Last week as the weather changed, the Coast Range became something out of The Lord of The Rings—the maritime version, perhaps.
Fog roils on Lynn Canal, cloaking the Coast Range (Photo: Mark Zeiger).
This is a poor representation of what we really saw that day, as ever.
Generating our own power means monitoring the equipment, particularly the wind generator. Like any piece of machinery, it operates within certain limits: it will not generate power with too little wind, nor will it survive too much wind. Our wind generator is built to withstand very high winds. In gusts of 35 knots or so, it is designed to “feather,” pivoting to set the prop at right angles to the wind to reduce strain. When braking the generator, we watch to ensure that the prop isn’t feathering. This is pretty difficult when it’s dark. I’ve made it easier by adding reflectors to the generator.
Reflectors make the generator "pop" in darkness and low light. Horizontal stripe means the wind's from the north, straight line means no "feathering." (Photo: Mark Zeiger.)
I purchased a length of reflective adhesive tape, the kind used on personal flotation devices—life preservers—because its adhesive is very strong and weather resistant.
