Day #19: We get underway early from Black Point. Our anchor comes up with a conch attached. Hmm, conch fishing is illegal for non-Bahamanians... Today's destination, Little Farmers Cay, is the southern terminums for our trip. From there to Georgetown, which is the largest city in the Exumas, the anchorages get scarce and exposure to the open ocean is plentiful.
The rapid currents in the Exumas are well documented but must be experienced to be believed. The almost 3' tidal swing has water constanly rushing in or out of the cuts between the cays. The Yacht Club in Little Farmers is located on a narrow stretch of water bounded on the east by Great Guana Cay. The waters between the two cays seem always in a hurry to go somewhere else. We approach the Yacht Club bucking the stream.
It's been 10 days since we last filled Nellie's water tanks. The water pump's frequent cycling warns that we're running low. Most all potable water here in the islands is obtained via reverse osmosis. This is energy intensive, read expensive, but does produce good water. Since Nellie doesn't have a watermaker onboard we must purchase it; the going rate is $0.40 to $0.50 per gallon.
It's the need to fill our water tanks that finds us bucking the current into Little Farmers. The dock is slightly askew to the stream and so the landing is more difficult but ultimately successful. The current pins us to the dock making it impossible to place fenders. After talking to Roosevelt, the Club's owner, we taste his water, take a picture of his water meter reading, and put 90 gallons into Nellie's tanks. Coming from the land of free water I thought I'd be irritated by having to pay $36 for it here. Nope. In fact, considering how essential water is, I'm surprised it's not more expensive.
I'd thought that 37' LNVT's carried 140 gallons of water. But being able to put only 90 gallons into almost empty tanks has me questioning the tanks' true capacity.
On a mooring ball in the fast flowing 'river' off Little Farmers Cay. 10nm today and 428nm so far. DBH
