Post #98: Water, Water, Everywhere and Now a Lot to Drink!

Tuesday, January 25 to Wednesday, January 26, 2022

This is the day that we are going to learn how to make water!! Inspired by Mike and Sheri’s system on Fantasea (they live full time on their boat and even have a washing machine!—see below) we bought a Rainman desalination system and had it installed last August.

As I wrote the words “we bought,” I have to explain that before the ‘buy now” button was finally pushed, David and I had debated for over 2 months (1) which brand to buy; (2) where to put the equipment; (3) what size system; (4) where to put it; (5) whether to go with an AC or DC powered model; (6) where to put it; (7) whether to plumb it in permanently; (8) where to put it.  We made mock-up models out of cardboard and moved them around the boat. Finally (as in FINALLY, THANK GOD!) we agreed on a Rainman AC model that runs off our generator. We had the encased filters installed next to the shower head in the aft bathroom.  The pump, pre-filter and various hoses have a home on a new shelf built into the locker seen in the first photo below. The power supply unit (PSU) provides the power and pumping ability to draw water from the ocean, pressurize it and then press it through two 48” long reverse osmosis (RO) filters. The salinated brine is separated and pumped back into the ocean. The result: 35 gallons of potable water in an hour which we send directly into our water tanks.  We run it every 3 days or so to keep the membranes/filters clean.

Why is this worth the investment, space on the boat, and time and effort, you may well ask. Surely there must be water readily available if people are living on the islands we visit, right? 

Well, yes. And no. The operative phrase here is “readily available.” The RO water system on some of the islands is not always working.  Or is available at only some hours of the day.  And sometimes costs $ .50+ per gallon. That may not seem like much but last year we needed to buy water not only for drinking but for cooking, washing dishes, flushing toilets, handwashing our clothes, showering, etc. In addition, it’s important to remember that the municipal systems were built with taxpayer dollars for Bahamians.  We are guests and should not squander their precious aqua vitae. We are so fortunate in the US to have immediate and usually free sources of water that we don’t even give it a second thought. Yet it is an indispensable and limited resource to respect, conserve and treasure.

Last year David would take the dinghy to shore with our 5-gallon water jugs, fill them at the municipal pump or at a marina, carry and load them back onto the dinghy and come alongside Onward. We devised a pulley system to get the jugs (which weigh over 42 pounds when full) up from the dinghy, over the lifelines onto the mother ship and then, when it was calm enough, pour them into our water tanks (which hold almost 130 gallons total). Ever conscious of our aging back muscles, we opted for the water maker.

The riches of the sea have not only provided us with potable water but also fresh fish to eat (thanks to Mike on Fantasea and Sue on Miss Adventure).

and creatures who delight and others who sometimes give us pause.

The manatee above swam about in the marina on Great Harbour Cay. They are gentle, harmless animals that feed on sea grasses and algae, both plentiful in the Bahamas. But it is unusual to find manatees here.

There were two green turtles hanging around our boat in Warderick Wells in the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park for the five days we were moored there. Sometimes they would just float for 15-20 minutes at a time, lifting their heads to take a breath and then continuing to just chill out. Unfortunately, they are endangered throughout the Caribbean and the total world population may be fewer than 500,000.

This nurse shark was attracted to the ultraviolet light shining off the stern of one of the boats in our fleet. Everyone says they are harmless. I am not interested in testing that theory.