If you read my most recent blog post about Nikea, you would have picked up a certain “vibe” regarding the syndicate. Nikea is an old boat. A Beneteau First 345 built between 1984 and 1988. As a fibreglass hull, and a great engine, she still has a lot of life in her. However, what she needs is time and money. Money to pay for some more modern equipment and the time to fix a lot of small but niggling issues. We could probably hire someone to do a lot of the work, or we could fly there and do the work ourselves. But Greece isn’t what it once was. It’s overcrowded and getting very expensive. Sure, you can still eat out and have a carafe of wine very cheaply, but mention “boat” in any purchase, and the price matches the worst excesses of everywhere else. But really it’s the overcrowding which ruins it for me.
I am of course being sarcastic when I say “a word” about batteries, as entire books have been written on the subject, and many more could still be written. As we had some excitement with two flat batteries last year, I thought it might be a good idea to add to the extensive number of “words” written about batteries. This is the first of two parts, on the subject. I will start with an introduction to the technology, and a fairly detailed discussion of lead acid batteries. In Part Two, I will talk about Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.
Still here? Keep reading…
It is now Monday morning, September 16th, Nikea is on dry land, and we are packing up the car. Our flight isn’t until next Saturday (21st) but we’ve had enough of storms and crowded ports.
Continuing on from where we left you, we were awaiting the storm in Vlicho bay. Anchor set deep, food and beer consumed at the Vlicho Yacht Club. The last time we were here, it was due to blow from the south, but instead blew a strong gale from the west. This time, we anticipated the storm from the north-west. Being at the bottom of the bay meant if we dragged the anchor, we would end up in shallow mud. Also, the fetch across the natural harbour (such as it was) could have made for a bumpy night. I have sat in the cockpit during a north-west storm in Vlicho, watching solar panels fly off the roof of a house on the shore. The wind can funnel through this bay quite dramatically, and the venturi effect can increase the wind speeds considerably. Not so, this time. We expected north-west, and it blew from the south. The perfect place for that would have been on the quay wall in Spartochori!
Whenever new people come onto the boat, apart from the brief safety talk, I usually explain why boats have two batteries. I go through the whole “don’t ever disconnect the batteries while the engine is running” stuff, to put the fear of god into them. I show them how to move the battery selector switch from 2 (House) to 1 (Engine) when starting, and then when the engine is running, I show them how to set it to Both and finally back to 2 when the engine is stopped. You’d think I would pay attention to my own blathering lectures!