Sailing Triteiavideo
A Dead Lithium Bank From Lightning & Getting Supplies in Remote Indonesia After Being Cleared Out
September 8, 2025 · 23 min · 24K views · Belitung
Dinghy delivers supplies to sailboat in open sea
What this video covers
James, sailing his 1965 Alberg 30 Triteia through Indonesia toward Singapore, diagnoses a failed Dakota Lithium battery he suspects was damaged by a near-lightning strike during a severe squall at Belitung.3:10 The lithium bank had been shutting down intermittently — blinking off for 60 seconds then recovering — even under minimal load: a Starlink, an iPad, and a 12-volt fan.3:17 Attempting to run the electric galley via inverter killed the entire system instantly.4:24 After isolating each battery, he confirmed one 200 Ah Dakota Lithium cell was dead; Dakota Lithium's Ryan is arranging replacements for when Triteia reaches Malaysia.8:36 James also discovered a blown fuse on the B2B charger that had been preventing the alternator from charging the house bank for nearly a year.6:06 As a backup, he buys a lead-acid car battery in town for roughly $100–200 USD.9:19 The provisioning run in Belitung — arranged through No Foreign Land for 500,000 IDR — covers eggs, cabbage, potatoes, apples, tomatoes, ramen, oat milk, and shelf-stable snacks suited to no-refrigeration passage-making.16:31 He also buys a flashing red-and-blue Indonesian anchor light running on D batteries as a backup nav light recognizable to local fishing boats, and a rechargeable high-power headlamp.21:17 A blown B2B fuse can silently disable alternator charging for months without triggering obvious symptoms.
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