Manatee Pocket (anchor)
February 4, 2022
We decided to hang out here today so John could work on the wash down pump. This anchorage feels really protected and there’s a variety of marinas and restaurants nearby.
Since we were here, we motored to a marina to get diesel (our first since Georgia) and to fill our water tank. We have a reverse osmosis water maker but want to be in clearer water before we use it. The water in the pocket seems to have a lot of sediment in it – and the high number of boats in here just about guarantees there’s a lot of bacteria and yuck present.
On land, running water is just a fact of life: turn on the tap and it comes out. We have a 160 gallon water tank, which means we have to be thoughtful about our water use.
A first for our trip: having to pay for water at a marina, even though we bought 30 gallons of diesel and 40lbs of ice. Apparently the marina’s owner doesn’t like sailboats and is fairly vocal about it.
John worked on the wash down pump for the better part of the day – figuring out where and how it was wired into Lailia. Of course it was in an odd, difficult to access location under the forward head sink. He got it running – and then it stopped. It’s frustrating trying to track down the issue!
The solution? Just getting away from it for a bit. We took a short dinghy ride to a restaurant a boat neighbor suggested. Mojitos are helpful when frustrations are high.
There’s a front coming through tomorrow so we’ll probably hang out here on anchor for another day.
Life on Lailia 