Chores and Free Time

What do you do when you’re anchored near some uninhabited island waiting for the wind to be right for going to the next harbor?

Well, one item on the agenda might be laundry. I have always thought I’d like to be a pioneer woman, but after washing the sheets with our nifty blue washer plunger, I’m re-evaluating!

Repairs on the boat or just making things work better is a never-ending chore that keeps Tom busy.

Previous boat system upgrades included a water catchment system. The islands are short on resources that Americans take for granted. Water, for example, is often from reverse osmosis and is not free. One gallon can cost in the range of 25-50-cents. If you stay at a marina there is generally a fee for water usage, such as the Nassau marina where we paid $12 for all the water we needed for the day. That included use of the restroom and showers; no fee, no bathroom key. Tom devised a PVC pipe rain water catchment system this past summer that funnels the rain into our water tanks. It then goes through a filter to the galley sink.

Regular trash pick-up is another US luxury. Large island communities normally have free disposal points (marinas have dumpsters for guests), but smaller towns might charge you per bag. We aren’t in towns that often, so another routine chore is burning paper trash.

                                    

OK, maybe this next is not a chore, but fresh fish is a real nice treat. Catching dinner is Tom’s job.

Cracking coconuts is usually left to Jane. We brought 8 with us from Bahia Honda and cracked the last two at Nassau. On the lookout now for coconut palms which so far are few and far between. They are non-native.

The next leg of the trip is constantly studied in the chart book.

And then there are adventuresome chores! The deck light on the mast burned out and I got the fun of being hauled me up in the bosun’s chair to take out the bulb. The light is only a little less than half way up the 62-foot mast, but the view from there was fine.

 

For entertainment, the steel drum has been a highlight of many afternoons. Tom is great with picking the right percussion instrument for accompaniment. 

   

Some of the best free time includes going ashore, walking a beach, collecting shells, snorkeling and, back on the boat, watching one more sunset.

                                                                            

                              

Sunset off Whale Cay with solar butterfly lights.

And that’s a bit of the life in a day on a boat.