May 1st... Marsh Harbor, Abacos

After coffee I tried to figure out what to do with the water heater. We can survive quite well without one with the solar shower and a tea kettle but if I can keep it going for another month it would be nice.

I decided t attempt to fix the holes like you would a hole in drywall fitting a piece behind the damaged area, holding it in place with a string and then filling from the front. Our first attempt was with a small circle of plastic. I rolled it up and pushed it through the hole but couldn't get it to flatten against the inside of the water heater. Next we found some thin rubber, cut our ¾ inch circles, punched a piece of dental floss through the middle and pushed them into the water heater. Everything seemed to work well so I mixed up some JB weld, worked so through the hole in the water and pulled the rubber circle into position. With both holes half done, I went below and cooked some breakfast.

After the JB weld had set, I mixed up another batch and added some more to the out side of the tank covering the now cut off end of the dental floss.

With the tank drying we loaded up the laundry and headed to for the Harbor View Marina where the best facilities are located. I dropped off Kathy and went back to the boat to load up some garbage which I took to the government dock and hiked down to the dumpster.

By the time I finished, it was back to visit Kathy and have a small lunch at Snappers which is next door to the laundry.

When we got back to the boat I replaced all the fittings on the water heater, but left it on the deck to set overnight. We had some cheese that needed to be eaten so I made a batch of Mac and Cheese using my basic recipe but changed up the process a little. After the macaroni was drained I added the sauted peppers as well as the cheese which melted nicely. I then added the custard mixture and stirred everything together for a minute before putting into the baking pan. It ended up being my best effort so far.

Then we were off to the Jib Room to get some water. Actually the Jib Room is a restaurant which is attached to the Marsh Harbor Marina. We loaded op 25 gallons and then had a beer before heading back to the boat.

The anchorage here is emptying out. Last year when we were here there were over 100 boats. We're down to twenty today. In a few weeks the summer boaters from Florida will show up the fill it up again but right now the winter folks are mostly gone and the summer people aren't here yet.

When we got back, "Fine Lion", who we left in Hope Town, was anchored just to our stern. After offloading the water, we swung by to say hi to Steve and made arrangements to head in to listen to a band at about 8:30.

We had a fine dinner of brocolli and Mac and Cheese and then napped a little before heading back to shore.

The band was good, and we danced a little. Before midnight we were pooped and returned to the boat and to bed.