I forgot to tell you... I have developed a technique (nothing big but needs to be part of my routine) which allowed recovery of another piece of equipment. This time it was an acoustic recording device. Probably much more valuable than the dive gear recovered a few weeks earlier.
I am learning. When I dropped off two divers with the acoustic recorder I did the MOB thing as mentioned in the previous recovery post. I was then to go away since the water lapping on the boat would add too much background noise for the recording. So, much to my dismay (I feel very responsible for the safety of my divers), I moved the boat well away from the drop zone. Their plan was to place the recorder on the bottom in 30 feet of water. Then surface for 10 minutes, quietly resting. They were to keep an eye on the recorder so as to not lose it. I was watching them and thought their actions bothersome. I returned and received the news that they had lost sight of the recorder. They had been pushed away by the current. I, again, put out the tag line. They held on. I returned to the point I put in the navigation gear and put them right over top of the recorder. Found and recovered.
Now, one would think a simple buoy tied to the recorder would have done the same thing. These folks did think to do that. They got a small buoy and put about 25 feet of line on it. How deep was the recorder?
I feel like I have really helped when I find their lost "stuff".
cz, 2120 12/28/2014
Sunday, December 28, 2014
The Holidays
I hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoyed the week thereof. I hope you normal people got a chance to be with those for whom you care and wanted to be with. This is a great time of year, especially if you figure out a way to filter out the commercialism and excess glitter. It is a time to gather your friends and family and, hopefully, let them know how much they mean to you in their respective roles. Well my Christmas was a time to realize how much my family and friends mean to me. In their absence...
This post is a little harder to write than those in the past. But I told you in the beginning that this blog would be the good and the bad. While Christmas was not really bad, it was not great.
I miss all of you. I can say that because I am sure no one whom I don't know is reading this blog. So you, my reader, are also my friend in another aspect of my life. You already know me and we have a bond in one form or another. The idea of gathering friends during the holidays is a good thing; if you can gather them. I am lucky to have friends all over the place. And to gather you all at one time would be wonderful. But, obviously, this can not happen. And this year no gathering happened at all.
I know I am living in a wonderful environment. The weather is either great or interesting. I am able to pretty much do what I want, when I want. Great way to spend a person's life. But...
I miss you all. (Seems like I already said that) We all have connections, good and bad, that allow us to feel supported and loved and part of something. Part of a group. Part of a family. Part of something that includes us. My Christmas day did not do that for me. I tried to FaceTime into the Clovis - Morrison gathering on the river. Technology failed me and that was all there was for the day. I knew things were happening in WV but I was not part of it. I was not involved at all. The brain then starts to play games and makes you wonder if you are being thought about in any way. But I was looking at a wonderful view...
I don't want this to seem like a plea for pity. It is not. I chose this life (maybe ignorant of my real needs). But if you were wondering about Christmas alone on an island for a person who likes his family and friends? It ain't great. And now to face New Year's Eve.
BUT! I do wish you a Happy New Year! May it bring you joy, comfort, prosperity and the realization of those things and people important to you. AND a visit to an island! I love you all.
cz, 19:40 12/28/2014
This post is a little harder to write than those in the past. But I told you in the beginning that this blog would be the good and the bad. While Christmas was not really bad, it was not great.
I miss all of you. I can say that because I am sure no one whom I don't know is reading this blog. So you, my reader, are also my friend in another aspect of my life. You already know me and we have a bond in one form or another. The idea of gathering friends during the holidays is a good thing; if you can gather them. I am lucky to have friends all over the place. And to gather you all at one time would be wonderful. But, obviously, this can not happen. And this year no gathering happened at all.
I know I am living in a wonderful environment. The weather is either great or interesting. I am able to pretty much do what I want, when I want. Great way to spend a person's life. But...
I miss you all. (Seems like I already said that) We all have connections, good and bad, that allow us to feel supported and loved and part of something. Part of a group. Part of a family. Part of something that includes us. My Christmas day did not do that for me. I tried to FaceTime into the Clovis - Morrison gathering on the river. Technology failed me and that was all there was for the day. I knew things were happening in WV but I was not part of it. I was not involved at all. The brain then starts to play games and makes you wonder if you are being thought about in any way. But I was looking at a wonderful view...
I don't want this to seem like a plea for pity. It is not. I chose this life (maybe ignorant of my real needs). But if you were wondering about Christmas alone on an island for a person who likes his family and friends? It ain't great. And now to face New Year's Eve.
BUT! I do wish you a Happy New Year! May it bring you joy, comfort, prosperity and the realization of those things and people important to you. AND a visit to an island! I love you all.
cz, 19:40 12/28/2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Equipment recovery
Warning: I am not sure how to write this without sounding egotistical. If you already think that of me, read no further.
Last Sunday was an interesting day. I took delivery of new batteries for the island's solar power system. A group of coral research folks came out for a tagging session. National Geographic had a photographer and writer present. Evan, as he was delivering all of the above, "spun a prop". It was a good day.
There is a new research project headed to the island. It is going to put an additional strain on the electrical system here. A water pump is going to be running 24/7 thus using more power than is normally consumed here. As part of the support for the project, new batteries are being added to the existing ones to provide additional storage. The solar panels, so I have been told, have the capacity to provide for the additional power needs. While the additional batteries will add to the storage capacity on the island. Sixteen, very heavy, batteries arrived on Evan's boat and were moved to the generator shed where they will eventually be installed.
The coral research folks were a group of graduate students and their professor. Their trip was planned to tag some coral locations and gather samples. This process was to be photographed by the underwater photographer and documented by the writer, both from National Geographic. NG is doing an article on coral reef restoration. This trip was just gathering data for their article.
"Spinning a prop" is when the propeller on the engine spins free of the rest of the drive system. In this case the rubber bushing holding the propeller failed allowing the prop to spin free of the drive shaft. Not a good thing. Fortunately the boat being used had two engines and they were able to limp on to Broad Key. The repairs commenced as soon as they arrived but were taking longer than expected. Finally, with the day slipping away, it was obvious that I was going to have to take the divers out to their research area.
The research side of the trip had to commence while tides, winds, sun and time were still in our favor. The equipment was transferred to my boat. The dive area coordinates plotted. And off we went. About four miles off shore I dropped the divers off and drifted back a bit to give them room to work. Three pairs of divers were marking the bottom (coral) with stakes and gathering small samples of coral while recording the location. Much of this process was being photographed by the National Geographic diver. All went well until the divers returned to the boat.
As each diver returned to the boat, I took their tanks and other paraphernalia into the boat. But the instructor, upon removing his gear (doffing), dropped all of his equipment to the bottom. The water was about 15 feet deep and the visibility was not great. From the boat, the bottom was not visible. And the wind and water flow were strong enough to have the boat moving at a good rate. The tank, BC (buoyancy compensator), weights, regulator, gauges and more looked to be gone.
And now the egocentric part... When I realized what had happened I treated it like a man-overboard situation. I hit the MOB button on the navigation system even though I had been pushed away by the wind and water. After I got everyone on board I organized the search. I made a swim line and asked for a volunteer to be pulled behind the boat. I instructed one of the students to go to the bow and maintain an arm pointing into the wind. She confused things initially by pointing down wind. Once that was corrected we were ready.
We made three passes. The wind, lack of attention to her job, and the poor handling of the boat all contributed to a less than organized search pattern. But on the third effort to leave the MOB location and drive directly into the wind, the diver in the water let go of the swim line. She had found the gear on the bottom. She dove and retrieved the equipment which was carefully pulled on board. More than $1100 worth of gear was recovered when no one thought it possible.
The class actually gave me a standing ovation from the deck of the boat. Heady time for me.
As a side note: I was chuckling to myself through this at the reactions, actions and comments by all on board. First, the looks of helplessness and inaction were many. This included standing around in the way of the few who were making things happen. Second, was the lack of understanding of their environment. My wind direction helper could not look into the wind and feel its direction. And most of the time she was talking to her friends with only casual corrections to her pointing hand. Also many were the comments of "I think we were here". Now for those of you who have been on open water you understand you cannot look around and know where you are. The closest fixed object was miles away. There is no way to know, within less than a few square miles, where we might have been when that gear was lost.
At some point the National Geographic writer said to me "It is obvious you have done this before". I laughed it off. I could hardly admit that I had never done anything like this...
cz, 1116 12/12/14
Last Sunday was an interesting day. I took delivery of new batteries for the island's solar power system. A group of coral research folks came out for a tagging session. National Geographic had a photographer and writer present. Evan, as he was delivering all of the above, "spun a prop". It was a good day.
There is a new research project headed to the island. It is going to put an additional strain on the electrical system here. A water pump is going to be running 24/7 thus using more power than is normally consumed here. As part of the support for the project, new batteries are being added to the existing ones to provide additional storage. The solar panels, so I have been told, have the capacity to provide for the additional power needs. While the additional batteries will add to the storage capacity on the island. Sixteen, very heavy, batteries arrived on Evan's boat and were moved to the generator shed where they will eventually be installed.
The coral research folks were a group of graduate students and their professor. Their trip was planned to tag some coral locations and gather samples. This process was to be photographed by the underwater photographer and documented by the writer, both from National Geographic. NG is doing an article on coral reef restoration. This trip was just gathering data for their article.
"Spinning a prop" is when the propeller on the engine spins free of the rest of the drive system. In this case the rubber bushing holding the propeller failed allowing the prop to spin free of the drive shaft. Not a good thing. Fortunately the boat being used had two engines and they were able to limp on to Broad Key. The repairs commenced as soon as they arrived but were taking longer than expected. Finally, with the day slipping away, it was obvious that I was going to have to take the divers out to their research area.
The research side of the trip had to commence while tides, winds, sun and time were still in our favor. The equipment was transferred to my boat. The dive area coordinates plotted. And off we went. About four miles off shore I dropped the divers off and drifted back a bit to give them room to work. Three pairs of divers were marking the bottom (coral) with stakes and gathering small samples of coral while recording the location. Much of this process was being photographed by the National Geographic diver. All went well until the divers returned to the boat.
As each diver returned to the boat, I took their tanks and other paraphernalia into the boat. But the instructor, upon removing his gear (doffing), dropped all of his equipment to the bottom. The water was about 15 feet deep and the visibility was not great. From the boat, the bottom was not visible. And the wind and water flow were strong enough to have the boat moving at a good rate. The tank, BC (buoyancy compensator), weights, regulator, gauges and more looked to be gone.
And now the egocentric part... When I realized what had happened I treated it like a man-overboard situation. I hit the MOB button on the navigation system even though I had been pushed away by the wind and water. After I got everyone on board I organized the search. I made a swim line and asked for a volunteer to be pulled behind the boat. I instructed one of the students to go to the bow and maintain an arm pointing into the wind. She confused things initially by pointing down wind. Once that was corrected we were ready.
We made three passes. The wind, lack of attention to her job, and the poor handling of the boat all contributed to a less than organized search pattern. But on the third effort to leave the MOB location and drive directly into the wind, the diver in the water let go of the swim line. She had found the gear on the bottom. She dove and retrieved the equipment which was carefully pulled on board. More than $1100 worth of gear was recovered when no one thought it possible.
The class actually gave me a standing ovation from the deck of the boat. Heady time for me.
As a side note: I was chuckling to myself through this at the reactions, actions and comments by all on board. First, the looks of helplessness and inaction were many. This included standing around in the way of the few who were making things happen. Second, was the lack of understanding of their environment. My wind direction helper could not look into the wind and feel its direction. And most of the time she was talking to her friends with only casual corrections to her pointing hand. Also many were the comments of "I think we were here". Now for those of you who have been on open water you understand you cannot look around and know where you are. The closest fixed object was miles away. There is no way to know, within less than a few square miles, where we might have been when that gear was lost.
At some point the National Geographic writer said to me "It is obvious you have done this before". I laughed it off. I could hardly admit that I had never done anything like this...
cz, 1116 12/12/14
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Post Thanksgiving fallout
Okay. So this is not the next posting. I did stick "The Perfect Evening?" in there. Don't like it? So don't pay your next subscription fee...
As I said before, I had a great break. But you know the feeling that you should not take a vacation because your work will all be waiting for you upon return? Well I did have a few issues.
A couple months ago, Evan bought a new kitchen stove from UM excess property ($50). We put the new stove in the Big House and set it up. All was good. The stove in the Big House was moved to the Keepers house complete with two burners and the oven not working. The totally non-functioning stove from my place was put in the boat for Evan to put in the dumpster at RSMAS. But what does this have to do with Thanksgiving?
My stand-in and his family (total 6) and Evan (and 5 others) somehow managed Thanksgiving together with no forethought or planning. The oven made it through the turkeys but that was it. Casseroles and other baked dishes were carted to my house to use my oven. Remember the stove was moved into my place non-functioning. Luckily I had spent 30 minutes on it previously and had everything working just fine. All reports I have gotten indicated that Thanksgiving was good and well enjoyed. But, upon my return, it was emphasized that it would be nice to have the oven working - soon.
Let's move on to the water issue... You already know that the island uses rainwater for all non-potable water needs. Cool! But no rain, no water... And we are headed into the dry season. There are two cisterns on the island. The basement of the Big House is 2/3 cistern. Big! The other cistern is located under the tool room and is not so big. That smaller one feeds the owners cottage, my house and the boathouse. I have roughly calculated it holds about 7500 gallons. While I was gone, someone used the hose at the tool room. When finished the hose was dropped and fell on the handle. You know what I mean, the way it falls to the ground when you are washing the car and will only land on the handle thus spraying you. And the errant user did not turn off the supply to the hose. So for who knows how long the hose watered the sidewalk. Upon my return and hearing of this story, I checked the water in the cistern... less than 1000 gallons were left in the tank! I started to dehydrate on the spot.
There were other minor annoyances but nothing of real consequence. It took me three days to find Inja's bed. "My" big boat (the Parker) was left a mess with diving and fishing gear strewn about. The RIB (remember: Rigid Inflatable Boat) was found with a few dead fish in it. And more but now I sound like I am complaining.
But, alas, all known issues are either repaired, corrected or washed away. The boats have been tidied up. The failed ignitor for the oven is on order. And 4000 gallons of Big House water were pumped to the tool shed cistern. And I am still glad I got to spend my Thanksgiving in West Virginia.
I hope your Thanksgiving was also enjoyable.
cz, 1816 12/9/14
As I said before, I had a great break. But you know the feeling that you should not take a vacation because your work will all be waiting for you upon return? Well I did have a few issues.
A couple months ago, Evan bought a new kitchen stove from UM excess property ($50). We put the new stove in the Big House and set it up. All was good. The stove in the Big House was moved to the Keepers house complete with two burners and the oven not working. The totally non-functioning stove from my place was put in the boat for Evan to put in the dumpster at RSMAS. But what does this have to do with Thanksgiving?
My stand-in and his family (total 6) and Evan (and 5 others) somehow managed Thanksgiving together with no forethought or planning. The oven made it through the turkeys but that was it. Casseroles and other baked dishes were carted to my house to use my oven. Remember the stove was moved into my place non-functioning. Luckily I had spent 30 minutes on it previously and had everything working just fine. All reports I have gotten indicated that Thanksgiving was good and well enjoyed. But, upon my return, it was emphasized that it would be nice to have the oven working - soon.
Let's move on to the water issue... You already know that the island uses rainwater for all non-potable water needs. Cool! But no rain, no water... And we are headed into the dry season. There are two cisterns on the island. The basement of the Big House is 2/3 cistern. Big! The other cistern is located under the tool room and is not so big. That smaller one feeds the owners cottage, my house and the boathouse. I have roughly calculated it holds about 7500 gallons. While I was gone, someone used the hose at the tool room. When finished the hose was dropped and fell on the handle. You know what I mean, the way it falls to the ground when you are washing the car and will only land on the handle thus spraying you. And the errant user did not turn off the supply to the hose. So for who knows how long the hose watered the sidewalk. Upon my return and hearing of this story, I checked the water in the cistern... less than 1000 gallons were left in the tank! I started to dehydrate on the spot.
There were other minor annoyances but nothing of real consequence. It took me three days to find Inja's bed. "My" big boat (the Parker) was left a mess with diving and fishing gear strewn about. The RIB (remember: Rigid Inflatable Boat) was found with a few dead fish in it. And more but now I sound like I am complaining.
But, alas, all known issues are either repaired, corrected or washed away. The boats have been tidied up. The failed ignitor for the oven is on order. And 4000 gallons of Big House water were pumped to the tool shed cistern. And I am still glad I got to spend my Thanksgiving in West Virginia.
I hope your Thanksgiving was also enjoyable.
cz, 1816 12/9/14
Saturday, December 6, 2014
The perfect evening?
This is a test of my creative writing ability. Not that I will win any awards but I want to share with you the ambiance I am experiencing. I had to go up to the Big House to finish a plumbing project. No biggie - I had to get air into the pressure tank by the pump. It took all day to drain the water out and let the air in.
But the evening! It is 1900. The moon is almost full and it rose at sunset so it is still low in the eastern sky. The "creek" is almost smooth. There is just the slightest breeze. (Okay, the bugs are trying to attack but that is not a major issue.) The moonlight is lying on the water from Swan Key to my feet on the dock. The sky is not totally black. I can see the slightest outline of Swan Key. The breeze rises. Blowing away the few bugs and bringing fresh flavored air to my nose. It is not the normal coastal smell we associate with the beach and ocean. It is just a fresh, light, comfortable bit of air. And the crickets are almost loud compared to the normal deafening quiet. It is an evening that is found only in romance or adventure stories.
I have come to appreciate a windbreaker. The constant breeze has a cooling effect that is not known in the northern climes. The temperature is 71' and the breeze is light. But after my shower I put on long cotton pants and a windbreaker. Standing on the dock, out over the water, I feel both the wonderful air and the comfort of after-a-day-in-the-sun warmth.
I keep redefining "perfect". It is a daily occurrence. While I am sure next spring and summer's heat and humidity will try my love of Broad Key, it may be times like this that might make it all worth while.
And now an owl is calling to top it all off.
The only downside is not having someone with whom I could share this. So I share it with you.
cz, 1926 12/6/14
But the evening! It is 1900. The moon is almost full and it rose at sunset so it is still low in the eastern sky. The "creek" is almost smooth. There is just the slightest breeze. (Okay, the bugs are trying to attack but that is not a major issue.) The moonlight is lying on the water from Swan Key to my feet on the dock. The sky is not totally black. I can see the slightest outline of Swan Key. The breeze rises. Blowing away the few bugs and bringing fresh flavored air to my nose. It is not the normal coastal smell we associate with the beach and ocean. It is just a fresh, light, comfortable bit of air. And the crickets are almost loud compared to the normal deafening quiet. It is an evening that is found only in romance or adventure stories.
I have come to appreciate a windbreaker. The constant breeze has a cooling effect that is not known in the northern climes. The temperature is 71' and the breeze is light. But after my shower I put on long cotton pants and a windbreaker. Standing on the dock, out over the water, I feel both the wonderful air and the comfort of after-a-day-in-the-sun warmth.
I keep redefining "perfect". It is a daily occurrence. While I am sure next spring and summer's heat and humidity will try my love of Broad Key, it may be times like this that might make it all worth while.
And now an owl is calling to top it all off.
The only downside is not having someone with whom I could share this. So I share it with you.
cz, 1926 12/6/14
I have been duly chastised...
Here I sit
Broken hearted
Thought I'd write
But can't get started...
Maybe it is because I have not written for so long; a lot has gone by and I don't know where to start. Maybe I am suffering writer's block but I don't think of myself as a writer so I can not claim to be blocked. Lazy? Maybe that is it; island time has bitten me. For whatever reason, I have been very delinquent and am suffering guilt for it.
Probably the best way to recover from my dry spell is to start with recent events. I will mention older events as I think of them. A lot has transpired but nothing of major consequence. I'll slowly get you caught up. (Side note: I have started to get some underwater video. I have debated on whether to polish and publish these for you or just to show you raw footage as I get it. I am leaning toward showing raw footage. I do not enjoy editing and that would only slow down the process of including you in my adventure.)
Under the boathouse In this video are gray snapper and blue striped grunt.
Lindsay, daughter, spent a week with me in the middle of November. She was my first guest and we had a good time. More than visiting me, she was here to get into the water. She truly is a water baby. And she knows a lot about the fishes in her domain. She got me to start learning the different fish and their habits. As you can tell, I am passing this learning experience to you (reference above). But Linz and I did some snorkeling around the boat house and went out to Ball Reef (where I took the students doing the fish larvae work a month ago). Ball Reef is a wonderful snorkeling spot because one of the three mooring buoys is in 10 feet of water and over a coral reef covered by fish and fans and other marine life. We just dropped a swim line (a ball float on a hundred foot line that stretches out down wind or current from the boat). Then we hung on the line for the show just below us. The water was not as clear as I have seen it but the view was still great. We did two dives with lunch on the boat in the sun in between. A wonderful afternoon was had by us both.
I was able to put together a trip to Morgantown over the Thanksgiving week. It took some arranging though. Of course Inja and Qat had to be cared for as well as the island must be manned. But I took on the task of manning the island in my absence which, I believe, is the first time the Keeper has found his own coverage. I think Evan and Jeff managed this task in the past. But it worked out well. I had someone who wanted to stay most of the Thanksgiving break. So I needed someone to cover only one day/night at the beginning and the end. Both were discovered easily. I had all covered. My thanks to all who helped me. And I think Inja was spoiled for a week. She does like it when people come to the island.
But the island coverage did not happen without problems. I am dealing with the fallout these days. Next posting...
cz, 11:00 12/6/14
Broken hearted
Thought I'd write
But can't get started...
Maybe it is because I have not written for so long; a lot has gone by and I don't know where to start. Maybe I am suffering writer's block but I don't think of myself as a writer so I can not claim to be blocked. Lazy? Maybe that is it; island time has bitten me. For whatever reason, I have been very delinquent and am suffering guilt for it.
Probably the best way to recover from my dry spell is to start with recent events. I will mention older events as I think of them. A lot has transpired but nothing of major consequence. I'll slowly get you caught up. (Side note: I have started to get some underwater video. I have debated on whether to polish and publish these for you or just to show you raw footage as I get it. I am leaning toward showing raw footage. I do not enjoy editing and that would only slow down the process of including you in my adventure.)
Under the boathouse In this video are gray snapper and blue striped grunt.
Lindsay, daughter, spent a week with me in the middle of November. She was my first guest and we had a good time. More than visiting me, she was here to get into the water. She truly is a water baby. And she knows a lot about the fishes in her domain. She got me to start learning the different fish and their habits. As you can tell, I am passing this learning experience to you (reference above). But Linz and I did some snorkeling around the boat house and went out to Ball Reef (where I took the students doing the fish larvae work a month ago). Ball Reef is a wonderful snorkeling spot because one of the three mooring buoys is in 10 feet of water and over a coral reef covered by fish and fans and other marine life. We just dropped a swim line (a ball float on a hundred foot line that stretches out down wind or current from the boat). Then we hung on the line for the show just below us. The water was not as clear as I have seen it but the view was still great. We did two dives with lunch on the boat in the sun in between. A wonderful afternoon was had by us both.
I was able to put together a trip to Morgantown over the Thanksgiving week. It took some arranging though. Of course Inja and Qat had to be cared for as well as the island must be manned. But I took on the task of manning the island in my absence which, I believe, is the first time the Keeper has found his own coverage. I think Evan and Jeff managed this task in the past. But it worked out well. I had someone who wanted to stay most of the Thanksgiving break. So I needed someone to cover only one day/night at the beginning and the end. Both were discovered easily. I had all covered. My thanks to all who helped me. And I think Inja was spoiled for a week. She does like it when people come to the island.
But the island coverage did not happen without problems. I am dealing with the fallout these days. Next posting...
cz, 11:00 12/6/14
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