Sailing4Him.org
| Vessel Name: | Sweet Dreams |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Irwin 54 |
| Hailing Port: | Hayden Bay, Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Crew: | Jim, Gina Colton, & Niki |
| About: | We are a family on a mission. Working with Wycliffe Bible Translators, we will sail across the Pacific Ocean to Papua New Guinea where we will serve as Boating Operations Managers. Please join us as God unfolds this wonderful adventure before us! |
| Extra: | |
| Home Page: | http://sailing4him.org |
15 November 2015
18 August 2015 | 8 05.87'S:157 00.63'E, Near GIzo
16 August 2015 | 8 05.87'S:157 00.63'E, Near GIzo
10 August 2015 | 8 05.87'S:157 00.63'E, Kolombangara Island
02 August 2015 | Gizo, Solomon Islands
13 July 2015 | 8 05.87'S:157 00.63'E, Kolombangara Island
01 July 2015 | 9 05.67'S:160 08.65'E, Tulaghi Harbour
25 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
25 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
23 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
21 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
21 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
21 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
20 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
20 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
20 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
19 June 2015 | 8 54.173'S:161 04.421'E, Malaita Island
14 June 2015 | 09 01.05'S:160 07.52'E, Roderick Bay, Nggela Islands
12 June 2015 | 09 24.11'S:160 00.62'E, Honiara
02 June 2015 | 07 43.75'S:160 03.68'E, Heading to Honiara
Recent Blog Posts
18 August 2015 | 8 05.87'S:157 00.63'E, Near GIzo
A Fish Story_Part 2
Now that you are hooked on this story, you need to know there is more. But first the answer to the popular question: Did you get the lure back?
16 August 2015 | 8 05.87'S:157 00.63'E, Near GIzo
A Fish Story
A huge rift in the family occurred last week. In other words it was real dissention.
Day 6 - the beast needs some TLC
21 June 2014 | 19 45'N:120 26'W, 760 nm offshore and heading toward Hawaii
Gina
Day 6
A slow day to be sure. The wind died down late in night and we were barely moving along. When that happens, the sails flop around making all kinds of noise. Just as we were nearing a decision to turn on the engine in order to keep the boat under control from swell, a nice gust would come and we would be off again. This happened many, many times. In the process most of the crew got very little, if any, sleep. Around 4:00am we decided enough during a prolonged lull to turn on the engine. It would not turn over. There is no worse sound than an engine that will not purr to life as it has so many times in the past. Jim went quickly into problem solving mode first hypothesizing was that the batteries were low from not running the generator during the day. We fired up the gen set, charged the batteries and tried again to start the engine, no luck. He moved next to other electrical possibilities. The starter felt very hot to touch meaning it may have seized. He insta lled the backup. No change. We started brainstorming and located the diesel engine handbook for research. Thanks to Nigel Calder, in a short amount of time, Jim determined that the engine had water in it from back siphoning. The seas had a pretty good wind swell and we were flying along the previous day�....heeling over enough to may have contributed to the issue. Colton and Jim tag-teamed the effort to solve the mystery and by midday were well into the process of finding & removing the seawater from the engine. The engine oil was contaminated so a premature oil/filter change will be the final step. It�'s up and running now. Whew�....that is a relief! If you look closely at the photo, you can see one of Jim�'s favorite tools �- a butter knife. He used a total of 8 of them to keep the valves open just enough to let the water out of the engine. At our house, we never underestimate the value of a butter knife!
During this dilemma, we kept reassuring ourselves that we are a sail boat, therefore, we can sail all the way to Hawaii and don�'t need an engine anyway. We have read of many people who have done it but at the end of the day, we really did not want to be one of them. We want to be one of the people who sighs and feels a sense of relief and thankfulness when their engine purrs back to life.
Please continue to pray for our safety and well being....and that our engine comes back to life with GUSTO!
A slow day to be sure. The wind died down late in night and we were barely moving along. When that happens, the sails flop around making all kinds of noise. Just as we were nearing a decision to turn on the engine in order to keep the boat under control from swell, a nice gust would come and we would be off again. This happened many, many times. In the process most of the crew got very little, if any, sleep. Around 4:00am we decided enough during a prolonged lull to turn on the engine. It would not turn over. There is no worse sound than an engine that will not purr to life as it has so many times in the past. Jim went quickly into problem solving mode first hypothesizing was that the batteries were low from not running the generator during the day. We fired up the gen set, charged the batteries and tried again to start the engine, no luck. He moved next to other electrical possibilities. The starter felt very hot to touch meaning it may have seized. He insta lled the backup. No change. We started brainstorming and located the diesel engine handbook for research. Thanks to Nigel Calder, in a short amount of time, Jim determined that the engine had water in it from back siphoning. The seas had a pretty good wind swell and we were flying along the previous day�....heeling over enough to may have contributed to the issue. Colton and Jim tag-teamed the effort to solve the mystery and by midday were well into the process of finding & removing the seawater from the engine. The engine oil was contaminated so a premature oil/filter change will be the final step. It�'s up and running now. Whew�....that is a relief! If you look closely at the photo, you can see one of Jim�'s favorite tools �- a butter knife. He used a total of 8 of them to keep the valves open just enough to let the water out of the engine. At our house, we never underestimate the value of a butter knife!
During this dilemma, we kept reassuring ourselves that we are a sail boat, therefore, we can sail all the way to Hawaii and don�'t need an engine anyway. We have read of many people who have done it but at the end of the day, we really did not want to be one of them. We want to be one of the people who sighs and feels a sense of relief and thankfulness when their engine purrs back to life.
Please continue to pray for our safety and well being....and that our engine comes back to life with GUSTO!
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