Ship's Log
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Welcome aboard 'Truth', the sailing yacht of Coastland Christian Bible College and University of Southern California. Grab a cup of java and enjoy the adventures as you read our log-book! |
| Life is a journey...Sailing is an adventure! Let's set sail! | T R U T H |
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S p i r i t &
4-20-05 Cheryl, without prompting, says maybe it is time to get a boat! 4-25-05 Jack calls me and says he's at Dana Point and found a boat! 4-26-05 I searched on the net and found a boat that was in our price range 6000 for a 29-foot Cal. 4-27-05 I called the Attorneys office in Palm Springs and they told me it was in Dana Point on 'A' dock (our old dock!) On the way down, I felt the Lord telling me this is His gift to us. When I saw it, I knew it was. I called the attorneys office and they said there was someone else who was most likely going to buy it. I made an offer - they called me back later and said the other guy couldn't match it and we could buy the boat. 4-30-05 I met Brad (attorneys son) and bought the boat! 5-2-05 Stephan, Matt, Jack, and I began to clean the boat. I found
out we have a nice hard bottom dingy! Jorge from Dana West showed
me. They towed us to A-25 slip so they could repair our slip on
'A' dock (A-100). 5-5-05 Stephan and I scrubbed the decks of the boat. After praying,
I felt the name should be 'Truth' (the boat has not been named!)
Stephan said he saw 'Truth' on my shirt. We prayed with Rex - he
said he wanted to be truly born again. Praise God! Surveyed the
boat - it needs: 5-6-05 Rex cleaned the bottom - needs paint and the bushing for the propeller through hull replaced before we can put it in gear. 5-6-05 Sheldon (a diesel mechanic) and myself totally overhauled the engine - it fired right up!! Praise God! He said the engine is in great shape and is laid out well. It only had 9 hours on the meter! 5-10-05 6:30 AM -met Jorge at the boat - he is going to help me work on it and tow it to the shipyard to haul it out. Had a chance to witness to him. Prayed with Rex and discipled him. Rex and I will painted the bottom and replaced the strut (cutlass) bearing - he is just charging us for parts! The bottom looks good. Some blisters, but Rex states they are only cosmetic. We may need to align the prop. 5-11-05 Took the boat for it's first trial - it was wonderful (motor trial - the main halyard is still jammed so we can't sail yet). There was no strange vibration or sounds - I looked at the shaft and it seemed to be totally in line with the strut. We may not have to do the engine alignment. There was a pod of dolphin in the Harbor!! I watched them for about 15 minutes. Awesome! God is good! I cleaned the boat inside and out. Jack got us some carpet - we will install it tomorrow. I also put on new dock lines, a man overboard life preserver, and fenders. 5-12-05 Stephan and I prayed and checked the halyard - God freed the main and the jib halyards! Praise God! We raised the sails in the slip - the roller fullering jip looks pretty good - the main is in need of some care. Jack got us carpet and we put it in - Truth looks wonderful! Praise God! 5-13-05 Stephan, Jack, Matt, Tim, and Dan (a friend of Jacks) took her out on her first adventure. We were going to sail, but I want to wait until I replace the main halyard with new line and replace the clips that hold the main onto the mast. We motored out to the first buoy marker. We tested the autopilot - it works! We cut the trip short because Rex called and needed some prayer. I ministered to Rex - vastly more important than sailing. What a wonderful day!
5-14-05 Wow! I took Cheryl, Cody, and Cameron on the boat - the unveiling. It was a beautiful day! Cheryl stocked the boat with the necessities and we took off for the seal buoy outside the harbor. I did a very bad job docking the boat - I overshot the slip, backed around and basically looked like I had never docked a boat before. Our neighbor came over and assisted. How embarrassing! Despite that, it was a wonderful day and Cody said it was so fun he wants to go all the time! Cheryl loves the boat - it's very 'comfy'. We are just so blessed - I think I felt more relaxed today than since we were in Maui last year! Praise God! 5-15-05 After our all-church picnic we took the Lankfords and the Harrisons for a motor cruise outside the harbor. A perfect day (I even docked the boat perfectly) by the Grace of God. There were nine of us on the boat and there was plenty of room to spare. We capped it off with dinner at the Brig - Thank you Jesus! 5-16-05 Stephan and I replaced the main halyard and the jib halyard. We also began replacing all the lines. We will finish that tomorrow. It's looking great! What a blessing! It was fogy and misty in Dana Point today. Early June gloom. 5-17-05 Our first class on the boat! Stephan and I installed a new stereo for the boat - sounds great! The class was great. And, we actually sailed her today! Just a short cruise out to the seal buoy. The main sail is pretty old - the roller-furling jib is in pretty good shape. Had a chance to minister to Bob - he's a guy who lives on his boat and is a wonderful old timer to talk to about Dana Point Harbor - he saw the whole thing built. The weather was perfect today - blue sky, puffy clouds, a gentle breeze, and a warm sun. This was not a 'real' sail however - not enough wind, so we actually motor sailed. 5-18-05 I finished replacing all the lines on the boat and completed the new stereo install. I had a blessed time alone on the boat - first time since we bought it! Thank you Lord! 5-19-05 Our first Pastor's prayer and sail on the boat! There were only four of us, but what a blessed time! The wind was perfect and we had our first real sail - healed over and all. What a blessing. She handles well - no weather helm. The autopilot holds a perfect course even under sail. 5-21-05 Family cruise and BBQ! It was wonderful! Perfect weather, calm sea, cute seals, Cheryl, Cody, Jake and I had a great time! 5-23-05 Mom and Dad came down - we went for a nice Harbor cruise
and docked at the shops - had ice cream and smoked fish. Perfect.
5-30-05 The Petersons and the Macmillins went for a harbor cruise. Justin was very nervous once we were in open ocean. He went below and just peeked out the V-birth hatch. The boat is so roomy it was very comfortable with all of us on board. After we arrived back in the dock the kids watched a movie, Cheryl and Kim talked in the cockpit, and Mark and I talked at the helm. Then I laid down in the V-birth for a while - it was so relaxing and comfortable!! I feel like God really did a work in Mark regarding renewing his love for Kim. Very Nice… 5-31-05 Sailing and Discipleship class on the boat - WOW! We went about 4 miles outside Dana Point at heading 283 degrees and ran into a pod of dolphin about 200 strong! They stayed with the boat for about 40 minutes! Matt and Christie-Anne actually touched some dolphin as they swam at the bow of Truth. This was a wonderful day sailing and seeing God's beauty! 6-1-05 We had our Men's Bible Study Group on Truth tonight! We sailed, prayed, and docked at the Jolly Roger and had smoked fish and ice cream. Everyone had a great time! 6-2-05 Pastor's prayer on Truth. We had a great time of prayer - Rex came by and we had the opportunity to pray with him as well. We then went for a brief sail - what a blessing! 8-14-05 OK, I missed a month or so. We have been sailing with dolphin,
saw sunfish, had a picture perfect sunset sail with the red tide
so thick or whole boat lit up with the blue glow. It has been a
wonderful month! 9-5-05 We got our new sails - very nice UK Dacron racing sails. I can't wait to try them out. The Anthonies, Bradshaws, and Lankfords will join us this Saturday for the 'shake down' sail! 9-10-05 We were all set for the shake-down sail. Started the engine, untied from the dock - and the boat wouldn't move! The shaft was unbolted from the engine!!! God must have had an angel do it, because the bolts were neatly laid down by the shaft. I tried for two hour to put the bolts back - I couldn't get the nuts started. For some reason, God didn't want us to go out today. It was still a wonderful day on the boat at dock - good fellowship and prayer. 9-13-05 OK - our sailing class met and we had our first sail on 'Truth' with the new sails. It was AWSOME!!! When we rounded the point, the wind blew at a steady 14 knots and we took off! We actually caught a race boat that was out practicing! She sails like a dream! I do need to mount a wind indicator though - it is difficult to sail without that indicator on the mast. We also installed two brand new Marine batteries today. Our list of maintenance items is now down to the following; 1. Mount the wind indicator 7-4-06 OK - We have been sailing every week but too busy to log our travels. We did an all day trip to Newport Harbor where we ate at the Blue Water Grill. Awesome day! Today, July 4th 2006 I took my family (Cheryl and Cody) and some friends (Larry and Eileen) 10 miles off the coast of Dana Point. We came across 5 Blue Whales! It was incredible!!! We set out to try to find a whale, but we couldn't find any. When we were about 8 miles off the coast, I thought I saw a glimmer about 2 miles ahead of us. I kept watching and I saw the whale blow - thus the saying, 'there she blows'. We came right up on the gently giants (and I really mean giants at 80-100 feet in length!). One blew right next to us and the spray covered the boat! (see picture to the right - you may need to scroll up)The blue whale is the biggest creature on earth today. It is humbling being 50 feet from a 90 foot creature. I will try to keep up on the log.
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