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Changing from Wind to Solar Energy

When I moved my new Nicholson 32 sloop, Alibi of Bridham, from a marina to a mooring this summer I also had to rethink my power requirements, since the change meant severing my umbilical to the grid. Although I had a powerful (read: noisy) wind generator as an alternative power source, along with a small photovoltaic (PV) solar array to keep the engine’s cranking battery topped up when the wind dies, I’ve since decided to lose the noisy windmill and go wholly solar.

Installing a Pole Mounted Solar Panel

I had to find a way to charge the batteries in my absence, which meant wind or solar power. I toyed with the idea of installing a wind generator, but it seemed like too much expense and hassle; and, lacking a bimini, there was nowhere convenient to place a solar panel where it wouldn’t be either in the shadow of the rig or in the way of the crew…

Flexible Solar Panels

Maintenance-free and weatherproof, Ganz Eco-energy semi-flexible solar panels provide clean, quiet, reliable power offshore

A bridge and a moon

Understand the Tides

Tides are an essential part of coastal sailing, so don’t forget to look at the moon once in a while. 

John Rousmaniere Speaking about Inductee Lord Dunraven at Americas Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony NYYC Oct 21, 2016. Photo by Carlo Borlenghi

Eight Bells: John Rousmaniere

The sailing world has lost another great this week in the passing of John Rousmaniere, author of Fastnet Force 10 and numerous other sailing texts.

A boat anchored in a calm and pristine green water.

Zero to Caribbean

As a yacht broker, many people have talked to me about wanting to buy a boat, learning to sail, and then taking their own boat

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