Last night was a bit noisy as we ran the engine from midnight onward to charge the batteries. The alternator on the engine is better than the old one that we replaced in Mount Desert Island, Maine, but still is relatively small by comparison to some other more expensive models that are available, and starts to fade down in charging amps quite soon so, we stay charging at 25 amps for about an hour or two and then it starts to decrease and for the last three hours there has only been an accept rate of about 5 amps; now, that is 5 amps over the usage which can be another 3-5 amps, but still. We could have run the gas generator but not while we are trying to sleep below decks for fear of the CO and CO2 fumes, and not at night out of consideration for the neighbours. I had wondered if one of the batteries might be a problem that is keeping the bank from accepting a charge which would be really annoying as the bank is brand new, however, we have tested the them and there is no problem so the issue must be simply that in the hot climate were are just using more power for refrigeration that we were farther north.

After the dog walk, Snooze was good enough to let us use his washer to do a laundry. No dryer, but with this weather when we got back to the boat we just hung the clothes out on the lifelines and they dried in record time, so who needs one? After that we took the dingy out into the ocean on the near reef for our first snorkel dive of the trip. We had one logistical problem - there was too much sea and the poor little Walker Bay was being tossed about far too much for our comfort. We persevered, though, and after we got anchored and went over the side we swam around for a bit and found three little bay scallops which wasn't enough for a feed so we let them go. Then, just to add some excitement and towards the end of our dive, I ran into a Portuguese Man-o-war jellyfish and had its tentacles drag across my face. Fortunately for me it was a small one so other that a smart burning sensation I suffered no lasting effects but it was enough for me to say, that's enough! We came back in and sat with Snooze and his friends for a short bit before heading back to Nelleke for lunch. Snooze gave us some of the rock crab claws that hadn't been finished last night at the party for supper so we are going to have that as a treat. He also gave us some chalk powder to help trace the water leak aboard so that'll be something that I'll be doing tomorrow. We are getting low in water in the tanks, not due to the leak although that might be contributing if that is the problem, but simply due to usage, and Snooze has again solved our problem by suggesting that we tied up across his stern on the pilings and he'll pass us a hose. That'll be a job for over the next couple of days.

We went in to the marina at the head of the creek to see if they'll let us tie up to change over the windlass when it arrives. We are going to have to wait for an answer as the manager wasn't there and it isn't the sort of thing that they normally do. We then tried to buy some milk but the convenience store at the Chevron Gas Bar was out of quarts of milk and a gallon is simply too much so that means another trip tomorrow or if Snooze is heading into town we could try another store.

I also took the opportunity to buy some more oil for the 4-stroke as, during the breaking in period, we had burnt off a fair amount of the initial amount that had been installed by the dealer.

We made the crab claws into a delicious crab salad which, along with a fresh tomato, some lettuce and raw baby carrots made for a wonderful dinner. Then, a single malt scotch, a cigar, some jazz on the stereo followed by the Platters and we sat up on the deck to watch the sunset and the stars come out.

Life is good!