Ferrying in Greece 2019 Part 3

Sunday 15th September 2019
The day started with a 06.30 taxi to Rafina, which we had arranged with the house owner; we were told the ferries were all running again, which was great news. The taxi dropped us off near to the ships and we were soon joining the crowds hurrying to get on board FAST FERRIES ANDROS. The ship was absolutely packed out with passengers and we had difficulty in finding seats at first. Once we had settled, my friend could go and take some photographs of our ship and the others in the port, before we finally set sail on our first ferry trip in Greece at 07.30.

The sun was shining again, the sky was almost clear blue and the sea slightly rough but oh so much better than it had been. FAST FERRIES ANDROS edged her way carefully away from the Rafina quayside, with PAROS JET on one side of her, and SUPERFERRY on the other, and headed off with her full complement of passengers towards Andros, Tinos and Mykonos. We had Distinguished Class tickets for the Andros-Mykonos section and could move there after we left Andros. Coffee and pastry made for a welcome breakfast and time to relax and enjoy the ship and the port calls.

The ship was built in 1989 at 4,682 gross tons and it was interesting to see the markings on her funnel of perhaps when she was M/S SHINKO MARU in Japan, until 2003 when she came to Greece for Strintzis Ferries and then to Fast Ferries. She has held her present name since May 2015, with her distinctive red painted hull.

Funnel on Fast Ferries Andros

The markings on the funnel

Ferrying in Greece 2019 Part 2

Saturday 14th September 2019
I slept like the proverbial log last night and woke to the news that the ships were not running, as winds were blowing at force 12 or 13 - the limit is 8. My travelling companion for this trip was due in Rafina about lunchtime so I had already let him know about the cancellations. Our plans to meet in Andros later today had to be abandoned of course and I went to the travel agents to see what could be done. The answer was still nothing of course. There was time for coffee and cheese pie.

Paros Jet, Fast Ferries Andros, Superferry

Hellenic Highspeed

All safely tied up in port


I went back to my rooms and collected my bag, ready to meet my friend at the port when his Rafina bus arrived from the airport. My kind landlady aided me booking accommodation for this evening out of the area, as there was little in Rafina itself. By the time we had arranged this I could walk down to the port, meet my friend and hear what sailings he had managed to arrange for us tomorrow. It was expected that sailings would take place then.

We had some lunch and then arranged for a taxi to take us along the coast to the small seaside resort and the house called 'Nemhouses near the airport and the sea in Artemida'. The owner met us on arrival, as the house seemed to be in a very rural village area, but it offered several bedrooms as well as living room and kitchen facilities. We were told which lane to walk along to get to the sea and we soon did this and walked along the beach towards the small town a couple of miles away. The sun shone, the wind seemed lighter here, families were sheltering under trees, children were building sandcastles, some people were swimming, the distant church had visitors surrounding it, and all was well with my world.

There seemed to be a small town with a road running beside the beach, with several cafes or restaurants lining one side. Several coaches were parked on the other side of the road and I think these must have come in from other local areas with many ladies on board, who were now enjoying the music, food and drink on offer.

We did the same, and walked back in the dusk/darkness to our latest unexpected accommodation.

Ships seen: Hellenic High Speed with her 16 ropes by the quay, Superferry, Fast Ferry Andros, Paros Jet


To be continued....

SUMMER 2016 - July ferrying, Part 2

Saturday 16th July 2016
We woke up on the island of Naxos to yet another beautiful sunny day, and soon made our way between the local houses set beside the steep winding cobblestoned little streets, down to the port.

Display boards of ferry/boat times

View back up to the castle and hotel

Superferry II arrived

Here we go


We watched SUPERFERRY II, of Golden Star Ferries, arrive and were soon able to embark up her ramp. We are to sail at 8.20 a.m. from here in Naxos to Mykonos which should take an hour and a half. I had bought a cheese pie on the quayside and that and coffee on the ship soon revived me. We have tickets in Distinguished Class, which always makes for a very comfortable journey for very little extra money. As we left the port we could see the little town of Naxos and the nearby island of Ariadne with its ancient arch built in 530 BC, which is all that remains of a temple to Apollo. We thought Naxos town was on a good-sized hill, but the further away we sailed the more we could see the mountains behind the town. They were extremely high and put the port town in perspective as we sailed away.

This ship was built in 1974 as PRINCE LAURENT with a gross tonnage of 4,986.

Coo, that's orange!

The view forward

Purser's Office

Arch on the island of Ariadne

Just look at those mountains

View of funnel and seating

More mountain views

Part of the Distinguished Class Lounge


We arrived at the new port of Mykonos at 9.50 a.m., with several hours to spare before catching our next ferry this afternoon. I remembered the small hotel with pool that we had enjoyed visiting last year, and so we headed for Maki's Place. Sun loungers beside the pool, under palm trees, seemed the perfect place to enjoy a snack lunch and cool drinks, and a swim.

Several hours later we managed to get a lift from the hotel taxi down to the port, money changed hands, and all was well. The ship was to be late in, so we found some shade to sit in and I had an interesting chat in English (me) and Japanese (them) with two young ladies. They were using small hand-held battery-operated fans which had been filled with a little water, and when they were switched on the water became mist and sprayed their faces. We had a demonstration and each of us enjoyed trying the girls' new 'toys'.

Hellenic Highspeed

Superferry II leaving

Crowds heading for the fast craft

Champion Jet 2

Superferry II in the background as Champion Jet 2 arrived

Champion Jet 2 getting on the berth

Hellenic Highspeed further along the quay

Passengers embarking on the Hellenic Highspeed

And she's off

And so is Champion Jet 2

There they go

Theologos P

Fast Ferries Andros and Paros Jet

Stern of Paros Jet

Which then left

Nissos Mykonos arriving

And leaving

Blue Star Naxos on the left, just about to turn and berth

Superferry, our next ship of the trip


We saw SUPERFERRY II leave, CHAMPION JET 2 arrive, load and leave, HELLENIC HIGHSPEED arrive, load and leave, THEOLOGOS P arrive, load and leave, FAST FERRIES ANDROS arrive, load and leave, PAROS JET arrive, load and leave, NISSOS MYKONOS arrive, load and leave, BLUE STAR NAXOS arrive, load and leave, and finally a sight to gladden our hearts: SUPERFERRY arrived and unloaded. She is to be our next ship of the trip. She joined Golden Star Ferries just 2 weeks ago, having been re-built in Piraeus this year (2016); her previous name was KOGANE MARU, built in Japan.

We are to sail from here in Mykonos to Rafina, with a call at Andros on the way. We had to wait for SUPERFERRY to unload and then we could board and climb the stairs. I admired the new artwork of what looked like illuminated glass fishes as we climbed the stairs and arrived in the empty but spacious lounge. Everything looked very new and unused, with a lot of dark wood-effect panelling all around the walls. The artificial flowers looked decorative amongst the seating. There was the inevitable little Japanese-styled staircase up to another part of the lounge; we enjoyed seeing the artwork of 'charts' amongst the airline style seating, with bigger charts on the side walls. Out on deck we admired the interesting seating curved into the outer railing.

Artwork that I liked

My view aft from the top of the stairs

Golden Star Ferries logo

Bar and seating area

Japanese staircase

Charts pictured on the walls

Piraeus work done

Port of Andros


We left Mykonos at 2.30 p.m. and enjoyed looking around this newly refurbished ship; nearly 3 hours later we arrived at the island of Andros and enjoyed seeing the Andros Hotel where we stayed last year as we neared the port.

Apiliotis in the port

Passengers off and on


People disembarked and many people embarked as we sailed off into the wide blue yonder. It was hot, we could see the distant mountains and revel in the blue sky and sea around us. At one point we passed sister ferry SUPERFERRY II, which we were on only this morning, and it was fun to hear the exchange of whistles as we passed each other.

We arrived early evening in Rafina and shared a taxi to the port of Piraeus, so that we could make sure of catching our next ferry, overnight to the island of Crete on board KYDON.

Kydon in Piraeus

The stern view of Kydon

Panagia Tinou from close up


Before we boarded we walked along the quay to look at the sad sight of PANAGIA TINOU, the ex-HENGIST of Sealink days, sitting on the bottom of the quayside nearby. She looks so forlorn and terrible, and I could see just where I had sat out on her deck so many times in other years as we sailed out of Piraeus.

Once on board KYDON we could walk around and take pictures of this ship which is new to me, but has been with ANEK for some time. She was built in 1990 at 29,991 gross tons.

Blue Star Naxos nearby, seen from the deck of Kydon

High Speed 6 further away

Adamantos Korais in the distance

The Restaurant

Stern Deck at dusk


We watched our sailaway from Piraeus after dusk, then had a good dinner in the ship's restaurant. The daytime temperature had been 34C and even at night it was 29C so the outside air was wonderful, and we are looking forward to our arrival early tomorrow morning at the port of Souda on the island of Chania (Crete). We plan to have a relaxing day at a favourite tree-lined beach on the island.


Ships seen at Naxos: Superferry II

Ships seen at Mykonos: Superferry, Sea Bus Taxi from the new port to the old port, Nissos Mykonos, Paros Jet, Ekaterina P, Fast Ferries Andros, Theologos P, Hellenic Highspeed, Champion Jet 2, Superferry II,

Ships seen at Andros: Apiliotis

Ships seen at Piraeus: Highspeed 7, Highspeed 6, Highspeed 4, Blue Star Naxos, Kydon, Kritti II, Adamantos Korais, Panagia Tinou (ex-Hengist)


To be continued...