Leaving Saturday morning there was a reasonable SE swell left over from the stormy week past. As a precaution Liz and the kids took their sea sickness tablets and the results were great with no one suffering. One side effect is that they get very drowsy and within 30 minutes I was the only person onboard awake. First the kids jumped on their beanbags in the cockpit and fell asleep. This was shortly followed by Liz dozing off as well. Leaving me to look after the boat. We've found the beanbags to be perfect for the kids to find a comfortable spot in all conditions. Below is a photo I snuck while everyone one was asleep. Olivia in the foreground and William firmly packed in between the cockpit table and seat.
Now for some technical information
All this sleep happening while the boat was motor sailing along at 8.3 knots. Very relaxing.
We spend Saturday night at the Basin and then Sunday night around at refuge bay. Two of the highlights were
1. Teaching Olivia and William to make mud castles as a change from the regular sand castles. here Olivia is shoing off her tower made from sand / water droplets.
2. Teaching the kids how to catch nippers (yabbies) with the nipper pump. William was a natural at holding the sieve and Olivia was a great spotter. No one but me was game to pick them up for the transfer into the bucket.
The sunset on Sunday night was fantastic and I have to share it.
We all had a great time.
Now for some technical information
The solar panels are working great but with the overcast weather only provided 30 amps per day. We were using 60 to 100 amps per day. The alternator was playing up again and we couldn't charge the house batteries. The regulator is the cause this time. We came home with the batteries at 40% having used about 260 amps for the weekend. So sorting out the alternator regulator and adding the extra 400watts of solar angels should be able to cover our power needs.
A Bimini and Dodger are a must after sitting out in the rain on our return trip to Sydney harbour. It wasn't fun standing out there watching Liz and the kids being so warm inside. Having shelter from the rain would have made it a little more bearable. I must be getting soft!
Water consumption is a problem for our family. We are averaging 90 litres per day so with our 660 litres we will be filling up every 7 or so days. Not so good if you want to visit remote locations in the South Pacific. We need to work on reducing this or I need to get a water maker.
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