bar or worse, blades were going to fly off and scalp some innocent bystander. But I am sure after some time it will just turn into white noise, hopefully.
This morning we were off to an earlier start than usual. After a quick Skype chat with Heather and Shan to touch base about logistics, we caught the marina ferry into town. Since this may very well be our last visit to the town of Marmaris we tried to enjoy ourselves and not rush through it like we normally do. It’s funny, after being here for so long it seems that our departure date has all of a sudden come and I am not quite ready. There are still things that I want to do and see, people who we want to spend more time with. It feels like we need another week after boat projects are done just to try and enjoy the actual place we have been living for so long. After our obligatory stops on ‘Chandlery Row’ we headed off on some more errands. Including a brief stop at Ismail’s shop, Apache Motors, to say hello and unfortunately cancel dinner tomorrow night. So sad to say good bye to our friend. After that we made a run through the covered mall to buy myself a much needed pair of new sunglasses (since my current ones look like they were attacked by paint and Sikaflex). We also had to experience the ‘subtle’ tactics of a cheap clothing store salesman this time around. My god, this man was relentless. He even managed to talk me into trying on a pair of hideous plaid shorts and actually thought I would be pressured into buying them. But they do have their sales technique down. After all you put up with you don’t want to linger to barter, you just want to escape with your desired items and not have to repeat that experience ever again.
We finally ended up arriving back to the marina in the late afternoon. And fortunately with just minor scrapes and bruises. Mike must have lost his feet today. After slipping off the passerelle this morning and scraping up his leg, he almost hit the pavement probably a half dozen more times just walking around. Let’s hope he is more sure footed when we are under way! We were anxious to get to work but first, a cup of Nescafe with Mr. Hussein to chat and cancel dinner plans and then FINALLY to work. It was a bit chaotic-cleaning, organizing, trips to the chandlery and garbage bins, tensions building, wait. let’s stop and drink a beer, painting, varnishing, tracking white paint inside on the new floors, more tension. Finally a shower in the dark on the dock. It feels completely overwhelming (and exciting) to think that we are leaving the day after tomorrow.

Stop Inviting People to Dinner!

Last evening while Mike was grilling up some burgers, Columba came back into port for a shift in family crew. We first were acquainted with this magnificent boat a couple of years ago when we admired her during her haul out. And then were witness to her main mast unexpectedly breaking in half as they were attempting to remove it shortly after she was put back in the water. We have grown friendly with Willy, the care taker, while he is cruising up and down the dock since she has been tied up just a bit further down the way. And Mike was lucky enough to be able to take a peak on board. What a beautiful boat she is, built in 1902 in England for the Atlantic racing circuit. It’s funny because we don’t mind her as a neighbor one bit.


But back to Independence. Mike got the wind generator mounted and wired up, with a little moral support from Mr. Hussein. At first something seemed funny with how the battery monitor was reading but it seemed to have re-set itself and the wind gen is doing its job. The biggest complaint with wind generators is the noise from the blades. This one doesn’t seem to be so bad but we will see how obnoxious it is once we are on a quiet anchorage somewhere.
Ismail also came by to do some final wood work for the navigation station. It is good to see him again and wish that it could just be a friendly visit instead of asking him to do work. Maybe that is why Mike invited him to dinner Wednesday night…the night before we leave. After Ismail left Mike apologized and I understood, just didn’t quite know how we would pull it off. And then guess what? Mike invited Mr. Hussein, and his wife and daughter, to dinner as well! What? We are now having a dinner party while frantically trying to get ready? We will be lucky if we eat ourselves!

August?!

I was fully aware that it was July, even the end of July. We even reminded ourselves to say ‘Rabbit Rabbit’ last night. But I was actually stunned when I awoke on the first day of this month. Where has the time gone? It’s Fall next month! And then it’s October! Alright, the stress is now all of a sudden mounting in me. Yeah, that pesky feeling called stress has crept its way back into our lives. And it’s not very much fun because my husband ‘disappears’ when he gets stressed about this boat. It’s almost like he is a zombie…vacant eyes, much more grunting than words spoken. At least he is a productive zombie. And today I joined him in the ranks of increased cortisol levels. Our luck also ran out with only one of us teetering on the edge, this afternoon it was both of us. But after a long, cool shower I felt better and upon my return to the boat I was greeted by my husband. It’s funny, only a few words have to be spoken and I know he’s back. We were finally able to have a real conversation (including the fact that we love each other much more than this boat and that’s all that really matters) and discussed our anxieties and worries. One of them being that we (especially Mike) is just so tired, exhausted really, from expending all of his energy into this boat over the past 4 months. And the fact that we now have to sail this boat after a long hibernation and ‘race’ across the Mediterranean before the weather turns. We also want to get across the Aegean to make some miles and avoid getting stuck somewhere due to the Meltemi (a strong, northerly wind) than can blow for days on end.
When in reality all we really want to do is NOTHING for the next several months. But we have some big motivation ahead of us that is keeping us going. We are so looking forward to seeing our friends who arrive in Athens on Sunday, although exact location of this rendezvous is yet to be known. So the current plan is to bust ass and leave the marina on Thursday, no time for a shake down sail but planning to only head 35 miles to Symi, Greece. But if we don’t make it out of the marina then we will not depart until Saturday. We once tested the sailing myth of not starting a voyage on a Friday and it didn’t work out so well for us… And we are not tempting fate this time around!

Mike of the Living Dead