Water Consumption

[Jim Cate]

G'Day all,

Good Grief, folks... all this worry about drinking rain water. Don't you realize that in lots of areas in the world, and not just third world protions of it, that is all that is available to drink, and gosh, people seem to be surviving just fine. Where is this, you ask?? Well, most of rural Australia and New Zealand come to mind right away. A very large number of folks live year round with all their drinking water collected off their roofs and stored in tanks, complete with bird poop, lizards, leaves and other detritus. Does not seem to affect them adversley...

As for cruisers, we've added collected rain water to our tanks for many years when required, and out coffee and tea have seemed ok to us, and no dread diseases have descended upon us as a result. All in all, this seems like one the silliest arguments yet to be seen in this forum.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II
lying port Vila, Efate Island, VAnuatu

[bobsadler]

i'm with jim and ann on this one and would rather go with rain water than bottled water. as they note significant numbers of nz'ers and australians use nothing else.

when i lived in the uk in the early '90s there was a tv doco which demonstrated that london tap water - "dreadful" according to the chattering classes - had a lower microbial count and fewer contaminants than any of the bottled water they tested (and they tested some very well known brands)

i simply can't imagine that a tank of rainwater with some chlorox tossed in is going to hurt anyone.

[Wotname]

I'm with Jim and Bob re rainwater. Now if you only knew what they put into beer

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

As for cruisers, we've added collected rain water to our tanks for many years when required, and out coffee and tea have seemed ok to us, and no dread diseases have descended upon us as a result. All in all, this seems like one the silliest arguments yet to be seen in this forum.

Agree with you there. A good heavy shower will keep me in drinking water for a week or more. And in Europe the legal quality control for tap water is much higher than bottled water.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Hey Vasco, bring six beers, three for you and three for me, over to Poerava and I'll fill your tanks with no more effort than it takes to twist off six tops.

Thanks! Actually a fellow cruiser that has since quit cruising used to run his watermaker and generator everyday. You just had to leave your jugs on his boat and he'd fill them up.

[Hurricane Harry]

I think its a sport not to use much of anything while cruising. To me thats part of the fun of it./ Harry

[Starbuck]

All in all, this seems like one the silliest arguments yet to be seen in this forum

Jim, you obviously haven't been paying attention.

Jeff

[Starbuck]

I anchor the big boat (it's not really big but folks call the sailboat the big boat to distinguish it from the little boat, the dinghy)

And here I am still saying "yacht" and "tender." Silly me.

[Tellie]

Collecting rain water is never a very reliable way to fill your tanks. Of course here in south Florida for the past two months you could easily fill your tanks every afternoon with the toad stompers we have this time of year. But funny how for the most part cruisers this time of year seem to be a rare site, something about swirling winds and insurance. During the cruising season it does rain occasionally but even then it's alot lighter. I don't think people get sick from rain water. I think they get sick from the tanks that hold the rain water. A good clean catchment and basic filtering system is a very good idea. Water tanks are a great dark breeding ground for all kinds of funky stuff. Taking into consideration tropical temperatures, throw in some bird poop, Lizard tails, deck detritus and eye of newt and the soup is brewing.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

... Well, most of rural Australia and New Zealand come to mind right away....

... Does not seem to affect them adversley...

... and our coffee and tea have seemed ok to us,...

... All in all, this seems like one the silliest arguments yet to be seen in this forum...

Well,

- have visited both NZ (North Island) and Australia (NT). Yes, I have seen people collecting rain water, but NO, I have not seen anybody drinking it, the rainwater was used to water the plants. In Australia I have NOT seen water collecting devices, and what can be more rural than the Northern Territory? The drinking water there came from shops (!) and desalination plants.

- local people are not bothered by local bacteria in the same way the traveler is. Any doubters please get yourself the favor and visit India - somehow, however, Indians are not a nation in risk of extinction from diarrhea. To get the thing a due perspective please read information available on tropical diseases and their most common causes. An interesting lecture.

- our rain teas were nothing but hot and pretty muddy liquid, as for coffee I could not detect the bad taste, but probably we have to ask someone who knows about coffee - a French, or an Italian perhaps, unless what you mean by coffee is Nescafe or something of this sort.

- next time out please do not boil the water (tea...cofee...) just drink it as it comes from heavens and report your findings, it is always good to learn from others' experience.

- the arguments may be labeled silly but how does it make them any less valid or interesting; naming an argument silly does not disprove it, or does it?

Hugs to all ya,
barnie

[conachair]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

- next time out please do not boil the water (tea...cofee...) just drink it as it comes from heavens and report your findings, it is always good to learn from others' experience.

All my drinking water has been from rain for almost 6 months now, with no ill effects. Though as it is basically distilled water with no taste it actually tastes a bit odd. Much cleaner than local water and hugely cheaper (and probably cleaner) than bottled water.

[zeehag]

i havve never heard of anyone being illified from rain water unless they didnt catch it safely--if ye catch it from your decks, ye might has doggie doo in it..lol....or hair or whatever----i keep a container for it and i make sure my collector isnt dirty when i catch it--if container is dirty--water goes to washing dishes or clothing ....i have not had any problems with it--now the regular water in mexico, that can be a different problem.....LOL--i saw some of the collection cisternas in mexico for the rain water----natural ones--eeeewwwww--in baja----but that water isnt for drinking--if ye pump under the surface is a lot less interesting looking....LOL....there, one buys drinking water or makes it yerself.....

[Sonosailor]

A quick scan of this thread suggests that, although there were a number of ideas for decreasing water use, nobody suggested saltwater bathing. We and our guests push it as the primary bodily cleaning process. Sometimes, after the bath, we rinse all of our bodies off at the stern with the freshwater hose, and sometimes we only rinse our hair to save our pillows. Two soaps that work in saltwater and make a good shampoo are Joy and Dawn. We know many cruisers in the Caribbean who do this. We understand that many cannot - they need their "products". Of course, this doesn't work in all anchorages, but we tend to stay out of those anchorages.

[Cormorant]

We tried Sea Savon this summer. Good for a salt water bath and shampoo. It smells nice (balsam fir?) and has some emollients that keep your skin smooth. It cost about $7 for a bottle -- not as cheap as Joy, but a nice treat. A little fresh water rinse afterward and you'd feel fresh as a daisy, like you just stepped out of a half-hour home shower.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Well,

- have visited both NZ (North Island) and Australia (NT). Yes, I have seen people collecting rain water, but NO, I have not seen anybody drinking it, the rainwater was used to water the plants. In Australia I have NOT seen water collecting devices, and what can be more rural than the Northern Territory? The drinking water there came from shops (!) and desalination plants.

- local people are not bothered by local bacteria in the same way the traveler is. Any doubters please get yourself the favor and visit India - somehow, however, Indians are not a nation in risk of extinction from diarrhea. To get the thing a due perspective please read information available on tropical diseases and their most common causes. An interesting lecture.

- the arguments may be labeled silly but how does it make them any less valid or interesting; naming an argument silly does not disprove it, or does it?

Hugs to all ya,
barnie

Barny,
I respectfully submit that you are simply wrong about the collection and use of rainwater for all domestic applications in Australia (including drinking and tea making) . I can not personally attest to usage in the NT, but we have been cruising Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmanian waters for the past 17 cyclone seasons. We've made lots of land based friends here, have visited in dozens of homes, and can report that the majority of non-city dwelling folks DO drink their collected rainwater. Most collection systems have screens to remove large items, a few have more elaborate filtration systems, and a few do use further treatment. It is interesting to note that some rural folks have "bore water" but prefer to drink rainwater because of its better taste.
In our case, we just spent 10 weeks on the Clarence River in northern NSW, filling our tanks from our hosts collection tanks (as we have done in past visits) and are still looking down at the grass.
It has been a few years since we've been in NZed, so I will not make any such statements about the Kiwi's, but I doubt that they are much different.

Finally, re your comments about health issues in India: I would FAR rather drink rainwater than water taken from the Ganges River, as so many folks there do...
Cheers,
Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Pt. Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu