Sailing off grid

Three transatlantic cruisers share valuable lessons with Ali Wood about their onboard power setups (and where they went wrong)

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When the engine failed on Carol Wu's Hallberg-Rassy, she was 750 miles from land. At the same time, James Kennings' hydrogenerator was delivering 'nothing but drag', and Rasmus Haurum Christensen's lead-acid batteries had dropped below 12V. “I made a mistake,” he told PBO. “I just couldn't keep them charged overnight!’

As any transatlantic sailor will tell you, managing power offshore can be a challenge. No matter how much effort you put into topping up your batteries, equipment will break, and even renewable sources can fall foul of weed, and a lack of wind or sunshine. In extreme cases, such as Wu's, you may have to resort to paper plotting and sailing onto a mooring - thank goodness she was an experienced RYA Yachtmaster.

Better management

The good news, however, is that offshore power is easier to manage today than ever before, and between solar panels, generators, wind-and hydro-turbines, you should be able to stay charged without ever running your engine. Testament to this are the hundreds of cruisers who complete the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) each year without once logging engine hours.

In the PBO Summer issue we looked at the boat's electrical system, and the various options for battery management, including the use of shorepower. However, if you're planning to be off-grid for days or weeks at a time-whether on a transatlantic rally, or even as a liveaboard -it pays to be self-sufficient. PBO visited the ARC+ rally last year to get some tips from cruisers after their three-week Atlantic crossing to see how they managed their batteries.

In Las Palmas we met James Kenning, an RAF veteran who used his resettlement grant to get his RYA Yachtmaster and charter all over the world, before buying his own yacht Arkyla, a Regina 43.