IN LATITUDES

the chances of smacking into something unseen were small — but not zero. Needing to get into an anchorage in low visibility, past all the trap buoys and kelp mats you can see during the day, but can't at night, is another thrill I can live without.

We helped ease our minds in both scenarios by installing a FLIR (Forward Looking InfraRed) camera that displays a black-and-white image on the chartplotter. This technology allows us to see what's in front of us even on pitch-black, moonless nights. Used in conjunction with radar, depth and chart displays — and old-fashioned paying attention — it has helped ease us into anchorages where not all boats were lit. Even in open stretches of water, glancing at the screen and seeing only uniform waves is reassuring, dispelling imaginary shipping containers bobbing just out of sight in your mind's eye.

I opted to mount it on the bow so that it wasn't obstructed by sails. (Mounting it high on the mast might have dif ferent benefits.) As installed, it sees boats on the horizon at 600 yards. Buoys show up as bright white. On the bash back home, motoring along an open stretch of water 10 miles off Mag Bay at 4 a.m. on a moonless night, I was awakened by the engine being throttled back to idle. I came up on deck to see why. "Whales!" our attentive helmswoman said. "Two spouts and a third whale right in front of us!" Not a chance we would have seen them without the FLIR, even with very attentive crew.

have enough information displayed to control loads safely, so…

2 . Blue Sea Systems makes a mini OLED temperature gauge and sender that's handy for a lot of things. Mounting the sensor on the alternator body and the gauge at the nav station lets me monitor how hard the alternator is working by its displayed temperature, for both better understanding and control.

3. Installing a Balmar serpentine belt conversion kit. This ensures that the heavier loads their alternator can carry won't be drawing more horsepower from the engine than a V-belt can transfer.

Night Cruising

Cruising at night in a big, open ocean can be nerve-racking. Like all sailors, I would constantly reassure myself that

We still carry spotlights, but the FLIR offers a higher constant level of awareness of what's directly ahead on the surface at night. We had occasion on this trip to travel at night in the rain, and the camera can't image in those conditions, but I'm happy to have its help in the environments it can see in. It helps make planning cruises that include night sailing seem less daunting. I expect this item may come into wider use in the cruising community because we all love our sleep.

— Mark 2/24/23

Readers — Mark has no connection or financial arrangements with any of the items or companies noted in this article.

Azimuth

— Pearson 365

Ashley and Scott Racette Writing Plans in the Sand

Oakland/Richmond (VA)

We last chimed into Changes from Bocas del Toro, Panama, in August 2022. My crew — cat Cypress and husband Scott — had spent the previous year sailing south from California to Panama with stops in