I decided to bite the bullet and run the generator at a low load for a long time today in order to equalize the batteries, something that I had not done in quite a while. I started the generator sometime between 6 and 7AM and it ran for a good 6 hours, first charging the battery bank to full status and then, after I’d turned off all 24V systems, continuing that charge with more volts than most devices could handle so that it forces equalization of all the single cells in each physical battery. This would have been a simple thing had I had solar cells, but my only means of charging was by using either the generator or the main engine; so the generator had to run. I had the air conditioning running in the aft cabin so that the generator would at least be close to 24% load and I had the thermostat set to 24°C and when I walked into the cabin I felt chill and actually got goose bumps on my arms. This tells me that I’ve truly acclimated to the local temperatures.
Ken from Rocking B came by to collect his frozen foodstuffs and I didn’t have a chance to stow away and hide any of the steaks and other items he had frozen so he got everything back despite my attempts at purloining anything or taking an “Angel’s portion” from the large quantities of food. I also used the time to vacuum all the bilges (again, I had to try to use energy on the 220V circuit since my 24VDC systems were all hors de combat) and finally used epoxy on the clear plastic pump cover that had been leaking for weeks.
After completing the battery equalization I ended up doing very little for the rest of the afternoon until we met for drinks and dinner – but this time we had cruisers from 5 different boats grouped together and we headed off to Emilia’s Snuggle Spot Bar, hidden away in a back road right by the city cemetery. This was the place we’d been to two nights ago with the great chicken and fries. Stephen and I had dropped by there in the early afternoon hours to warm Emilia of the pending invasion, although at that time we only knew that 7 people would be coming rather than the actual crowd of 12. I believe that we broke their house record this evening and they were indeed very, very busy making all the chicken and burgers and fries for us all. The food was as tasty as before and the prices were local prices rather than inflated tourist prices.
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