Blog 20 Aug 2022

Return to Fare and Some Improvements

We arose somewhat early, and prepared for our departure. Just after, we boarded the dinghy and, with our showering gear, went to shower at the resort. Ah...a fresh-water, hot shower is a great way to start a day.

Since I had completed my engine check the previous day, we were able to simply start the engine and slip the mooring line. We love moorings for this very reason.

Yesterday, Conni noticed that our battery "fuel gauge" was displaying gibberish numbers. She prevailed on me to check what was going on. Armed with my multimeter, I slipped into the Man Cave and saw that the two solar chargers were producing. On looking at the two 4D AGM batteries that are our house bank, I felt that one was very hot. Bad sign.

I disconnected the two cables that tied them in parallel and took voltage measurements of both. The warm battery sat at 11.2VDC: discharged and probably shot. The other battery, thankfully, was just below 12VDC.

I simply disconnected the hot battery from the system, so we're on a single battery. The solar panels were going strong, so the single battery was receiving charge. On a whim, Conni flipped on the refrigerator breaker, and...Voila! It came on! The problem was low voltage caused by one of the two house bank batteries. Regardless, we have a refrigerator, so one of our two problem is solved. Happy Conni!

We discussed the one-battery problem. We've known that the likelihood that one or both of these batteries would fail was fairly high. We bought them in Fiji 7 years ago and we were told that they were Chinese-made AGMs. We had no documentation whatsoever, so had no idea of their capacity or likely longevity. Now we know. Our decision is to live on the one battery unit we get pulled for the season and replace both batteries next year. Batteries must be purchased in identical batches since uneven changing will result. We'll ask Dominique from the Carenage what he recommends and have him have them waiting for us next season.

We had an outstanding dinner with our two new friends from WildStar, Bonnie and Bob. They're such interesting people. Bonnie was an attorney who dealt with project finance law and SEC compliance work. She and Conni enjoyed a long and detailed conversation. Bob and i stayed on boat discussions. He built his own wooden boat and he and his wife sailed her from the Philippines back to the US Northeast, around Cape Agulhas at Africa's tip. It was quite a trip, navigation by sextant. No one other than another cruiser would have an interest, of course, but I was fascinated. He built his own house and they live right on the Severn River in Annapolis. Their boat is docked at home. Imagine that.

We're sitting at anchor in Fare, close to our previous location. A couple of Americans is aft of us and we started and have stayed on the wrong foot. Those things happen, but it's not the norm.

We have the dinghy on deck for a rapid departure tomorrow. We hope to sail across from Huahine to Taha'a, and probably grab a mooring back in Apu. At least we don't need a refrigeration guy.