#120 NOW September 23, 2006 1100 (UTC -11 hours Samoa Standard Time) S14016.36 W170041.67 Anchored in Pago Pago Harbor Greetings, I am sitting here snug and dry, while outside a torrent of rain is descending on Done Dreamin'. Of course what can you expect when you are anchored in the lee of Rainmaker Mountain. This has been an interesting week. The supply reservoir is being fixed and should be ready by Monday, and a new crew member will be arriving tomorrow night. Mike Pate from Southern California has agreed to join me on the passage to Hawaii. If all goes according to plan, we should be on our way by Tuesday or Wednesday. Prior to Dick Denneys departure, we had a chance to do some sightseeing. This included a taxi tour to the other side of the island. It was a bit of a struggle for the old taxi to make it up over Rainmaker pass. However, the vista from the summit was fantastic. You could see all of Pago Pago harbor below and looking to the north the various bays on that side of the island. We continued down the North side to the little village of Vatia. Here we met the chief of the village who invited us to lunch at his home. Since we had arranged for a round trip tour with the taxi, we had to decline. We also decided to attend church. While we could not understand the Samoan language, we did enjoy the singing and the members were most cordial. In fact, they invited us to a church potluck after the service. The food was great and the conversation enjoyable. They even gave each of us a wrap-around skirt that the men wear. Where else in the world could I wear a skirt and have my picture taken with two lovely ladies. Check out the picture later on the website. It was a most enjoyable day. I have not been idle during this week. I finally got around to installing an echo charger for the starting battery. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. The starting battery was being charged by a 40-amp alternator connected to the engine. It is not regulated, and puts out 14.3 volts any time the engine is running. This really is too high for a sustained charge. In addition, when the engine is shutdown, the battery is not being float charged. The echo charger allows a charge anytime the house bank is over 13 volts (which means it is being charged anytime the house bank is being charged). When the house bank is not being charged (less than 13 volts), the echo charger automatically cuts out the starting battery. Thus, you cannot discharge the starting battery. It really is a good system. The 40-amp alternator can still be used as a back up for the main alternator if it should fail. I am a big believer in three-stage charging, with a constant float of 13.1 to 13.4 volts depending on the type of battery you have. Batteries will last a long time if they are properly charged and taken care of. I hope that by this time next week we will be on our way to Fanning Island. I will keep you informed of our progress and the ensuing battle against head seas and head winds. Life is a Cruise, Larry -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm