January 4, 2012.

Since we're due to have excessive wind for a full day this would be one of those days where the wind generator really earns its keep. So of course last night it started to act up. Crap.

I was up and had the wind generator sitting on deck first thing in the morning. The wind was still light but I could actually see the front bearing down on us. I disassembled the wind generator and found that the slip rings were filthy causing intermittent connection problems. I lightly sanded the rings and slapped everything back together as quickly as possible.

Removing or replacing the wind generator on its mounting pole is a bit of a pain in the ass. I have to stand on the top of the stern pulpit with my chest barely leaning into the radar arch. I can't lean into it enough to be real steady. So in calm conditions its a delicate balancing act. The wind was starting to build when it was time to reinstall the genny in its place atop the pole. The boat was just slightly beginning to rock but it was enough to keep me from being able to stay in place so Christy had to stand behind me and lean into me to keep me pressed into place while I maneuvered the generator back on top of its pole. Its all about the teamwork. Kinda like the Giants beating the shit out of the Cowboys when it mattered.

Its now late afternoon. The wind generator is working fine, the wind is blowing about 28 knots and there’s a turkey breast baking in the oven. Life is good, hell, it even smells good.