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G2

by steve, on October 31st, 2008 (BVI)

One thing I meant to report on (but didn’t cos of the rush to get the ribs and chicken) was the results of the G2 upgrade to the hybrid system.  Until now all we had were the reports from other owners that the upgrade was good.  Well – what a difference.  Dignity glided out on electric power from Nanny Cay as smooth as silk without a great deal of depletion of the stored power.  Once the sails were up the regeneration kicked in.  With wind speeds around 15kts the amps being put back in were not as great as we experienced back in Feb when the winds we 20kts and I got good performance data.  That being said I no longer need to fiddle with settings to find the best output.  We did not sail long enough to see any real benefit, that will come in time.  I did play around with combinations of motor, sail, with and without generator running to see the differences.  The results are very encouraging.

Category: BVI | 2 readers have left comments, I want to comment too

Test Sail

by steve, on October 31st, 2008 (BVI)

As intended we took Dignity out for a test sail today. This was after a somewhat slow start to the day as we unpacked and stowed our belongings. How we’re going to fit the stuff we shipped I’ve no idea. A problem for another day.

I could find only one issue with Dignity on the test sail and that was with the speed log.  This is a small paddle wheel beneath the boat that measures boat speed through the water.  With the the instruments can calculate actual wind speed from measured.  We stopped in Deadman’s Cay on Peter island to test out the anchor.  This worked well.  I put my snorkel and mask on and surveyed the bottom of the boat.  The recent paint job was could but I could not find a trace of the instrument.  Back at base I reported this and they realized they must have forgotten to replace it after the recent haulout.  It is removed on haulout to protect it from the straps.  This meant I was shown where it was and how to replaced the inserted blank with the instrument which was aboard but not fitted.  Now I’ve learned something which is a good thing.

Soon we’re off to Mulligans where on Friday night they serve free wings and ribs.

Looking a little further out.  Tomorrow we’ll leave Nanny Cay and anchor somewhere tomorrow evening.  Sunday we intend to go to the marina in Roadtown – if there is room.  Monday morning we’ll sort out a couple of things in town then check out.  We’ll spend the day in the BVIs before heading off to St Martin overnight, arriving Tuesday morning.

Category: BVI | Here is my comment

We made it

by steve, on October 31st, 2008 (BVI)

We’re finally here.  We’re aboard Dignity.  In fact we arrived about 10:30 last night.  There was a bottle of champagne but no note so we are wondering who it’s from.  This was placed in the fridge.  We dropped our bags and made for the bar which was, unsurprisingly, shut.  So we went back to the boat and slept well – the bottle will wait for the right moment.  It’s been raining a lot and its quite humid.  Some sorting out of our stuff to do this morning followed by provisioning for a few days.  Then we’ll take Dignity out for a test sail before having a Q&A session with the staff this afternoon.

We could be off to St Martin as early as tomorrow evening but another option is Monday.  More soon.

Category: BVI | 2 readers have left comments, I want to comment too

First stop

by steve, on October 29th, 2008 (St Martin)

With some help from a contact we have in St Martin we have decided that we will sail to the French side.  We had been worrying that we’d run into difficulties if we checked into the French side and when my parents arrive mid-Nov on the Dutch side we’d subsequently run into difficulties when leaving the island on the boat.  Turns out this is not an issue.  We have also heard from other cruisers who live in the BVIs half the year that it’s best to go to the French side.  We won’t have a dinghy when we arrive so we’ll have to head to a marina and walk to the port authorities.  This defines our first stop which will be Marina Fort Louis in Marigot.



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Once there we’ll figure out our next steps which will be essentially picking up our dinghy/motor, collecting our belongings from the shipping company and deciding where to stay for the following couple of weeks. We only intend to stay in marinas when it is essential so it’s important to understand what options we have. I do know we have anchorages nearby. There is a drawbridge that opens three times a day which lets into Simpson Bay where we can sail the boat over to the Dutch side for the marine stores there. Simpson Bay as an anchorage is not supposed to be so hot so I can imagine we’ll be in and out of there.

Category: St Martin | Here is my comment
 
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