We’re very aware that the time is dwindling before we need to be “out of the box” — out of the hurricane zone — but we’re stIll waiting for the seas and wind to settle down before we move southward. The last bash and crash passage from St. Thomas is something we don’t care to repeat any time soon. We’re spending our days doing boat projects and having a little more of a social life than usual.
Our main project is a more permanent solution to water catchment. We’ve solicited ideas from other Manta owners and looked at what materials are available here. We’d like a system that’s either in place all the time or easily deployable but that doesn’t interfere with our handholds. So far we have some possibilities but no clear winner, as least on the sides. On the back of our Bimini frame we decided to permanently attach a rain gutter with downspout hoses attached along the frame uprights, meeting just before the water tank intake, where we can attach a sediment filter and a fill hose. Jack worked on this project for a couple of days and has it pretty much done. Now we wait for a rainfall to do the final tweaks.
We went to the Saturday market hoping it was more extensive than the weekday one but it wasn’t. I guess at the end of the tourist season things quiet down.
