Today we jumped into action...no easy task after living the leisurely life for the longest time here at Dakiti anchorage in Culebra, hahaha! The winds have been blowing 25-30 knots on average with occasional squalls passing through and seas are running a high 8-10 feet outside...so we have not moved ORION until today, because today we had to make a water run! A what? A water run...we needed to fill up ORION's water tanks again. As explained in a previous post we do not run our water maker...it is ancient and we decided not to wake it up from its long beauty sleep, because we know that we will have to replace it and it is just another piece of equipment that needs to be monitored constantly and and and...To make a long story short...for now we are sailing without a water maker and will therefore have to fill our water tanks from time to time...no problem in the Caribbean...water is available on most of the islands :)
We last filled the tanks on December 5, 2012...today is January 8, 2013...so the water lasted us a little over a month...not too bad, considering that we have showers after snorkeling. I know, I know...that sounds almost pathetic for landlubbers, but life on the sea is a different life...it teaches you to value the things most people take for-granted and to conserve...and in exchange you become independent and self sufficient...living the dream! Yes...we are still pinching ourselves :)
Okay, back to the water run...ORION has three water tanks...one to starboard (right), one to port (left), and one under the Vberth (front)...25 gallons, 50 gallons, and 70 gallons respectively...for a total of 145 gallons! Of course we never let the tanks become completely dry! The two saddle tanks (right and left) can be filled from above...they have special openings for that purpose. The tank in the front is gravity filled via the saddle tanks by opening a valve...once the front tank is full the valve must be closed otherwise the tank will overflow and this would be a nasty affair, because there is no drainage pipe per se (!)...the water would end up in the salon...yikes! We are always a little bit nervous filling the front tank...it is not easy to determine the water level therein, because there is no real "window". The tank is PVC and sometimes your guess is as good as ours! So when my captain feels it is time to shut off the valve I trust him completely...once the front tank is full we continue filling the saddle tanks...the saddle tanks have overflow valves thank goodness, so they are a lot easier to manage :)
We motored ORION to the DRNA dock, anchored, and hauled the water...actually Rick hauled the water...via dinghy, because we cannot dock at the DRNA dock...it's too shallow and there are old pipes sticking out that could damage ORION! But we don't mind putting in a little elbow grease once a month or so...I say we, because my job is to receive the 5 gallon portable water tanks and fill up the saddle tanks with them...but of course my captain does most of the heavy stuff filling and schlepping the full tanks from the dock to the boat via dinghy! We accomplished our mission despite 20 knot winds and two squalls passing through!
We left our mooring ball at Dakiti around midday and returned around 1700 (5 p.m.)...we were lucky...nobody took the mooring ball in our absence, so here we are all snuggled on our same mooring ball again :) We hauled approximately 80 gallons today. In addition to the three full tanks on ORION we keep three 5 gallon portable water tanks on deck...these portable tanks are made specifically for potable water...they are light blue in color and have a detachable spout that is stored inside the tank when not in use, similar to a portable gas tank. So all is good on the ORION...ready for new adventures :)
