Searching for an Underwater Plane Wreck in Fiji's Yasawa Islands; The Tale of a P-39 Airacobra crash
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- Опубліковано 23 кві 2023
- Episode #294 : Season 9 : The South Pacific
Hello Friends,
On this episode I depart Nanuya Lailai Island and make way for Naviti Island in search of a downed WWII fighter plane that lays sunken underwater in the Lagoon.
After finding good anchorage near a long sandy beach I headed a shore snorkel gear and a machete and set off the island on an over grown trail. I eventually found the site and swam out to have a look at the small plane.
you can find out more information about the plane and its pilot here: pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-...
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Fair Winds,
James
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#planewreck #planewreckdive #wwiiplanewreck #fijiplanewreck
So exciting to see this video. I was at Naviti Island 1986. Visiting a small village there. Had to bring gifts to the chief of the island to get permission to visit. It was a totally wonderful island. No running water or elektricitet but gorgeus beaches. Me and my wife were the only tourists on the island. I would so much like to visit again. Thanks for letting me se a bit of the island again
The pollution is shoking ...but great video james your channel is good for my soul brother ...congratulations on your life choice ....one day soon I will live this life style it is calling me🤙🇮🇪
Yeah with that shore being to windward and no villages near to clean things up all the trash just piles up on the beaches.
@@SailorJames we are all responsible ...its sad but true ...a beautiful island 🏝 in figi even can't escape it ..with out even knowing your video brings awareness with can only be good 👍 bro .
I am a viewer since 40k subs. I miss your videos man! You deserve a million subs. From Philippines 🎉❤
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hell yeah! Awesome video this week James. I like exploration videos for some reason and you nailed it this week with the plane wreck. Oh and the caves you snorkeled in last week. Fantastic! I love your content. Thanks again. I'm sailing vicariously through you.
I am sure your battery is fine, engine sounds more like air in your fuel. Possibility of fuel running back to tank when engine is off, might be worth experimenting with gravity fed raised tank just to test.
It ended up being a compression issue due to water getting into the engine on the passage to Fiji.
@@SailorJames The water went in through the air inlet ?
Your battery is awesome mate, to me that sounds exactly like no fuel which is usually caused by a slight leak.
I've worked with diesels for years, but I'll break this down for those less familiar...
When your filter/primer, hoses, or clamps etc develop a leak it's often hard to tell because no fuel leaks out. But what happens is the leak allows air to enter the fuel system from outside, which in turn allows your fuel to run from the engine back down to your tank.
If you have a hand primer it's easy to check, but if not you could very easily crack an injector line loose before trying to start your engine. When you crank your engine, if no fuel comes out straight away you can basically confirm this theory.
I'm not familiar with your exact engine, but it's very common to have a primer in combination with your fuel filter, and these primers are very prone to this.
I could be wrong but I'd hate to see you stuck and batteries are expensive, and as soon as I heard yours cranking over so good I figured it couldn't hurt to offer my suggestion 😊
Ultimately It was a compression issue
@@SailorJames oh bugger 😬
Cool video .. Seeing all that garbage was depressing though.
Hey James,
Battery seems fine. Watch that starter though because it can heat up and warp the armature...and then the clicking starts. Usually 20 seconds on an attempt and let it cool a little bit...it will fail with repeated long cranking, not a maybe.
Two things come to mind when hearing the engine.
1. Fuel delivery/pressure...a very small air leak could do that but I think unlikely...it would air lock and need bleeding.
2. Compression issue. She might be tired and rings are worn. That would cause hard start until enough heat builds, from the friction/heat associated with turning it over, helps ignite the diesel... she'll run perfect following the start, easy to start when warm or shut off for up to a couple of hours.
If you have an inverter and a hair dryer (or at a dock) you could blow warm air from hair dryer into the air intake as you turn it over...if it starts relatively quickly you know you need a ring job.
Ether: try to avoid ether, it scores up the cylinder bores and worsens the compression issue. If one is using ether to start an engine regularly that engine is worn out.. One shot in the intake and fire it up...again, high flash point and that's why it works.... emergency only though, like if you can get it going at sea or something.
Hope that helps. Another great video with great content.
Living the dream. Thanks for taking us along.
Just thought that I would mention, once you managed to get the engine running it looked like the alternator belt was jumping around. A loose belt could be causing the low voltage if it is slipping on the alternator pulley ... you might want to tighten it up -- that's cheaper than a new battery!
The battery seems to have lots of juice. I'm no mechanic, but it seems to be starving for fuel? Good luck and let us know how it works out. :)
Hello James,
I’m excited to share that I bought my first sailboat. It’s been a long road to get myself to this point, and somewhere along the way I found your channel which has been a true inspiration.
Thanks for sharing your adventures!..now to have a few of my own. ✌️
Congratulations! You are going to be rewarded with absolute magic (after tears and cursing) that will make you smile until your face hurts!
Great video! Love your journeys
Not sure I would have found the remains of the plane interesting enough to warrant the walk through the nasty, swampy stuff. Liked the rest of the trip though. I tried to spend a night on a beach in Kauai long ago but the crabs made sleep impossible. May have been Wailua? The road may have ended there. Doubt that beach is deserted now! Found a little local bar where I was serenaded with song and ukulele by a charming local guy who was celebrating his anniversary...without his wife! I suggested he should be serenading her, but he was cool being in the bar solo. People were friendly; it was fun. It's memories like that that are worth making. Seeing the Triteia when you were approaching her made me sentimental and it's not even my boat! Vicarious thrill.
I love hopping aboard now & then. Thanks for the voyage!
Great video and adventure this week. Thank you!
Beautiful views and adventure, greetings and have a nice further adventure!
I look forward to this every week! Another incredible installment. Looking forward to more!
Thanks again James! Another amazing day and adventure.
Awesome video James! Great adventure. ⛵
Another great memory you made. Great video too.
It always feels like I am right there with you. Thanks for taking us along! 😎👍
Another great episode!
That was an adventure ... thanks for sharing with us.
What a wonderful adventure James. Thank you for taking us with you. Amazing Fiji!
Last couple years its been really nice watching your show James again thanks and take care
Groovy video
I was getting bummed out not having my Monday morning fix! But you came through with another great video.
Thanks Brother. Have a great time.
Sean
That was cool!
Fun hike, thank you !
James another fantastic video, As always really enjoyed it. like everyone says you make us feel like we are right there with you, thanks Buddy.
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Well done sir. High adventure.
Hey James... Slowly becoming emersed in your journey. One that I have always wanted to do.
As for your battery... its definitely not battery. She is turning over really well... I would suggest fuel or compression. The first couple of cranks a too free in turning... and then when fuel gets into the piston chambers, you can hear the pressure build up.
Hope that helps you to diagnose in anyway.
Other than that... I'm getting through your vids and enjoying all of them... great journey. Keep up the great work!
Brilliant stuff mate, that was an amazing experience, i really felt like i was there. Thankyou
Awesome history.
very kool James.....spooky wee place that, I was just saying to my wife how that place would be soooo dark at night time lol ....thanks for a wonderful video this week again. safe travels bro
what a beautiful place! i would walk a mile in crappy water to go there. great video as usual.
Just got an estimate for replacing my standing rigging. Ouch. Big bill. I hope to be on the ocean one day. Your videos give me hope.
I’m happy you put the issue on screen because I would have shouted til the end that it’s compression. You can hear it. Even from a camera’s perspective
Another excellent video ,keep on sailing and have fair weather when you leave for New Zealand cheers from Vung Tau Vietnam
Your battery look fine to me. I'm actually surprised it survives than many cranks. Look up how much voltage you get by your starter engine. Then check the starter engine condition.
It ended up being a compression issue due to sea water finding it’s way into the engine on the passage to Fiji
@@SailorJames glad you found the source of the problem ! Fair wind !
choke...gas issue...fuel pump maybe???
How effen cool! I think I like the idea of integrating with the local tribe more but that’s just a fleeting escapist fantasy.
Not sure if you are already on Viti Leve , but if you are going, I'd recommend the Royale Suva Yacht Club. Good luck!
THis is badass
Hello from Jacksonville,Fl🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙✌️🇺🇲⛵⛵⛵🇺🇲⚓⚓⚓
Welcome back
🤔 howdy, I haven’t missed a week 🤷🏼♂️ thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Nice😮
I keep a can of ( starter spray) either spray just a tiny bit into a rag and hold it over the intake and she starts right up.
Yeah I keep a can on board now
This was great! I was thinking I was going to see NZ, but this place was lovely. Your camera doesnt see as well as your eyes do. I only use real cameras not phones, yours doesnt have a zoom ? Sad to see all the trash as I was thinking it was so clear with all the coral in the other one. I dont know how you doent never seem to get eaten by mosquitoes. Do you ever see Land crabs? Theyre huge w/ extra hard shells, theyve actually disappeared from here Fla in the last 10 years. Maybe extict since they had a habit of crossing A1A & got squished. I dont know how you figure out how to use that navigation pin stuff, but Im glad that you do! Thank you so much.
It seems you have good battery. I would think it is the the glow plug, if not air entering in the system.
Love it. You need a 4k Camera!!
I hope you get that engine sorted out! I had a similar problem with compression in an old Harley. Ended up overhauling the engine as the cylinders were worn.
Yeah that’s what I ended up having to do once I reached New Zealand
As you were walking the trails, I was waiting for you to break out into a big field of Marijuana like Decaprio did in, " The Beach".😅
Like✔️, comment✔️ and shared✔️.
Greetings from the snowy Tirol/Austria!
Gruß aus Bayern
Servus aus Salzburg!
@@sanatarium1111111 Augsburg
SWEET
G'day James from down Under
I listened to your engine turning over I would check your fuel filter mate I think your starting problem is fuel, rather than going to expense of a battery. I have only seen a few of your videos but have enjoyed them. Cheers Bryan
It wasn’t the fuel filter
sounds more like a fuel bleed back to the tank rather than a battery issue ,, This is Martin not Janet . I had several diesel semi trucks that did the same thing over the years . Watching from Michigan .
It ended up being a compression issue due to sea water finding it’s way into the engine on the passage to Fiji
Water it maybe also I agree with air bleed fuel bleed back air in line you can hear when she catches there lack off fuel she Crack almost knocking because off fuel lacking then she take hold and balance out listen to several times it's only a check for fuel seeping leaking air in line
Excellent video. Bro I don't think there is anything wrong with your battery,as for what this video showed.. you have plenty of juice running that motor starter for that long.. it's not a good thing to run a starter motor for a long period. They overheat very quickly. I would check fuel, / fuel/injectors/ compression, fuel pump..the fuel doesn't seem to be igniting fast enough. Or maybe not getting enough. Just a thought.
Yes I am aware of that.
James, Great video as always thank you I hope to be living that life in about a year. Slowly getting there, what BCD do you use for diving from a smaller boat. I'm looking at either an Aqualung Axiom jacket or a Mares Magellan travel BCD, any recommendations?
Sitting here in sun-starved Washington State, I look forward to your videos. I can almost feel the vitamin D 😅
Just watch out for "stone fish" and razor fish in the water James very nasty ! certainly are choking our oceans with plastic bottles etc .... thanks for the vid plane wreck is interesting history.
Hell from Tennessee 👍
Fuel delivery…battery sounds OK. Check connections
It was a compression issue ultimately
Hi James … when battery is weak, you may want to consider limiting the “turnover” attempts to just four seconds. Will prevent heavy draw down.
Yes I am aware of that, The engine was having issues with compression and was completely impossible to start otherwise
Not sure why but either way I like the hat. 😊
Kinda big Danforth for the dingy
Hello there James, sounds like you have an fuelproblem like the chargepump issue.
I'm from the future hopefully you get this in the past. It's the fuel lifter pump! ;)
Actually it was mostly a compression issue
You can hear an engine with low compression as when it is cranking and gets to that cylinder is speeds up. The battery and starter sound good, but the starter will not last subjected to that much continuous cranking.
Yep
James , buddy? that motor should start in 4 seconds?... so it has glow plugs that need to be pre heated for sure, ya might want to check your gp heater works, and it always sounded to me like you need a valve adj, then chk compression ,then you should be good !i mean you have Done everything else!! so when it started it went to high revs, this could lead to runaway real fast,, so the fuel flow is good!! and Coconut crabs are delicious...
Buddy, Yanmars don’t have glow plugs. It ultimately ended up being a compression issue
sounds like it will be high
❤
How far was that trek?
What where the buildings, were they just humpies or Remnants from the tribes you spoke of?
Love a bit of spooky jungle as the sun is setting hahaha
The hike was just over half a mile, the buildings were probably Copra Sheds
@@SailorJames A fairly narrow island then
Nothing wrong with your battery !! I cranks over like crazy. You are not getting fuel at the start.
Compression issue
Well how did you resolve the engine problem?
Congrats on the Yachting World article. Great read. Hope they paid you more than a handful of peanuts for the piece. (Years ago I wrote articles for JavaWorld.. got 600 to 1000 dollars a piece.. until they changed their policy and insisted authors submit articles for free.. heh) Oh, and superb video (again)!
Thanks 🙏🏻 yeah, I don’t work for free 👍🏻
I'd check for a leak in the fuel line before and after the filter. Your battery is turning the motor over fine.
It ended up being a compression issue due to water getting into the engine on the passage to Fiji.
hey James , its not your starter battery, that turns over the motor just fine , maybe glow plugs or air intrusion. i always carry starter fluid , cheers
There are no glow plugs in Yanmar 2GM20s, ultimately it was a compression issue like I titled on the screen
Yeeyee
Hey james,
About your engine, i think that it's not your battery. It's more likely your glow plugs ore the power to them. I hope this helps you a bit. Gr. Chris.
Yanmars don’t have glow plugs. It was ultimately a compression issue.
@Sailing Triteia oww shit. Thats not good. Is there a simple solution?
The battery sounded like it was turning it over decently but yeah I would definitely have a spare battery on board because i would die of anxiety if my battery died and I was stuck lol.
I worked around diesel engines all my working life on tugboats and we used starting fluid a lot. There is a myth that it is very hard on the engine but as long as you use only as much as is needed to get it to start it is harmless and it extends the life of your starter by a bunch. Try it James. It works. I worked around engines that simply wouldn't start without it. Keep a cool head on your shoulders if you know what I mean pal.
Yeah I now have a starter fluid onboard for diesel engines, helps a lot when it’s cold
@@SailorJames right it will make your starter last much longer.
@@SailorJames its best to spray it into the intake while turning the engine over with the starter.
@@SailorJames I would like to add that you should never use starting fluid on a fully warmed up engine. You can get damage if you do. And use it as sparingly as possible.
Not the battery, maybe air leaking in?
Really sad to see that much garbage left or swept up on the beach and surroundings. Humans will never learn.
check ya fuel lines & filter too.
I have had this engine 5 years, I know about bleeding the system and air leaks
I dont think a bad battery would let you try and turn her over for that long, it would try for a few seconds and then would not be making such a ruckus. I saw you marked it as a compression issue, just saying my thoughts when seeing poor girl trying to start up.
Neat area. A shame about all the garbage on the beach. What was the cause of low compression on the Yanmar?
Water was forced back into the engine while during the sail to Fiji from American Samoa
Put a volt meter across your battery and then turn on glow plugs and watch if voltage drops on meter at least then you will know if one or two glow plugs are work or possibly all of them.
There are no glow plugs
I like the job you created. Traveling around the world to interesting and beautiful places by sailboat. I also hope to be living on a sailboat someday. I hope you live long and prosper James.
I feel very fortunate to have been able to make this life happen, thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Is it a diesel engine? Might need glow plugs. NOT the battery though, it was cranking strong and never stopped. Give it more gas when starting.
Yanmars don’t have glow plugs
How does engine start when hot ?
How does it turn by hand? Sounds like lack of compression to me...
Yes it was a compression issue
Can somebody explain to me what anchor watch is???
In fact if u carry on cranking like that you will need z new battery!! Have u checked you glow plugs???
SOUNDS LIKE MY CHAINSAW IN THE MORNING
That doesn't sound like your starter battery has an issue.
Love it! How long/far was the hike from one side to the other of the island?
It was about half a mile across the island
i belive it is injector ore air in fuel line you have good start and you are in plus 30c tempur it is not the battery ore start motor I am mecanic from iceland
It ended up being a compression issue due to water getting into the engine on the passage to Fiji.
Just saying bud but I would be looking at you loosing your fuel prime. I think you battery is good by just how long you were turning the motet over. Your getting air into the fuel system allowing it to flow back to your tank when you shut it off. You should have a manual pump prime on your motor
Ultimately it was a compression issue
It's not your battery they're supposed to have a little glow plug to help you start but if not use a little shot of aether it'll start right up guaranteed
Yanmars don’t have glow plugs
Could cook a shrimp on that starter.
Seems to me more like a fuel problem, weak fuel pump, a bad check fuel valve or a clogged fuel filter .