Rhode River at anchor

It's very common to see boats on lifts in this area

Today was a day of rest.  It was not a day for great accomplishments. There was a small craft advisory out for the bay so we stayed in the harbor today and we're hopefully looking to Thursday as a good day to head further south.

I had bought a new set of 4D batteries in Milford, CT when in Long Island Sound this summer and the time had come to check water levels - which were fine when I looked. My previous 4D batteries were over 4 years old which is normally okay with seasonal use but we're on the boat 9 months out of the year now so we are heavy users of batteries. We looked at articles in Practical Sailor and other publications to decide on the brand to buy and settled on just replacing them with the same manufacturer - Ultrapower - which had given good service to date. Unfortunately, that brand was not available in time so I settled on Interstate 4D's lead acid. It was the right choice! First, I wanted lead acid and not gel or adsorbed glass mat because I wanted less sensitivity to charging voltage. My charging system can't hold voltages to 0.1 volts. The lead acid cells are very forgiving in that respect but the other types are not. Second, when the old batteries were being removed, the installer noticed that the new batteries were much heavier, about 10 lbs heaver! In my book, the more lead the better in a deep cycle battery. In actual use they've been phenomenal. I have three on board for a total of 585 amp-hours of output. An overnight anchorage hardly makes a dent in the 4Ds. If we're travelling every day I don't have to run the genset at all, even with running the microwave, TV, electronics, etc. at night. Interstate is the largest selling  brand in the US and lasts the longest according to surveys and they received the highest rating from Practical Sailor, above many of the more expensive brands.

Starting to see good sunsets as we head south

The island in the picture yesterday is used by all for pet relief. You almost have to look for an opening and speed to the beach for Hoolie to get an uninterrupted session. We had several people drop by for a visit today. One, Benjamin Wilson, said he met Mary Silverstein at PYC, small world. The anchorage is adding a lot of boats everyday in preparation for the Seven Seas series of seminars to start Friday. We hope to leave Thursday for Solomons.