The winter and summer solstice occurred around the world at 09:20 (GMT / UTC) on Saturday 21st December.
In the UK (from where I write) thousands of people get up early to travel to the ancient monument of Stonehenge and celebrate sunrise on the shortest day. Usually, the monument is not accessible to the public, but on the solstices anyone is free to access the site to watch the south eastern horizon illuminate with thin yellow sunlight through its prehistoric arches. For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere the solstice marks a renewal, and we begin our journey back to abundance, and summer sun!
Meanwhile in the Southern hemisphere, the sun is high and nothing could be further from the minds of pleasure seekers than the winter grey and cold! 
So, if it’s winter for you just now here’s an idea to dispel the winter gloom:
If you can get yourself to Fiji why not swim out to the 7th Heaven cocktail bar? I say swim because it’s a floating bar and restaurant moored a short distance from the shore …think of a boat pontoon with luxury entertainment. 
You can swim or arrive by boat to relax in a sun lounger, sipping cocktails, and enjoy 360 degree views of the limpid blue sea – without sparing a thought for us and the grey, cold weather you’ve left behind!
And if you’re having such a lovely time you simply can’t tear yourself away – overnight accommodation is also available.
The floating restaurant bar is off-grid in every sense of the word. Sustainable power for the chillers, pumps, water heating, lighting and wifi is provided by a solar energy system.
Three SmartSolar 150/100 MPPT solar charge controllers harvest power from a 13kWp array of rooftop solar panels and stores the energy into Lithium batteries with a capacity of a little over 30kWh. Two 5kVA MultiPlus-II 48/5000 inverter/chargers provide AC power to all the catering equipment, and will also recharge the batteries from a standby 11kVA generator, if required.
All DC cabling is neatly distributed using the Lynx distribution system – a modular busbar with M8 or M10 connections rated at 1000A continuous load, and with monitored fuses.
A Venus GX communication centre device harmonises the system by allowing all components to talk to each other, and also provides remote engineering access and monitoring – allowing the installers – Fiji’s own Vision Energy Solutions – to keep an eye on the installation – and even make changes – without visiting the site; quite reassuring for the site operators who don’t know when they’ll next visit land!
Remote access is available to anyone using any GX device – free of charge – via the Victron Remote Management platform.
For those of us who can’t make it to Fiji, it’s good to know that if we wait patiently, the summer sun is on its way back!
It only remains for all of us at Victron Energy to wish you and your family health and happiness this Christmas – and if you don’t keep that festivity, we wish you Seasonal Greetings and an adventuresome 2025 that we can all look forward to, together.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY and healthy NEW YEAR!
