Water is hard to come by in the Exumas.  Water is priced from fifty cents to one dollar per gallon if you can find it.  Add that up and you will see what happens to your sailing kitty if you do not have a constant water conservation program going on.   My saving grace on Dreamer is the salt-water pump in the galley.  I can wash the dishes, my clothes, my hair, and just about anything in the sink with salt water, and then of course, use the fresh water just to rinse.

The boat also has a fresh water tank separate from the other water tank, so I can put the "good " drinking water in that tank, and use questionable water in the other tank, which is used for showers and sink water.  I also had a filter installed on the drinking water pump from the fresh water tank for added security in filtering bacteria and particulate matter from the drinking water.  I like the set-up of having two water tanks since it is so much more do-able to jerry jug 6 gallons at a time for drinking water than to worry whether you might taint 100 or so gallons of your water supply with some bad water.  I mention this also for those of you thinking about what features to look for in your future cruising boat.  By separating your water tanks, you have some flexibility in keeping a safe supply of drinking water, whether or not you have a watermaker.

If you are fortunate enough to have a water maker on your boat, just remember, you need to "make" your water in a clean harbor.  RO (reverse osmosis) water does not eliminate bacteria, and therefore if you are packed in an anchorage with lots of other boats, you may be scrounging around like the rest of us to keep clean water in your tanks.  Also, I hear so many calls for help on the sailor's net from people who have watermakers that break down.  If you have a watermaker, it's probably a good idea to make sure you have ample spare parts, filters and your instruction manual.

Here in Georgetown there is a free RO water hose at the dinghy dock in Lake Victoria, but one cruiser I spoke to said the particulate count was over 1100 (indicating that he wouldn't drink it).  People bring their jerry jugs with them and fill up when they visit and use the water for their shower tanks.  This is helpful, but one can easily tire of carrying  the weight of 6 gallons of water at a time back and forth to their boat, so this source will not exactly keep you in ample water supply.