It's Like Living on a Boat

Solar systems are quiet, the power grid is quiet, batteries are quiet (if you can figure out how to charge them).  Generators are loud. Thankfully the noice canceling headphones are taking care of that problem… just need to keep them charged!!

I can compare living at Ocean Reef POST IRMA to living on a boat; something I have great experience with having sailed 48,000 nautical miles and done seven trans Atlantic Crossings aboard the schooner yacht America.

Compare.  Time in your day dedicated to just that what you need.  Fuel, water, maintaining the generator.  Food… like on a boat, do you have enough provisions to make it to your destination.  Did my golf cart get enough charging from the solar panels to allow another day's run? And with technology… are my cell phone and laptop fully charged. Thank goodness for the reliability of my new 15” MacBook Pro with solid state HD.  It is so battery efficient and fast!   The iPhone 7 plus as my personal hotspot allows me to connect to the internet, so I may actually post photos to my website and this journal.

Conservation. With fresh water flowing only two hours during the day, how can I get what I need to boil, bath, to refresh, to supply my needs?  Take a swim and notice how cool the air feels after being hot all day.  Talk, read, journal.  Boiling water and making lemon grass tea from the plants in my garden.  Sharing fallen avocados with Giovanni so he can feed the crews guacamole.  Pure LIFE. 


News.  There is no TV.  Word of mouth, asking our friends and coworkers what they've heard about situation down South?   The local radio station SUN 103.1 has been on the air for 70 hours straight, broadcasting peoples needs, reporting community info.  Can you believe someone was entering properties in the Keys and depositing flyers INSIDE their destroyed homes, offering to buy their homes?  Community.  “Keys Strong” is the new mantra. 


Standing watch.  Ted retires early, I stay up and write my journal, nice quiet time to reflect; I top off the generators about 10 PM; he wakes about 4 AM, refuels… and so it goes.  We have AC and cold beers, what more is there? 


In light of what's happening in the world today, maybe it is time for a mindset reboot. If we can't handle a hurricane, how can we deal with an attack, nuclear or otherwise   It's all about personal responsibility and helping our fellow man.


PHOTOGRAPH ACCOMPANYING THIS JOURNAL ENTRY.  9/11 Tribute.  Ocean Reef Club Public Safety hoisted the American Flag on their ladder truck, on the anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers.