Return to Gran Canaria

Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Sat 24 Nov 2012 16:02
28:07.95N  15:25.37W
 
Saturday 24 November 2012
 
Distance Run 53 Miles
 
 
We've been aiming to get back to the UK so we can make routine visits to doctors and optician and see family before we set off on passage so we need somewhere safe to leave the boat whilst we are away.  I also wanted my own doctor to examine my elbow. 
 
All the pilot books suggest that none of the marinas in Tenerife provide good shelter in south westerly winds (which have been frequent recently) and some friends who were here a couple of years ago broke several of their mooring lines in the swell that built up here in Santa Cruz - the most sheltered marina in Tenerife.  We felt that Las Palmas in Gran Canaria would be a safer bet but the marina would still be full until the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers starts tomorrow.  The weather for today provided a window to get across to Gran Canaria but is due to turn rather unpleasant again from Sunday for a few days so we decided to go today and anchor outside the marina tonight and hopefully we would be let in in the next day or so. 
 
Leaving the hire car keys with the marinero to hold for the hire company to collect later we left at 9 am and motored off in light winds.  After a few hours we were able to set sail and turn the engine off. 
 
Shortly after we heard an alarm on board which turned out to be the VHF radio giving us a 'high voltage' warning (we didn't even know the radio could do this).  The battery monitor showed 16.6volts.  This is not good.  When the alternator is running we should see a peak voltage of 14.4 for our battery type and this should have fallen to around 13 volts when the engine was switched off.  The only source of battery charging at that moment was the solar panels which can produce up to 17 or 18 volts which is brought down to 13-14 by a regulator.  We rotated the panels away from the sun and the voltage dropped to normal levels. 
 
Assuming the solar regulator was faulty I scrolled through it's error messages and saw it was giving off a low (ie below 10.5v) voltage warning!  Presumably the regulator, in error, thought it was detecting a low voltage and was trying to compensate by allowing a higher voltage through - leading to the high voltage alarm.  Hmm... all part of life's rich tapestry.
 
We fired up the engine again to make sure we weren't getting high voltage from the alternator regulator (we weren't) and continued motoring to Gran Canaria.  The rest of the the trip was uneventful and we anchored off the marina before 6 in the evening.
 
 
The left elbow awaiting inspection:-
 
 
 
 
 
Lin restiing peacefully in the cockpit after dinner with the boat at anchor, the shoreside lights reflecting off the calm sea.  Even the camera flash didn't wake Lin up:-