I found a bunch of video from my Alaska Cruise, so I'll be posting more to YouTube and linking them here.... ENJOY!
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Comments [1]
Here's a clip of me sailing to Hot Springs Island in the southern part of Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia
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More video from my Alaska Cruise. This clip was after an all day battle to jump from Prince Rupert, BC over to the Queen Charlotte Islands... The winds and seas were not cooperating so, I ducked into this channel and found myself sitting in a pool when the tide went out.... whoops! Probably not the best place to be, but I was out of the wind!
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Here's a short clip of my first attempt at baking cookies on the boat!
Enjoy!
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10/01/2009, Gig Harbor, WA
I was able to disassemble my Volvo Diesel in about three hours. I didn't loose any pieces-parts down the bilge, I didn't break anything, but I did have one heck of a mess when I pulled the head off the block... anti-freeze EVERYWHERE! I thought I had drained all the coolant, but after the fact, I noticed a drain plug on the side of the block that I didn't notice before. Oh well.... I went thru two rolls of towels to clean up my mess!
I should get a freshly cleaned, inspected and painted head back on Monday. The fun part will be to see if I can put the motor back together again without loosing or breaking any parts. I'll post some photos as soon as I can find my camera cable.
Thanks for all the wonderful COMMENTS left on this blog site! They really are motivating for me to keep pressing on!!!
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09/02/2009, Zamboanga, Philippines
Hi from Zamboanga, Philippines!
I'm back at work... somebody needs to pay off the Alaska Trip!!! :) I'm planning on posting a bunch of new videos, so stay tuned! (I might try YouTube as well)
Cheers!
Here's to a full sailing kitty and pay checks! :)
PS... Wow! I've had over 24,000 hits on my blogsite!!! Pretty cool!!! :)
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08/20/2009, GIG HARBOR, WASHINGTON
I FINISHED MY SHAKE DOWN CRUISE! 1700 miles, plus or minus...
I was really psyched to reach my starting point... Check that goal off the list! :)
Puget Sound was not cooperating and made the last leg pretty darn tough... strong shifting winds then nothing.... no wind... then currents not going in the direction that was "predicted"...I even launched the spinnaker to make some leeway, but I ended up motoring for two hours to get to Gig! Crazy place to SAIL!
My next priority is to fix my goof-ups on the boat. I have a mainsail that needs a patch, down-wind pole needs a new top stop and lots of paint! I also have to pull the head off the motor and get the injector sleeves replaced.
I'll be off to work next week...JUNESSA needs some repair bucks!!! haha
While I'm over in the Philippines 'working' I'll update my blogsite with more pictures and videos, so just because THIS trip is over, the website must go on! :)
I probably will have to get a haircut and shave.... hummmmm! I kinda like be Grizzly Adams!
Arrrrrrr! All ashore who's going ashore! I guess that would be ME! :)
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cheers
Colin and Nichola
Emerald
Cogratulations!
Have enjoyed following your trip, pics, and video on-line. When you head south, I hope we'll see you and Junessa in San Francisco.
Wayne
BCC "Odyssey"
Be safe and hurry back to Junessa!
CC
Congratulations!
We're in SF right now heading south with plans to be in Mexico in November -- maybe see you down there!
Heidi & Terry
S/V Cetus
08/20/2009
I'm getting closer to my next Goal... The starting/finish line for this trip.
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08/19/2009
It's so awesome watching the sun go down with flat calm water! Wow! My last night in the San Juans Islands. Tomorrow I'll be back in Puget Sound.
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08/19/2009, Puget Sound
It looks like this guy is trying to ski barefoot..... :)
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08/18/2009, POINT ROBERTS, WA
I made it to Point Roberts, Washington... USA!!! Back in home waters!
I checked into customs at the end of the day, so everything was closed up... I was able to dock overnight at the customs dock... Freebee!
This is a really interesting piece of real-estate!!!! It's cut off from the US mainland because of the way the boarders were drawn bank when... If you are really board, look up Point Roberts, WA....
Looks like I'll either stop-over in the San Juans or pass them up today. All depends on the winds.
I went for a short walk to find a store and everything is locked up for a couple more hours.... so, Looks like I'll just head out while the winds are a blow'n... :)
See ya at the next rest stiop!
Cheers!
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08/17/2009
I decided to be a SAILOR and not a POWERBOAT SAILOR... so, I used the motor to get in and out of the marinas and used the sailpower as much as possible... and to add more horsepower, I flew the new spinnaker lightweight sail! Wow!!! It took me an hour to figure out how to raise, deploy and fly it correctly. Once it was up and pulling, I sped up to 8.2 knots in 12-15 knots of wind!!! It was a BLAST!!!
It had it flying for about two hours then my winds died all together... so, the kite was bagged and I rolled around in the swell for awhile. That was the only time I was feeling queezy... so, I fired up the motor and made a bee line to the nearest anchorage.
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08/15/2009, Powell River, B.C.
Latest drama in "Let's Fix the Motor!"
The parts showed up this morning but the SPECIAL TOOLS did not! The Volvo Dealer forgot to send with the order..... So, I was told MAYBE Tuesday will be the soonest.. Well, darn it! That's just not gonna work for me... So, I made a bunch of trips back and forth to the dealer trying to get something to work for me... In the end, the mechanic suggested just putting a copper washer down in the injector sleeve as a temp fix... It works, but I would not want to motor all day for the next 7 days to get back to Gig Harbor. Oh yaaaaa.... I have a sailboat! daaaa! Well, if the winds will cooperate with me, I'll sail non-stop to the first US port of entry.
I plan on avoiding all motoring spots and heading back to Gig... I still have to go to work at the end of the month and anymore problems could be a major pain.
I know this is all part of owning a boat... but I was having such good luck so... Oh well...
This is such a crazy marina! It's almost all stern tie or rafting with your neighbor... I've seen some very close calls with boats maneuvering around in tight spots. I had a tough time of it as well, but I didn't hit anyone or scare too many people! hahah
Cheers! from Pizza place! yum yum!
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T&C
08/14/2009, Powell River, B.C.
Well, I have good news and bad news.....
Bad.... JUNESSA's 2003 Volvo 3-cyclinder diesel motor decided to blow a fuel injector liner....
Good... It happened 20 minutes from a good size town with a Volvo Dealer right by the docks!!! Their mechanic check out the motor
Bad... Mech decided we couldn't salvage the injector...and they didn't stock any of the parts or special tools, and that I would have to buy the tools... :(
Good... they assure me that all parts and tools will be here Saturday and the Mechanic will install the parts...
Bad... $$$$$$$ ouch!
Good.... This is a really nice town!!! Reminds me of Duluth Minnesota...
last one... BAD!!! I had to hike up the hill to use the internet at a little coffee shop. Nothing near the boat! :(
Wish me luck and a cheap bill!
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08/14/2009, Powell River, B.C.
Well I'm dead in the water (actually tied up to a dock) but my motor decided to crap out. I noticed the power was starting to decrease and more smoke and noise, so I went down below to fing a leaking fuel nozcle. Luckily I was near a town with a Volvo shops near my slip. The mechanic came down to look at the engine. He showed me how to pull the injectors, bleed the system.
I've trying to get my MAC and all the electronic stuff working but not much luck today.
I'm pecking on my iPhone and it's 1am. I'm so beat.
Cheers from Powell river.
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08/12/2009, Desolation Sound, B.C.
This was one really nice anchorage! I did some hiking, cleaning and RELAXING!
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08/11/2009
I took a short dingy ride along the island I was anchored at the shore was lined with these purple starfish!
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08/11/2009, Desolation Sound, B.C.
This was one of the nicest anchorage on the trip... crystal clear water, beautiful scenery and nice weather! Gotta love it!!!
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08/10/2009
Here's another Discovery Channel View!!! Wow! I could've stayed up there for a month or more! But somebody has to pay for this view!! hahah
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08/09/2009
The Porpoises finally showed themselves!!! HEEEE YAAAAA! SO COOL!
I was concentrating on riding the next set of rapids when I heard this strange noise around the boat..."oh great! Now what's wrong?" Then whoooosh! I saw about eight porpoises playing around JUNESSA!!! I had to go grab the video camera and slow the boat down so I could get as much exposure to the Porpoises as I could.
They would come from all directions and almost touch the bow... then dive down and then look up at me! It was sooooooo cool!!!
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