This is a personal journal in a public space, kept by Jessica Moyer and Brett Matulis. We are not so vain as to believe that complete strangers are interested in our daily lives. Rather, this blog was created when we decided to move to the British West Indies. It is intended to serve as a way for us to share news, post photos, and eventually, revisit memories. It was created for us and for those of our friends and families that are interested in our lives on the remote island of South Caicos.
On our trip to Coast Guard with our Parisian guests, I resumed work on my raft. Weeks back, when the students were still here, I started collecting discarded objects on the beach necessary for its construction. You can find quite a lot of stuff washed up in remote places. On this trip, I had more time to assemble it and take it for a test run.
Construction
Finishing Touches
Proud of my creation.
I found that the bamboo I used, however, took on water rather quickly and so it rode low in the water. Next time I'll look for buoys and empty jugs to attach for extra flotation. I'll also need a sail.
We've just said "au revoir" to our guests from Paris. It was a fun and busy visit. I wondered at times if we were trying to do too much with them, and whether or not they'd prefer just relax and do nothing. We're pretty sure they enjoyed their time here though.
Here's a recap of some the things we did in photos:
Admirals Aquarium
Beach at East Bay François & JC Making Crêpes
Doubling the Batch
We also made Jessee's famous Carrot Cake (I get two birthdays this year) and Cinnamon Rolls (JC's favorite). All this special food made the rest of the SFS staff big fans of our guests, especially on the night we served the crêpes.
This is the second time they've visited us now (including once before in Bellingham), so now it's our turn to go to Paris to see them. We're not sure when that will happen, but we hope we'll be able to go soon.
As of Saturday, Suzie is back in TCI waters! After traveling more than 5900km (I over estimated a little last time), she's managed to find her way back to the place she started. She spent the last two weeks at the Inagua Islands. Right now she's in waters off of North Caicos, and it appears she'll be back to East Caicos, exactly where she started, soon.
Local Map of Suzie's Journey
It's amazing that turtles can navigate such distances and finally make their way back to an exact location. It's like setting off on foot across the country with no maps, road signs, or ability to ask for directions and then making it back to your house without help.
Suzie's Entire Journey
She's passing around the north end of the Caicos Bank so, unfortunately, she's not going to come in range of us. I really wanted to go looking for her with her GPS coordinates. Maybe she'll come by later on - her GPS tag is going to remain on.
The meetings have ended, and most of the guests have cleared out. Almost all of the staff have returned or arrived for the first time, and soon things will be getting back to usual. First, though, a couple friends of ours will be visiting from Paris - they arrive tomorrow afternoon. It's always a lot of fun to show people around the island, especially because they're easily impressed by the things we see (just a couple days ago, for example, we saw a school of 10 Eagle Rays (!) and I felt like I was the only one who thought it was something to make a fuss over).
This project has really taken over. I'm constantly thinking about it, pouring over numbers, and (most recently) taking hourly readings from our meter. The report that came from the contractor was less helpful than I expected, so now I'm gathering data and doing the research to design an optimal system. Don't read that this project has become a burden; I'm enjoying myself.
I've pretty much gotten the "go ahead" from everybody including the board. I just need to figure out what size array makes sense, how much it will cost, what the return is on the investment. That doesn't mean they'll accept anything I come up with, but it seems likely they'll be in favor of something reasonable. I'm starting to realize, however, that this is a longer term project than I initially accepted. I wanted to push things through and get something installed right away. Instead, I think there's going to be a couple month period of data collection where I get handle on our consumption.
What seems to make the most sense for the first stage of the project is to design a system with a peak output equivalent to our average daytime usage. This way we do not need to worry about wasted production, storage, or re-selling power into the grid. The savings that come from this initial investment can then be used to expand the array and install wind turbines to supply night-time power.
Something else I'm going to look into is the first "R" in the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" mantra. Our biggest use of power is certainly refrigeration, and we might be able to reduce consumption significanly simply by replacing our old deep freezers. I found a device that will log power consumption of appliances (see it here). I decided to with the one that logs data on an SD card rather than the more cleverly named "kill-a-watt" unit that does not. With the data I collect from it, I'll be able to figure out how much can be saved with a newer, more efficient replacement. The treasurer of the SFS board is going to purchase one for me to use.
Energy Monitor
I've been so wrapped up in this project I've barely been concerned by the fact that I haven't been able to dive almost at all since getting back here. With all the staff turnover and with the meetings going on, there's been nobody available to go diving with, except for one other person, Pepe (the husband of one of the new faculty). If either of us were allowed access to the boats, we'd probably be averaging two dives per day. At least I'm occupied enough to not feel so down about that.
Several of you have already been asking about the earthquake in Haiti last night. We didn't feel it here on South Caicos. We didn't even know it happened until almost two hours later. As soon as we heard, though, we went to check on tsunami warnings. There was one issued all the way through the Bahamas, but probability was low that anything significant would come. We learned this morning that a 12cm (yes, centimeter) wave was generated, and that tides and currents are expected to be a little unpredictable for a short period.
Rubble in Port-au-Prince
Canape-Vert
Our Dominican night watchman was quite worried about his family in Puerto Plata. They were far from the epicenter, so they should be okay, but he wasn't able to contact them. The pictures and videos coming from Haiti look quite bad. The presidential palace even collapsed.
Construction
Finishing Touches
Proud of my creation.
At Sea
A successful maiden voyage.
Admirals Aquarium
Beach at East Bay
François & JC Making Crêpes
Doubling the Batch
JC is a really good tennis player.
A trip to Coast Guard
Volleyball at High Point
Volleyball
Deep Water
More Deep Water
Barbecue at East Bay
Sunset
Local Map of Suzie's Journey
Suzie's Entire Journey
My, that's a strange looking fish.
Cushion Sea Stars
Jessee and a Sea Star
It's too shallow for the boat to go to Sandy Point at low tide, so we shut off the engine and I pulled.
Giant Anemone
Energy Monitor
Rubble in Port-au-Prince
Canape-Vert
Presidential Palace
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