Spanish Wells

The first item on today’s agenda was try out that fix for the water maker part and put some fresh water in the tank. The fix didn’t hold. The part cracked again right through the Sugru George had used to repair it. Next he tried wrapping the part with Rescue Tape, a very stretchy vinyl tape used in plumbing. That worked well enough. About half of the water leaked out of the fitting, so instead of collecting 30 gallons an hour he collected about 15. Also, the pressure was lowered than usual and not enough to get the water up to the water intake at the bow. George filled a 5 gallon jug 5 times and hauled it up to the water intake to pour it in. In any case, we have more water in the tank and can limp along with this set up until the new part arrives. George decided to have the part (and a spare) sent to Watermaker’s Air in Staniel Cay. We have used them before and it worked out very well. They handle all of the paperwork required and are very fast. We should be able to get to Staniel Cay within 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to pick it up. We felt a bit guilty running the water maker this morning in this mooring field. The water maker is quite noisy and there were boats in close proximity ahead of us and behind. Oh well, it couldn’t be helped. 

After George finished with the water maker we dinghied ashore and bought jerry jugs of diesel and gas. I bought a few fresh vegetables at the small Pinder’s Grocery Store. We brought the fuel and groceries back to Breeze On then went back to shore for a walk and trip to the larger grocery store. We bought a few more fresh vegetables there. When we first visited Spanish Wells two years ago we were struck by how much the residents seem to get into the Christmas spirit. The more sparkle the better. Today we saw a few yards that were filled with Christmas decorations.