Water, Water, Everywhere and . . . .

Our Water Maker does not work! It came with the boat and has never worked. We were told to not start it up in the murky waters of the Chesapeake or the ICW, so as soon as we arrived in Florida, Larry replaced all the seals and the membrane and tried everything else the company suggested. With no other options, we bought five water jugs while in Florida. He checked through the whole system again in Georgetown, replacing some seals again, but it still functions poorly. So, we make plans to fill our water jugs and our tanks. Pulling into a marina and just filling up our tanks seems like the logical step. But we rarely go to a marina in the Bahamas. The routes leading in are often to shallow for us (though some we could get into at high tide). Plus, most of the cays we visit have no marina.

Here are our five water jugs and two gasoline jugs.
(Reminder -just click on pics to enlarge them)

We hold approximately 88 gallons in our tanks plus we carry about 30 gallons in our jerry jugs. We average under seven gallons a day, and we avoid getting too low on water. We’re always planning our next ‘water collection’ as soon as we begin using our second tank

Filling our water jugs in Georgetown was free and fairly easy. The Exuma Market has installed a water hydrant at the Dingy Dock. Cruisers may have all the Reverse Osmosis water they need for no charge.

In Black Point, cruisers needing water tie up at the Dingy Dock, carry the jugs up the ladder to the dock, carry the jugs to the city hydrant, and then reverse the process with the heavy full jugs. The six foot ladders that go straight up to the deck are tricky enough without carrying jugs full of water. Of course, once at the boat, the jugs are lifted onto the boat and used as needed. The Reverse Osmosis water is free, but the settlement asks cruisers to make a donation both for water and for the trash that they leave. We were in Blackpoint twice, so each time we collected water.

The next time we needed water, we were able to pull into a marina. The marina at Staniel Cay was doable, but not easy and too far from our anchorage. Four miles after we left our anchorage west of Big Major Cay in the Staniel Cay area, we turned toward Sampson Cay Marina. The route is straight forward and deep enough for us to easily pull up to the fuel dock. A beautiful anchorage is just outside the marina, and several sail boats were anchored. The marina has many boats in slips, but they are luxury yactts with a few large power fishing boats. We filled up our tanks and jugs and paid $ .50 a gallon for the water.

Marinas in the Bahamas frequently run out of diesel and gasoline. The fuel boat at Sampson Cay Marina was unloading fuel when we arrived, so we filled up our diesel tanks. Since we rarely go to a marina, we carry diesel jugs as well as gasoline jerry jugs for our Honda motor that makes our dingy go fast, so we filled those up as well. We don’t go through fuel as fast as water, but we grabbed the opportunity. Larry didn't mind buying the two red jugs, but he was really reluctant to buy the seven diesel jugs. But so many cruiser told us that we should have them on board that he gave in and bought them. They may not look too pretty, but we are glad we have them.

Lots of cruisers have a working water maker and many others desire one, though there are those who choose not to invest in an expensive water maker that uses precious amps and requires regular maintenance. We on Lapidus are looking forward to having a working water maker.

OK! Enough about water makers. and fuel as well. I'd rather just share tales and pics of all the beautiful and fun places we are lucky enough to be visiting. But, we also have to deal with 'real life' necessities.
Bottle of rare wine? Steak? We can only imagine why this sea plane landed just long enough for a crew member from the Mega Yacht to pick up something that apparently was much needed by the owner. Our anchorage just off Big Majors often had more Mega Yachts than sail boats and smaller power boats. Fowl Cay Resort and its $100 dinners is close by. Its ‘reservation only’ dining is rarely visited by cruisers, but stays busy with guests from its five bungalows and the luxury yacht owners.