More Power to the People

Electricity is a beautiful thing. You’ll recall that Tide Hiker’s electrical system was upgraded in Annapolis. Since then we’ve enjoyed plenty of juice. The boat is now fully charged after a day of cruising so there’s no need to run the generator after cruising. There’s plenty of electricity to last until the next day. We used to have to run the generator every night which (a.) uses fuel which costs money, (b.) creates stinky diesel fumes which like to waft into the boat or wherever you’re sitting outside, (c.) creates peace-shattering noise (d.) and makes anchoring neighbors cranky because of b and c -- no wonder sailboats call us “stinkpots”.

There’s so much electricity that we are now able to run the coffee maker, the dishwasher, and the crock pot while underway. Crockpot cooking is perfect for a boat – no need to turn on the generator to use the stovetop or oven. The meal cooks all day and is ready when we get to the anchorage. I bought a new low-amp crock pot, so on a short run when the meal needs to cook longer after anchoring, it can do so on the battery. When we’re in hot weather, it will be nice to have a cooked meal without heating up the house.

Today’s voyage is three hours from an anchorage in the Brickhill River south of Jekyll Island GA to Fernandina Beach FL. We’ll get a mooring ball there and head to St. Augustine for Christmas. Sadly, friends are all around us, a few cruising days or a week away, but none will be in St. Augustine. Rick and Lynnie plan to be in Fernandino Beach for Christmas, the Gypsies and Steve and Di are in Stuart where we’ll be to celebrate the New Year, Joe Nekola parked his boat in Georgetown SC and rented a car to visit family for Christmas, Robin and Jim parked their boat at Palm Coast and got a car to visit family. We’ll miss them and see them soon.