Despite our good intentions of being real cruisers and quickly leave Las Palmas, we have now stayed in Las Palmas more than a week. The main reason is that Henrik found a guy to help him fix his water maker.

Today I'm writing about this water maker, since it has been his constant worry since it came on board, and I think he spends most of his waking hours thinking about it. (A girl could only wish for this kind of attention!)

We have some British cruising-friends who have called Henrik's water maker "Prostate", because it was only dripping, when they came to see it.
When we talk on the radio, they ask Henrik: So, how is your Prostate? And Henrik answers that it is undergoing daily surgery, but he doesn't have high hopes for it. We find that quite amusing of course!

Initially, we didn't want to buy a water maker, because Henrik had read that people have nothing but trouble with their water makers. In a weak moment though, he saw a used one for sale and bought it – and he has had nothing but trouble with it ever since!

He has spent days on taking it apart, trying something out, trying again, buying something new, then trying again etc. And every time it doesn't work, he gets so frustrated that he wants to throw it overboard.

I've spent many hours talking about the water maker, and I'm quite sure that I would be able to contribute with some pretty insightful comments if I ever come across a water maker conversation.

Luckily, the water maker guy in Las Palmas was also capable of coming with insightful comments, and now minus approx 500 Pounds later – it works and better than ever!

Henrik spent a whole evening just watching it running! It makes about 20 litres an hour, so I've been told that I from now on can take as many long showers as I want. And that is really great, if it wasn't for the fact that we have only cold water – and no shower on board!

We only have a hose in the cockpit. However, it is really nice that we are now self-sufficient with water, so we don’t have to wangle water of a variable quality around the world. So with a water maker that works, and a very happy man on board, we are finally ready to leave Las Palmas.

All photos and blog by Signe Dorothea Storr - Free lance Journalist