Cooler, 70F and overcast
01/13/2009, GTC, Bahamas

The clouds are moving in, and we're making water!

After some initial problems (which I need to sort out over the next few weeks) the watermaker is producing wonderful clean drinking water.

The big clouds are rolling in, the entire island has been without electricity for 8-10 hours per day, so the shops are open, but dark and the credit card machines don't work.........

Louise is relaxing by polishing all of the stainless steel on the boat!

This damn boat is soooo clean! I'll have to take her out for dinner once the big winds subside.

Our friends from Ottawa arrive in four days, and will catch the water taxi from Treasure Cay directly to our boat c/w luggage! At $12 it's a great service!

Most of the big boat projects are now over, so it will be interesting to see if I can relax and smell the roses, or start investigating possible land development projects/farming in the Abacos!

Fresh winds and clean diesel!

glen

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overcast and getting darker
01/12/2009, GTC, Bahamas

Well, with some difficulties the watermaker has been completely installed and we await our initial test results.

Our plan was to leave tomorrow, but another damn Canadian cold front is due to arrive overnight with gale force winds (45 mph+) so we'll probably just relax on our mooring and wait for it to blow through and then continue our voyage of discovery.

The fresh fish from the locals is remarkable, and apparently is caught at 500' of water just off the ocean reef. When the sea is rough the locals stay home, so one needs to buy the fish whenever it's available. The local shops don't sell it, and most goes directly to the two fancy restaurants on the island. Today we were lucky and cycled over to the dock just as they returned home.

Dinner should be wonderful!

glen

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Not a cloud in the sky!
01/11/2009, GTC, Bahamas

Another great day!

After a wonderful breakfast of eggs poached in grits (a recent habit), we spent a couple of hours beachcombing for glass and shells, and visiting a local cottage which has been rented by some folks from Vancouver whom we met on the ferry ride over from Treasure Cay. The are LOTS of rental cottages available here and the occupancy is very low, so there is lots to chose from.

This afternoon was spent installing the new watermaker, with great results! I'll pick up a couple of additional fittings tomorrow when the shops open, and we'll be ready for an initial trial. I had to remove the floorboards to run all of the electrical wiring and plumbing, but everything is back together again, and the entire system almost disappears.

The solar panels ( 4 x 130 = 520watts) work until about 4:30pm and due to the flat installation ( they are not tilted towards the sun) they generate about 18amps (200 watts) maximum at high noon. The result is that by 3:30pm all of the batteries are fully charged, and the system indicates that everything that went out has been restored.

We also changed ALL of the lights on the boat to LEDs this year, but with over 30 lights (inside and out) they still use a fair bit of power.

The Xantrex solar charger/controller seems to work extremely well preventing the batteries from being over-charged.

Louise is so excited about the solar energy, she used her 110V toaster at lunch (via the inverter) to toast our sandwiches!

Tonight is another lobster feast with cold white wine and a fresh salad thanks to the Nassau shopping expedition.

If the weather holds, we'll finalize the watermaker installation tomorrow and head out on Tuesday morning to explore some deserted islands.

Bye for now!

glen

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