Plan for the day; 8:00 am, George Town Cruisers Net, speaking of which, the sailboat that grounded at Exuma Yacht Club got off the bottom yesterday, they announced that they were leaving the harbor for Long Island (the one down here, not the one up north) and thanked everyone for their assistance in a time of need. 10:00 am, leave for 10:30 mass at St. Therese’s, walking around town, then return and start working on the water maker.
Apparently there is no cruiser’s net on Sunday, it surely would have been nice to have seen the rule book before coming to this harbor. While we are on that subject, the ‘founding’ cruisers (they apparently come back year after year), have a private Facebook group called George Town Sailor and Cruisers. The radio net has been touting this group for over a week now. I figured, what the hell I’ll join and see if there anything I could learn that I haven’t already discovered on my own. I pressed the Join button, Facebook acknowledged that join request was sent, that was 4 days ago… still waiting, I’m starting to think that there is a special handshake or something…
Since putting the solar panels in series (higher voltage, higher efficiencies) the issues with the house bank has disappeared, and once a day for a few hours I put the starting bank on the series solar panels for a good top-up and float charge. That system seems to be working perfectly. There I go again, tempting fate, you’d think I’d learn by now.
I prepared for my trip to the local Catholic church like no other trip to town yet, I put my shoes and a towel in a duffel bag, put my wallet in my pocket so I could contribute at the collection, covid mask in my shirt pocket, took both phones for pictures and to make calls if needed, I was determined not to look like a typical dinghy arriving cruiser… hell no (oops, it is Sunday, make that heck no), not me. I was going to be clean and dry, no squish-squish coming from my deck shoes as I walked in. I boarded the dinghy and I was off to church, a live church, first time in the Bahamas, first time in a real church in months. I planned to do a European style docking maneuver at the landing near the church, (basically you drop an anchor off the stern on the way in, and tie the bow line on land, stretching the dinghy between the two. It keeps the boat straight with the added advantage of being able to pull yourself out, away from shore to deeper water to start the engine), Executed the maneuver flawlessly, as I stepped off the bow of the dinghy onto a stone ledge which was underwater about 2-foot deep (I’m thinking, wet feet and calves, no problem I’ve got a towel for that), well this is where the Bahamian water clarity is a big problem, it wasn’t 2-foot or even 3-foot deep, oh no, at least 4-foot. I stepped off the bow and into water that was over my waste, I grabbed the duffel bag out of the dinghy and got out of the water as quickly as possible. Standing on the dry rocks, it slowly dawned on me and then hit me like a 2×4 on the back of the head… my wallet, and cell phones are in my pockets, my now wet pockets, the pockets that were underwater, ah… shit (damn, or darn it’s still Sunday). But wait, my new cell phone, my US phone that doesn’t work here, the one I used to take pictures is waterproof, ha ha ha… sailing Gods, thought you got me again, didn’t you?
You know, at the age of 68, you would think I’d learn, but no, not me. Taunt the sailing Gods, and everyone knows there is a price to pay, oops, was that the other shoe I hear dropping… My Bahamas phone, the one I use for everything down here, text messages, internet, US and Bahamian telephone calls, ya that one, it isn’t water proof. To save money I bought the cheap one 3 years ago. It’s now dead. I disassemble the phone, wrapped it up in the towel, put on my shoes and walk to church.
I walk into St. Therese’s, squishes with each step, water running down my legs into my shoes, the shorts, my go-to-town shorts, the really nice ones, soaking wet. So much for not looking like a cruising tourist, or bozo, you choose. I walk into the middle of the church, go into a pew and went to the far end by the open window, maybe the sun and breeze will dry me out quickly. I’m at the complete end so I did have to standup to let people in or have to move over leaving a wet spot on the pew, ya who’s thinking ahead now…
A young Bahamian man sits next to me, he’s maybe in his 30s, after a short time he stands up and lets his mother in, an older woman in her 70s. She goes around him and is now next to me, she pauses, looks around, and leaves the pew taking her son in tow to the pew in front of me. Ah, ok message received, no one wants to sit next to a wet American, and I hadn’t even squished for her yet. Humm. Reminds me of riding the bus in Japan (prior to covid, so that excuse isn’t working), no one would sit next to me there either. If I sat next to someone, they would move.
Hell, I showered and shaved last night, I was looking and smelling good, I’m just a little damp that’s all. Oh, well each to his own. 
Church was a normal mass you might go to in any Catholic church, the padre bumped fists with me on my way out… although in retrospect he did shake the hands of the locals, ah, who knows, maybe it’s a local thing. You don’t shake hands with Americans who are dying out, ya I’m sure that’s it. Rather than hanging around town, which is what I intended to do, I had to rush back to Aine, break out the rice and bury my phone in it.
While the rice was cooking the phone… I started my water maker fixes, I anticipated doing a few changes here and there, it turned into a complete reinstall.
A water maker takes the salty sea water and using a reverse osmosis (RO) process turns it into drinkable water at the rate of 6 gallons per hour running of the 12-volt batteries in the boat. I replumbed the sea water in, the brine output (concentrated salty water out), and the high-pressure connections to the RO membrane filter. 
I rewired the power connections to a new 30-amp circuit breaker with larger gauge wire. This took all day and every tool bag I own (electrical tools, mechanical hand tools, plumbing tools, and portable power tools) was open sitting on something. The floor was filled with materials (hose clamps, pipe thread tape, electrical connectors, all sizes and diameters of hose, etc.) I had to remove the sink assembly in the head and the clothing storage cupboard from the v-berth so that I could run the new wires. I had to plumb a new brine drain line using the head sink discharge seacock.
With everything finally done and tested, I started to put everything away and was lucky enough to finish just before sundown, when it was time to start making dinner.
Ya, another fun day in paradise.
Lunch was a delicious red potato preparation.
Breakfast – Chili Mac with Beef (Freeze Dried), butter bread, Irish Breakfast Tea, Lunch – Pan fried red potatoes ala Monsieur Michel (huh huh ha) , Dinner – Leftover Tuna and Rice with Teriyaki Sauce, Peaches.