Chapter 9

The Port Traffic Control Center called up on CH 16, and told us to go to another channel to get our instructions. We brought up the channel and reported in. They gave us a little briefing. Daddy started up the starboard genset, made sure all the routing switches were set so all batteries were charging. When everything was ready, daddy reported that we were standing by.

It was dark, but we had installed very good LED lighting on the lower spreaders on the masts. The lights shone down on the deck, and didn’t leave any dark places. We had two remote control lights so we could look ahead of the boat, and make sure we didn’t run into something unlit or unmarked. They swiveled 300 degrees in the horizontal plane and 100 degrees in the vertical plane. They were also useful when you had to fix something on the foredeck, make sure the masts will clear a bridge, drop anchor, or check on the anchor at night.

At exactly 19:00 the Port TCC gave us permission to cast off. Daddy switched on the red port and green starboard nav lights, the stern light, and the steaming light that is up 20 feet high, on the front of the mast. Sammie and I ran out on deck, cast off the dock lines, coiled them, and stowed them. We heard the whine of the bow thruster’s electric motor pushing the bow away from the dock a little, so we wouldn’t scratch the new paint, as we pulled out from the dock.

We shut down the work lights, and came back into the pilothouse. Daddy checked the indicators for the sail drives to make sure they were pointed the right way to move the boat straight ahead. He gently moved the two throttles forward to the first click, and “Wings” began to move forward.

Daddy was concentrating hard, but he grinned at me, and said, “This new genset is SO much quieter than the old Volvo main engines. I think you had a pretty great idea, Stevie girl.”

I smiled and stopped holding my breath. This setup was probably going to work.

When we were out of the marina, Port TCC cleared us for half power, and I could feel “Wings” accelerating more quickly than she had with the old diesel engines. The genset works at a constant RPM, whatever is optimum for generating electricity, so it stays quiet even when you increase the throttle for the electric motors. The motors just draw more electricity from the batteries, while the electricity the generator makes gets dumped into the batteries. That way running the sail drives won’t drain the batteries.

There was a WHOLE lot less vibration, and the tall stacks were carrying the exhaust away, so there wasn’t that stomach turning diesel stink.

Another big advantage to our new setup was that if the batteries had a charge, we had instant power to move the boat out of trouble. The gensets could be started from the pilothouse, so when there was only one person on watch, you could get moving right away, then get a genset going without leaving the wheel.

I liked the dim red lights in the pilothouse. The red helps save your night vision. I was glad we had all the electronic gear to tell us where we are, and were not trying to feel our way out of the harbor. It would be at least 30 minutes before our night vision came back from being chased away by the bright deck work lights.

Daddy was steering, checking instruments, and looking impressively Captainish. I was feeling proud of myself for designing a system that was cheaper for us, and reduced pollution at the same time. Life was good. I felt warm, happy, and full of love.

I checked the logbook, and noticed that daddy had forgotten to log our departure. I wrote all the entries, and would give the book to daddy to sign when he wasn’t so busy. I checked the chart, and saw that we would be clear of the port and turning southeast, toward the Java Sea in another 5 miles.

I checked the wind direction, and our course after we were clear of the port, planning in my head which side the wind was coming from, and what side the sails would be on. The wind was still out of the north, so it would be coming over the port side, and pushing the sails out on the starboard side. That’s an important thing to know, so you know where to stand as the sails go up. It keeps you from getting knocked over by the sails, as they fill with the wind.