STEAM Outreach Education While Sailing

Our family outside the 17th Elementary School of Piraeus, Greece

As a teacher, it was a bit tough to pack up my classroom and set sail for the next two years. Jared reminds me that I am teaching our own children each day, but it just isn't the same. I found myself actually missing my classroom. It's just where part of my heart is.

I also wanted to take on some sort of project while we visit various countries. When we started out in the BVI, experienced the hurricanes (#irmaria)  and began helping with the recovery efforts, I really focused on helping the schools there. As we were back in the states, I had the internet resources and was able to pair up state schools (and other organizations) with island schools. As a result, many teachers received supplies from all over the states, which helped get their classrooms up and running again. It felt good to be able to do something from afar.

Presentation on our school in CA, the STEM and ROV program Stef started there.

Fast forward to now. We are presently in Greece and have been volunteering in a friend's classroom. The main focus has been STEM activities and also founding the first youth ROV program in Greece! A few times in the classroom led to teaching the principal and some of the staff. I LOVED every minute and felt like we were making a difference. My kids helped organize and lead the lessons, which in turn, provided the benefit of working with another culture. Recess time was spent in a dance class or outside on the playground, sharing stories and snacks. These have been wonderful experiences and something we will continue as we sail on.

STEM or STEAM: science ,technology, engineering, and math (some add art in there, but if you think about it, art is in everything).

The more we share our story or about how we are working with local schools, the more inquiries we receive about coming to their school, sharing the ideas with their staff and students. We go to those we can, based on the anchorages or marinas near the schools. For others, we are working on creating videos, so they can recreate the activities in the classroom or at home.

While I can't do this full time at the moment, it makes me sit and ponder the possibility of doing so. To be able to travel and teach, while being with my family and exploring new places. Oh, what a dream come true that would be! Alas, we would need to fund this venture, and there just doesn't seem to be the school funds to be able to cover this sort of program. For now, it is completely volunteer, but perhaps in the future, it could turn into something full time. That would be amazing!

Boat Maintenance: Rub-rails and Fenders

Since moving aboard RoundAbout, we have been working through a variety of products to see what works best.

Our rub-rails and fenders were pretty dingy and while acetone would do the job, it is a harsh chemical, for both the boat and the hands! We tried those white sponge erasers, basic soap and water, and a few other things before we found the magic solution:

We couldn't believe how efficient and super easy it was! Not only did it get our rub-rails and fenders looking like new, it also will protect them.

What are your favorite products for boat maintenance?

Life on the Hard

RoundAbout's haulout via tractor and hydraulic lift

We hauled RoundAbout out at Planaco Yacht Yard, on the island of Aegina, Greece on Valentine's Day. We spent the next two weeks getting all sorts of things crossed off the list.

Powerwashing commenced immediately after hauling out.

Here is what we accomplished:

*fiberglass and gelcoat repair (various areas on deck, a cleat, rudder, dinghy davits, etc).
*serviced sail drives and engines (changed all seals, oil, belts, etc)
*replaced leaky hatch seals
*re-bed the traveler
*re-seal joints on the Starboard side (we did the Port side a couple of months ago)
*serviced propellers
*serviced dinghy motor
*remarked our anchor chain
*installed underwater lights
*installed a new thru-hull for the water-maker
*installed new transducer with speed log
*sanded all the old paint off the bottom and added an anti-osmotic sealer/primer and two coats of anti-foul paint
*repair broken hinge on anchor locker
*generator exhaust elbow repaired (it was leaking and water ran down into Cadence's closet)
*repaired stove rails (re-welded a spot that had come apart).

*ordered custom cockpit enclosure, new interior cushions (recovered), replaced our helm station cushions, new window screens, and ordered custom cushions for the cockpit. It will be so nice to be able to sit outside in comfort!

Various repair work.

This is how we made it easier for Sunny to get on and off the boat. The stairs were a much better option than the ladder off the transom.

Being in the yard was challenging, but we survived. The boat was a mess and so dirty! The antifoul paint residue is very hard to get off the boat. Sunny's fur was tinged blue! (we are still trying to get if off the trampoline--hoping over time it will fade and bleach out). Total cost of this haul-out and all repairs/materials: about 10k! Ouch!

The yard did have restrooms and hot showers, which was helpful. A taverna next door was a place we spent a lot of time, using their wifi and enjoying their delicious food and coffee. The kids scootered around the yard and played with the yard's dogs. Sunny also enjoyed the extra time on terra firma.

We also had some time to explore the port town of Aegina. the Temple of Apollo, and some other historical sites. During the weekend, we encountered Carnival, also known as Apokries. It is celebrated with parties, feasts, and parades three weeks before Lent Monday. It is sort of like Halloween without the trick-or-treating. There was a parade, kids in costumes everywhere, as well as confetti and streamers covering every surface!

Exploring the Port of Aegina during the festival weekend.

Aegina is famous for growing pistachios, so we had to try some. 

Testing our systems.

Relaunching! 

We re-launched on Tuesday, February 27th around 11:30am and after testing all of the systems, we sailed for Poros.

We flew the drone during the re-launch. Check out the video! (linked here in case it doesn't load below)

Enjoying the new helm seats!

Anchored off the eastern part of Aegina, while we had lunch.

That night we encountered a mighty storm with winds of at least 20 knots sustained and gusts over 30 knots. Yes, we checked the forecast. It was incorrect! The wind kept clocking all around and of course, we dragged anchor. Jared and I stayed up for most of the night. Finally, around 2am, we gave up trying to reset the anchor. While Jared stayed at the helm, I went forward in the freezing rain and wind to haul up the anchor. Usually, we use our forward hose and give everything a good rinse. Not this time, and it really needed it, as we harvested a ton of sea grass. We turned around and motored back to the town quay and tied up. Exhausted, we fell asleep and woke up to a sunny and calm morning. Go figure.

Sailing back to Piraeus and transisting the shipping lane. This ship was 899 feet long! Our boat was barely the size of its rudder!

Testing our underwater lights!

It was so calm, we all enjoyed sitting up front for a change!

We returned to Pireaus later that afternoon, so we could attend our visa extension appointment the following day. What a load of paperwork that was! I think the stack of all our paperwork was about 6 inches tall. We had to make 2 copies of all documents for each of us, get letters of confirmation that our boat was in the harbor from both the marina and the port police, obtain a new transit log from customs, certificate from the citizen service center, and receipt for paying the fee. Three days later and 5 hours sitting the immigration office, we were finally given our visas! We can now remain in Greece until June 14th. This gives us time to wait for our stuff to arrive from the Caribbean and slowly work our way north towards Croatia.

Underwater Lights!

Testing them out! 

While we were hauled out, we figured we might as well add a couple of underwater lights. It would be great fun for the kids to see all the marine life at night, as well as making it easy to find our boat in a dark and crowded anchorage.

This is a pretty simple DIY project and took about half a day, once we had everything planned out. That took the longest part! We walked around the boat yard looking at the placement of lights on other catamarans. Some had only two at the stern while others had them all around on both the inside and outside of the hulls! Bet those lit up the night like nothing else!

We decided to install two lights, one behind each rudder, as far back as possible, while still being submerged. We originally thought about placing them on the inside of the hull facing inwards, but after talking with other cruisers who were not happy with that placement, we decided to go with aft of the rudder facing downwards.

We marked off the spot aft of the rudder, taped, and pre-drilled the holes, sanded the area, and wiped clean with acetone.

Next, we added sika-flex and fed the wires through. We added a continuous bead of sika-flex to the back of the light and the screwed it to the spot. We then made a seal with some of the sika-flex that squeezed out and covered the screws with it. Each light has one hole drilled which goes into our engine compartment and from there, we ran the wires to  complete the circuit. They are wired to a breaker on our 12v panel.

After they were installed and the sika-flex had dried, we painted the everything with antifouling paint (except the light part, of course). We then pulled off the plastic coating covering the light. We are happy with how they turned out!

Adventures in Greece

Visiting the Acropolis

We do take time out for fun here and there, amidst all of the boat projects. Here are some photos of our time spent at the Acropolis in Athens and the Museum.

Exploring the Parthenon and Acropolis

Sitting high on this hill in Athens, is the Acropolis. It is derived from the word "polis" which translates to the 'highest point in the city'. In ancient times, the city would lay just below with markets and an active trading center.
Once you pass through the entrance gateway, also known as the Propylaea, you will see the Parthenon of Athena, the Erechtheum, the Temple of Athena Nike.

If you have time to explore this amazing place, do it!


Another experience you can't miss is the Changing of the Guard at Syntagma Square in Athens. They change about every hour, but there is a parade and ceremony at 11am on Sundays. This is when we went and it was totally worth staying the extra days in port to do so!

We took some time for a quick trip down the island chain to Milos. The waters are a beautiful turquoise and it was fun to explore the village.

Anchored off Milos.

Weather soon chased us back north.

Checking the weather.

On the way back to Piraeus, we stopped at the port of Loutra on the island of Kythnos. This area is known for the hot springs that flow right to the beach! We highly recommend a visit, if you are in the area. The village was empty, as it was off season, with the exception of the harbor master and one cafe who opened a few hours each day. Wifi is free in the port.

Port Loutra. Hots springs are on the beach, left of RoundAbout.

After picking up some parts back in Piraeus, we set off for our haul-out at the Planaco Yacht Yard on the nearby island of Aegina. They have free wifi, bathrooms with showers (lots of hot water!) and a nice taverna next door. Everyone we spoke to goes here because of the professional staff and the unique way they lift out the boats: via tractor lift! Check out the videos of our haul-out on our facebook page.

We spent a little over a week on the hard, getting all sorts of things crossed off the list. In addition to new antifouling (after sanding, they added a primer/epoxy coat before the antifouling), we serviced the saildrives and engines, generator, and propellers (we had fishing line on the port side and a net in the starboard--definitely recommend pulling the propellers to check them, as all sorts of things get sucked up into them), added a speed log, new thru-hull for our water-maker (ours temporarily shared one with the a/c unit), fiberglass/gelcoat repairs, marked our anchor chain, entire boat polished, underwater lights added, seals replaced for leaky hatches, and ordered new window screens, a cover for the BBQ, replacement helm station cushions, recovered the salon cushions, and added cockpit cushions and pillows. We also ordered pieces to enclose the cockpit area on rainy days to keep the area dry. The upholstery order will take a couple of weeks, and so we will island hop while we wait.

The boat yard has been so busy hauling and re-launching boats, it's like a bee-hive here! Work is going on constantly! They are also building a wooden luxury yacht in their building and we were invited to tour it. Wow! It was incredible! This one project guarantees jobs for the yard employees for at least 3 solid years!

The weather has been rainy off and on, but we are seeing signs of spring, which means more sunny weather and great sailing! We are looking forward to being back out on the water and exploring more of this wonderful country. We have applied for and received an extension to stay in Greece until June. While we may not stay that long, it gives us plenty of time to look for good weather windows as we make our way towards Croatia.

Buying a Boat Overseas is NOT Easy

sailing around the island of Milos, Greece

Disclaimer: not all deals are like this and I am sure others have had much easier and less stressful experiences when purchasing a boat in the Med. This is just our account and we hope it serves as information for those in the research phase. Buyers beware, research like crazy, and be prepared for it to take more time than if things were happening in the USA. With that in mind, you will hopefully have a less stressful experience than ours!

Going to be real with you all up front. The boat-buying process in the Med drastically differs from buying in the Caribbean! Time just does not seem to matter in the Med. There were so many delays, we lost count! We were used to 'island time' in the Caribbean, but take that and double it over here.

We had an accepted offer on the boat in late September and did not sign final paperwork until the end of December! Talk about exercising patience!  Our broker was not there, so we didn't have anyone looking over things. Then we couldn't physically get to the boat due to the travel visa suspension between the U.S. and Turkey, and finally, paperwork that was incorrect--not once but twice! We were never so happy to sign our name on those final documents! It meant we were finally moving forward!

Here are a few examples of the differences:

Boat buying from Moorings, BVI:

Buying in the Caribbean was a piece of cake. Seriously, no stress involved what-so-ever. This is mostly due to our broker being right there the entire time and following up with the seller while the phase-out was in progress. When they say the will clean, polish and fix the boat, they meant it.  In fact, several small issues that did not come up in the survey and were not apparent upon delivery of the boat, they still fixed.  These included things like missing towel hooks, broken water tank lids, and loose shelves.

Buying a boat from Moorings, Turkey:

When they say the boat is clean, they cleaned it enough that the pictures on the internet appear clean.  Under the oven were bread crusts, miscellaneous crumbs, grease, and even a fork!  Toilets were stained a disgusting shade of brown from not being cleaned, possibly ever! There were leaking hatches, leaking traveler and jib track, various chips, nicks, and shoddy gelcoat repairs, worn and weathered caulked joints, removed equipment, engines overfilled with oil that leaked nearly a quart into the bilge, worn out air conditioner pump that nearly started on fire and had to be immediately replaced, exhaust stains at the stern of the boat, leaking holding tank and stained bilge to go with it, leaking raw water strainers for the heads, and leaking generator exhaust elbow.  But according to the Turkey base, the boat was clean and in good shape! 

Buying in the Med was stress-city.  Let me specify--buying from this same company in Turkey was stress-city. We experienced a complete 180 in terms of communication and honesty. Basically, all the horror stories you read about on the internet were rolled into one and served to us on a platter--er boat. It seemed as though each day brought up some new challenge we had to solve and left us with huge migraines. 

We had chosen to buy from Moorings based upon our previous experience. Sure, we were a bit hesitant to buy a boat sight-unseen and so far away. However, we felt we would be taken care of, and so we put our full trust once again into their hands. To give them some credit, they did agree to change the delivery location to Greece for us and paid for the dockage so we could move aboard. They also (after many emails and us sticking to what was on the inventory listing) agreed to reinstall the electric winch that had been removed from the boat. They paid for the shipping and re-installation costs, as well as our dockage during that period. 

In the end, we appreciate all of the extra work all parties involved had to go through. It was a mess, but eventually worked itself out. We also want to say our experience in Greece has been absolutely wonderful. The Moorings Greek base were more than willing to help us sort out issues and recommend various contractors and supply stores. They actually talked to us and helped us to work though the repairs. This again shows that it all comes down to the individual base management of this company. They have boats for sale and I would not hesitate to recommend them (ask for Mike, as he is the manager and is a genuine and overall wonderful person).  If buying from the BVI base, ask for Giles; but honestly, any Moorings broker in the BVI will probably treat you well, as the culture across the pond is different.