For quite some days since I’m here, I was very busy with writing emails and searching the internet for electrical components I need for 2 boat projects.

There are first solar modules. I need to replace the old, 3 x 100 Wp solar modules at the stern because they don’t deliver much solar power anymore. A friend from Germany, who sailed with me on MaRe in the San Blas islands in Panama and happens to be specialist for solar power, recommended to look for industrial grade solar modules. He also recommended special Vicodin MPPT charge controllers. The first internet search project. His recommendation are very good. A local 12 V-specialist who was introduced to me for 12 V work on boats proposed 3 modules of 130 Wp each. This would have resulted in 390 Wp. With the information I got from my friend, I found industrial grade solar modules with 450 Wp per module. With a small modification of the solar modules support structure above the davits for the tender, I will get a total solar power of 900 Wp. An increase of 230 %. It was worth the time I spent at searching the internet.

Next was my Starlink project. Although I regard Elon Musk as an arrogant Idiot, who stole the idea of low orbit satellite based internet from a European, there is these days no reasonable alternative to get internet connection while sailing.

It took me days to find out what’s the best configuration and the best data plan for me at MaRe. I exchanged messages and emails with friends and fellow sailors, asked also in sailor’s forum, read forwards and backwards through spec sheets and installation guidelines. And when I knew all I need to know, the price information in NZD I got from the Starlink homepage appeared to be wrong and no shipping time information is given. “I’m contact Starlink” I thought. However, contacting someone at Starlink is not so easy. First they collect name and email address from a person, then one has to answer a bunch of bot driven questions, which partially are repeated. Finally one can leave a bot steered message on their homepage. When all is done, one gets a screen displaying the information to call the following number. It is a NZ phone number. The modern way of enterprises to hide behind their homepages and humans are replaced by AI. This is a negative part of our AI ruled future life.

Now I’m waiting for replies from various companies, which closed over Christmas and New Year.

But I also had to pleasant days. A friend of mine from my days back in 1982 at the language school in Osaka, and her husband are living in Auckland and visited me for 2 days. It not only was nice to see each other again, to have nostalgic conversations about our student days in Japan, discussions of current days topics, but they also took me to Waipu, a place about half an hour to drive. It’s a place where many people from Auckland have a second house. As these days were off for most people, the beach was pretty filled and so was a famous restaurant close to the beach. I had my first NZ fish & chips. Thanks Ljubica & Jeff for these two days. More will follow.

Today, I have to call Starlink, to do laundry, search for a DC-DC step-up transformer from 12 to 48 V to be used as the power supply for my Starlink, and I have to write at least a dozen of emails. I’ll not be bored.