For a different twist, today's blog will start with the description of the picture of the day. We often speak of re-suppling so I thought I'd try and explain what we go through. Unlike travelling in the US where marinas abound, there are very few marinas in the Bahamas where boats can get in to fuel and fill water tanks. While we're here we have to transport all our water, diesel and gas in jerry cans back to the boat. We always try and anchor close to the services, however that's not always possible and sometimes we're faced with a 1/2 mile or more dinghy ride.

As you can see from the picture it helps not to be colour blind when filling the jerry cans. The blue cans are for water and when completely full hold 5.5 gallons, times 8.4 lbs., means each can weighs 46lbs. This trip we took aboard 18 cans of water, 2 cans of diesel and one can of gas. Fortunately, this winter we have been able to sail a lot more and combined with our generator usage our diesel consumption is way down. As the days are getting longer our solar panels are able to supply the bulk of our power while at anchor, however, we still run the Honda 2000 generator most days for an hour or so. Besides charging the batteries the generator will also run the hot water heater as required thus saving us many hours on the diesel inboard.

As you may have guessed by now, a dependable dinghy is indespensable. Our AB dinghy has been great for us, very stable and with room for lots of gear. We bought it 6 years ago and it has never had an air leak, however, we dodged a major bullet a couple of weeks ago. While it was tied to the dock at Blackpoint it got pinched between 2 other dinghies and a piling, there was a sharp object that ripped about 12 inches of rub rail away from the rubber tube but somehow it never even marked the air chamber. For now we've tie wrapped and duck taped it back together and will get it properly repaired on the way home. Red Green would be proud of me.

Gathering and trying to interpret the weather is always an important part of the day, whether we are staying at anchor or planning to move. We subscribe to a weather service that sends out daily emails with top notch forecasts. They also broadcast on SSB radio every morning at 6:30, so my first morning coffee is enjoyed while listening to Chris Parker. In many of the small Centers the supply boats only arrive once a week, so it's important to shop as soon as possible after their arrival in order to have a good selection of fresh produce. Laundry is another event that always requires planning, there aren't many places where laundry can be done so it's important to be sure and fit a laundry day into our travel plans.

It may sound like a lot of work, but to us it's just part of the daily cruising life that we have come to enjoy, and don't worry we still have lots of time to play. As they say "If you're lucky enough to be in the Bahamas, then you're lucky enough".