Nice 'n Easy
16 September 2016 | 13 miles East of Montague Island
After a blustery start yesterday the winds had eased to almost nothing for a few hours around dawn which had me going every which way. Since then with full main and jib the weather has been most kind except for fulfilling the main task scheduled for today - hanging out the washing - because of quite a few showers . A good start was made with the coming of the midday sun and no mad dogs encountered.
Yesterday morning Border Force Sydney turned up right on time just as I was stuffing miscellaneous equipment ( junk I might just need someday ) out of sight. The formalities were quickly got through, papers stamped and they wished me well.
Shortly after Justine from CYCA popped round to see if everything was OK for the 10am start and, crestfallen, I had to admit I couldn't get the SilentWind generator to start charging. There had been insufficient wind till then and the now rising NW breeze should have had it humming ( silently of course ). She offered the Clubs phone and Internet facilities to try and sort things out as I contemplated a depowering as opposed to an empowering vacation, and she was also tactful enough not to ask if I had read the manuals. These were easily found in my filing system - most recent on top - and both volumes scoured cover to cover. No answers there. Stare hard at control panel. You've seen the movies. With trepidation press Reset. No blue smoke just a gentle almost Silent whir as the amps began doing what they do best - charge my batteries for the trip ahead. Today I even pulled a few plugs on my plug 'n play wind speed indicator and it no longer drops out every few hours. Jobs for tomorrow. Dry washing. Search for Ray Marine Manuals.