We like to put the "Fresh" in Water

Being from the States we really do not think of how we get fresh water or how we use it for the most part....it is not really in our awareness. When we pull into a marina stateside, we just hook up the hose and use what we need.

In the Bahamas it is quite a different story. There really is no fresh water in the Cays. Fresh water is either captured from rain water and stored in cisterns or it is made in desalination plants or individual water makers. Coming to the island therefore,  you pay by the gallon and it really varies from place to place. At the Boat Harbour, Abaco Beach Resort the average cost is $.15 a gallon. As members of the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club we get a discount. Even still,  it is an additional expense that you need to be mindful of. We've heard it can be as high as $.40 a gallon at other locations in the Abacos.

We have also found as we travel, that the quality of the water both here and stateside can vary quite a bit from highly treated urban water in big cities to small marinas with well water. Often the mineral content can be quite high, leaving a funky taste as well as leaving stains on things, such as a cloudy film on glasses. Actually this is quite common, making washing dishes and the boat itself more interesting and certainly a lot more of an effort. The other thing is that when you are off the boat for a while, the water can have a stale smell if not attended to.  For those who have boated in the past, this is not an uncommon problem and more pronounced in the hot summer months.

While we are certainly enjoying ourselves,  I thought it might be appropriate to talk about some of the behind- the- scenes work that goes on to make sure we are all happy and drink safe and clean water and don't break the bank in the process.
As a reference point,  I have attached a schematic layout of the fresh water system (above) and will discuss the components.

The most obvious one is our Max-Q fci watermaker 

What is reverse osmosis?
   
 The osmotic process involves the natural movement of a solution through a semi-permeable membrane without applying external pressure. The membrane allows the passage of solvent but not of solute. In reverse osmosis, high pressure is used to push the solution through a membrane, which traps the solute on one side making pure solvent obtainable from the other side.

We have a 1200g/day modular water maker. While our water tank is 400/g this allows us to make .83g/min and reduces the amount of time on the generator or shore power to make the water we need, 2-3 hours and we are usually good to go most of the time for the two of us. This water is so good that it is better than tap water at most homes in the states;  bottom line, great fast clean and plentiful water!
We typically use this process when we anchor out and we are running the generator to recharge the house battery bank, this is a good add on. Typically we do not make water while in a marina due to the usual crude found in the water. While this would  certainly be possible it would mess up the 5 micron pre-filter and might harm the membranes depending on what is in the water.

Our process, for all fresh water, regardless of the source includes the water from the fresh water tank going though ultra-violet-sterilizers before it goes to the faucet. This destroys most critters that can grow in your fresh water tanks, making it safe to drink. It is controlled by a ICE controller that keeps the voltage correct and has a timer for bulb replacement. The Sterilight is attached to the bulkhead with easy  access for maintenance.

Additionally the water is filtered by a 3M whole-boat-filtration the one that does sediment, chlorine and odor. This filter is in line with the Sterilight.

These units include timers so you know when to replace them. I recently purchased the UV light and filter replacement. The challenge of shipping parts is the cost which is very high,  almost to the point that it is not feasible unless absolutely needed.

Truthfully I should have gotten the supplies last fall before we departed the states but did not do it. We happen to have a friend of a friend who was still in Stuart and agreed to let us ship them to him and he crossed over last week.   Got them the other day and met some nice new folks aboard their DeFever and will go out to dinner with them later this week!








As part of our fresh water system as you can see on the schematic, we have two water pumps; (1) 110v Mach 5 water pump which is our primary pump,  giving us water pressure of 40-60 psi, great pressure just like home. This system operates on our inverter so it is always on. As you can see on the schematic we have a back up (2)  headhunter 24v xcaliber water pump We have this purely in the event of a failure of the 110v Mach 5.  Nothing ruins your day like a failed fresh water pump, so a back up is critical especially when traveling to remote spots. We do routinely use this pump to keep it always primed and ready to go. Murphy's law says these things never fail close to home or where it is easy to get parts..... we have been fortunate and have not had a failure!  

Just so this update is not totally about fresh water systems,  here is a Bahamian lobster caught just outside the marina in the beautiful blue break water.  Yum!

Tilloo Cay pt 2

A short post with a few additional pics of Tilloo Cay, photos compliments of Susan Cope aboard Copeing!

We took the dinghys out for a great dinner at Fireflys on Elbow Cay

Seabright just departing Marsh Harbor

Low tide at Tahiti Beach

A star fish in the shallows

We are working on solving the problems of the world...seriously

The tide is coming in as we stroll.

a little Tilloo here and Tilloo there

Last week we departed Marsh Harbor with Ray and Susan aboard COPEING and Bruce and Bonnie aboard TRUE COLORS, traveling to Tilloo Cay on the east side of the Sea of Abaco. None of these places are far and this was just a short hop.

We dropped the hook in 12 ft of water and I deployed 140 ft of chain and then an additional 10-12 ft for the snubber component. A goodly amount, but in the event of a blow I want to have enough weight down to give us good holding and there was plenty of room.

We traveled to various areas by dinghy and I was not doing the usual checking of email, blogging or surfing the net in the picture above.  Rather,  I was using the Ipad for navigation and was plotting my waypoints. It was a new application on the Ipad for me,  made by Navionics, which our friend Bruce showed us, and I am still learning the hows and whats,  but I am quite pleased so far.

We had lunch at Cracker P's on Lubbers Quarter Cay....a typical look and open feel. Someone in the background was playing a game of darts and doing quite well.

Bruce Williams and I were having deep thoughts over various libations and working through the great mysteries of life or maybe  subjects more mundane, like how to fix something on a boat.

You gotta admit  there are great views from the bar!






 

Ray Cope decided that he would don is wet suit and begin washing the hull at the water line. Look at that shiny white stripe!  It was a sunny and pleasant afternoon after a tasty lunch.
Yesterday we decided it was our time to clean the hull around the water line...after watching Ray do his, seems simple right?

I borrowed his wet suit (a Bahamas tuxedo) because I am such a wuss about getting into cold water. The water temps were in the high 60's....my preferred temp does not start until 82....think bathtub temps....

The goal is to get the growth off along the water line to a foot or so below depending on where you are along the hull. The problem is the current and wind worked to make this as hard as it could for the locations we were in, so Jeannie set up ropes along the side that I could hold onto with one hand and scrub with the other and it took me awhile to master the art form but, to be honest it had me laughing at points as putting any pressure to scrub sent you in the opposite direction. We have suction cup handles that we tried that worked much better. I would not suggest this as a bucket list issue but a sub sub part of one.

Took a couple of hours but got the job done......the wet suit is thick and when the water soaked in I was like the little kid in a big snow suit, making it hard to bend my arms and legs. Took 10 minutes to get out of the dang thing and had me laughing as Jeannie tugged...



A great water aerobics work out...I was pooped and, after a shower, ready for a quiet dinner!

Boat bottom cleaning: Oh,  the joys of Island life, Mon!

The Sea of Abaco and it's Rage

I thought it might be interesting to give those who are not familiar with the area an overview in order to make relative sense of distance and locations.

Seabright is currently located in Marsh Harbor boat harbor marina, our winter home until the Christmas winds die down in the Spring. We travel to various Cays on our dinghy. Here is a shot just after we came into Man-o-War. This is really a great way to travel when the winds are not howling and the Sea of Abaco is calm. We call our dinghy "One Winghy Dinghy" a novurania DL 430 with a 60hp Yamaha out board 4 stroke engine. It has a lot of gittyup and go when needed.

Looking at the Sea of Abaco, you can see a full screen view if you click on the chart to the right.
Seabright is located where you can see the red boat symbol in the slight center lower right where the lines all converge. Those lines are our tracks in and out of the marina.

Elbow Cay is to the right lower, Man-o-War is mid chart to the right and Guana Cay is more to the right upper part of the chart.

Hopetown is located on Elbow Cay and is about 7-8nm from Marsh Harbor east across the Sea of Abaco.

There is a nice but shallow anchorage and harbor as you can see to the right. Well protected on all sides. We can possibly take Seabright here but could only enter or leave on a high tide and that might be iffy?

Traveling to Man-o-War or Guana Cay it is easier on the dinghy to cut through John Cash Point rather than go out the long way out and around Matt Lowes Cay and Sugar Loaf Cay. It really cuts off some time. Again not sure I would take Seabright this way but on the dinghy it is great. I have highlighted the route in yellow.
From here it is an easy run across the Sea of Abaco, east and northeast to our two destinations.

The entrance to Man-o-War is a bit narrow but has great depths even at low tide. The red line is the course into town. There are moorings on both the north and south side. Once in, it can be a bit shallow in spots. There are quite a number of smaller boats and sail boaters tucked in and about. All in it is about 8nm from Marsh Harbor across to the channel in.

Guana Cay is fairly large with Bakers Bay to the north and the harbor about in the middle. It is approximately 12 nm from Marsh Harbor and is a bit more open than Hopetown. It is a busy place at times especially on Sundays with the pig roast at Nippers. There is a marina that can accommodate Seabright without depth issues called Orchard Bay Marina 






The Sea of Abaco is known for the
Abaco Rage. You can only enter the area, which is quite shallow, from certain inlets depending on the size and capability of the vessel. The ones we would consider using to the north are Whale Cut, in the middle Man-o-War and North Bar Channel to the south. Otherwise this area is surrounded by coral reefs which, while protecting the area from waves, makes the sea quite shallow. Not far off shore the water drops to significant depths. When we first arrived a supply vessel delivering food and mail was pushed up on the reef traveling through Man-o-War during a rage. The vessel was damaged and no one was hurt but supplies and mail were disrupted for a couple of weeks.  When you consider that everything needs to be shipped by boat it was quite an inconvenience.

"First is a phenomena of weather called the Abaco Rage. Its name pretty much conjures up something quite fierce, and you'd be correct. When conditions are right, storms often miles off shore from Abaco and often nowhere in sight, produce large ocean swells. As the westward headed swells approach the abrupt shallows of the Sea of Abaco, they "swell up" to 3 times their original height and also compress the distance between them. This phenomena is especially prevalent at the passages between the cays. One place of renowned is the Whale Cay Passage. This spot is notorious because the shallows behind the cay prevent large craft from passing even in normal conditions forcing them out into the ocean and back into the Sea of Abaco on the other side. When a full blown rage is present, any attempt of passage could be suicide and to pass with even small outboard type craft on an inside passage is also dangerous because the rollers can lift the boat upwards only to have it come crashing down on to the shallow sand bar behind Whale Cay, reeking havoc on running gear and even ones hull. It is an area to be avoided in such conditions. Just the same, and the south end of Whale Cay in an area known as Bakers Bay, Disney would moor their Red cruise ships and tender folks to their "Out Island Home" on Guana Cay. It didn't take long for Disney to realize their mistake, having to deal with often treacherous anchoring conditions in the area and pulled anchor for good and moved their island sanctuary to Gorda Cay, now called Castaway Island. There is many a tale to be told of vessels of all types meeting their doom in the "Infamous Whale Cay Passage".+

An additional feature of the rage is where water is pushed into the shallow Sea of Abaco until the water level is slightly higher than than the much deeper ocean, particularly on a rising tide, only to turn around and rush back into the ocean against the large swells creating really large and quite dangerous waves at the inlets.

Coming into and out of the Sea of Abaco must be timed with the sea conditions of the inlets. Every morning on the marine channel 68 at 8:15am is the Cruisers Net for local information including weather and passage conditions through the various inlets. The local favorite is barometerbob which gives weather and sea conditions for the Sea of Abaco.

Man-O-War Cay

Since returning to the islands the weather has been fair winds and pleasant temperatures. Quite delightful.

As a result we have been able to be out and about either on Seabright or our dinghy which we named "One Winghy Dinghy"
We decided to make the trek to Man-O War Cay, which is a bit under 9nm across the Sea of Abaco and just north of the inlet by the same name. When the wind is kicking up the inlet can make the trip a bit dicey but the day we went its was great. This particular Cay is know for boat building. As was true for a number of these Cays, the original settlers were Loyalists from the American War of Independence or southerners from the Civil War. All fascinating histories but in the case of this Cay some of the original settlers were boat builders and that craft has been passed down from generation to generation.

 
That craft still thrives today with  Albury Designs which are both fiberglass built and wooden built boats and various related things.

These sturdy boats come in all shapes and sizes. The water is so clear these boats seem to float in air.

The most common we saw were fiberglass runabouts that serve as both pleasure and work boats. They are also known for the sailing boats that compete in the various island races.

This Cay, similar to others in the Abacos, are long and not very wide. Aside from walking, the most common form of transportation is golf carts and "small" sized trucks of the type not typically seen in the US.

There are usually no sources for fresh water, ie no wells; most use ways to catch and store rain water and more recently reverse osmosis water makers. They certainly are not frivolous with water use.

We have found these Cays to be quite charming each with small narrow streets, covered in trees and areas to sit and enjoy life a bit. The two Cays we have been to have had some elements that are quite similar and yet some distinct flair that is uniquely their own.

I am a confessed admirer of gnarly trees but with the added flair of flotation balls in various sizes shapes and materials, these really caught my eye.

We found many with interesting bic a brac, this one sported a nice bench with shade.

These were just in some wooded areas but obviously the person had a wonderful idea of just the right idea.
 

These were under a covered area with picnic tables on the water













I found this bell from an old ship quite interesting.

Home grown flowers on

Man-o-War Cay

When flowers have the mind to sprout they'll grow just about anywhere.

A canvas sail shop that really made things to sell to the general public including bags, place mats and other items made from colorful canvas.
The lady here was one of three seamstresses hard at work.

We were wondering how this mailbox would look in front of our driveway.  Someone is quite the artist!

A look down the street with the island grocery store peeking out on the left hand side.  It had practically everything a big store would offer.

You don't really see many hills but this was a steep one. The sign you cannot see warned, "Slippery When Wet".

Anchoring in Bakers Bay, Abacos

We returned to Marsh Harbor after a wonderful Christmas and New Year with family and friends. Certainly fun to be back and see everyone and get some chores done too boot.
We flew to Marsh Harbor on Thursday after an uneventful series of connecting flights.
The weather has been delightful in the mid to lower 70's and sunny.

After getting back into the swing of things at the marina we decided to pull up our lines and go anchor out for the night. It is just too nice to sit in port plus a nice time on the hook clears the cob webs off.

We really have not been out since we arrived in Marsh Harbor. The winds can be high and quite  variable, so when the chance presents itself,  you need to jump on it.

We decided about mid day to go to Bakers Bay and anchor out for the evening. The forecast is for 5mph of winds tonight and 10mph tomorrow; it does not get much better. We plan on a nice cookout with dinner on the aft deck.

The water is so clear that it easy to see the anchor and chain.

The depths average a tad under 6' to 7' not much of a tidal change. There is a bit of a current but not raging. We deployed our chain rode a to be bit under 11:1 before the extra chain for the snubber after that extra we are about 14:1.
The bottom is loose sand with a few grasses and would not hold in much of a blow. For tonight and light winds the amount of chain out is perfect.

The snubbers are both well underwater adding extra weight to the chain to keep the chain & anchor shaft below 9 degrees which helps to keep the anchor set.


We find ourselves surrounded by star fish and such clear water everything is easy to see.