Today was a to-do list day. It was time for laundry and we were down to ¾ tank of water. This town had free RO water (reverse osmosis) not far from the local dock, and the neighbor boat had 5-gallon jerry jugs we could borrow – a good time to fill back up! We took ~40 gallons in 2 trips and Bliss took many more trips with kids helping use lines to hoist jugs onto the deck.
We ended up using Emmett’s laundry, a local who’s building up an offering of boat services at his dock. But before that, Tina got two rounds done in a 5 gal bucket with a toilet plunger near the spigot where we were schlepping water from, laundry which we then finished by hanging out to dry on the boat. At first it seemed easier than schlepping water all the way to the boat, but then Tina had half the town walking by, or stopping to saying hello, plus most of the kids introducing themselves. The local kids were talking a mile a minute and, like our kids, found ways to fight over who got to “help” do the laundry. In the end, the locals decided that no “white woman” should have to do laundry in this manner… nor “have to listen to a black kids problems” and we ended up being directed to the very reasonably priced usage of Emmett’s porch-mounted washers and dryers. It was a good way to help support the local economy a bit, though observing the race related dynamic that started it was a bit odd and unexpected.
While chores were going on, the boat kids played. All. Day. They swam like fish from floaty to floaty and very much enjoyed being the 4 musketeers. No change there!
This week is electronics failure week. Our new waterproof camera proved to be leaky – despite being properly closed it let bubbles out and salt water in at 2 feet, though was rated to 60 feet. Design flaw? GoPro backup will suffice! Tina’s laptop also croaked…partly… with the keyboard and trackpad kicking the bucket for no apparent reason. No Apple Store on Eleuthera just yet. Luckily we have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with us… but working through all that cancelled her much needed work day. Maybe tomorrow some work will get done? Island time schedules and breakdowns & US work schedules are NOT compatible.
They day ended well… we rafted up with Bliss for dinner (tied the two boats together while anchored) and then the big kids and dads went snorkeling. Henry and Celeste were champs, completely unphased by the quite choppy water just outside the bay, both diving down deep in the hunt for lobster. This was a spearfishing trip that was delayed by chores and happened quite close to sunset but it still yielded dinner. Mike spied a large spider crab and Harry speared it… first just the claw, then a second spear shot to get the rest of the crab and its second claw. We all got to try a bit after boiling it up on the stove. Farm to table, Bahamas style.
Fun Afloat 