Almost Athenians
03 September 2012 | Zea Marina, Piraeus
Dan 27 degrees C, 1014 MB,

We've now been in Athens over 1 week and it looks like it'll be another day or two before we shove off. Our intended two night hotel stay stretched to five but we finally checked out yesterday and are back settled onboard Interlude at Zea Marina.
The longer than expected break allowed Chris & Ty the opportunity to see much of what Athens has to offer at a more relaxed pace. I had to squeeze my tourist time into a five hour window on Saturday when I visited the new Acropolis Museum (opened just 3 years ago) and, of course, the Acropolis itself. The museum is outstanding and I wish I could have lingered longer.
A quick update on our repair list: After four days of work on the engine, we still haven't found the cause of the black smoke. After consulting with the mechanics, I've decided to wave the white flag for now and deal with this after the boat is hauled out for the winter. It's an issue that needs to be dealt with, but running the engine for another 50-100 hours isn't going to make matters worse and I have zero desire to sit in Athens indefinitely while the repair efforts continue. We'll pick up where we left off on this project in 7-8 weeks.
On the AIS repair, a similar outcome. The brand new AIS 650 control unit will remain in Athens for further testing and repair or replacement while we move along. The plan is to send it via ferry to us someplace in the Cyclades Islands in the next few weeks. We've also confirmed that there IS damage to our VHF antenna cable (as I had suspected) so that will need to be replaced at the end of this season as well. I'd like to do it now but projects like that have a way of "snowballing" and I'm worried that what should be a 1/2 day project could become a 3+ day endeavor. I suspect they may have to pull a bunch of new wire simultaneously because space is VERY tight in the conduits that run up the mast. So we'll deal with that in Turkey when we have time.
On the positive side, we were able to get the liferaft serviced, FINALLY reinstalled the swim ladder (after combining the old frame with the new ladder) repaired a bilge bump, repaired a toilet that wouldn't flush (shitty job!) and purchased a bunch of needed spares & supplies. We're also cleaning the teak deck (a project necessitated when the mechanic dribbled engine oil across the deck while removing the oil cooler!) So the past week here hasn't been all for naught.
Chris and I enjoyed a few hours socializing with two other cruising couples last evening ... one from Australia and the other from Minnesota. There are plenty of reasons to avoid marinas, but one of the positives they offer is the opportunity to meet fellow cruisers. It was a fun evening and, since we're all heading in the same general direction, it's quite possible that we'll cross paths again.
The cupboards and refrigerator are empty, so today is provisioning day. We may also need to get a vaccination for Tyler before his late October trip to Thailand and we're hoping the U.S. Embassy can point us in the right direction for that today. I'm also going to get a haircut and try to visit the Greek Maritime Museum which is located here at Zea Marina. Once those items are taken care of, we'll be ready to roll when the weather says "go". It's pretty windy out in the Cyclades right now and the sea state would be fairly uncomfortable given the direction we're heading. So we'll stay put until tomorrow or Wednesday before heading out.