(Photo is coming back from second of three trips to West Marine with battery charger in hand)

We were happy that our windy stormy day was flanked by two glassy calm nights to sleep in! When we got up, the weather was supposed to be the pick of the week. We decided to drive (charging our battery) from Somes Harbor to SW Harbor and buy two more new batteries at West Marine which is close to the dock, then be on our way to play at Bakers Island until Rand could help us with our electronics after work (4:00 we hope). Of course there was always one possibility that the new batteries would magically fix everything (didn't happen). After installing 3 new batteries we used the battery tester and found out they had less charge than the ones we just gave back! Peter went right back there and exchanged all three new ones for better ones. He was annoyed at getting good at installing them, and he said his arms were several inches longer from lugging these heavy things around (they're similar to car batteries.) Meanwhile, I recycled stuff, filled our 30 gallon water tanks, and wrote a list of the basic systems on the boat. I thought it would be just a few things, but now I realize it's the same as we might have in our house, just smaller and more compact. I'm amazed at how much Peter knows about it all, and about how much I have learned. Those of you reading this who have done RV travel or cruising won't be surprised at the list, but it surprised me even though I'm using these things every day:

SYSTEMS
Traveling:
Rigging & Sails
Anchors & Boat hooks
Engine/diesel tank
Dingy & its gas engine, paddles and tank
Keel, deck, floatation design, bilge pump
Bosons chair

Navigation:
Wind speed, direction indicators
Paper charts & tools (dividers, etc.)
Garmin chart plotter
Compass
Depth indicator
Radar

Safety:
Self inflating PFDs
Flares
Fire extinguishers
CO detector
Lifesling with block and tackle
Lights : running, steaming, port (red) starboard (green), stern

Water:
Drinking water and filtration
Hot water
Pressurized water
Pumped salt water
Grey water removal
Head and sewage tank
Deck and indoor shower

Electricity:
Batteries for power storage
Starting/running other systems (engine, etc.)
Cabin lights, radio, stereo and other cabin usage
Charging phones, iPads

Communication:
VHF radios -AIS (Automatic Identification System)
Signal flags
Gps
Navigation rules
G3 phones, iPad

Cabin:
Propane oven and stove
Propane heater
Isotherm refrigeration
Lanterns, flashlights
Furniture
Clothing, books, etc

Sailing sounds simple, and it can be....but currently it's seeming quite complex and high tech. Hope it gets figured out. It's currently a puzzle we are looking forward to figuring out.

Baker Island will have to wait for another day.