Chuck Clovis
3020 NE 41 Terrace, Unit #9 #151
Homestead, FL 33033
BTW: Don't put this in your GPS. You'll miss me by many miles.
cz, 1503 10/21/2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Address
Good afternoon! I finally got a snail-mail address. I feel a bit egotistical for posting it here but several of you have asked. So...
Chuck Clovis
Chuck Clovis
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Poachers
This is just short note while it is fresh in my head.
I had to deal with lobster poachers this afternoon. I hope this is not a regular affair. Around noon I heard noise from near the dock. This is something I am "tuned to" and headed to the dock to check things out. Usually there is a boat anchored near the dock which is legal but not too cool. But this time the boat was anchored close to shore and a snorkel diver was down near the dock. He proceeded on west approaching the boathouse. By the time he was past the dock I decided to get the camera and be obvious about taking pictures. After taking several pictures of the boat, I realized I needed to "greet" the diver at the boathouse. After all I have told everyone I wanted to greet guests. So as he surfaced about 5 feet from the boathouse I was standing over him on the deck. He grunted and turned away. I took a couple more pictures and returned to the house.
But as I waited for them to move on I got more uneasy. I finally decided to call for back up. After some wrong agency calls I got the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). After a few minutes of explanation about who and where I was she dispatched an officer.
In a while I returned to the dock and took more pictures. At one point, as the diver returned to the boat, the boat folks told him to come around the boat to the other side - out of my view. I could not see what was transferred to the boat. More pictures. Then I returned to the house.
I heard the boat start or try to start. I assumed they were leaving but all they did was move closer to the boathouse and reset anchor. Three of them then started snorkelling the wreck I knew was under them. And drifted away with the current. I made myself very obvious and said nothing while shooting an occasional picture.
The snorkellers started to try to return, up stream, to the boat. It was too much for them. They swam to and along the shore line which is considered part of our property. They stopped right next to the boathouse and walked around on our freshly transplanted coral and my octopus' stomping grounds. I took more pictures. They finally asked why I was taking pictures and that they were not doing anything wrong. I finally spoke and with no real evidence said that this is a lobster sanctuary and harvesting lobsters was illegal. They professed innocence. I told them that was cool and they would then have no trouble with the FWC who were on the way. My visitors seemed to get nervous and tried to swim to the boat again - against the current. I let it go and sat in the boathouse until I heard a clunk on the outside deck. I went around the corner to find one of them on the deck in front of me. He explained that he was tired from the swim. They finally got a plan together, he was the boat driver, to drift the boat and he could swim to it. So up he got and headed to the far end of the deck. I took a picture.
As he dove into the water, I got a one finger salute. As he swam to the boat he said many hurtful things to me (well, he wanted them to be hurtful). Once in the boat he got louder and more abusive. He expressed all the things he would do to my sister and more. He dropped his pants and told me to "shoot this". I also had it explained to me why I was alone on an island with no wife and children. He knew... It was interesting that when he was on my deck, within 5 feet of me, he was not so verbose. ( I hope the imagery was not too much)
They are now gone. The FWC has yet to show. I am not sure if I should be concerned that I really have no backup or just know that people are not really going to act on threats or do bad things. Things to ponder...
I know I said this was to be a short note but unlike the previous discussion of my trip to town, this DID flow...
cz, 1830 10/19/2014
I had to deal with lobster poachers this afternoon. I hope this is not a regular affair. Around noon I heard noise from near the dock. This is something I am "tuned to" and headed to the dock to check things out. Usually there is a boat anchored near the dock which is legal but not too cool. But this time the boat was anchored close to shore and a snorkel diver was down near the dock. He proceeded on west approaching the boathouse. By the time he was past the dock I decided to get the camera and be obvious about taking pictures. After taking several pictures of the boat, I realized I needed to "greet" the diver at the boathouse. After all I have told everyone I wanted to greet guests. So as he surfaced about 5 feet from the boathouse I was standing over him on the deck. He grunted and turned away. I took a couple more pictures and returned to the house.But as I waited for them to move on I got more uneasy. I finally decided to call for back up. After some wrong agency calls I got the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). After a few minutes of explanation about who and where I was she dispatched an officer.
In a while I returned to the dock and took more pictures. At one point, as the diver returned to the boat, the boat folks told him to come around the boat to the other side - out of my view. I could not see what was transferred to the boat. More pictures. Then I returned to the house.
I heard the boat start or try to start. I assumed they were leaving but all they did was move closer to the boathouse and reset anchor. Three of them then started snorkelling the wreck I knew was under them. And drifted away with the current. I made myself very obvious and said nothing while shooting an occasional picture.
The snorkellers started to try to return, up stream, to the boat. It was too much for them. They swam to and along the shore line which is considered part of our property. They stopped right next to the boathouse and walked around on our freshly transplanted coral and my octopus' stomping grounds. I took more pictures. They finally asked why I was taking pictures and that they were not doing anything wrong. I finally spoke and with no real evidence said that this is a lobster sanctuary and harvesting lobsters was illegal. They professed innocence. I told them that was cool and they would then have no trouble with the FWC who were on the way. My visitors seemed to get nervous and tried to swim to the boat again - against the current. I let it go and sat in the boathouse until I heard a clunk on the outside deck. I went around the corner to find one of them on the deck in front of me. He explained that he was tired from the swim. They finally got a plan together, he was the boat driver, to drift the boat and he could swim to it. So up he got and headed to the far end of the deck. I took a picture.As he dove into the water, I got a one finger salute. As he swam to the boat he said many hurtful things to me (well, he wanted them to be hurtful). Once in the boat he got louder and more abusive. He expressed all the things he would do to my sister and more. He dropped his pants and told me to "shoot this". I also had it explained to me why I was alone on an island with no wife and children. He knew... It was interesting that when he was on my deck, within 5 feet of me, he was not so verbose. ( I hope the imagery was not too much)They are now gone. The FWC has yet to show. I am not sure if I should be concerned that I really have no backup or just know that people are not really going to act on threats or do bad things. Things to ponder...
I know I said this was to be a short note but unlike the previous discussion of my trip to town, this DID flow...
cz, 1830 10/19/2014
A normal commute
Oh, darn, I need milk and bread and chips. I will be back in a couple minutes. I might gas up the car while I am there. See you in 20 minutes... This scenario does not apply to me.
Wednesday I had a meeting on one of the UM campuses. The meeting was scheduled for 8:30 - 12:30. As usual, I planned to take advantage of the time on the mainland for food shopping, fuel pickup and a liquor stop. Yes, G&Ts are important to island life. Plenty of time for all of these tasks. But the fuel dock closes at 6:00; I had to keep that in mind.
Okay. The meeting was to start at 8:30. I thought I would plan my arrival for 8:00 to allow for issues. I will provide you with the normal time and the time I gave myself (ex: 15/20 min.). So... my travel schedule:
- Load the boat (15/15min.) - Load garbage (disposal of my garbage is at any trash receptacle I can find) and empty diesel cans
- Crossing (35/45 min.) - the weather and water conditions can alter the crossing timing
- Docking (15/20 min,) - I keep my car at BNP. So I have to dock, empty trash into their trash cans and walk to the parking, get car ready - I keep sunshields in all windows
- Drive to UM - Coral Gables (50/60 min. from GPS)
The time I gave myself was about 2 hours and 20 minutes. And I was planning an early arrival. And I actually started a few minutes early. The end result? I was 30 minutes late to my New Employee Orientation. I am finding it almost impossible to plan a trip to town.
But that was not the end of the timing issues. I returned to Broad Key at 8:30pm. And I did not get diesel fuel, did minimal food shopping and did nothing relaxing and "Time for me".
It has taken me three days to write this. I have had interruptions and visitors. And this post has not just "flowed". I wanted to tell you what a trip to town might be like but it was not as easy as I wanted. So, while I know I should not, I apologize to you, my loyal readers, for not providing much entertainment. Thank you for making it to this point.
cz, 10:55 10/19/14
Friday, October 10, 2014
Weather report #1
As I sat down at the edge of my freshly weedwacked lawn, I realized how nice the day was. This is not something you notice while at the helm of the S.S. Weedwacker. So I thought I would try to post from my phone while sitting on the sidewalk.
cz, 1400 10/10/2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Power to the people - well electric power
WARNING! The following contains techtalk. Techtalk has been known to cause yawning and a glazing of the eyes. Proceed at your own risk!
So far my writings have been about a view of the island as seen by the typical visitor. Discussions of property in general. I also want this blog to give you a tour of the inner workings of the island. For example, I have wanted to show you my house but it is never neat enough to be photo worthy. I don't want you to know just what a slob I really am. With that in mind, I will start elsewhere. And since my day was spent doing things related to the power generation system, that is going to be the first inner workings post.
As I have told you before, the island is not connected to the electric grid. But to be a viable field station, electricity is required. The option used here is solar power backed up by a diesel generator.
The storage for the electricity is in the form of very large 12v batteries. These guys would really turn that stubborn car engine over for you. These are assembled in two banks of series connected batteries. On the wall you can see various chargers, controllers and inverters.
The primary user interface is a small panel that monitors and manages all the various systems in the room. The power input is either the solar panels or the generator. Electricity is stored in the batteries. Electricity used on the island is taken from the 12 volt batteries and run through the inverter to produce 240 volts of A/C. That is the normal house power and therefore allows normal appliances to be used throughout the property. The system is configured to provide power to the batteries during the day. A sunny day will take the batteries to full capacity. If there is little going on around the island at night (meaning no visitors, no freezers running, etc.) the power stored in the batteries is enough to get through the night. But on a cloudy day or if there are guests on the island causing increased power consumption there will be a drain the batteries and require additional help. When the batteries are drawn below 65% capacity, the system will automatically turn the generator on. The generator will then run until the batteries are topped off or the solar panels start to generate power in the daylight again.
It is a good system and seems reliable. With the cost of diesel fuel, though, there is great incentive to watch the power consumption. I can not tell the guests enough to turn things off when not in use.
Sorry for all the technical stuff. But that is what it is all about.
cz, 2030 10/5/2014
So far my writings have been about a view of the island as seen by the typical visitor. Discussions of property in general. I also want this blog to give you a tour of the inner workings of the island. For example, I have wanted to show you my house but it is never neat enough to be photo worthy. I don't want you to know just what a slob I really am. With that in mind, I will start elsewhere. And since my day was spent doing things related to the power generation system, that is going to be the first inner workings post.
As I have told you before, the island is not connected to the electric grid. But to be a viable field station, electricity is required. The option used here is solar power backed up by a diesel generator.
The primary user interface is a small panel that monitors and manages all the various systems in the room. The power input is either the solar panels or the generator. Electricity is stored in the batteries. Electricity used on the island is taken from the 12 volt batteries and run through the inverter to produce 240 volts of A/C. That is the normal house power and therefore allows normal appliances to be used throughout the property. The system is configured to provide power to the batteries during the day. A sunny day will take the batteries to full capacity. If there is little going on around the island at night (meaning no visitors, no freezers running, etc.) the power stored in the batteries is enough to get through the night. But on a cloudy day or if there are guests on the island causing increased power consumption there will be a drain the batteries and require additional help. When the batteries are drawn below 65% capacity, the system will automatically turn the generator on. The generator will then run until the batteries are topped off or the solar panels start to generate power in the daylight again.
Please note the mowing job. That was today's weedwacking effort. You can get an idea how much was taken down by looking at the edge growth. That was clear across and climbing up the panel posts. In several instances morning glories were blooming on top of the panels. That was a lot of work.
It is a good system and seems reliable. With the cost of diesel fuel, though, there is great incentive to watch the power consumption. I can not tell the guests enough to turn things off when not in use.
Sorry for all the technical stuff. But that is what it is all about.
cz, 2030 10/5/2014
First underwater pictures
Eight months ago, when here on the island, I discovered a small stash of underwater cameras once used by students. And then I promptly forgot them.
My recent experiences, primarily the snorkeling on Ball Reef, has whetted my appetite for underwater photography. Unfortunately, I can not afford one of those camera rigs that cost more than all my motorcycles together. But I wanted to be able to give you an idea what I was seeing underwater. Yesterday, the discovery of those cameras was transferred from the poor functioning short term memory to long term. Suddenly I remembered the cameras and I was off in search of a camera that matched my budget - free.
Testing, testing. Okay all looks good. Now charge the battery. Doe-dio-doe; are we there yet? I had to go find another project to keep me away from that camera. Finally the battery had enough charge to allow me to test it. Now turn the power on and... It WORKED!! Well above water anyway.
Time to wet test the camera. Grab my snorkel gear and the camera and head to the boathouse. Gear on and into the water. IT STILL WORKED!!! I have a functioning UW camera.
I have told you of things around the boat house. Fish, garbage, lobsters and even the kitchen sink. Here is a bit of evidence though not great pictures. I will get better ones but I was anxious to try the camera.
To the right are a few transplanted corals. These were harvested from a construction project in Key West I believe. They are literally epoxied to that cement block.
Then there is the debris that has collected for years. I am not sure who the previous users of the island might have been but they sure did not have much interest in the environment.
Okay. So this is not marine life. But Inja is a regular at the boat house.
And, as I have said previously, there are plenty of lobsters in the area of the boat house. These guys were not happy having me in there with them. They were displaying Ninja moves with their antennae.
I chose a poor time to test the camera. The tide was flowing through quite fast and the sediment was causing poor visibility (hereafter referred to as "vis"). That explains the green tint to everything. You will see a difference in picture color depending on the tide and sun position and cloud cover.
These pictures will hopefully be just the start of what you get to see from our wonderful underwater world.
cz, 1904 10/5/2014
My recent experiences, primarily the snorkeling on Ball Reef, has whetted my appetite for underwater photography. Unfortunately, I can not afford one of those camera rigs that cost more than all my motorcycles together. But I wanted to be able to give you an idea what I was seeing underwater. Yesterday, the discovery of those cameras was transferred from the poor functioning short term memory to long term. Suddenly I remembered the cameras and I was off in search of a camera that matched my budget - free.
Testing, testing. Okay all looks good. Now charge the battery. Doe-dio-doe; are we there yet? I had to go find another project to keep me away from that camera. Finally the battery had enough charge to allow me to test it. Now turn the power on and... It WORKED!! Well above water anyway.
Time to wet test the camera. Grab my snorkel gear and the camera and head to the boathouse. Gear on and into the water. IT STILL WORKED!!! I have a functioning UW camera.
I have told you of things around the boat house. Fish, garbage, lobsters and even the kitchen sink. Here is a bit of evidence though not great pictures. I will get better ones but I was anxious to try the camera.
To the right are a few transplanted corals. These were harvested from a construction project in Key West I believe. They are literally epoxied to that cement block.
Okay. So this is not marine life. But Inja is a regular at the boat house.
I chose a poor time to test the camera. The tide was flowing through quite fast and the sediment was causing poor visibility (hereafter referred to as "vis"). That explains the green tint to everything. You will see a difference in picture color depending on the tide and sun position and cloud cover.
These pictures will hopefully be just the start of what you get to see from our wonderful underwater world.
cz, 1904 10/5/2014
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Snorkel #1
A couple days ago I supported a couple students in their research efforts. We went to Ball Reef. This is the same location that was used by the folks looking at fish larva. While they were diving and setting up their equipment I watched from the surface 30 feet above. The water was clear and the sun at the proper angle to provide excellent visibility. The years of SCUBA diving in my past started to gnaw at me.
Yesterday, I started on the path to "getting wet" again. With the rush of the last three weeks of support for the research and students behind me, I had the time to slow down and do what I wanted for a while. One of those, yesterday, was to take myself to Ball Reef. I grabbed my snorkel gear: mask, snorkel and fins. I had to clean everything. It has been a long time since it was used. Then off to Ball Reef.
I chose a mooring ball and tied the boat off. I slowly went about preparing the boat and equipment for my time in the water; one dive flag on the boat, tag line (100' swim line with a float on the end) thrown overboard, a second dive flag attached to the tag line. All was ready but my head. I will admit to a bit of anxiety. It had been a long time and I was alone. But I could not back away from a simple snorkel session. So I continued. Splash!
10 feet below me was a world that I had all but forgotten. My memories of this underwater world had faded more than I realized. My memories had become similar to a video we all watch but from which we are removed. They were slipping away from a personal experience into just "something I have done". But in a splash, it was back to fresh and real again.
10 feet below me was a world that needs to be experienced by all who live on this planet. And I don't think viewing a video or looking through the hull of a glass bottom boat is enough. You have to immerse yourself into that environment; become part of it. Below me were fishes* of many varieties, coral heads with tantalizing valleys between, sea fans waving in the current, jelly fish stroking by and more. All within reach if I had just dropped down a few feet from the surface. We all need to know what is down there. We need to understand why we should be more protective of it. There is SO MUCH going on under the surface of that aqueous blanket.
Back to reality. The reality at the end of my dive was ... how to get back into the boat. I am so thankful that no one was around as I made a spectacle of myself. The rolling seas put the swim platform just above the water and then a second later 20 inches above the water. Timing, timing, timing. I just had to kick hard as the platform descended. Hmm. Not that easy. And as those of you who know me realize, I am not the powerful person I once was. In fact I am not close to that person. Where is that ladder?!? But, obviously, I made it onto the swim platform, maybe more scuffed than I care to admit. I retrieved my swim trunks from my left ankle. Then all was well in my world as I sat there catching my breath, feet dangling in the water, and thinking about what I had just seen.
cz, 1028 10/4/2014
I was incorrectly corrected for my use of "fishes"but...
"The plural of fish is usually fish, but fishes has a few uses. In biology, for instance, fishes is used to refer to multiple species of fish. "
And that is what I meant. Many species were within view. cz
Yesterday, I started on the path to "getting wet" again. With the rush of the last three weeks of support for the research and students behind me, I had the time to slow down and do what I wanted for a while. One of those, yesterday, was to take myself to Ball Reef. I grabbed my snorkel gear: mask, snorkel and fins. I had to clean everything. It has been a long time since it was used. Then off to Ball Reef.
I chose a mooring ball and tied the boat off. I slowly went about preparing the boat and equipment for my time in the water; one dive flag on the boat, tag line (100' swim line with a float on the end) thrown overboard, a second dive flag attached to the tag line. All was ready but my head. I will admit to a bit of anxiety. It had been a long time and I was alone. But I could not back away from a simple snorkel session. So I continued. Splash!
10 feet below me was a world that I had all but forgotten. My memories of this underwater world had faded more than I realized. My memories had become similar to a video we all watch but from which we are removed. They were slipping away from a personal experience into just "something I have done". But in a splash, it was back to fresh and real again.
10 feet below me was a world that needs to be experienced by all who live on this planet. And I don't think viewing a video or looking through the hull of a glass bottom boat is enough. You have to immerse yourself into that environment; become part of it. Below me were fishes* of many varieties, coral heads with tantalizing valleys between, sea fans waving in the current, jelly fish stroking by and more. All within reach if I had just dropped down a few feet from the surface. We all need to know what is down there. We need to understand why we should be more protective of it. There is SO MUCH going on under the surface of that aqueous blanket.
Back to reality. The reality at the end of my dive was ... how to get back into the boat. I am so thankful that no one was around as I made a spectacle of myself. The rolling seas put the swim platform just above the water and then a second later 20 inches above the water. Timing, timing, timing. I just had to kick hard as the platform descended. Hmm. Not that easy. And as those of you who know me realize, I am not the powerful person I once was. In fact I am not close to that person. Where is that ladder?!? But, obviously, I made it onto the swim platform, maybe more scuffed than I care to admit. I retrieved my swim trunks from my left ankle. Then all was well in my world as I sat there catching my breath, feet dangling in the water, and thinking about what I had just seen.
cz, 1028 10/4/2014
I was incorrectly corrected for my use of "fishes"but...
"The plural of fish is usually fish, but fishes has a few uses. In biology, for instance, fishes is used to refer to multiple species of fish. "
And that is what I meant. Many species were within view. cz
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
A surprise evening
Old Lock 13 on the Monongahela River, Morgantown, WV has a variety of reputations. But it is a place where people gather. Where it makes no difference who you are. You are accepted as part of the family. In fact I tell people that they have to leave their prejudices as they cross the tracks or they may not be too comfortable at the river.
While this description of OL13 may seem irrelevant, something that very often comes from the random visitors is a spontaneity that I have always loved. Boat rides that were not planned. Dinners that were not planned. And more...
Now the reason for this introduction. Last night as two storms converged overhead, a boat lands at the dock on Broad Key. So, in my capacity to meet and greet (and sometimes run off) those who approach the island, I went to see what was happening. The boat captain, mate and four individuals were all huddling under their tiny sun shade trying to avoid the rain. It was not working and they did seem to be good folks. I invited them to move to the shelter of the boathouse roof overhang. (Now you will notice that I did not offer the shelter of the boathouse. I am just a bit wary of strangers to the island. So they were offered partial shelter for the storm's duration. And, of course, I stayed with them) And I got to know them a bit. Two of the "customers" were owners of an Indian restaurant in Pine Crest (just north of where I dock in Homestead). Their father who is in the US visiting the sons is from Kenya. And the fourth is a friend of the father from New Jersey.
I left Morgantown where I have been friends with an Indian family who own an Indian restaurant. In fact I have a tandoor thanks to them. I move to an island for quiet and solitude 1200 miles away. And the first strangers to hit the island are almost a mirror image of my friends in Morgantown.
The charter captain told me that he had been hired to take them fishing and to find an island where they could beach and cook. The weather foiled their trip on both counts. Well one thing moved to another in the conversations and before you know it - they were cooking a chicken curry dinner with expensive wine and fire toasted naan and french bread. These visitors were equally surprised at finding on an island a white guy who cooks Indian foods and owns a tandoor.
We had a wonderful evening. Everyone involved thought it was incredibly special - unique. And then it hit me. The cosmopolitan atmosphere and spontaneity of OL13 has been extended to Broad Key.
cz, 1641 10/1/2014
While this description of OL13 may seem irrelevant, something that very often comes from the random visitors is a spontaneity that I have always loved. Boat rides that were not planned. Dinners that were not planned. And more...
Now the reason for this introduction. Last night as two storms converged overhead, a boat lands at the dock on Broad Key. So, in my capacity to meet and greet (and sometimes run off) those who approach the island, I went to see what was happening. The boat captain, mate and four individuals were all huddling under their tiny sun shade trying to avoid the rain. It was not working and they did seem to be good folks. I invited them to move to the shelter of the boathouse roof overhang. (Now you will notice that I did not offer the shelter of the boathouse. I am just a bit wary of strangers to the island. So they were offered partial shelter for the storm's duration. And, of course, I stayed with them) And I got to know them a bit. Two of the "customers" were owners of an Indian restaurant in Pine Crest (just north of where I dock in Homestead). Their father who is in the US visiting the sons is from Kenya. And the fourth is a friend of the father from New Jersey.
I left Morgantown where I have been friends with an Indian family who own an Indian restaurant. In fact I have a tandoor thanks to them. I move to an island for quiet and solitude 1200 miles away. And the first strangers to hit the island are almost a mirror image of my friends in Morgantown.
The charter captain told me that he had been hired to take them fishing and to find an island where they could beach and cook. The weather foiled their trip on both counts. Well one thing moved to another in the conversations and before you know it - they were cooking a chicken curry dinner with expensive wine and fire toasted naan and french bread. These visitors were equally surprised at finding on an island a white guy who cooks Indian foods and owns a tandoor.
We had a wonderful evening. Everyone involved thought it was incredibly special - unique. And then it hit me. The cosmopolitan atmosphere and spontaneity of OL13 has been extended to Broad Key.cz, 1641 10/1/2014
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