Acquiring water to drink is one of the most important activities aboard a cruising vessel, next to acquiring wine and bread that is.

Most of our fellow cruising boats have water makers which take sea water and through a process of reverse osmosis turn it into good potable drinking water which is also used for showers and washing up etc. These water makers are both a blessing and a curse.They have pumps, filters and seals that all can fail and the system requires constant use and attention in order to stay healthy. We have encountered many boats waiting in anchorages and marinas for parts for their water makers to be shipped from the U.S.or Canada.We spent very little time considering one on board Mandy because our space is so limited and we would have needed to upgrade our charging ability beyond our two solar panels (more money and work).

We are dependant on finding potable water in the places we visit. We treat it for storage in our tanks with either chlorine tablets or a small amount of bleach. There is an added bonus in getting our water this way; we have the pleasure of meeting people like Hilda and Ismael who work the Zihuatanejo Bay. They deliver water, diesel and even groceries if you want. Hilda wears skin tight dresses in riotous colours on her generous frame. Her hair is a wild grey profusion, due in part to the speed she goes in her panga (a fast, sturdy launch). Her husband Ismael gets her loaded up each day from his small operations hub near the dock, where he receives orders over his handheld VHS. Then she is off and running with her two young men who do the grunt work; lifting the heavy 5 gallon bottles from the panga up onto the deck of boats such as ours ,Hilda just does the money nowadays. This water is used and delivered by a purification company just like "Sparklets" all over town. The empty bottles are then returned, cleaned and refilled again.

Our water tanks when full hold around 75 gallons or 280 liters. That can last us a month with careful conservation and recycling. We each have a shower every 2-3 days and wash satisfactorily in a bowl in between. We drink a lot of water as it is easy to get dehydrated out in the open ocean under strong sun and we use our 'grey water' to wipe down Mandy's varnish and to sprinkle over our wind vane (a self steering unit) to stop it becoming encrusted with salt.

Next time you turn on the tap, spare a thought for all those whose hard work brings precious water to you, fresh clean and ready to use, for without them it would be a dreary and thirsty old world.