Now that we are in the Exumas and have an anchor we trust, we have no plans to go in to a marina. If we are anticipating a bad storm we will, but there is nothing in the forecast for now. We are getting into a new mode of living on the water. The biggest issues will be power, water and waste.

It has been consistently windy and as long as the wind blows the Super Wind wind generator we have seems to be able to meet our power needs. We are very conservative, using the LED lights whenever possible, cooking with propane rather than using the microwave or the electric coffee pot and since there’s no TV and no regular radio those don’t get used. But we do keep our VHF radio on all day, we use our SSB radio every morning to listen to the weather, and I’ve been using the SSB and computer to try and send email (so far, no luck; the relay stations seem to be constantly busy). I also use the computer to write the blog each day, and I transfer the photos I take. We have a map program on the computer that we use. So far, in two days, I’ve used half the battery on the computer, so tomorrow I’ll have to use the inverter to charge it up. The big power use has been the freezer. I ran it most of the day today, but the batteries still have plenty of charge.

I changed the way I do dishes today. I opened the valve that lets me pump seawater into the galley sink. I used seawater to pre-rinse and wash the dishes, and only used the tank water to rinse them. We’ll also try to wash in the ocean and just rinse ourselves with fresh water. Today, since it’s been cool and neither of us got sweaty, we just skipped showers entirely. We can go into a marina and buy water; it’s $0.35 to $0.50 a gallon.

We’ve started to sort our garbage. Food waste gets cut up in small pieces to be thrown overboard. Cans and bottles can go overboard, too. We could burn paper, but we are just cutting paper and plastic into really small pieces and putting it into the garbage. We’re not sure when we’ll get to a place to throw it out, but it won’t be for a while. If you don’t stay at a marina, only some will take your trash and they charge $5/bag. As for the toilets, those get pumped overboard when we’re off shore. There are no pump-out facilities anywhere including Nassau harbor. I just read that they are starting pump-outs in Elizabeth Harbor in Georgetown, that’s the only ones I’ve heard of in the Bahamas.

As the sun sets over Allan Cay, we are settling into our new life style.