Day 349 Rain, rain go away, come back another day--much later!

It was raining when we got up and it continued till 1700 hours. A sprinkle here and a rain there. It just kept falling. Our barometers got it wrong. They had been forecasting sunny weather. OOPS!

The wind was blowing so the DuoGen was cranking out the amps to help keep the batteries topped off which since the Webasto heater was coming on and off to keep us warm, they needed every bit of amps they could get. We ran the generator for a short time at lunch since we needed the microwave. That thing eats amps like its a food competition. If the generator isn't going, neither is the microwave. The batteries can't keep up with it's energy demand.

We set up the satellite dish to watch a bit of TV after dinner. We set it up on the dock since Zephyr kept moving. Even with tightening up the dock lines, she moved to much for a stable signal. We used the inverter for a while to use the TV. We wanted to see how it reacts to the energy draw and how much it uses.

We are planning on setting out today so it's "tidy up the boat day". We've been here since Thursday and we tend to spread out once at the dock or at anchor for more than a day or so. A bad habit we need to break.

WIth it raining, I didn't get to the other side of the island to get on the internet. Once we leave the harbor, I should be able to connect and transmit the last few days of blogs.

Today in preparation for leaving, I checked all the engine fluids. It's a routine maintenance that needs to be done before any motoring just to make sure nothing is low. It makes for a happy engine. I opened every battery box and checked the level of the acid in the batteries. Again, a routine maintenance thing that has to be done regularly as the batteries are subjected to so many discharge/charge cycles that you can cook a battery if you aren't careful and that can get very expensive. I also pulled the "sea strainer". This is a metal filter that keeps anything that might be sucked up into the engine out. It can get clogged if we happen to pass over some garbage in the water. I also checked and refitted the anti syphon valve at the back of the engine that I had replaced earlier this month before we left Port Townsend. It wasn't making a good "break" in the syphon as it was supposed to. We started the engine and now it works just fine.

So, it's been a busy morning getting ready to go. The tides and currents are on an outward flow at this time so we won't be leaving till about 1350 to 1400 hours. That's about the time the tide reverses and will help us get to the next stop on our journey. It's about 13 miles from here so with luck and good wind, it should only take us a few hours. The forecast is 15 to 20 knots from the West or South. It should be a great day for a sail.