A quote that is generally fun to say on a sailboat especially if one happens to be headed out onto the salty sea for a weekend of sailing. But this weekend has brought a different connotation to this quotation as a 36' transmission main broke at the entrance to the water treatment plant on Thursday, May 4. Immediately, a boil water order went out for the entire Keys, from MM126 to Key West.

Did this bother us? Not a bit, we usually fill our water tanks twice a week, 40 gallons each time on Mondays and Fridays. We simply skipped Friday's fill up and hoped that we could make it to Monday using the water in the tanks strictly for drinking. It felt really good and very self-sufficient (okay, maybe a bit sanctimonious) to be able to tell friends that the boil water order didn't apply to us as we do not draw our water continuously and directly from the public water supply.

But. Today is Sunday. Our tanks are empty now and I am boiling 8 cups of water in our largest bowl while checking the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority's website for the cancellation order while drinking an Iced Macadamia Latte (milky since water is non-applicable). The stores look as if a named storm were bearing down with empty water pallets scattered in the aisles and very few cases of beer left chilling and I am contemplating things one can do with an empty water tank.

1. I could empty ice cubes into the tank and call a bunch of kids over to rock the boat. Supposedly the ice bouncing along the bottom of the tank will scrub up any deposits then melt allowing the debris to be pumped down the sink. Rinse well after.
2. Ignore the situation and sip another latte.
3. String garden hose down the hatch to sink and wash dishes and entire galley with excess spray as the nozzle appears to have three settings - off, mist, and jet.
4. Add smidge of rum to latte and check FKAA's website. Again.
5. Read about benefits of hydrogen peroxide as a water purifier (non-toxic to humans, � - 1 oz of 27% solution to 10 gallons of water, too much will result in a harmless chemical taste) vs. chlorine bleach (6 drops of 6% bleach solution per gallon of water, too much will result in entry in 2006 Darwin Awards)
6. Add smidge of latte to rum. Sip.
7. Check our hydrogen and ice supply. Poke head up hatch and survey docks for stray kids and/or friends who will help and/or hinder me.
8. See instead, husband and daughter laden with dive equipment. Explain science experiment involving ice and hydrogen peroxide with result of clean tanks for clean water on Monday.
9. Hear explanation from husband on reason why under-sink cabinet glows blue. Not, as previously thought, so people hit trashcan with their banana peels, but rather as water is being purified by ultra-violet light, charcoal and sediment filters, and oxygenated with O3. The result is eerily similar to boiling or so my husband says.
10. Hmmph. Add ice to rum. Sip.
11. Call friends, smugly inquire after boiling water efforts.