We're Back! Marmaris 2014.

Well, I'm back at least. And I have been back for three weeks now getting the boat ready for the season to come. Janet arrives tomorrow night, the 5th of May, if she gets on her flight out of Portland to Amsterdam. It's looking pretty tight but hopefully she'll luck out and get a nice World Business Class seat on good 'ol DAL. Then she has positive space tickets, a 'real' person,  from AMS to Istanbul to Dalaman on Pegasus Airlines and surface transport to Marmaris.

Marmaris Yacht Marina

The boat is ready to launch tomorrow morning. I've worked down two pages of "to do" lists. What's left "to do" is stuff that needs to wait until the boat is back in the water. That's not too much actually and with a little more luck no new disasters will rise up to smite me after launch. It's nice if the water stays on the outside of the boat for instance. Nice if the engine starts and very nice if we have both forward and reverse from the transmission. After years of experience you understand that nothing is a given in the boat business.

Cleaning the Racor fuel filter assembly

It hasn't been all work, I will admit. We have some nice friends here. The social scene centers on evenings at the marina restaurant which is really very, very nice with an excellent menu and cheap prices. No yachtie could resist.  One of my younger friends calls it the "old folks bar and restaurant" but even he admits it's the best place around. And the 'old folks' at this place are a pretty sprightly bunch.  

The old folks bar and restaurant

Today would be an 'interesting' day to launch. The wind has been blowing hard out of the south all night.  Gale warnings are posted at sea and here in the marina on the hard its blowing 20-25 knots. That's enough to make maneuvering in very tight marina quarters a little dicey. It's supposed to be calmer tomorrow.  When the big southerly blows  the wind off the North African coast is full of dust and the generally excellent visibility is restricted and everything, including my nice boat polish job, gradually accumulates grime. It'll wash off.

Airstream, age 29. Note the spiffy new windows!

The plan for the year is not yet finalized but the latest thoughts include heading east a for a week or so along the south coast of Turkey and joining friends. Then heading over into Greece around Rhodes and moving west through the central Cyclades to mainland greece. Then north up into the Ionion and maybe the Adriatic before returning south to round the Peloponneses and return to Marmaris. We have considered continuing west to Sicily but the difference in boat accommodation between there and here in Marmaris adds up to about $3000 for the winter, about 50% less. Since this is a pretty good place to keep a boat, that's very tempting.

Tim Lucas of SV Slick replaces his Perkins

Yacht Marina's 330 ton travel lift

So please stay tuned and give our blog an occasional visit. We love to read comments. I apologize for the lack of great photos but the head photographer and her gear arrive tomorrow.

Love to all,
Bill & Janet
SV Airstream