My first long passage (24 days) , 2 of us left with about 45 gallons, and arrived with close to half of it. We were way too frugal with water, and I think that I was beginning to feel the effects of dehydration by the end of the passage. I always stayed better hydrated on later passages. I didnt do very well with catching rain water, so for later passages I built a small, (quick to put up) rain catching awning that worked better than trying to catch the run off from the
mainsail. Your decks are the best rain catcher, but if you are pounding to
weather with spray drenching them, you cant get clean water. The answer to that is to heave too, if there is a big squall, and let the decks rinse before you open the
deck fills. For a dam, I just used a clean towel. I did this often on later boats and it is amazing how much water you can catch in an hour long squall. It doesnt hurt to be hove too for an hour. On another note, If you are going south from Hawaii, I would highly recommend pointing a little higher to get to the
Marquesas, and see a part of the world that very few people ever get to visit. I loved
Tahiti, but Tahiti probably has 100 tourist for every tourist in the
Marquesas. From there it is an easy down
wind run to Tahiti. Have a great time. ______Grant.