Monday 27th November

Miami

After having such a full harbour for the weekend it was great to see that all but eight boats had left. It made the space between each boat big enough to be comfortable to swing in. We had planned on going ashore today to find the library and shops however it rained most of the day so we stayed on the boat and commissioned the water maker. It was thought that we should do this before leaving the US incase there were any problems with it. Whilst we weren’t keen on the idea of doing the commissioning in the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) we really didn’t have a lot of choice. In order to commission it we had half of the seating in the salon up and it looked like a bomb had gone off with tools, cushions and paper towels just about everywhere. It took a while for us to get it right, with Gerry tightening bolts and me running backwards and forwards spotting leaks and checking if we had any water coming out of the test tap. Eventually we had a dribble of water happening – how exciting! The first couple of bowls of water went down the sink without a second glance then Gerry started to test them for amount of total dissolved solids, this averaged out to 150 which was well below the maximum of 600 which is recommended as being alright for drinking water (the water we took onboard at the marina had a level of 195 so we think we are doing ok). As for the real test – well I let Gerry take the first mouthful – if one of us is going to be ill I’d rather it wasn’t me. It tastes like the real thing! We are not however going to fill our tanks with water made out of the ICW water - who knows what “nasties” lurk in it. We will also be sterilizing the water in the tanks with bleach, we can’t afford for either us to get ill from contaminated water but at least I can now be assured of having water to shower with all the way home.
We have discovered the washing machine and water supply in the harbour which we can use (the rangers try to discourage use by the weekend boaties by locking it away and only giving the pass numbers to a select few people) thank goodness I will be able to have clean clothes again before we leave here.