More Drama

After George injured his arm we had hoped to be finished with drama for the winter, or at least for a little while. Not so much. This morning when we got up we discovered that we had no electrical. Absolutely nothing worked. George measured the voltage at the house bank batteries and it read 12.2 volts. The battery management system must have shut the electrical down before the batteries were drained any further. We have had a few days of cloudy weather and knew the batteries needed charging. We thought it could wait until today. Apparently not. So George got the portable generator out and started it up. It took a bit of fiddling to get the system charging but now it is. Our lithium batteries are supposed to be able to drop to 10-20% capacity and maintain an adequate voltage. Ours were at 38% capacity this morning but the voltage had dropped too low. It appears we need new batteries. Until we get them we will not let these drop below 50%.

Yesterday we left Palm Cay Marina and sailed to Shroud Cay. Getting out of our slip and out of the marina was relatively easy. The wind had dropped and moved a little behind us, making it easier to get out of the slip. When we got to the end of our fairway George could see that there were two catamarans at the fuel dock and one entering the marina, completely blocking the exit. I backed into our fairway and waited. The third catamaran rafted up to one of the other two and we took our chance to leave. If Breeze On had been much wider we wouldn't have been able to get out. We passed yet another catamaran on its way in while we were in the channel. Most of the slips in the marina are taken up by charter boats and they are constantly coming and going. That, and the cramped quarters, makes it difficult for transients like us.

We had a lovely sail all the way from Palm Cay to Shroud Cay. This cay is in the Exuma Land and Sea Park and has no cell tower. We get spotty service from another cay so I am sending this via our Iridium Go satellite phone. That is the reason this post looks so different.

George has managed to compensate for the injury to his arm and can do most things he usually does. He is also dutifully doing exercises—he found on YouTube—to help with the healing. It may take weeks for the occasional painful twinges to go away. In the photo you see George doing his exercises with his water bottle while sitting at the helm.