How much water for 3-4 weeks in Bahamas?

[PaintedKite]

We will be cruising the Bahamas for 3-4 weeks in Feb/Mar '21, and we're wondering about the availability, generally, of good, potable water.

We're on a 37' boat with plenty of storage and no watermaker. And we generally don't drink from the tanks, reserving that water for cooking, flushing, showering, etc. So it'll be bottled water for drinking.

The two of us generally drink about a gallon of water (plus beer, sodas, Pellegrino, wine, etc) per day.

What I'd LIKE to be able to do is to leave FL with half our total requirement (say, 15 gallons) pre-purchased, then get the other half along the way, in the form of buying bottles, refilling our bottles, catching rainwater, etc.

So whaddya say? Is this feasible? Or are we better-off making it a priority to pre-purchase a greater % of our total requirement?

[GordMay]

Local water will either be from cisterns (sometimes free) or R/O (pay).
Expect to pay about 40 - 50 cents per gallon.

[Jammer]

PaintedKite, are you asking about availability of bottled water or the availability of potable water for delivery into tanks? The answers differ.


You will get a more accurate answer if you tell us where you plan to cruise, e.g. major ports vs. out islands vs. Exumas.

[PaintedKite]

Originally Posted by Jammer

PaintedKite, are you asking about availability of bottled water or the availability of potable water for delivery into tanks? The answers differ....You will get a more accurate answer if you tell us where you plan to cruise, e.g. major ports vs. out islands vs. Exumas.

Yes, we'll definitely want to refill our tanks. So, yes, that's part of the question.
For drinking, we'll save our jugs, so we're happy to refill bottles or buy new.

Plans are to visit Berry Islands and Exumas.

[chris mac]

It's not too hard to find water. Either buying bottles, filling on shore, or even a cruiser who has a water maker.
BUT, make sure to bring containers. Either water Jerry jugs, or lots of gallon bottles. Quite often dingy is the only way to get to the tap on shore or from another boat

[dougweibel]

There is plenty of availability if you don't mind pulling in to a marina to fill your tanks. Explorer Charts maintains a web page listing marina fuel prices that also includes water prices:
https://explorercharts.com/index.php/fuel-dockage/

There are some places you can get free water, but usually only into jerry cans. Water quality varies. RO water is generally very good. Town water on the larger islands can have a lot of unpleasant taste. We always tried to avoid paying for town (non-RO) water.

[LittleWing77]

What is R/O (pay) short for, please?

[fourlyons]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

What is R/O (pay) short for, please?

Reverse osmosis, water maker water, desalinized water.

[psk125]

If you have to pay for drinking water from cisterns, why not drink from your tanks and flush with seawater instead? At least you have an idea about how clean your tanks are.

[dougweibel]

LittleWing,

Some of the larger islands have enough ground water that there are municipal water systems using ground water as the source. Often this water has unpleasant taste even though it has been treated. Some almost seems brackish though I assume the Bahamian regulatory authorities have standards to assure it is potable. On the smaller islands/cays there is little or no ground water and freshwater is produced by desalination (Reverse Osmosis - RO). This water is generally good quality for drinking. We would rather pay for RO than take on some of the ground/municipal water for free, though we generally were able to find RO water in the $0.30/gal range. Some places it is quite expensive. I'd have trouble paying $0.75+/gal for water going into our tanks that then gets used for general purposes and not just drinking.

[Albinvega27]

Originally Posted by PaintedKite

We will be cruising the Bahamas for 3-4 weeks in Feb/Mar '21, and we're wondering about the availability, generally, of good, potable water.

We're on a 37' boat with plenty of storage and no watermaker. And we generally don't drink from the tanks, reserving that water for cooking, flushing, showering, etc. So it'll be bottled water for drinking.

The two of us generally drink about a gallon of water (plus beer, sodas, Pellegrino, wine, etc) per day.

What I'd LIKE to be able to do is to leave FL with half our total requirement (say, 15 gallons) pre-purchased, then get the other half along the way, in the form of buying bottles, refilling our bottles, catching rainwater, etc.

So whaddya say? Is this feasible? Or are we better-off making it a priority to pre-purchase a greater % of our total requirement?

At this point maybe more important to focus on the CoVid regulations. The Bahamas like others, have recently closed their borders and are asking for testing and quaranteen. If so, the availability of water is due to the possibility to go on land. If you are banned at the boat, the availability experience from previous years does not count and brake the quaranteen can become expensive up to imprisonment.

[CarlF]

As someone who owns a watermaker - there's no way you could buy enough water in the Bahamas to come close to the cost of buying a watermaker.

As mentioned the R/O water is $.30-$.50 a gallon. It is very good tasting. Much better than the horrible municipal water that marinas serve up in Florida. There's no reason to buy bottled water in Bahamas at a store like one does in Florida.

I would avoid the non R/O water in the Bahamas. It doesn't taste very good and some of it is salty enough that it is borderline unsafe.

While you'll be able to buy R/O water at every island stop, I can recommend a couple of good "water holes"

Great Harbor Cay in the Berry's is our favorite marina in the Bahamas for laid back feel and all around nice atmosphere. While we generally anchor out elsewhere, we'll take a slip at Great Harbor Cay to make new cruising friends, go to the weekly potluck dinner and rib night, do laundry, and clean up. They have R/O water at every slip and a 2nd faucet with non-potable washdown water that's free (it's high in minerals).

In the Exumas, Staniel Cay Yacht Club has excellent R/O water at the fuel dock. They were somehow instrumental in bringing R/O water to the islands years ago. They also treat the water with ozone instead of adding chlorine so it tastes even better. And the SCYC bar should not be missed.

[Mickeyrouse]

CarlF, do you usually check in at Bimini? On the leg to Great Harbor, does your draft permit you to go across Grand Bahama Bank, or are the indicated rocks too hazardous for even 4’3” draft?

[chris mac]

Yes, please focus on the bahamas covid regulations before posting warnings. Their border is not closed! You just need to obtain a health visa from them.
We are in the bahamas now and do not have any of the issues you listed. After check in, the only change is a day five covid test. You are not confined to the boat, you can go to all and any dock or island(with exception of individual islands that may get locked down from a rise in covid cases)
We have travelled tru the abacos and are now halfway down the exumas(in staniel cay) and have had no issues.
None of these other boats seem to have a problem either

Originally Posted by Albinvega27

At this point maybe more important to focus on the CoVid regulations. The Bahamas like others, have recently closed their borders and are asking for testing and quaranteen. If so, the availability of water is due to the possibility to go on land. If you are banned at the boat, the availability experience from previous years does not count and brake the quaranteen can become expensive up to imprisonment.

[PaintedKite]

Originally Posted by Albinvega27

At this point maybe more important to focus on the CoVid regulations.

Thx, but we're good there. Already have that covered.

So back to the matter of water...