Nice Neighborhood!

We motored for exactly 8 hours today.  It's been a LONG time since we have done that.  We are kind of tired.

Before I join Al on the back deck for a sundowner before dinner I wanted to share some photos of our neighborhood tonight.  Bainbridge Island is kind of an upper crust type of place, and this little bay might just be the cream of the crop.

Nearly ideal, IF I was house shopping. Pretty gingerbread trim, huge porch, matching 2-story 3-car garage with apartment over, matching old Mercedes on the driveway, gazebo on a pier.  Yeah, I think that about covers it!

And as I write, an eagle cries! The ravens are pestering him.  You know, we have seen SO many eagles this spring -- hardly a day goes by where we don't see or at least hear one.

Tomorrow, we continue our march to the South Sound.

Solar output when the Sun doesn't shine

(And while underway)

Yesterday we left Sucia  under Cloudy Skies.  It gave me a little opportunity to log our new Solar Panels output under conditions that were not a Sunny May Day.  We had two deviations:  1) Cloudy Skies, and 2) an interaction between the Solar controller and the main motor alternator.

Here is a chart that shows in Blue the average out of our panels over the past three full-sun days, while the Red shows a portion of yesterdays output.

From approx 8:00am to 11:00am I logged the production while under Cloudy Skies (it was raining).  The 11:35 data point is while we were underway with the mains alternator putting 150A into the batteries.   Note the dramatically reduced output from the Solar panels, even though over the next hour the skies fully cleared.  At 12:40 we stopped (idled) while awaiting a tug and tow to pass before us in  a  VTS traffic lane and you can see the Solar output popped up to 396w – Right in line with the average for full sun production.  Then when we got underway again Solar output dropped to 27W (about 2 amps) while the mains alternator was putting 101A into the batteries.

This VERY LIMTED sample set indicates two things to me:
1) Solar output is reduced to about 1/2 while under cloudy (rain) skies.
2) There is an interaction between the controller and the mains alternator – with the Solar controller in effect shutting down when we are underway.

OUCH!

Yesterday seemed just a perfect day.  Clear skies brought out the shorts and tank top, and the deck chair in the sun for me, and in the shade for Al.  It was even warm enough to make me a little sticky!  My legs now have a golden touch, and my face and arms are a little rosy.

Word on the dock was:  Where is the wind they were calling for?!

Mother Nature just delayed a little, and many boats in nearly every bay on Sucia Island were dancing in the wind from 1 to 4 AM.

Viking Star, secure on the dock, was rolling a bit, and the fenders were squeaking, making for a restless night for us.  Only after coffee and a shower did Al wander down the dock and come back with the story of carnage in the anchorage last night.  Several boats had drug anchor, tangled, and/or bumped into each other.  One even snagged a mooring buoy and ended up cutting free their anchor.

After Ranger Steve arrived, we heard MORE stories of similar experiences in Echo Bay and Shallow Bay both, only each of these bays had a boat on the rocks!

I walked over to Fossil Bay near noon to meet Al while he worked on a project.  Here is a small boat, on Wiggins Reef, towards Ewing Cove.

Al was coming back with the truck already, so he turned around to show me his project, AND the BIG boat on the rocks in Shallow Bay.  A very anxious time for an older couple, and a very dramatic photo!

Sunny Sucia Days

After my 'Lonely' post, I decided that if I wanted more time with my husband, I should just BE with him more.  Two SUNNY days made it easy!  We took a 3-4 mile hike, clipping weeds and branches on the way.  And yesterday the ranger gave us a couple of projects that involved driving a park truck to the other side of the island.

That's a strange bouquet Al has picked!  It's a tent caterpillar infestation, and he clips the creepy crawlies....

And takes them to the water's edge, fastening them with a stone, for the tide to dispatch with.

The Oyster Hunter taking a lunch break.

The view south from Johnson Point, Snoring Bay in the foreground, Orcas Island and Turtleback Mt  across the channel.

The view east from Johnson Point, Matia Island with Mt. Baker and the Cascades beyond.

On the point, we found this plaque

And this replica monument.  

Click on the pictures to read them full-size.  The original monument was placed in 1892 by Reginald Thomson, United States Mineral Monument No. 1.

Another plaque showing Lat and Long, referencing the Willamette Meridian

If you read the first plaque, this is the original U S M M carved into the sandstone next to the monument

And this is the 'large gray snag' used as a bearing  tree, to mark the spot of the monument

Solar results - How is it working?

In short - VERY WELL!

Today was a nice sunny May Day, with little if any clouds.  After the day was done (or, after the Sun got so low there was little output from the Solar Panels) they had covered ALL OUR ELECTRICAL NEEDS FOR THE PAST 24 HOURS!!!

I am impressed.  Yesterday after running the generator, and a little of the panels, we had fully charged batteries. This morning the Link-10 battery monitor reported we had used -82Ah over the night.  As of 5:30pm this evening we had replaced those 82Ah, put in another 44Ah, AND provided all the power consumed during the day!

Though I have not been able to connect a computer to the controller and enable the built-in data logging, I did keep records throughout the day using my clamp-on Amp meter.  Here are the results:

We peaked at 388 Watts (or 29.5 Amps at the time), this is from panels rated at 480W of capacity - do remember the panels are laying flat, not directed at the Sun.  Over the day I tried to remember my Calculus, failing that I used the trapezoidal method for calculating the number of Amp / Hours produced from the above curve:  247Ah.

So there you are.  Real Data.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, 480 watts of panels orated largely flat provided 247Ah of power over a nice sunny May Day.  I should add, my predicted output (the one I based ROI's on)  for May is 149Ah - however remember that predicted monthly average would include days 'when the Sun Does Not Shine'.

But on a Nice Sunny May Day, 247Ah is ALL of our Energy needs - Who knows, maybe we should try heating the Water using this abundance of electricity!

I am happy.

UPDATE: May 26th provided 256Ah throughout the day.

UPDATE #2:   May 27th had a high cloud cover (Maybe 10%??) through most of the day.  Still 245Ah were produced.

We will be motoring for the next few days and I will not be able to manually log produced data.  But once I get stuff moved from one bunk of the V-Berth to the other I can get into my 'Electronics' stash and pull out a spare USB<--> RS-232 converter I will enable the data logging in the TriStar controller.  Till then will just enjoy the abundance of Amps (we heated our Shower Water this morning using the Electric water heater!)

Fishing Heron

Yesterday afternoon, after a beach walk and gathering a pocketful of sea glass, I turned around to spy this guy fishing for his supper.  I hot-footed it back to the boat for the camera, and then spent probably half an hour watching and taking pictures.

Diving among diamonds on the water

Lonely

This hosting thing is having a bit of an unexpected effect on me.  And I think I can only best describe it as being lonely.

I do say that I think Al is having a blast with the hosting responsibilities.  He loves to greet people and boats, cruise the campsites, sweep out the restrooms, and be an all-around handy guy!

But I am missing my companion.  Yes, I also go out and speak with fellow boaters, grab a line, answer questions, hand out matches, and pet dogs.

But lately I feel like I don't have anyone to TALK to.  Again, there is no-one who really KNOWS me here but Al, and he has been quite busy away from me this past week.  This man who I can have a conversation with, without even saying a word.  Who can come back to the boat after his last rounds and 'hear' my misery and asks immediately 'Are you okay?'

Oh, I think it is so important to do things like volunteering and giving back to the community we enjoy so much.  But I look forward to only four more days this time, and getting my husband back.