Engine Makeover

When finishing my last trip, I had heard a high pitched whine in my Universal M-25 diesel engine.   After I had rested and cleaned up the boat, I turned my attention to my engine and was shocked to find that the front part of the engine had turned black.  I feared I had roasted my engine and that I was in for some serious repairs.  

YIKES! What have I done now?

Now, I am fairly competent with normal gasoline engines and at one time I had torn our trusty VW engine apart all the way to splitting the case.   I somehow got it all back together and it ran.

With diesel engines, I somehow had lost my confidence and this brings in my new best friend, Hobie.   I called another person who had worked on my boat and was very reasonable and asked him for a reliable diesel mechanic.   He gave me Hobie's name and number and within a few days Hobie was at my boat.

As we talked, Hobie said something that I couldn't believe.  He told me that I had helped students of mine for my whole career and that he was going to help me out and that it wouldn't cost me a lot of money.  Hobie explained that my engine didn't show signs of major damage and that the black was just from the belt that was seriously worn.  The high pitched whine was from a small temperature sensor that could easily be replaced.   He also has had off shore experience and when he found that I wanted to go off shore, he told me he would make me a list of all of the things I should do, not only to the engine, but to my electrical and some other systems in my boat.   He told me how to clean the engine (a product called 4U and water) and he wanted me to not only replace the worn belt but to replace all of the hoses on the engine.  

Within a couple of days, he sent me a detailed list of all I should be thinking about

Looking much better now.

doing before heading out and the names of places and people that would inspect/clean some vital equipment (injectors & heat exchanger) on my engine.   He also told me how to avoid the expensive marine supply prices and go directly to an automotive parts house for some of what I need.  He stressed me doing the work and that if I get into trouble, he would help me whenever I needed it.

What a total blessing it was to find Hobie and even though he has not asked for one cent, I will pay him and thank him for allowing me to have the confidence to learn my engine by doing.   THANK YOU HOBIE!                                       

Whew!

                                              

SOLO 2- Visiting four islands

May 4, 2014

This screen shot shows my actual track around and by the four islands.

Goal for Solo 2- Sail either around or close by the four islands, Catalina, Santa Barbara, San Nicholas & San Clemente Islands.  (Approximately 200 nm)

Well, finally success in finishing what I had started on Solo 1.    Last month when I tried to do this same trip the first time, I failed to make it around even one of the four islands.   I headed back to Long Beach (See Solo 1) to regroup and plan my next attempt.   One thing that Solo 1 had taught me was that even though I hadn't used even one gallon of fuel, I had not gotten very far.   LESSON #1   If I have a good diesel engine and plenty of fuel, I shouldn't waste time bobbing around out in the ocean with no wind.   This time (for the most part) when the wind died, I cranked up the iron jib and headed to my next way point at 4-5 knots speed.   I really only motored about 1/4th-1/5th of the time and enjoyed the speed at which the islands went by.   For example, it took me 24 hours to get just South of Santa Barbara Island on Solo 1 and in only about 22 hours this time I had already passed San Nicholas Island and was on my way to San Clemente Island.

NOAA Wind Report- GRIB files

I had already proven that I could get enough sleep on Solo 1, but I had also learned a LESSON #2- Be an opportunist when it comes to sleep.   On the first trip, I was too excited to sleep the first day and wasted that time without sleep.   This trip, I did catch and hour or two during the day time whenever I could.   It all added together to make my trip much more pleasant.

On Solo 1, I had my solar shower along and did not use it once.   LESSON #3- A clean Captain and crew feels better and can appreciate the beauty of the trip a lot more.  I showered every afternoon and it felt great.

On this trip I was tested in different ways.   I reached destinations (Santa Barbara Island and San Nicholas Island) in the dark.   This was not just an endurance race, I really wanted to see each island and to get video or still pictures of each island.  As you can see (if you watch the video) I had to show you my pictures of my chart plotter/GPS showing the display of me either rounding or sailing by the islands in the dark.   On San Nicholas Island, I really slowed up and   w  a  i  t e  d  for the sun to come up.  Why was I in such a hurry?    I was also tested on the first and second day by sailing in higher winds than I had ever sailed in.   My boat had previously reached 7.7 knots as it's greatest speed with me sailing it.   On this trip, Spirit Of Adventure set a new record of 8.4 knots of speed.   Amazingly scary speed.   Tor (MoniTor wind vane steering) was sailing as the boat speed increased, but when I hit that speed, I took over the tiller and slowed us down a bit.   Yes, I am seldom afraid, but this second night the combination of darkness and high speed frightened me.   Next time I will not be as frightened.   It happened again just as I was nearing the finish line in Long Beach.  High wind and I too much sail up.   I had thought this through and so I told myself, "What a better time to practice than today & now?"   I headed up into the wind and the boat immediately went into irons (with the bow into the wind).   The whole boat went from over 7 knots to ZERO!   I was impressed and actually had my tiller hard over and could let go of everything with the boat "parked".  The process is actually called being "hove to".    From this "parked" position, I could furl the head sail quite easily.   When I pointed the bow off the wind, the boat picked up to a comfortable, easily controlled 4.5 knots.   Easy!

Don't get me wrong.  I did love this trip and was elated at accomplishing my goal.  At one point, I was 65 nm out in the ocean and loved it.  My recent battery addition and re-wire served me well and my system supported all of my night time electronic needs. You will have to watch the video to see the brunette, red head and finally the blond that visited me and stayed with me for awhile.   Oh, Mary (my wife) approved.

My little boat in a big ocean.

My longest runs were the ones I enjoyed the most.   To watch the boat sail along at 5+ knots with only Tor steering was amazing.   I cannot say enough about how great Tor and my Tiller Master do their job.   The peace I feel when doing longer runs is extreme.   I can clean, organize, repair, sleep, cook, read or just relax and watch the ocean.   I am really loving these trips and when I get home, I can appreciate my wife and all that I have been blessed with at home.  My wife really is a saint for letting me do these trips.

Another special thanks to my great sailing buddy, Fred of "Later Gator" fame.   He stayed in communication with me as much as possible and as I was returning, he sailed his boat almost 1/2 way to Catalina to meet me.   I can't thank him enough for being my shore support on these trips.

I know that my daughter & her partner will be joining me for a week in Catalina in early June and  I am already planning another trip in June.   Maybe as far North as Morro Bay.   Mary may drive up and then we will play some wonderful golf while enjoying the boat on mooring in this beautiful area.   This is a maybe right now.

I am just now planning and looking for at least one crew member (Diana, Fred, Mike or ????) for the 2014 Baja Ha Ha (http://www.baja-haha.com/) that sails from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) at the end of October.   It will be a two week trip down there and then I may sail back solo to Long Beach or ?.   Is anyone up for an adventure....?   I want to register for this and they will not register me until I have a crew.   Let me know if this appeals to you.   You can read about this online.

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

Please take a look at the 36 minute video of Solo 2 on YouTube.   Just click here here.
                                              http://youtu.be/SU9jtn65XhA

Halee & Siri in Catalina

March 28-30, 2014

Kind of a spur of the moment trip to Catalina with our granddaughter Halee and Siri, a foreign exchange student from Norway.   Two seventeen year old girls and a grandpa!
We got to the boat on Thursday evening and packed some groceries and figured out the sleeping arrangements.   I got to try out the table that makes into a bed.   It worked great and Halee and Siri got the V-births.

 Friday- We left around 8:30 AM for Avalon, Catalina.   What a neat morning of sailing, seeing dolphin, resting and we arrived just before 3:00 PM, a 6.5 hour crossing.   Wind was light and kept us on a perfect heading for Twin Harbors.   With two newbies to sailing and Catalina, I had planned on Avalon so at around 2:00 PM I began motoring.   We checked in and got a mooring for two nights.   The girls practiced rowing the inflatable and I got a lot of laughs from watching them.   Halee cooked dinner with the help of Siri.    What a beautiful day.
  Saturday- What a beautiful day of relaxing, watching the girls snorkeling and the girls even went para-sailing.    We walked the town of Avalon and the girls finished up their sunburn as they wanted to do.   That evening I pulled out the guitar with harmonica and played the girls a few songs.   Halee and Siri were great at singing along.

Ralph- On Saturday, I was relaxing in the cabin and I heard someone hailing "Spirit" from a dinghy alongside my sailboat.   It was a great young man named Ralph.  Believe it or not, Ralph had another 34' Islander like mine.   I invited him aboard and he enthusiastically looked all over my boat.    His is a few years older than mine but when only 12-14 of these boats were made, this was a neat experience.  I later rowed over to his boat and did the same.   He is a welder and has his boat in Los Alimitos Marina which is very close to where I keep my boat.   We exchanged information and I believe we will become great sailing buddies.

Sunday, we awoke early and left Avalon at around 7:30AM.    We motored out into the channel (25 nm across) and soon found enough wind to sail.   The wind started at about 10-15 knots and increased to gusts over 20 knots.   I soon taught Halee how to measure the swells ("Oh swell") and by the time the morning was over, we had some swells to nine or ten feet.   We were flying and I saw speeds for Spirit of Adventure hit 7.7 knots.   We made a 4.5 hour crossing and arrived around 12:00 in Long Beach.   My other sailing buddy, Fred, who I have written about many times, had wanted to meet us in mid channel but we arrived so quickly, he could only welcome us back home.   Thanks Fred!  

Halee wrote in my ship's log- "The boat was so much fun after initially falling into the floor of the boat (ha, ha) it got a lot better and I had a great time.  Love my grandpa.  I got a nice tan also."
Siri wrote- "I am super grateful for getting the opportunity to go sailing in California!  I had a lot of fun and I will remember the trip for the rest of my  life."
I agree and this grandpa/captain is very blessed to have had two great girls aboard!   If you wish to watch a 14 minute video of our trip, just click on the following link...

http://youtu.be/AxjHL4khVbo

Belize 2014

I hesitate to list this video here as I have tried to keep this blog all about my sailing adventures.   If you check some of my postings, you will see that I love snorkeling and doing underwater video.   Recently, my wife and I got to go to Belize for almost three weeks.   We snorkeled almost every day and loved it.   I think you may enjoy watching this video and I promise to be back out there sailing soon.  

I am already planning my next trip on The Spirit Of Adventure and will take you to Catalina Island on Spring break next.    Anyway, enjoy this video.

Me chasing a pretty large sting ray with my GoPro camera.

Click here to see the Youtube video of our Belize trip.   Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/taV4-A78MeY

SOLO 1- My First Longer Distance Solo Sail

2/4/2014-  I had been planning on and looking forward to a single handed (solo) trip up to the Channel Islands.   A few weeks had passed and I was just looking for a weather window that would give me three or four days of good weather.   Finally, as I neared my birthday (Feb 7) I thought that I saw a Tuesday-Friday period of nice weather.   Now, I have to put things into perspective.   My daughter in Colorado Springs had showed me her iPhone where the temperature was -7 degrees and they were in a blizzard.   For us here in Southern California when it gets down in the 40's that is winter.

I have said before that everything I have
done to Spirit of Adventure has been to allow me to single hand my boat over longer distances.   The time had come to test both myself and the boat's readiness to do this.

Note- On the day before my departure, as Mary (my wife) and I sat and talked, I asked her if she worried about me leaving on this trip.   She said, "No, not worry, more just a concern.  I would like you to take someone else with you."   I told her that my chances of dying riding my motorcycle on the freeway was probably 100 times more than doing a solo sailing trip.   She agreed.

I want to say here that my 3-4 day trip actually lasted only about 50 hours.   All was well through the first night and I was anxious to get on with day two.   During the end of day one, I checked weather for San Nicholas Island where I would head after rounding Santa Barbara Island.   There were small craft warnings with gusts to 35 knots.   I thought, "Oh, that will be fun and I may have to take in another reef in my mainsail.  I can still do it."   Then just a few minutes later I discovered that one of the reef points on my mainsail had torn the mainsail straight down towards the boom (the thing the mainsail is attached to at the bottom) and had left about a foot long tear.   I thought, "Interesting!  That should not have happened but I can still just leave it reefed and continue to sail on my trip."   Then, I heard a NOTICE TO MARINERS on my radio where the west side of San Clemente Island was closed due to flare testing by the military.  OK!  I could still round the two islands and then round Catalina and head for home.  (All of these things were starting to bug me!)  The last straw (What next?) was my radar began giving me an "Error 7 & 8" message and would no longer work.  I tried re-booting it and the message just repeated again.

Although disappointed, I realized several things.   All of these things combined were telling me to use some common sense and live to fight another day.   I had already had a great adventure on this trip.   I had seen how I could get sleep as my boat sailed itself overnight.   The Monitor Wind Vane steering had worked flawlessly.  Until then, the radar had done it's job and had given me the warning that I needed to be safe.

During the trip back to Long Beach, I did not have the safety of the radar so I would sleep for 30 minutes, wake up, look around and then do that again.   I had my radar reflector up and I had seen when one ship had actually changed it's course to go behind me instead of in front of me.  I knew they could see me and figured that I had a 50/50 chance that they really didn't wish to run over me.   The wind died just before morning and I took over the tiller at around 5 AM.   I had only really had three hours of sleep so I was tired but knew that I could not just drift around in the shipping lanes.

I entered Queen's gate just as the sky brightened and daylight began.   I had sailed somewhere over a hundred miles and had not used one gallon of diesel fuel.   My good friend Fred had kept in touch with me on this trip and had even left his cell phone on all night in case I needed to talk.   Within about ten minutes of me pulling into my slip, he was there greeting me.   Thank you Fred for being a great sailing buddy and a better friend.   I called Mary and let her know I was safe in my slip and then I went to bed (on the boat) and slept for five hours.

I loved this trip!   Please check out the 14 minute video of my trip by clicking the link here-  http://youtu.be/t6e9raRwv14

February 1st Sail with great friends

2/1/2014

Sailing with Chris & Doug

We had invited Chris and Doug sailing on Saturday and little did we know how excited they were over the opportunity.   I had stayed on the boat Friday night and was ready for Mary, Chris & Doug when they arrived around 11:30 AM.   Mary had called me from an overcast Orange, where our home, is and I gladly reported that it was clear and very sunny.   After arrival we sat in the cockpit and enjoyed Subway lunches.

After lunch and with a tour of the boat and life jacket assignments, we headed out into the beautiful, sunny Pacific Ocean.   Chris actually took the tiller as we left the marina and after that Doug took over.   Doug had sailed Sabots when he was younger and still remembered how to use the tiller.   For those who may not know, with a tiller, if you wish to go to starboard, you push the tiller to port.   The opposite is also true if you wish to go to port.

Soon we were cruising along at over 5 knots in about 8-10 knots of wind.    We headed out and sailed generally west toward Catalina for about an hour.   From there we tacked and headed north towards the San Pedro breakwater entrance.   It took us about an hour to go that distance.   The girls had put on sweaters and gloves by then and I finally put on my hooded sweatshirt.   Doug never did put on a sweater or jacket.

We returned to the marina and sat and enjoyed some refreshments in the cockpit.   A perfect ending to a perfect day of sailing.

Please take four minutes & 15 seconds to look at the video and still pictures of this sail by clicking here http://youtu.be/SjYqS_82C0A

Sailing with the Coffee Club

1/17/2014  Happy New Year

Don't tell everyone, but Southern California is having a heat spell where the temperatures at the beach is in the 80's.   Now my wife attends a coffee club each month and about a dozen retired teachers all get together and talk, drink coffee, talk some more and yes, talk some more.   My wife, Mary had invited a couple of the women for a day sail last Friday.   What a fun experience it was.

Left to right- Mary, Vivian & Vicky

Laughter & enthusiasm shared equally today.

Please watch the five minute Youtube video by clicking here-
http://youtu.be/jTsLvDNP5Ts

We will go out again!