I thought I read the story in John's link pretty closely, but in this report and in no other do I recall seeing mention of a generator.
So . . . what were they doing with an inverter/charger on the high seas? Trying to use the batteries to run the inverter to run the charger to charge the batteries? Of course the light didn't come on . .
No, this is not a ridiculous situation. I visited an expensive sailing yacht (no names to protect the innocent) where the owner had complained that the batteries weren't taking a charge. I was tagging along with the builder's rep. There in the saloon was a battery charger (Sears or something) plugged into the inverter. Heck . . . if that worked, it's better than a perpetual motion machine.
This was a classic case of a schedule getting in the way of good sense. At some point, Mr. rich boat owner should have said, "OK guys, we're not going to leave New England in February, especially on an untested boat. I'll charter a boat for the race and fly everyone to Antigua.
I can hear Don Street ranting form here . . . and he's in Ireland.