Roadside Critters

Some of the fauna you can see in and along the roads of Antigua.

Wind Changes, Ash Falls

Last Thursday, the volcano on Montserrat had a ‘partial dome collapse event’ and spewed hot gases, rocks and ash in rolling pyroclastic flows. These flows careen down the mountain and sweep across the sea for half a mile or so. The current Hazard Level is at level four on a five-point scale so something is brewing deep within the mountain. The winds on Thursday were uncharacteristically out of the southwest which blew the ash cloud directly over Antigua. The sky had a thick haze and fine grey ash covered everything in a thin film. Looking out to sea, it appeared as if a fog bank was lingering just offshore. Flights in and out of Antigua were cancelled as the ash reached altitudes of 40,000 feet and reeks havoc on jet engines. On Friday morning, the sunrise was striking in its colors and the winds shifted back to the east, clearing the skies of ash. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory runs a great website for news, videos and monitoring info at: http://montserratvolcanoobservatory.info/

Sailor Reunion

I first sailed to Antigua 27 years ago aboard the 55 foot steel ketch ‘Queequeg II’. We sailed from Boston, stopped in Bermuda and made landfall in the Caribbean at St. Barts. From there we worked our way to windward and sailed into English Harbor just before Christmas. Some of the crew flew back to Boston while I stayed on for another 6 months. Last fall, I reconnected on Facebook with Doug, one member of the original crew. He was excited to know that I was living and working here and I was more excited to hear that he was sailing his own 47 foot sloop ‘Trinity’ down to the Caribbean where he would spend the season sailing with his wife and four young children.

Last week, Trinity sailed into English Harbor after sailing from New Hampshire to the BVI, St. Barts, and Nevis. It was a perfect place for a reunion; the same harbor where we parted ways 27 years ago. We spent the next three days catching up with each other, getting to know his family and visiting the island. We hiked up Strawberry Hill, collected specimens at Fossil Beach and enjoyed an afternoon sail to Rendezvous Bay aboard Trinity. They plan to be here for another week or so before they head ‘down island’ to Grenada. It was wonderful to see an old sailing mate again. The bonds we formed years ago were strengthened by the challenges we faced on our first offshore sailing experience and will continue to last despite years apart. You can follow Trinity’s progress on their own blog at http://sailingtrinity.blogspot.com/

Kayak Update

In my driveway above the waters of Willoughby By, ‘K4’, my fourth kayak is taking shape. The pieces that make up the hull have been stitched together with wires, glued along the seams with epoxy and then covered with fiberglass cloth and more epoxy. The boat is 17 feet long and I am building it outside which poses a few challenges. I’ve set up a tarp to ward off the rain but the wind keeps lifting up the light pieces of plywood that make up the panels of the boat. I’ve got lots of weights handy. I had to squeeze it into my cottage during one particularly nasty squall when I was in the middle of an important assembly point. I will begin working on the deck next and then join that to the hull to complete the boat. Coincidentally, I met two men who work in a woodshop here who are also building very similar boats. We plan to launch them together and are planning some paddling trips.

Voyage to the Next Bay Over

Last weekend Javier and I sailed ‘Fwa!’ to Half Moon Bay. The conditions were perfect for the 4 mile trip to one of the nicest beaches on the island. We loaded a dry bag with a few essential items and headed out across Willoughby Bay in light winds. The sea inside the reef was flat which helped as we picked our way around shallow areas, coral heads and out around the breaking surf. Once outside the reef, we encountered the large, regular swell of the Atlantic Ocean. ‘Fwa!’ sailed smoothly over the waves even though we lost sight of the horizon when we dipped into the valleys. We got bounced around a little when we sailed close to Hudson Point and encountered the clapotis caused by reflecting waves bouncing off the steep cliffs.

After about an hour, we came around Soldier Point and entered Half Moon Bay. We were holding off on the decision to beach the boat to see what the surf looked like. There were 3-4 foot waves breaking in the center of the mile long bay but on the southern end, under the lee of Soldier Point, there was just a gentle surge. With both blades up, ‘Fwa!’ skidded to a stop in the soft, white sand. Sails were dropped and we headed over to Hungry Harry's where we dined on parrot fish with a cold beer. The return trip took longer as the wind had switched and dropped forcing us to tack back and forth several times. We came across one large sea turtle lazing at the surface. Future outings are planned as we just got a glimpse of only a small fraction of the more than 100 miles of coastline that Antigua possesses.

Time Capsule

During the first few weeks of 2010, students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 at the school prepared items to be buried inside of our time capsule. The capsule was buried at the official opening ceremony for the new campus that took place on January 14. The Prime Minister and other members of government were in attendance. Directions will be left in a safe place at the school and the capsule will also be registered with the International Time Capsule Society. It is scheduled to be uncovered 25 years from now on January 14, 2035! Below is a list of some of the items included inside:

A list of all students, teachers, and staff
Self addressed letters
Letters and other writings addressed to the Students of the Future
Drawings
Photographs
Copies of the day’s newspapers
“I Like Center Time” booklet created by Kindergarten students
DVDs with pictures and videos of school
Thumb drives with pictures and videos of the school
an Island Academy Tie and Shirt
Yearbook from 2009
Letters to Spanish Class Students of the future
a Samsung Mobile Phone
a list of the Best Cars of 2009
a $20 EC bill
an Intel processor
a 2 and a1/2 inch floppy disc

I was able to glance at some of the letters written by our students and wanted to share some of their thoughts, hopes and advice.

“Here, everybody gets along.”
“I want to work on solving global warming.”
“I want to be a forensic pathologist.”
“I will be an Olympic Swimmer.”
“I hope to be a fluent Spanish speaker.”
“I hope I will be able to help others by being a doctor.”
“I wonder if any of the current students children will be going to the school.”
“If you want to contact me call 463-5555 and try to refresh my memory.”
“I will maybe have seven tortoises and four dogs”
“If the world is taken over by robots, don’t fight, RUN!”
“You won’t probably be obsessed with Michael Jackson.”
“In 25 years, I will have a pet hamster.”


It was a very thought-provoking exercise and gave us all a chance to think about what state the world will be in after another quarter century and where each of us will be. That future will be shaped and occupied by the students who attend this school and all other schools and universities around the world. This simple gesture reminds us all of the importance of education.