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Saturday, September 27, 2014

New Video!!! 32. S\V Delos- Lost In Raja Ampat

The crew leaves Sorong behind and gets lost trying to find the village of Waisai.  We find a sweet spot to hang out and say to hell with finding Waisai and just chill for a bit.  We do some awesome exploring, and get really sick :(

11 comments:

  1. Glad you lived on for another day.

    Peace and happiness,

    Mark and Cindy
    s/v Cream Puff

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  2. Keep maximizing the dream!

    Ken & Lori
    S/V Trim
    Lovina Beach, Bali

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  3. Absolutely unbelievable!!! I stumbled across your adventure on you-tube. (I think I’m all caught up with the exception of some blog posts) I’m going to purchase a sailboat in the near future and have been trying to learn how to sail a larger boat on line. (I’ll be joining a crew bank next summer) I have many hours of sailing sunfish and hobie cats, but nothing larger. I am very excited and can’t wait to start sailing. It’s all I think about and it can’t come soon enough. (And your videos aren’t helping) ;)
    One question, will your adventure ever bring you to the Great Lakes? I know you’re probably thinking Great Lakes?? Yuck!! But I had to ask. If you do, you must stop in Buffalo as I would be honored to treat you and your crew to a meal or at least a beer!

    Happy Sailing!
    John

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    1. Hey John- Awesome thanks so much for watching and reading :) I actually think the Great Lakes sound really sweet! have heard a lot of awesome things so we'll just have to see. A lot of miles between here and there..... Fair Winds, and wishing you all the best as you start sailing bigger boats. Fair Winds- Brian S/V Delos

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  4. Hello Brian and the Delos Crew
    I love the videos and the blog too! My fiance and I are starting our adventure on our Manta catamaran and hope to relive some of the same fun times you have had. We are new sailors, and wonder... what should we really be afraid of the most? We are rookie sailors, and are spooked by everything from anchoring ( convinced we are dragging twice already in the middle of the night when we were fine) to going through some terrible thunderstorms on our first sail (winds over fifty knots and lightning all around the boat.) A little seasoned advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks
    Chris and Joyce
    S/V Saltrun
    Saltrun.blogspot.com

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    1. Hey Chris and Joyce! Wow, congratulations on starting your adventure! Honestly, the thing that I would be afraid of most is not going at all, or letting this amazing opportunity pass you by. I've seen quite a few boats all ready to go at the dock, just waiting for the one last boat project, or another bit of cash stashed away. Only to have their plans foiled by some other emergency of life taking over. At some point you just need to pull the cord and go for it, you'll never be 100% ready in my opinion. So, my biggest fear would be not pulling that cord.....

      I remember how you feel though sometimes second guessing my judgment, or letting the intensity of the situation get the best of you. But, just like anything in life the more you do it the better you become. Some day you'll know that when you set your hook with this much scope in this particular bottom type that you can hold comfortably in 50 knots. Now you've been though it, next time it happens you'll remember that. You'll still be diligent and on edge maybe but you'll learn what your boat can handle. And most of the time it's way more than you can!

      Of course on Delos we're still very conservative, always ready to reef, setting the anchor alarm when conditions dictate, etc. and we know how the boat behaves in certain conditions pretty good.

      Now, I have different fears! For example we're back in the civilized world visiting family and do you realize just how fast cars go on the highway? And so close to each other? It never really scared me before but after so much time spent at 6 knots the normal speeds of everyday life are now terrifying to me! I guess you just get used to what is normal in your everyday life......

      Fair Winds, and wishing you all the best!
      Brian
      S/V Delos

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    2. Brian,
      Thanks for the reply, your answer seems to reflect the same sentiment that others have, that is, as FDR once said, the only thing wear have to fear, is fear itself! Well, we know that fear is part of the game, and we accept that. We humans have a natural fear of the unknown, it is that fear that keeps us alive at times, and helps us prepare for the next time we are in the same situation. Managing fear, or keeping it all in perspective, is harder for newbies, because there is so much to know, it is almost sensory overload! It's like when you took your drivers license exam... it was sure scary at the time, but now? The only time you are scared in the car now is if you have been at sea for a long long time!
      Anyhow, thanks for the reply. and thanks for the inspiration, too
      Chris
      S/V Saltrun
      Saltrun.blogspot.com

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  5. Hello Brian,

    Also... :-(

    Ringworm, a fungus, is a very serious medical condition ... if it spreads to the armpits and groin (yikes) ... if left untreated ... You could be facing a serious risk of infection. Imagine the worst 'jock itch' and multiply this by x 1000.

    Treating a visible spot, does not mean you have cleared everyone else or all areas of contamination. This type of fungus is very contagious. Time for a quarantine and a good decontamination cleaning of the vessel.

    If you do go to the doctor and he prescribes the pill(s) for treatment. Be aware, this medication is hard on the liver... no alcohol during treatment.

    A good UV light will show if your vessel has been completely infected and will give you a good indication if you are passing it around to one another. Google.

    You are all living in a locker room ... the place contagious fungi loves to propagate.

    Cheers,

    Calvin

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    1. Hey Calvin! We know, it's no joke! Luckily we stocked up on the right anti-fungal cream and could treat it right away as soon as it become visible. Josje actually got it a few years ago so we learned a lot from this experience and have the right stuff in our medical kit arsenal now :) Thanks though, we always appreciate good advice and you are so right about the living in a locker room. Cleanliness on the boat is super important to our health!

      Fair Winds,
      Brian
      S/V Delos

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  6. Hello Brian,

    Another great post with good times.

    After two(?) years... has the idea of getting married popped up? Or is this a taboo topic? I know other people have asked this of you as well… might be time for a video to get the word out on where your mind is at on this topic.

    A great Confucius saying: "Living a balanced life, prevents experiencing an imbalanced life."

    Your sailing adventure reminds me of the very first 'internet' drama (now referred to as a Webisode) called "The Spot"… with a lot less stress on social vanity norms.

    Thanks for sharing your adventures and experiences.

    If I could make a request, I would enjoy seeing more sailing as you have a ton of experience that I know I could learn from. I also would like to see how you teach/impart your knowledge, experience, and techniques to the crew about life on a 54-foot sailboat.

    Sometimes watching a team train before a big race is just as exciting as watching them in action during the race.

    Maybe share some of the ‘group’ dynamics when discussions are held about various issues.

    Do you still think about upgrading Delos? As I am sure you are well aware, that ‘upgrading’ a vessel is highly opinionated amongst owners.

    Have you considered converting your aluminum dinghy with a JetSki engine/thrust unit? I imagine you could get this conversion done inexpensively in Raja Ampat.

    As a 'technical' person, you might enjoy adding a little FLIR to your videos. Today there is A LOT of FLIR technology available. There are 'FLIR' security alarms, activated lighting, cell phone attachments, and more … with the added bonus of all being controlled/monitored with a simple laptop.

    Five years ago, (good quality) FLIR technology was too expensive and bulky to attract consumers... but that has all changed now.

    The part when you were in the dark jungle, chasing after a Bird of Paradise sighting would have been a cool FLIR moment. I am reminded of the movie Predator with Schwarzenegger… and other funny sci-fi special effects in movies that tried to capture ‘high technology’ heat seeing devices. Remember KITT the car in Knight Rider? He had ‘infra-red’ vision… and it was completely animated.

    I hope you were able to repair your engine. Too bad engines cannot repair themselves.

    Is your compressor for the tanks hooked up to the engine, generator, or is it a 100% electric?

    Last thought is that if you are running heavily on electric, maybe an electric motor assembly, 100% LED conversion, and Lithium High Tech batteries… might give you a bit of ‘extra options’ and decrease diesel reliance. Electric Motors have come a long way. Check out the ones they use for the ROV’s they use in deep water for oil rigs.

    Some companies to investigate:
    Seabotix, Lewmar, VideoRay, Twin Disc, Vetus, Max Power, Nii Gata, Rolls Royce, Wartsila, Quick Nautical Equipment, Hyundai Vessel Thrusters, Berg Propulsion, Side-power Thruster Systems, Schottel, TSL and many more companies provide lightweight powerful electric thrusters... you are an ingenious engineer type, you could enjoy exploring the installation and deployment this tech.

    Cheers, Peace, and Good Journey,

    Calvin

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    1. Hey Calvin!

      Wow, that's cool about "The Spot" I wasn't familiar with that but looked it up and you are right, perhaps there are some similarities there!

      I know what you mean about more sailing footage. We are putting some new videos together that have some good sailing sequences. The problem has been no wind since leaving Australia, so it's been mostly motoring :(

      We are in the process of getting a new Camcorder and have a few in mind that aren't exactly FLIR quality, but do a pretty decent job of capturing infrared and look pretty cool. You're right, I think it cold add a lot though to the filming!

      Our dive compressor and most things on the boat are electric. We have converted all things to LED and find that most of our power goes to two things 1= refrigeration and 2- running the laptops! Both are run during the day off solar and charge the battery bank, which runs the boat during the night. The load is just so heavy for the dive compressor we're forced to run the generator for that but it's pretty fuel efficient, taking only 1 liter per hour and making 7KW of power. So when do run it we load it fully and fun the water maker, still, laundry, charge everything, etc. It works pretty decent. Surprisingly diesel fuel is one of our lowest expenses. I thought it would have been much more.

      Anyway, thanks so much for the comments and watching the videos. We really appreciate it!

      Fair Winds,
      Brian
      S/V Delos

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