1300 local
05 40 N 138 55 E
wind on the nose, squally and confused seas, all fine aboard
Friday, September 1, 2017
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Sunday, August 13, 2017
//WL2K HEADED TO POHNPEI
Wed. 20 August 2017
Palau
It has been so long since I have written an update I don't remember the format I used. Not to worry the important thing is I am trying to write once again. After almost a year on the lovely island of Palau tomorrow we are checking out and heading east 1500 nautical miles to Pohnpei. That will be our jumping off place for next years return to Sourthern California.
Lots has gone on since I last wrote. Trips to the Rock Islands, a new outboard, a new water maker, again new batteries as the ones bought in the Philippines just one year ago failed. The internet here lately has been bad so no photos but once in Pohnpei I will try to post some of Palau and our passage to Pohnpei.
Some may notice that this post is done through winlink rather than sailmail. We have had a very difficult time connecting with the sailmail station. I hope to post as we make our way along on this passage. We willalso be checking in with the Pacific Seafarers radio net daily, position reports are available there too.
That's it for now as there is still lots to do before leaving.
Palau
It has been so long since I have written an update I don't remember the format I used. Not to worry the important thing is I am trying to write once again. After almost a year on the lovely island of Palau tomorrow we are checking out and heading east 1500 nautical miles to Pohnpei. That will be our jumping off place for next years return to Sourthern California.
Lots has gone on since I last wrote. Trips to the Rock Islands, a new outboard, a new water maker, again new batteries as the ones bought in the Philippines just one year ago failed. The internet here lately has been bad so no photos but once in Pohnpei I will try to post some of Palau and our passage to Pohnpei.
Some may notice that this post is done through winlink rather than sailmail. We have had a very difficult time connecting with the sailmail station. I hope to post as we make our way along on this passage. We willalso be checking in with the Pacific Seafarers radio net daily, position reports are available there too.
That's it for now as there is still lots to do before leaving.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
CAR PROBLEMS!
27 mar. 2017
1000 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 134°27.07 E
Moored, Palau
Three posts in a row, I guess catching up blog's is a lot more fun than the days plan which was starting on our income tax info for dear old Uncle Sam.
So you ask what kind of a car problem can we have when it was back in 2004 that we sold our last automobile. Well to those of us who live aboard full time our dinghy's are considered our cars as they provide the transportation back and forth to shore, visiting other yachts, fishing trips or perhaps just a leisurely boat ride. Our dinghy, a Caribe rigid hull inflatable, purchased in Venezuela back in 2001 is still in fair shape though it does need to have some air added daily. It was our Nissan outboard of pre 1990's vintage that has a experienced problem. The tiller steering arm has sheared off! This has made steering a bit of an adventure as the tiller arm also has the speed control. We have mastered a technique that works. I now sit atop the engine and use a pair of vice grips on the throttle rod for speed control. Kathy stands amidship and by leaning left or right controls our direction of travel. I have even managed to perform the operation without Kathy aboard. We had recently been discussing the possibility of buying a new outboard and Kathy had if fact stopped at a local Yamaha dealer to question the cost and availability of one. It was later that same day the tiller arm broke. We have now ordered a new outboard and thankfully here we are able to still get a two-stroke one but the expected delivery is not till May. Meantime I managed to order a new tiller arm from a store in the States which still supplies vintage parts. Our friend Connie has managed to send it along to us and soon we ought to be able to steer properly again.
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1000 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 134°27.07 E
Moored, Palau
Three posts in a row, I guess catching up blog's is a lot more fun than the days plan which was starting on our income tax info for dear old Uncle Sam.
So you ask what kind of a car problem can we have when it was back in 2004 that we sold our last automobile. Well to those of us who live aboard full time our dinghy's are considered our cars as they provide the transportation back and forth to shore, visiting other yachts, fishing trips or perhaps just a leisurely boat ride. Our dinghy, a Caribe rigid hull inflatable, purchased in Venezuela back in 2001 is still in fair shape though it does need to have some air added daily. It was our Nissan outboard of pre 1990's vintage that has a experienced problem. The tiller steering arm has sheared off! This has made steering a bit of an adventure as the tiller arm also has the speed control. We have mastered a technique that works. I now sit atop the engine and use a pair of vice grips on the throttle rod for speed control. Kathy stands amidship and by leaning left or right controls our direction of travel. I have even managed to perform the operation without Kathy aboard. We had recently been discussing the possibility of buying a new outboard and Kathy had if fact stopped at a local Yamaha dealer to question the cost and availability of one. It was later that same day the tiller arm broke. We have now ordered a new outboard and thankfully here we are able to still get a two-stroke one but the expected delivery is not till May. Meantime I managed to order a new tiller arm from a store in the States which still supplies vintage parts. Our friend Connie has managed to send it along to us and soon we ought to be able to steer properly again.
 |
| WHERE THE TILLER BELONGS |
 |
| JUST OLD AND TIRED |
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JUST A MINOR PROBLEM
0930 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 134° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
I guess having had a day of fun has inspired me to do a bit of updating for you faithful followers of my writing. Previously I had mentioned a minor difficulty with Miss Perky on her re-installation. It began with a leaky fitting on the mixing elbow of the exhaust system. On a marine engine salt water is used to cool the coolant in the heat exchanger, a radiator on a car. This water is then mixed in an elbow with the exhaust gases and passed out through the back of the boat. Miss Perky's exhaust elbow was cast aluminum with brass fittings for the hose, not the best in a saltwater environment but the way it had been for years. I removed the leaking fitting and after applying new pipe joint compound it was reattached. A new leak had developed!! A crack had opened up in the mixing elbow and we had a steady drip. As a temporary fix I sanded the area and applied a coat of Marine-Tex epoxy repair putty but this could only be for the short term. Replacement parts for Miss Perky are difficult to source but I did find a possible one in the states. My other thought was that possibly that our mechanic, Jim, could perhaps fabricate a replacement. Jim came to the boat to look and yes he could come up with a suitable replacement using an stainless elbow from a Northern Lights generator and having a new flange made up to connect to our exhaust manifold. It took a short time but I got it installed in time for our day of sailing.
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| NOT AN INTENDED SELFI BUT TO SHOW THE CRACK |
 |
| NEW MIXING ELBOW AND FLANGE |
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A DAY OF FUN!!!
27 Mar. 2017
0900 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 134° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
It seems as there has been nothing but work aboard Po oino Roa since Connie was here to visit last November. Prior to that I'm not sure when the last FUN days were. That ended last Saturday as we got to get off the mooring for a short motor to check Miss Perky's performance and then go SAILING. Sam, of Sam's Tours and Commodore of the Royal Belau Yacht Club, had organized a regatta and raft-up day. The weather cooperated with sunshine and 12 knots of breeze from the northeast. We had four boats participate on an out and back reaching course of 2 miles for each of four legs. After a delightful sail the raft-up fun took place in Seahorse cove just inside of what is known here as the Pincher's. Several additional boats joined in the raft-up fun.
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0900 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 134° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
It seems as there has been nothing but work aboard Po oino Roa since Connie was here to visit last November. Prior to that I'm not sure when the last FUN days were. That ended last Saturday as we got to get off the mooring for a short motor to check Miss Perky's performance and then go SAILING. Sam, of Sam's Tours and Commodore of the Royal Belau Yacht Club, had organized a regatta and raft-up day. The weather cooperated with sunshine and 12 knots of breeze from the northeast. We had four boats participate on an out and back reaching course of 2 miles for each of four legs. After a delightful sail the raft-up fun took place in Seahorse cove just inside of what is known here as the Pincher's. Several additional boats joined in the raft-up fun.
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| S/V PACIFIC HIGHWAY |
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| S/V PACIFIC HIGHWAY |
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| CAPTAIN KATHY CREW ALLIE AND BRIAN |
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| PO SAILING WITH S/V JOY BEHIND |
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| A PALAUAN MERMAID |
 |
| FUN |
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Thursday, March 9, 2017
MISS PERKY IS BACK
10 Mar. 2017
1600 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 137° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
While Miss perky got to enjoy her time at the spa there was work to be done on the boat. With the engine out it was an opportunity to clean what had become a very messy engine room. Being on a mooring in the pristine clean waters of Palau I could not just spray degreaser about then rinse it to the bilge to be pumped overboard. Instead it was wiping on the degreaser, Kathy recommended floor stripper, using a scrubby pad then using paper towels to wipe clean. This was followed by wiping with a damp cloth and then a dry one This took several applications lots of paper towel and rags but allowed the area to be cleaned without pumping oily sludge overboard.
Jim, the mechanic, was busy working on Miss Perky. As she was running fine we mainly wanted to fix the oil leaks from the rear main seal along with a number of others. It was also a chance to replace the oil line hoses with new. Jim recommended a new paint scheme of all white, better to track down oil leaks in the future. Miss Perky is no longer Perkins blue but Detroit white along with a white engine room the area is brightened up considerably. After new seals, gaskets, hoses and paint Jim test ran her several times in his shop and finding no leaks it was time to put her back in the boat. A big problem was the very rainy weather that we were experiencing here in Palau. Friday March 3 was our hoped for day and somehow we managed to have three hours that morning without rain and got the installation done, just the reverse of the engine removal. Shortly thereafter the sky's opened up again.
With the engine back in my work continued with the job of hooking everything back up and getting Miss Perky running in the boat, that is still continuing today. There have been several small problems that we are managing to solve but progress is being made. More on those with the next addition.
----------
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1600 Local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 137° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
While Miss perky got to enjoy her time at the spa there was work to be done on the boat. With the engine out it was an opportunity to clean what had become a very messy engine room. Being on a mooring in the pristine clean waters of Palau I could not just spray degreaser about then rinse it to the bilge to be pumped overboard. Instead it was wiping on the degreaser, Kathy recommended floor stripper, using a scrubby pad then using paper towels to wipe clean. This was followed by wiping with a damp cloth and then a dry one This took several applications lots of paper towel and rags but allowed the area to be cleaned without pumping oily sludge overboard.
Jim, the mechanic, was busy working on Miss Perky. As she was running fine we mainly wanted to fix the oil leaks from the rear main seal along with a number of others. It was also a chance to replace the oil line hoses with new. Jim recommended a new paint scheme of all white, better to track down oil leaks in the future. Miss Perky is no longer Perkins blue but Detroit white along with a white engine room the area is brightened up considerably. After new seals, gaskets, hoses and paint Jim test ran her several times in his shop and finding no leaks it was time to put her back in the boat. A big problem was the very rainy weather that we were experiencing here in Palau. Friday March 3 was our hoped for day and somehow we managed to have three hours that morning without rain and got the installation done, just the reverse of the engine removal. Shortly thereafter the sky's opened up again.
 |
| CLEAN AND BRIGHT |
With the engine back in my work continued with the job of hooking everything back up and getting Miss Perky running in the boat, that is still continuing today. There have been several small problems that we are managing to solve but progress is being made. More on those with the next addition.
----------
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Saturday, February 18, 2017
MISS PERKY GOES TO THE SPA
18 Feb. 2017
1200 local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 137° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
Hopefully I am not over grossing my faithful readership with another update so quickly. As some may recall our faithful auxiliary engine an old Perkins fondly named Miss Perky installed as a re manufactured engine back in 2003 or 04 prior to our leaving the states now having just over 6,000 hours of run time has been suffering from numerous oil leaks. She has always run well and there we have had no complaints regarding her excellent service but the rear main seal leaking 1/2 quart every 5 hours is just to much and my attempt at replacing it did not work. She also has other leakages from the pan and valve cover gaskets, some of the oil cooler lines along with some coolant ones too. After consulting with a mechanic here in Palau it was decided to remove Miss Perky from the boat and send her to Jim's shop for a manicure, pedicure and facial. well really new seals and gaskets and a fresh coat of paint.
I spent 4 days readying things for the engine removal. Being a center cockpit vessel the engine come straight up from it's location under the cockpit floor. First it was removing all the items in the cockpit. disconnecting the steering, sailing instruments, shift and throttle cables then removing the entire steering pedestal so the floor could be unbolted. Next was all the engine connections and wiring. Being an old engine Miss Perky does not have just a plug and play harness but individual wires to oil pressure, water temp, alarms, starter etc. etc. All needed to be labeled so I can hopefully have an easy time re-connecting things. We were now ready to be towed to an area where Jim, the mechanic, had his truck which has a crane for lifting. Ah hah you may remember we have had a fancy hard top built while in the Philippines, it's full enclosure had previously been removed but now the top itself also had to come off. Certainly glad that on it's design we remembered that it had to be removable. Slings were wrapped around the top and off it came.
Next the floor of the cockpit was lifted up and we were ready to lift Miss Perky up to be on her way for a spa treatment.
With the engine room empty it's now time for that area to be cleaned and painted.
Our tow service was provided by one of the dive boats operated by
Sam's Tours. Sam, the owner is a true friend of the cruiser's that visit Palau and his crew did a great job towing us back and forth to our mooring.
Where has all the stuff gone? the guest room.
----------
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1200 local
Position: 07° 20.28 N 137° 27.07 E
Moored, Palau
Hopefully I am not over grossing my faithful readership with another update so quickly. As some may recall our faithful auxiliary engine an old Perkins fondly named Miss Perky installed as a re manufactured engine back in 2003 or 04 prior to our leaving the states now having just over 6,000 hours of run time has been suffering from numerous oil leaks. She has always run well and there we have had no complaints regarding her excellent service but the rear main seal leaking 1/2 quart every 5 hours is just to much and my attempt at replacing it did not work. She also has other leakages from the pan and valve cover gaskets, some of the oil cooler lines along with some coolant ones too. After consulting with a mechanic here in Palau it was decided to remove Miss Perky from the boat and send her to Jim's shop for a manicure, pedicure and facial. well really new seals and gaskets and a fresh coat of paint.
I spent 4 days readying things for the engine removal. Being a center cockpit vessel the engine come straight up from it's location under the cockpit floor. First it was removing all the items in the cockpit. disconnecting the steering, sailing instruments, shift and throttle cables then removing the entire steering pedestal so the floor could be unbolted. Next was all the engine connections and wiring. Being an old engine Miss Perky does not have just a plug and play harness but individual wires to oil pressure, water temp, alarms, starter etc. etc. All needed to be labeled so I can hopefully have an easy time re-connecting things. We were now ready to be towed to an area where Jim, the mechanic, had his truck which has a crane for lifting. Ah hah you may remember we have had a fancy hard top built while in the Philippines, it's full enclosure had previously been removed but now the top itself also had to come off. Certainly glad that on it's design we remembered that it had to be removable. Slings were wrapped around the top and off it came.
 |
| TOPLESS |
Next the floor of the cockpit was lifted up and we were ready to lift Miss Perky up to be on her way for a spa treatment.
 |
| I SURE HOPE THIS WORKS |
 |
| JIM PUTTING THE LIFTING STRAPS ON |
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| OP SHE COMES |
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| NEXT STOP THE SPA |
With the engine room empty it's now time for that area to be cleaned and painted.
 |
| NOW TO CLEAN AND PAINT |
Our tow service was provided by one of the dive boats operated by
Sam's Tours. Sam, the owner is a true friend of the cruiser's that visit Palau and his crew did a great job towing us back and forth to our mooring.
 |
| OUR DRIVER DID A GREAT JOB |
 |
| HAPPY TO BE BOATING |
Where has all the stuff gone? the guest room.
 |
| NOT MUCH SPACE LEFT |
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Friday, February 17, 2017
NONI THERAPY
17 Feb. 2017
1700 Local
Position: 07° 29.28 N 137° 27.07 E
Moored
Two months and I am finally back to writing. I made a trip back to the states to visit with both my orthopedic and skin cancer Doctors. Kathy stayed on the boat and took care of things here in Palau along with Chica the wonder cat. My doctors appointment were all taken care of the day after my arrival. The only trauma being the fact that I had a rental care and it was the first time I had driven in 5 years. The freeway was a bit stressful but I managed and only honked at once doing a lane change.
My orthopedist had x-rays taken of both knees and said the fractured patella on my replace knee was basically healed and that the other one would need replacing in the future. For now I got a steroid injection to go with the sinvisc fluid injection I had here in Palau in December. I could have the fluid injection every 6 months if they were available. Perhaps the Taiwanese doctor will return here again.
The rest of my trip to the states was spent visiting friends and doing shopping for things not available here that we would normally we have to have mailed. One special event was Capt. Sandbar and his wife Maryanne hosting a get tother of a group of the old Harbor Patrol guys I used to work with. One thing about this trip was I almost froze having only shorts and flip flops. It was cold and rainy in California, hopefully their drought has ended.
Now to Noni therapy! Here in Micronesia/Polynesia the indigenous people have been using the fruit and leaves of the Noni tree as a holistic medicine. Captain Cook note the use of the Noni tree in Tahiti in his journals in the 1700's. We are using the leaves as a poultice on both my knees. Three or four leaves on each knee and an ace bandage wrap left over night and swelling is down along with easier movement. A number of years there was big marketing of drinking the juice to cure all. Not sure about that but leaves wrapped around a painful joint definitely works.
Coming soon is the reason for perhaps a bit to much of my time spent on my knees but it is necessary.
----------
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1700 Local
Position: 07° 29.28 N 137° 27.07 E
Moored
Two months and I am finally back to writing. I made a trip back to the states to visit with both my orthopedic and skin cancer Doctors. Kathy stayed on the boat and took care of things here in Palau along with Chica the wonder cat. My doctors appointment were all taken care of the day after my arrival. The only trauma being the fact that I had a rental care and it was the first time I had driven in 5 years. The freeway was a bit stressful but I managed and only honked at once doing a lane change.
My orthopedist had x-rays taken of both knees and said the fractured patella on my replace knee was basically healed and that the other one would need replacing in the future. For now I got a steroid injection to go with the sinvisc fluid injection I had here in Palau in December. I could have the fluid injection every 6 months if they were available. Perhaps the Taiwanese doctor will return here again.
The rest of my trip to the states was spent visiting friends and doing shopping for things not available here that we would normally we have to have mailed. One special event was Capt. Sandbar and his wife Maryanne hosting a get tother of a group of the old Harbor Patrol guys I used to work with. One thing about this trip was I almost froze having only shorts and flip flops. It was cold and rainy in California, hopefully their drought has ended.
Now to Noni therapy! Here in Micronesia/Polynesia the indigenous people have been using the fruit and leaves of the Noni tree as a holistic medicine. Captain Cook note the use of the Noni tree in Tahiti in his journals in the 1700's. We are using the leaves as a poultice on both my knees. Three or four leaves on each knee and an ace bandage wrap left over night and swelling is down along with easier movement. A number of years there was big marketing of drinking the juice to cure all. Not sure about that but leaves wrapped around a painful joint definitely works.
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| LEAVES WASHED AND READY FOR APPLICATION |
 |
| LEAVES PLACED ON MY KNEE |
 |
| WRAPPING WITH ACE BANDAGE |
Coming soon is the reason for perhaps a bit to much of my time spent on my knees but it is necessary.
----------
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