Voyage of Kiri

Chiapas Coffee

2011-12-17T03:05:00.001-08:00

Antonio, the Majomut cooperative supervisor, shows off the coffee plants. The cooperative purchases coffee from member-landowners, pays them fair trade prices, then ships then beans to overseas.

Chiapas' Coffee Growers: Accidental Environmentalists

Every steaming cup of coffee could tell a story, and the shade-grown coffee from southern Mexico's Chiapas state tells tales of a disproportionate role in sustaining local villages, hillsides, and wildlife.

It's a story with several lumps of conflict and uncertainty stirred in.

The volatility of the global coffee market makes it a difficult business, and Chiapas' small farmers face the precarious equilibrium common to all small farms and businesses. But they face an additional set of unique challenges, including the shaky political truce between the government and Zapatista rebels who made global headlines in the mid-1990s for taking up arms in the name of indigenous peoples' rights. Meanwhile, the toehold made by organic and fair trade initiatives is slipping in Chiapas even as a rapidly changing climate could kill the region's top cash crop.

Chiapas has some of the world's tastiest coffee, but will the campesinos (peasant farmers) continue to grow it? Will the biodiversity and carbon storage inadvertently protected by this style of coffee production eventually be compromised?

The Origins
I went searching for these answers in the highlands of Chiapas. Uphill from the charming colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas is the much smaller community of Chamelho. Swooning after a rough mini-bus ride, and waiting for the next transport, I made a pit stop at a church in the main plaza. It was a striking scene: a combination of grass, dirt, and indigenous icons surrounding scenes of Jesus and the Nativity, an odd melding of the Christian and Mayan sacred. This juxtaposition was a tourist attraction in less remote villages, but this church featured only local parents and their children listening to music and chatting amiably.

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After a series of enthusiastic hand gestures — many people in these parts rely purely on the Tzotzil Mayan language — I was dropped off at a wooden warehouse that smelled of coffee. It wasn't thick and tangible like your neighborhood coffee shop, but rather deep and musky like freshly cut grass. Clustered around a table were four Tzotzil Mayan girls in flowery blue dresses with ribbons in their hair, knitting new additions to their homemade garb.

The place was a coffee cooperative, Majomut, and it too was a melding of the indigenous and the international. The cooperative purchases coffee from 928 member-landowners, paying them fair trade prices in accordance with their certification, then ships then beans to overseas buyers, such as Café Direct, which specialize in ethical coffee and tea purchasing.

Antonio, the cooperative supervisor, greeted me jovially, and proudly led me to the reddish machine filling two big rooms. "This is where the magic happens," he said in good Spanish. He explained how the contraption transformed the dried coffee cherries into usable product through a process of shelling, sorting, and roasting the beans. They were bagged under three labels: "local usage," "national market," and "overseas export." The better the quality, the further the destination.

Poor quality coffee beans are evident in the cracked shells, caused by the excess rains this year.

Afterward, Antonio led me outside, promising a close look at a coffee plantation. I was surprised — the "plantation" looked like a forest, shaded by the canopies of tall pine trees and steep hillsides thick with understory shrubbery. Scattered banana trees revealed humans had modified the plantation, and a skinny path led to coffee plants and the shiny red fruits of Coffea arabica. The forest absorbed the coffee plants.

"Why do they prefer to grow coffee under shade?" I asked.

The coffee forest is integral to the Chiapas farmer lifestyle, Antonio explained. Campesinos organize their plots of land into milpas, a rotating combination of crops. For example, a five-acre parcel may be divided into two acres of corn, one acre of beans, and two acres of coffee. "In general, the corn and beans feed the family, and the coffee earns them money. The forest harboring the coffee also provides firewood, medicinal plants, erosion control, and great place for fruit trees," he explained, highlighting the diverse value of the coffee plantation beyond being a cash crop.

In Chiapas, at least, coffee traditionally is grown under the shade of trees, not to please environmentalists but for practical benefits. For one, growing in a diverse habitat keeps the plants healthy and resilient: Pests are less able to colonize the area; falling organic matter creates natural compost for the soil; tree roots and shrubs hold earth and slow water flow, minimizing erosion from heavy rains. Use of pesticides and fertilizers is uncommon. The shade lowers heat and evaporation, which becomes a significant benefit for other crops during the dry season.

Even though they are human-modified systems, coffee forests have surprising biodiversity. Scientific studies have detailed their role in preserving wildlife habitat, on pollination and have identified how intensification of coffee production from shade-grown to sun-exposed monoculture causes a vast loss of species.

On a more technical level, shade coffee can maintain the genetic diversity of native trees, according to an article in the journal Current Biology, which investigated bird and bat species living in coffee forests. Lead author Shalene Jha of the University of Texas at Austin noted: "By supporting important seed dispersal processes, shade coffee farms maintain plant population gene flow across fragmented habitats." Therefore, coffee farms play an unusual and important ecological role that is just now being fully understood.

In front of the Majomut factory in Chiapas, Mexico.

Carbon storage is another recently recognized value of shade coffee. Agro-forestry systems show potential for carbon sequestration since they store carbon and reduce deforestation pressures. Specifically, coffee is a perennial crop well suited to complex canopy environments and could potentially sequester around five tons of carbon per hectare, as reported on the Coffee Habitat website. (Here is a comparison with other agricultural practices common in the U.S.; remember that a hectare is about two and a half acres.)

Paying coffee farmers for carbon storage may be in the near future. A partnership between Rainforest Alliance, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, and an agro-industry corporation recently developed methodology for carbon monitoring in farms. A consortium of three states (California in U.S., Chiapas in Mexico, and Acre in Brazil) in late 2010 began to explore reductions in deforestation (also known as REDD, which the Guardian explains nicely in this Q&A). These transactions may play an important role in the continued viability of shade-coffee farms.

Coyotes vs. Cooperatives
Despite its profits and integral relationship with farmers, coffee has been a tricky business in Chiapas.

In the late 1980s, the dismantling of the Mexican National Institute of Coffee, along with the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement, caused prices to spiral down to a low of 40 U.S. cents a pound — below cost for most coffee farmers. Nevertheless, the coffee intermediaries — affectionately called coyotes in Mexico, pirañas in Peru, and sharks in Indonesia — squeezed prices paid to small producers.

Sun-grown coffee monoculture — think of an orchard instead of a forest — was promoted as a way to produce more beans with greater efficiency. In Central America, development organizations such as U.S. Agency for International Development, which historically invests heavily in helping coffee-producing regions, invested in the conversion of coffee farms to this higher-yield approach. The method requires substantial amounts of fertilizer and pesticides, which damages naturally occurring bacteria in the soil that contribute to organic productivity.

Subsidies covered these expenses for a decade or more, but eventually farmers plunged into debt spirals after borrowing money to pay for these agro-chemicals. With their land altered by the chemicals, they couldn't easily switch back to more traditional methods. Equally unfortunate, since forests weren't around to hold the soil during heavy rains, erosion increased and the runoff itself was tainted by the farming chemicals.

In response, fair trade organizations (which may have their own issues) began to collaborate with local coffee cooperatives like Majomut. They bypassed the coyote intermediaries by guaranteeing a minimum price for coffee (around $1.20 a pound). Organic coffee was also encouraged with premium prices. Traditional knowledge that supported organic production was re-introduced via workshops and town hall meetings. Ironically, USAID was now at the forefront of organizations promoting these practices.

The goal of these new specialty markets was to sustain the livelihood of small coffee farmers and protect biodiversity. They succeeded. Nowadays one can purchase their brew at neighborhood coffee shops, a venue where the higher amount paid to the producer is easily masked by the markup on a cuppa.

But price, politics, and precipitation continue to test the survival of cooperatives and the integrity of the system. Staying a step ahead of these changes is now the name of the game, something I'll discuss more deeply next week.

See original article.

Waterkeeper Magazine: 2 articles in Climate Change edition

2011-05-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

The Waterkeeper Magazine covered two articles from the Voyage of Kiri in their Climate Change special edition: the stories of the Waterkeeper organizations in Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California; and Rio Verde in Oaxaca.

Download the magazine PDF here.

Or see the magazine overview in the Waterkeeper website:
http://www.waterkeeper.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/20037/pid/223

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Voyage of Kiri
Exploring the Effects of Climate on Mexico's Coastline
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Micro-Reserves Renew Life in Oaxacan Agriculture

2011-01-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

Micro-Reserves Renew Life in Oaxacan Agriculture

Peasants in Mexico's jungle state of Oaxaca show that conservation need not take a back seat to development.

After the scares from this rainy season's massive landslides and floods in Mexico, people are committed to re-learn the basics of land management. (Kristian Beadle)

By Kristian Beadle. See article in Miller McCune magazine, December 29th

In 2010, Mexico suffered "one of the most intense rain and hurricane seasons in its history, after having experienced, in 2009, the second-worst drought in 60 years," noted President Felipe Calderon during his opening remarks at the recent Cancun conference on climate change. How does this actually play in people's lives?

Far away from Cancun, I visited a small community on the Oaxacan coast to find out. Although the municipality of San Pedro Tututepec looks like one of the many anonymous communities along the highway, it is unique in offering people hope. It is near Lagunas de Chacahua National Park, a wetland-lagoon system adjacent to one of Oaxaca's largest rivers, the Rio Verde. The catalyst for change was Heladio Reyes, a peasant's son who received a university scholarship to study agronomy.

Armed with new knowledge of soil science, the ecological role of forests and how watersheds are vital to farming, Reyes returned home and taught his friends. As a result, in 1993, a group of 17 land owners created the first micro-reserve: small areas in private lands that owners choose to preserve. From this initiative sprouted the organization Ecosta Yutu Cuii (which means "green tree" in the regional language Mixteco) and, eventually, the Rio Verde Waterkeeper.

More than 800 landowners participate in the micro-reserve program today, managing reserves that range from a half-hectare to 300 hectares (a bit over 740 acres). I considered this phenomenon: hundreds of self-interested farmers voluntarily preserving forest land and bypassing the economic gains of transforming those forests into cornfields. Ecosta accomplished this small miracle with just one full-time staff member (until recently), assisted by part-time staff and volunteers.

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How can poor people be expected to preserve nature when they're struggling to survive? We take for granted that environmental conservation and economic development are trade-offs, the former being a "luxury." This is expressed in economics as the Kuznets Curve: only when people are wealthy enough will they begin to care about the environment. But Ecosta's work reveals an opposite possibility. Conservation and development can co-exist; it's just a matter of scale and proper support.

Ecosta used three keys to open the way to this new relationship: education, food-sufficiency and micro-loans. They first taught the campesinos why clear-cutting for agriculture is a mistaken approach. Typically, corn plantations become unproductive after two to three years due to excessive fertilizer use and the loss of nitrogen-fixing by plants and micro-organisms that would otherwise re-energize the soil with nutrients. Cattle are often introduced to graze on the fallow land, but this causes soil-compaction and erosion. So additional forests have to be cut down for corn plantations, and the vicious cycle continues.

To avert this, Ecosta reintroduced organic-farming techniques and crop rotation with nitrogen-fixing plants. They explained the many benefits of keeping a reserve: less soil-erosion and heat-damage from the dry season, and healthier watersheds to disperse nutrients and diffuse toxins. On a personal level, the campesinos realized they could continue to harvest wood sustainably for fuel and construction, and have access to traditional medicinal and edible plants.

To ensure that farmers keep their reserves through years of bad production (when the temptation to clear new cropland is greatest), Ecosta began a food-sufficiency program. This is essentially a tutorial on how to create food gardens and keep small livestock. Ecosta works with 15 villages, which are growing vegetables and fruits and raising chickens. The organization also connects the families in a loose network for selling and trading surplus food.

As Ecosta grew, it was able to offer micro-loans as financial incentives to those participating in their projects. It now manages two micro-loan funds: one for agricultural assistance (tools, machinery, pest-management) and another for sustainable business (ecotourism, fair-trade products).

The owner of the iguana center, Emiliano, holds an iguana. Ecosta helps to finance the center with micro-loans. (Kristian Beadle)

Ecosta then brought together their micro-loan recipients and created an ecotourism corridor called Ocho Venado (Eight Deer). Tourists can visit an iguana nursery, purchase locally made pineapple-and-mango jam, stay at a lodge that raises deer and jabalí (boar), or spend the night in a cabaña in Chacahua (whose owner is spearheading a recycling program). Under the banner of Ocho Venado, the area may end up losing some of its anonymity — in a positive way.

Reyes and Ecosta have taken on a new challenge: With local communities, they are fighting the construction of an 825-megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Rio Verde that would inundate villages and displace thousands of residents. (The federal electricity commission explained how it has reached out to explain the project's benefits.) Even if hydroelectric dams were completely a carbon-free energy source (not true at the start, because flooding of plant matter can release huge amounts of methane — some Brazilian scientists even want to capture it), dams irreversibly alter hydrological cycles.

If the Rio Verde dam isn't built, and 17 years of Ecosta's work creating micro-reserves and conserving the watershed doesn't, as Mr. Reyes put it, "go down the drain," they face a growing challenge in helping their communities adapt to climatic change. In Oaxaca, as on the rest of Mexico's Pacific coast, the dry and wet seasons used to be very predictable. But as Calderon mentioned during his opening speech in Cancun, the weather has been extreme.

Hilario, coordinator of Ecosta's programs, looking at the Rio Verde. Upstream is Paso de la Reina, one of the many communities to be flooded if the dam is built. (Kristian Beadle)

Reyes explained how this unpredictability affects villagers:

"Before, the farmers knew the 15th of April was the day to start preparing their lands. That way, between the 2nd and 6th of June, they could plant the corn and know it would survive a sensitive initial period. Now, they no longer know. There are extremely dry years followed by extremely wet years, rains occurring in April or November that are outside the usual range. The grandfathers say that in the past, if the calandria bird was nesting in very tall trees, they knew it was likely a year with little wind; or conversely, if the calandria was nesting in low trees, they'd plant the corn only in areas protected from wind. Symbolic or practical, these signals are now changing so quickly the communities are struggling to re-orient themselves."

These climate disruptions, Reyes notes, make it even more critical to create micro-reserves and protect watersheds, which helps maintain some semblance of predictability in the area's hydrology for farmers. After the scares from this rainy season's massive landslides and floods, people are more committed than ever to re-learn the basics. They know they can't rely on the government; they need to manage the land themselves for the long haul, to better respond to extreme events and secure their future well-being.

With the micro-reserves as the platform, Mr. Reyes and his colleagues are de-constructing the last few decades of misguided information about agriculture and development. Using fertilizers and clear-cutting forests is no longer taken for granted; other options must be found. With an eye to what is helpful in the long term, the people of San Pedro Tututepec are hopeful that despite crises in climate or economy, they can remain resilient.

--
Kristian Beadle
Voyage of Kiri
www.voyageofkiri.com

Oaxaca: Saving Forests with a Sense of Place

2010-12-16T08:31:00.001-08:00

Saving Forests with a Sense of Place

While visiting Oaxaca's forestry cooperatives, Kristian Beadle considers the link between remembering the dead and managing living resources — including new climate policies to reduce deforestation.

I was in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca during one of Mexico's best-known traditions, the Day of the Dead.

The somber Panteon General, Oaxaca City's largest cemetery, had been transformed into a carnival. A mariachi band played next to walls covered in candles reflecting the dead; yellow marigold flowers called cempasúchil decorated grave sites and adorned the altars that sprung up around the city. Offerings of food and drink for ancestors, who appeared in fading black-and-white photographs, were everywhere.

Although part of the Catholic All Saints and All Souls days, the creativity of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) arises from indigenous traditions. "Similar to Halloween," noted an American friend, watching the costume parade heading to the cemetery, "but with more heart, less sex and candy." Indeed, the intention of the ceremony is to invite the spirit of relatives past to celebrate with the living. The taboos surrounding mortality emerge from the dusty closet … "Just as our relatives died, so will we." It can be an oddly relaxing thought.

I considered the social implications of this collective mentality. With heightened awareness of past and future generations, might people's reason for living go beyond themselves and today? Are they more motivated to care for their community to ensure the well-being of the future?

Meanwhile, I had sat under a tree of epic proportions just 20 minutes from Oaxaca City. The Arbol de Tule, at least 1,500 years old, is the most ancient living being I've ever seen. Reportedly the widest tree in the world (its diameter is 38 feet, with a circumference of 119 feet), this particular Montezuma cypress, or Taxodium mucronatum, makes human lifespans seem like blips.

With all this in mind after the early November holiday, I drove into the mountains above the valley of Oaxaca, where several forestry cooperatives are becoming famous for their conservation of forests and balanced community development.

"About 60 percent of Mexico's forests are community-owned, and Mexico is now a world leader in sustainable forest management," explained Luis Ubiñas, the president of the Ford Foundation, addressing one of the main themes of the Cancun conference on climate change. "These forests aren't guarded by signs that prohibit use, but rather by giving local communities rights to the property and its management."

The mountain villages of Sierra Madre in the state of Oaxaca are amidst some of the most biodiverse pine-oak forests in the world. According to World Wildlife Fund, the area contains nearly 40 percent of endemic vertebrates of Mesoamerica, the bio-cultural region stretching from central Mexico to northern Costa Rica. This diversity comes from radical topography and climatic differences: the rugged terrain climbs from 3,000 feet to a peak of 11,000 feet, while rainfall varies from 28 inches to 80 to 160 inches a year.

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Communities here rely on corn, cattle and forestry — creating an inherent tension over deforestation and survival. Although a lack of access helps keep the forests relatively well preserved, there is also a conscious philosophy of conservation.

In these mountains sits the tidy town of Ixtlán de Juarez, which international forestry experts say has "become the gold standard of community forest ownership and management," as The New York Times has written. I met the general manager of the town's forestry cooperative, the well-spoken Jesus Paz. He showed me their factory on a Saturday morning, which was quiet except for the wind howling outside. Paz explained that when the state-run company's concession expired in 1983, the community regained autonomy of a nearly 50,000-acre forest.

Now they have one of the most advanced wood processing plants in Mexico, and both the logging operation and on-site furniture factory are certified with the Forestry Stewardship Council, the highest industry standard for sustainability. "The certification cost is high, but it has improved our efficiency with erosion control, tree-planting and safety," Paz said. "Plus, it was the right thing to do."

Their efficiency allows them to preserve the vast majority of their forest: a reserve of nearly 40,000 acres. Although certified wood doesn't fetch a higher price in Mexico, the government agency that contracts them to build school furniture was sold on the idea and now requires certification for new contracts — a new competitive advantage.

The cooperative is run by an assembly of 384 comuneros, or communal owners, who elect managers and make decisions democratically; they are drawn from the indigenous Zapotec people. The majority of the comuneros also work for the company, which has now expanded into seven businesses, including a furniture store, ecotourism resort and a high-tech nursery. The comuneros are the original owners or owner-heirs of the forest land, based on post-Mexican Revolution (1912-1918) land reforms that began granting land ownership to millions of peasants.

This apparently has created a private incentive for stewardship. As cited in a 2010 report to the United Nations Forum on Forests, "151 communities are protecting over a half million hectares of forests, almost half of which are in Oaxaca."

Beyond the town square and church was the road leading to Ecotur-Ixtlán, the cooperative's ecotourism center. The mountain air was cutting through my double layer of sweatshirts, the sky piercing blue through the canopy of pine trees. One of the guides, Rodrigo, told me about his work: taking tourists on hikes to the Mesophyllic Forest, an area of near-permanent humidity in a nearby summit containing unique species.

"I used to work in logging, but I like this better," Rodrigo told me from beneath a frayed beanie. "I learned the trade by sneaking into presentations by ecologists staying at our lodge. For sure, it has changed how I think, and my decisions in the assembly. We want to do what's best for future generations, but sometimes we don't know how." Being a comunero himself, Rodrigo soon excused himself. The assembly meeting was at 5 p.m., and I was left to ponder his meanings under the trees.

Although it has become trite in some circles, the Great Law of the Iroquois still holds weight: "In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation … even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine." The multi-generational philosophy of indigenous people, it is said, makes them better stewards of the land for the benefit of all. Yet, how much of that statement is true, and how much is based on the romantic ideology of the "noble savage"?

The forestry comuneros I spoke to constantly mentioned their desire to preserve the forest for future generations. "It was the right thing to do," Paz said about certifying their operation with the Forest Stewardship Council. That essential philosophy is shared by other cooperatives in the Sierra, collectively called the Alianza EcoForce.

Genuine empathy for multiple generations is present in many cultures, and may not be reducible to indigenous ethics. The fishing cooperatives I visited in Baja's Vizcaíno Peninsula, for example, also showed a remarkable vision of resource conservation.

By virtue of their community orientation and legal status, the fishing and forestry cooperatives share a common sense of long-term ownership of their resources. They have an incentive to sustainably manage their region's marine life and forest life because they feel secure about retaining rights to zone into the future. Another element that helps build multi-generational thinking is the length of time people plan to spend in a community. The indigenous worldview that sees interconnections in natural processes also helps this thinking; but in itself it may not be sufficient to foster long-term stewardship.

REDD and Financing Forests

Enter the international discussion on forestry and climate change, strongly present in the ongoing U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun. Early in September, Oaxaca City was host to a forestry workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean, serving as a preliminary to the Cancun conference. The workshop focused on climate policies of REDD, the emerging system for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, which is basically a way to value and finance forest preservation.

Burning forests accounts for roughly 12-17 percent of yearly global greenhouse gas emissions, almost as much as the transportation sector (a 2009 study published in the journal Nature indicates the contribution is about 15 percent when peatland degradation is included). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — the body running the Cancun conference — considers it the most viable climate mitigation option in the short term.

REDD seeks to value the carbon stocks of forests to make them more profitable alive than dead — that is, not cleared for a palm oil plantation or cattle farming. To be successful, carbon prices need to infuse more dollars per acre (measured in carbon tons) to be paid to locals for keeping forests standing, instead of being chopped for agricultural uses. This approach doesn't count the biodiversity effects of preserving forests, which would be a tremendous collateral benefit.

One concern is finding a common language between multinational financiers and forest dwellers, so that equitable benefits go to locals and foreigners. Another concern is whether the price of carbon is sufficiently stable, achievable under a regulated market, but less likely in today's voluntary carbon market. Despite these speed bumps, the market is taking notice of forest conservation. As described in Yale e360, Merrill Lynch has invested $9 million one Sumatra project, and Brazil is creating mechanisms to raise $21 billion by 2021.

Forestry workshop participants in Oaxaca visited and were likewise impressed by the cooperatives in the Sierra but wondered if their successes can translate to other places. After all, the unique communal ownership that emerged from Mexico's particular agrarian reforms (despite its flaws and limitations) plays a key role in these cooperatives' business structure, and may not be replicable.

Nevertheless, the elusive concept of "forestry governance" may boil down to some down-to-earth principles: As outlined above, when a sense of long-term ownership is combined with sound organizational structure, the basic incentives for resource stewardship are in place.

A 2009 study analyzed 80 forests in Asia, Africa and Latin America and concluded that when local communities manage and own forests (which they call "rule-making autonomy and ownership"), there is more carbon sequestration and forest protection. That approach may be just as effective as managed protected areas, but with fewer costs. The study helped dispell the myth that local communities are unable to manage their resources (i.e. are dependent on outside companies and "experts"). I believe this is part of a shift in thinking toward more local control of natural resources.

The cooperatives' long-term well-being requires the conservation of their forests.

This lesson can be applied beyond forestry and discussions of REDD. I drove the long, windy road back to the coast, wondering if the principles from Mexico's cooperatives — long-term ownership and local management — might influence the future of forests globally.

Perhaps the principles that unite stewardship with community values can work in elsewhere. Like the meanings of the Day of Dead, even if they are not universal, they are at least inspirational, and may help us see through the "smokescreen" of forest management.

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What will 10/10/10 add up to?

2010-10-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

What will 10/10/10 add up to?

Say you're an alien anthropologist studying human behavior on Earth.

Understandably, you are perplexed by the events of Oct. 10, 2010.

Dutch women partying in their old wedding dresses to celebrate re-using and recycling.

One-hundred-sixty eighth-graders in Cape Town walking the length of the beach leaving only one set of footprints to symbolize their future commitment to reducing waste.

A hilarious visual collage: "What can one person do when 6.8 billion are frying the planet?"

And then there were the "carrot mobs," where businesses — like an ice cream shop in California and a pub in Scotland — were invaded by throngs of people patronizing the enterprises for both their products and for their altruism. (Both the ice cream shop and pub owners had pledged to use the extra revenues from that day toward energy efficiency and renewable power generation for their stores, reducing their respective carbon footprints.) The communities thanked them with their purchasing power, using a "carrot," not a "stick," to foster change.

In southern Argentina, schoolchildren cleaned their coastline. Currents disburse trash from far north. (Courtesy 350.org)

This "carrot philosophy" governed not just the carrot mobs, but roughly 7,000 other interconnected events occurring around the globe that same day. Nearly every nation on the planet was represented: 188 countries, with exceptions of North Korea, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea and San Marino. Every state in the U.S., Canada and Mexico participated. (To see a list of the best 10/10/10 events, click here.) It was an orchestrated, worldwide event to tackle climate change, but it wasn't about pointing fingers or protesting.

Instead, stuff was getting done: Trees were planted in Kansas, mangroves in the Maldives, trash was picked up in Argentina and India, 500 bikes were built in Boston to send to Uganda, and the White House that week announced it would install solar panels. (And for full disclosure, I organized a work party where I live in Oaxaca.)

So, as alien anthropologist, it was a Global Work Party, masterminded by the group 350.org. But as an honest observer, you ask, "Was it just a social media stunt, or can it catalyze change across planet Earth?"

A Diffuse Environment
Thirty years ago, few would have guessed that climate change, a cause so indirect and amorphous, its effects indirect, far off and hard to predict, could spark such widespread mobilization. After all, people with diffuse interests, no matter how great their number, struggle to unify their voice and overcome small groups of people with specific, shared and entrenched interests.

The "environment," broadly speaking, failed to have a voice until its deterioration caused direct, immediate impacts. Health was the trigger: Toxic contamination caused cancer, rivers caught on fire, oil spills devastated beaches. In the 1960s, a huge amount of legislation was passed when the connection was established between environment and health. Even endangered species, an abstract interest to most people, were given priority over economic interests in the Endangered Species Act partly thanks to the science of ecology informing us that biodiversity underlies many of our life-support systems.

Retirees in Massachusetts collected compost from the kitchen for their garden. (Courtesy 350.org)

The rabbit hole for the environment goes deeper. New pollutants create subtle new problems, which only become obvious later or on large scales. Fertilizers, for example, were hailed as the solution to end world hunger; they have managed to foul waterways and deplete soils. We also realized that CFCs, at first miracles for refrigeration, ended up damaging the ozone layer and thereby increasing the incidence of skin cancer. Greenhouse gases are also subtle pollutants and avoided detection as serious problems until fairly recently.

Evidence of a connection between climate change and our health grows daily, through quiet scientific research and catastrophic weather events. This year, headlines were filled with crop failures in Russia from the hottest temperatures on record, floods in Pakistan, torrential rains in Mexico and the eastern United States. However, most people don't experience the brunt of problems firsthand, and many see the connection as just conjecture by scientific models — or worse, a scientific conspiracy.

Those who do care are those personally affected and those who are aware that the well-being of society and ecology are inseparable. These groups of people are not necessarily in the same community and may share little else other than their concern on this issue. As writer Malcolm Gladwell might say, they are linked by "weak ties" around the world, and in his view weak ties are not the ties that bind.

Conquering Weak Ties with Social Media
In a recent New Yorker article, Gladwell downplayed the importance of Internet and social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc) in creating social change, since their main benefit is linking people who share weak ties.

Gladwell argues that discipline and strong ties are necessary for change and warns digital activists not to put social media on a pedestal just based on the numbers who show up for an hour or a day. It is a great networking tool for mobilizing people, but it doesn't create the structure needed for the collective strength of diffuse interests to overcome entrenched interests.

In Harlem, roofs were painted white —an easy way to reflect heat and cool down cities (and the planet). (Courtesy 350.org)

Pointing to the U.S. civil rights movement, he shows that the "high-risk activism" that catalyzed change — boycotts and powerful sit-ins — required disciplined structure and strong ties. In that case, it was African Americans and some allies connected through church groups and close friendships.

Vigorous responses to Gladwell's essay streamed through the Web. The Huffington Post was critical and mentioned the successes of the "Text Haiti" fundraiser by the U.S. Department of State that raised $25 million in eight days, and Barack Obama's election to presidency aided by youth-led social networking. Discussions on the New York Times included how weak ties are helping China's civil society and how the Internet can expose repression. Nevertheless, Gladwell's statement that the weak ties of social media fail to instigate high-risk activism survived the criticism — well, the examples above all seem pretty low-risk to me.

Despite its widespread appeal, the 10/10/10 Global Work Party was not about high-risk activism. People were not asked to chain themselves to trees or risk their lives. They didn't even risk verbal brickbats. Even non-environmentalists can nod in approval at old folks in a Massachusetts retirement community working on their food garden, solar panels being installed at an educational center in Namibia, of more than three tons of acorns being gathered for reforestation in Moscow to replace oaks lost in the devastating forest fires this summer, or of roofs being painted white in Harlem to increase the albedo effect and reduce the "urban heat island" effect.

The brilliance of the Global Work Party was exactly that it was low risk and beneficial — and therefore compatible with the social media platform that it used. The appeal of these events reached enough people that behavior can change from the bottom up. The group 350.org succeeded in that role with a simple structure and strategic backbone for the event.

Oct. 10, 2010 marked the occasion of Frances' (she's in the green shirt) 90th birthday, so she planted trees with friends. (Courtesy 350.org)

But what about action from the top down, that is, legislation or policy changes that raise efficiency standards? Gladwell says high-risk activism is the key to change, and as I argue, climate change is unlikely to generate that activism. But the status quo lies somewhere between where the top-down meets the bottom-up — and so even low-risk endeavors can create lasting change.

Still, Gladwell's warning should be heeded: Strategy and discipline, not just mass numbers, are the best ingredients for meaningful results.

Environmentalism has evolved in the last 40 years: from protesters using the stick to pressure polluters, to groups using the carrot to lure businesses into improving standards. It has evolved to deal with these increasingly diffuse issues, and social media has come to the rescue to bring people together. The Global Work Party was a product of this evolution — not high risk but with tangible and good results.

After 10/10/10, it feels like we're in a new era, one in which people are taking climate issues into their own hands. May the leaders follow.

It's All in the Numbers

The 350 in the 350.org refers to 350 parts per million, the amount of carbon dioxide scientists believe is a safe level in the atmosphere. Antarctic ice core records reveal that in the past 800,000 years, CO2 levels have never been as high or have changed nearly as fast as today's rate. As of September 2010, it was measured at 386 ppm and rising at about 1.9 ppm per year. Under business-as-usual scenarios, it is expected to surpass 450 ppm by 2050, raising global temperatures more than 1 degree. On the present course, the increase in temperatures by 2100 would be 2-3 degrees, which hasn't been seen on Earth since the Pliocene Epoch, when trees grew in the Arctic and sea level was 25 meters higher than today. Forecaster Mark Lynas notes that when the climate used to be 1 degree higher, Nebraska was largely a desert.

by Kristian Beadle

October 14, 2010

(Note: this post was originally published in Miller McCune magazine)

Mexico's Celebration: Cutting through the Doom and Gloom

2010-09-20T09:57:00.001-07:00

Mexico's Celebration: Cutting through the Doom and Gloom

Walking the streets of Mexico's capital on the occasion of the nation's 200th birthday, Kristian Beadle sees both chest-thumping and hand-wringing.

On the night of Mexico's bicentennial celebration, an old man was strumming his acoustic guitar. He was on a dark avenue surrounded by the din of crowds, festive cries and police sirens. His guitar had no amplification, and the bowl at his feet only had a few coins, but he was playing so intently that I stopped to listen. I had to get really close to hear the melody, but it was worth it. Like a rowdy family gathering that goes quiet because Grandpa starts to tell a story, the din around me faded.

The crowds kept moving and nobody stopped to listen, and I don't blame them. There were so many things to see and hear this Sept. 16: a massive float car parade with dazzling colors, beautiful dancers dressed in fantasy costumes and a dizzying landscape of red, green and white celebrating the Mexican flag. Earlier in the day, I saw the BBC News interview with event organizer Ric Birch, producer of Olympic opening ceremonies in 1992 and 2000. He said this might be one of the biggest and boldest events in recent memory, and indeed, the spectacle did not disappoint.

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The Real Revenge of Montezuma: Voyage Conclusions

2010-09-14T15:14:00.001-07:00

The Real Revenge of Montezuma: Voyage Conclusions

Now that the trip is over, I look back and speculate on the connection behind "traveler's belly" and Mexico's ailments.

Location: In Mazunte, just north of Huatulco. Through scattered clouds, the morning sun shines on the bay, whose centerpiece is a pair of jagged boulders. The rocks are frothy with crashing waves and soft backlight. The bay is surrounded by swaying palm trees and a snaking wetland.

Conditions: From inside my swinging cot, hanging freely from a roof covered by a mosquito net, I can tell the morning air is starting to warm up. It's 8 a.m., and the septic tank truck is already pumping sewage and someone is running a drill. Fishermen are pushing their pangas past the tiny waves.

Discussion: On the return from Huatulco, we veered off the rainy highway and navigated the potholes, overhanging tree branches and yelping dogs until reaching Mazunte. It is a blissed-out beach town that attracts French backpackers and yoga students with its fairy-tale scenery and psychedelic bars with names like "Siddhartha." That is where my friend Nando, who I brought in tow for his flamenco music collection and Spanish humor, revived his old enemy, the stomach flu.

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The Balance of Evil-Doing: Kiri's Impacts

2010-09-14T14:59:00.001-07:00

The Balance of Evil-Doing: Kiri's Impacts

Perhaps a little hypocrisy doesn't hurt - if you're aware of it?
I look at the footprint of my trip, and hope it was all worth it.

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Sustainable Tourism en Masse: Huatulco's Attempt

2010-09-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Tourism en Masse: Huatulco's Attempt

On the final military checkpoint of my trip, the camouflaged officers asked me a familiar set of questions, starting with, “De donde viene?” Where are you coming from? I’m from Santa Barbara, California, I told them — heading to Huatulco, which is just a few miles away. After getting the thumbs up, I drove into town with the curious anticipation of arriving after 5,000 miles and three months of travel. That was slowly displaced by a peculiar feeling. From what I could see, I had come full circle, and two realities were merging.

The wide boulevards had center dividers, the lawns and trees were neatly groomed. Missing from view were packs of yelping dogs, iconic of most towns I’d seen in Mexico; or makeshift signs made out of car tires. Generous parking lots were in front of shiny stores. Everything looked so organized and easy to find. … I couldn’t help thinking, “This looks like my brother’s neighborhood in Aliso Viejo.” It was like a sliver of Southern California’s Orange County dropped into tropical Mexico.

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Artists of Restoration at Playa Viva

2010-09-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

Artists of Restoration at Playa Viva

Location: Watching a tropical storm from inside a palapa in Playa Viva, just south of Ixtapa, in the state of Guerrero. I marvel at how the woven palm fronds that make up the roof keeps such vast quantities of rainwater out.

Conditions: Cool and windy, with occasional rain squalls. The ocean is a turbulent mess, the landscape swaying with the wind, even the mountains seem to move as the clouds roll around them. By afternoon, the sun burst into view, the wind died down and everything relaxed.

Discussion: I’m not much of a bird-watcher, but the colorful ducks at Yarumi lagoon made me stop.
“This used to be filled with invasive grasses. After we dredged and restored waterflow, the shrimp returned, which attracted the ducks – and many other birds,” Odin Ruz, head of permaculture at Playa Viva, told me. Although it sounds like a restoration project, this is a private hotel. “One of our business goals was to increase biodiversity,” said David Leventhal, the resort’s owner. “We wanted to enhance our guests’ experience besides just doing the right thing.”

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Making Sense of Collapse

2010-08-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Making Sense of Collapse

Location: In the northern part of the state of Guerrero, camped next to a mangrove. Two river mouths form a broad delta in this area. In a palapa near the beach, women prepare tamales over a wood-burning oven.

Conditions: The lovely mangroves unfortunately spawn lots of mosquitoes, which force a decision: whether to use chemical repellent DEET, hide under long-sleeve clothes in the sweaty heat or be bitten and risk the possible dengue fever advertised in warning posters around local towns? Perhaps I should seek higher ground.

Discussion: Perceptive readers have probably wondered about the strange mix of topics we've covered — ranging from floods and fisheries to tourism development and drug production. What is the relationship between these issues and their significance to this voyage's theme of "exploring the effects of climate on Mexico's coastline?" This might be a good opportunity for a bird's-eye view, using island examples and past societies for perspective.

The original inspiration for this trip came from low-lying atolls, such as Kiribati. In those atolls, climatic pressures including sea-level rise and reduced rainfall are turning decades of poor resource management (e.g. freshwater extraction and waste disposal) into a full-blown crisis. Many small island states such as Kiribati, Vanuatu and the Maldives are talking about evacuations of their populations as "climate refugees" in the next 50 years. Are they simply victims of the First World's thirst for fossil fuels, or do they bear responsibility for putting themselves in a precarious condition?

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The Barricades of Michoacán's Bandito Alley

2010-08-14T12:43:00.001-07:00

The Barricades of Michoacan's Bandito Alley

Location: At Rio Nexpa, in the southern end of Michoacán, where muddy water from recent rainstorms dirties the turbulent ocean. Under coconut trees, palm thatch huts line the perimeter of the riverbank.

Conditions: The northerly breeze covers everything in salt spray. The air is pleasantly cool after the sporadic downpours.

Discussion: As I drove south, the landscape kept changing in surprising ways. Around Puerto Vallarta, the dense jungle and verdant coastal mountains rising out of Banderas Bay is like a perfect capsule of the tropics. It inspired Hollywood producers to shoot movies like John Huston's The Night of the Iguana (which put the nonexistent Vallarta on the map), the pirate movie Swashbuckler, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Predator. Along the way, I asked about road conditions south and got various reports ranging from "OK" to "rough" to "dangerous."

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The Big Friendly Giants of Escuinapa

2010-08-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

The Big Friendly Giants of Escuinapa

Big projects — one to preserve and one to promote coastal Mexico — bring with them both dreams and nightmares.

In mid-May of this year, an entire town moved to the beach for five days of partying. School was canceled and work was deferred for the thousands attending the annual Fiesta de Mar de las Cabras. They came mostly from Escuinapa, a town located one hour south of Mazatlán and 20 minutes inland from Playa Cabras.

According to organizers, it is the 105th year of the event, which had roots as an indigenous "pagan" festival to celebrate the sun god Yequi. Kids, parents and grannies listen to live music on the isolated beach. There is nothing around for miles except coconut trees and two impressive neighbors: the biggest wetland on the Pacific coast of Mexico, called the Marismas Nacionales; and the largest tourist "mega-project" in Mexico, which is about to hit high gear.

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The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 2

2010-08-12T15:32:00.001-07:00

The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 2

Beyond the human carnage of Mexico's drug conflict, another innocent bystander — the environment — has long been a victim.

"When I grew up in Mazatlán, I'd hear people say, it's better to live five years rich than a lifetime poor," I was told by Daniel, who is studying law at a university in Mexico City. "Sometimes it would even be written on walls."

In a different context this phrase might be promoting righteous work for personal progress. But since we were talking about the drug cartels in Mexico, I knew the meaning was shady – it is a justification for what decent men resort to while dancing to the seductive song of the drug trade.

As the drug war escalates, more civilians are caught in the crossfire. There have been innocent bystanders for decades, far from the gun battles in cities: the damage of drug production to the land, water and air. The environment has been the forgotten victim, raped and pillaged without notice.

The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 1

2010-08-04T17:52:00.001-07:00

The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 1

Location: Near the Zona Dorada in Mazatlán, the hub of tourist pleasure.

Conditions: The breeze and cool ocean water wash off the hot, muggy air of the city.

Someone asked me in California, "You're writing about the environment in Mexico? I bet people are more worried about the drug war and staying alive." I would come face to face with this issue once I arrived in the mainland. Like an absurd nightmare, the guy's face appeared everywhere you looked in Mazatlán — on every street post, plastered on cars, billboards and buses. Like it was relentlessly stalking you, the advertising campaign for candidate Jesus Vizcarra, running for governor of Sinaloa (the elections were July 4th) gave new meaning to the word omnipresent. "As you eat lunch at the restaurant, you might discover his face on the plate through the rice and beans," laughed Edgar, a surfer I met on the beach. How in heaven is so much money spent on ads?

The Pearls of La Paz

2010-07-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

The Pearls of La Paz

Location: Near the beach at Balandra, southeast of La Paz; a bay and wetland complex that was submitted for protected area status by La Paz residents.

Conditions: Hot and dry winds are gusty at night and calm during the morning. The water is cool and pleasant for swimming. Isla Espiritu Santo glimmers in the horizon as sailboats go by.

Discussion: La Paz was once rich in pearls. Expeditions financed by Hernán Cortés in the 1530s came back with tales of pearls worn by indigenous tribes, who also had an unfortunate tendency of attacking the intruders. Only 60 years later during a voyage by Sebastián Vizcaíno was he able to make peace with the locals, naming the area as the "Bay of Peace" or Bahia de La Paz.

Sustainable or Sick: The Growth of Loreto

2010-07-26T17:22:00.001-07:00

Sustainable or Sick: The Growth of Loreto

Location: Hotel San Carlos in Loreto, southern Baja, two blocks from the waterfront.

Conditions: Outside, the sun is shining, but I'm lying in my room feeling nauseous, suffering through my first stomach bug this trip.

Discussion: Imagine saying, "Honey, the water truck is coming!" Then your husband puts down the breakfast cereal and bolts out the door to catch the truck, waving money to indicate he is worth the driver's time. Pamela Bolles, a Loreto resident for 11 years, explained: "The truck used to come three times a week, now it's every 10 days, if we're lucky. We need to be on our toes to get water."

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Childhood Dreams in Playa El Coyote

2010-07-25T19:56:00.001-07:00

Childhood Dreams in Playa El Coyote

Location: Near the calm blue waters of Bahia Concepcion, an hour south of Mulege.

Conditions: Under the canopy of a few highly prized trees, sheltered from the hot sun, with just the slightest breeze over the water.

Discussion: I nudged Alyssum, saying, "You've got to see this." I had to interrupt my co-pilot's power nap to see the string of bays below us, shining in impossible colors. Each turn of the road winding along steep cliffs drew gasps. We finally chose our destination, Playa El Coyote.

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Are We Making Bigger Hurricanes

2010-07-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Are We Making Bigger Hurricanes?
In the south of Baja and mainland Mexico, summertime means tropical storms and hurricanes. In Mulegé, an unprecedented three floods occurred in four years, caused by rain-heavy hurricanes. People are claiming it is “global warming.” But is it?

After the 2005 record-breaking season of monsters like Katrina, Wilma, and Dennis, hurricanes became the poster child of climate change. An Inconvenient Truth’s image of a hurricane spewing out of a smoke stack seems to say: we are fueling our own self-destruction.

But I have to wonder, could my tailpipe emissions really create mega storms? Read More...

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The Great Floods of Mulegé

2010-07-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

A picturesque Baja town has been hammered repeatedly by the escalating tempo of flooding from tropical storms.

Location: At the river mouth in Mulegé, a town on the fourth largest oasis in Baja. The green river winds past palm trees before opening into the Sea of Cortéz.

Conditions: Humid with the buzz of crickets and mosquitoes. Bougainvilleas and trees filter the morning light.

Discussion: "The water was up to here," said Saul Davis, pointing above his head at a mark on the wall. "There was mud everywhere." Davis is the charismatic owner of a small market in Mulegé, a town completely flooded in September 2009 by Hurricane Jimena.

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The Wealth and Decline of Mangroves

2010-06-22T15:01:00.001-07:00

Location: An estuary near Punta Abreojos, on the Pacific coast of Baja.

Conditions: A full moon is rising to the east.

Discussion: The wind and dust were unrelenting. It had become an impish presence... Read more Photos

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Success of Vizcaino's Fishing Cooperatives

2010-06-19T08:01:00.001-07:00

Location: In Punta Abreojos, in the southern part of the Vizcaíno Peninsula, on the Pacific Coast of central Baja.
Conditions: The wind never stops. The car is dusty, inside and out.
Discussion: "No fishing today," said Daniel matter-of-factly, his pseudo-bloodshot eyes fixed on the ocean... Read more
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Whales and Angels in Marine Protected Areas

2010-06-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Mexico's Sea of Cortez has always had a wealth of whales, but even protected areas can't stave off other pressures on the leviathans.
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The Ghost Harbor at Santa Rosalillita

2010-06-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Foundering development plans for a yachters’ paradise in remote Baja have created opportunities for conservation groups.
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Cataviña and the Water Collecting Cacti

2010-06-06T16:24:00.001-07:00

A lush desert — there is such a thing — teaches the value of water management in an almost waterless environment.

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Observatories in a Remote National Park

2010-06-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

A fruitless ascent to collect climate data at an observatory teaches that not all lessons can be viewed through human prisms.
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San Quintin and Brackish Water Farming

2010-06-06T16:12:00.001-07:00

Salt water intrusion threatens coastal farmlands in Baja that supply strawberries and tomatoes to the US.
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Punta Cabras and a Shipwreck

2010-05-27T16:53:00.001-07:00

At least people can still get shipwrecked while fishing here.
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Meetings and ceviche in Ensenada

2010-05-20T13:26:00.001-07:00

In the bright lights of the big city, we learn that conservation of coastal resources uses the same words but has a different meaning.

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Waterfalls and Surprises

2010-05-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

El Hippo, the water horse, finds a waterfall in the dry and dusty Valle de Guadalupe.

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Vineyards in the Desert

2010-05-16T18:35:00.001-07:00

In the north of Baja California where grape vines are tended along the Ruta de Vino, population pressure is making water even more valuable.

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Clifftop Living in Northern Baja

2010-05-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

How might climate change affect homes and businesses built helter-skelter on a seaside cliff.

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Border Crime and Ecological Exodus

2010-05-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Predators dance around a wounded "El Hippo," but the vehicle manages to limp to safety in Rosarito.

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The Frontier and Two Countries

2010-05-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Voyage of the Kiri enters Mexico — at least the Tijuana watershed — before even leaving the U.S.

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A Water Exhibit and Aztec Art

2010-05-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

(from April 29, 2010)

"El Hippo" approaches the Mexican border but on the way south learns about the Aztecs and water in separate Los Angeles exhibitions.

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Voyage begins

2010-05-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

....we are enroute!! If you want to know where we are, and see the current blog posts, visit www.voyageofkiri.com

From now on, the voyage is being covered in a magazine, Miller McCune.

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The Final Touches at the Boatyard

2010-01-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

Even a few night times were spent grinding and sanding delaminated fiberglass...

Each of the three transoms (back part of the hulls) took a whole day to apply new fiberglass... and the big panel on the side.

Then applying filler to smooth it out took another few days... not a trivial amount of work.

After arduous sanding sessions (where every square foot of the boat sides and bottom were lightly sanded) we were finally we were ready to paint it. We were really realizing -- this is a big boat.

Thanks to our friends from ePaint for providing environmentally friendly bottom paint (the blue paint). Looks great! Bottom paint usually has a biocide like lead (not legal in California, still in use around the world) and copper. The biocide kills marine algae that likes to attach on the bottom of the boat, slowing you down and possibly compromising the hull, by leaching out into the water. This accumulates a great amount of metals in the water over time, particularly in an enclosed body of water such as a harbor. ePaint uses a zinc oxide and that behaves like hydrogen peroxide and is biodegradable and driven by the sun. Very cool.

It was with great happiness that the boat was placed back in the water. The next day we sailed back to Santa Barbara.

Below Water Work

2010-01-05T11:43:00.001-08:00

We weren't quite done with our Ventura Boatyard work!! A few more posts to go...

We got rid of the second toilet in the aft cabin. By doing so were able to plug two thru-hulls (holes that take-in or remove water from the boat, and could sink us if they fail). Two fewer holes in the boat is a good thing - we can live with just one toilet!

And more: the propeller and rudder - yet more "invisible" things below the waterline - had to be tackled.

Naturally this hit the end of our ability level and we hired the boatyard staff to help in exchange for 1 free layday. This opened up all kinds of doors - the yard guys were then much more willing to assist with all types of advice, gear loans, etc.

The propeller was tuned; cutlass bearing replaced; shaft aligned; prop key and nut squared up perfectly. Rudder bearing tightened, and all packing glands (prop and rudder shafts) redone to prevent leaking. Solid accomplishments!

Scenes from Ventura Harbor

2009-12-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

Ventura Harbor is a really lovely place - great restaurants and shops all around, neat commercial fishing vessels, a beach with good surf. We'd walk around in the mornings and evenings when we weren't working like crazy bees!

Fiberglassing: the skin of the boat

2009-12-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

After we finished the wood repairs, it was time for the "exoskeleton" of the boat - its fiberglass skin. Fiberglass comes as a cloth that can be cut with scissors, full of fibers that are bonded together when resin is added. We bought 30 yards of cloth (3 feet wide) for the job!

Why so much? Above the waterline, we used two layers of fiberglass, whereas below the water, we used between three and five layers. Each layer needs to be cut at increasing sizes so there is overlap and no "edge".

Doing flat sections like the port ama (side of the hull) was hard enough. The transoms took a lot of brain damage, until we figured out that we simply could not figure it out. Then we just decided to cut the cloth as we laid it on. Ed and Pat show off our attempts to "cut to fit" using tape to hold it in place.

Feeding the crew lunch. Delicious burritos courtesy of executive chef Alyssum.

After applying epoxy resin and multiple layers of cloth, the wood is sealed off and the skin is really tough. Many trimarans were built in this way (fiberglass over plywood) because it avoids the complications of a wood plank boat (by sealing the wood from the water), and is a lot cheaper (and lighter) than an all fiberglass boat.

The big downside is that resin used for fiberglassing is fairly toxic - certainly not eco friendly. However, it will last a really long time, if taken care of properly, which can justify the process. It is like drinking water out of stainless steel bottles instead of plastic disposable bottles - although the stainless steel takes a lot of energy to produce, if it is kept long enough, it far offsets the problems of disposable plastic. The trick is to keep the boat healthy (no delaminations or rot) so that the fiberglass can stay on for decades.

The crew at the end of the day... Ed, Trout, Jonathan, Sequoia, Dee, Alyssum, and Kristian.

The Fish Factory

2009-12-09T22:20:00.001-08:00

Everything is quiet until around 11pm... when a crazy din starts just outside, fish being unloaded from 80 foot commercial fishing vessels. Sucked out of their holds with big pipes, deposited in big blue bins, carted away by trucks: sardines, squid, etc. It's the fish factory right next to the boatyard, which we became intimately familiar with, sounds and smells.

I met one of the guys working there: Jose from Oaxaca. He was stoked we are headed to his home state. "Too many things to see in Oaxaca. You will like it very much." We had a good conversation at 2:30am one night, after I fell asleep too early exhausted from a day of sanding/fiberglassing. My hard work pales in comparison to Jose - he works 8 hours at the fish factory and another 6-8 hours at the boatyard.

After a few nights of the fish factory I didn't need earplugs anymore - I must have gotten used to it. I almost grew fond of it.

Wood work on the transoms

2009-12-09T22:11:00.001-08:00

I had no clue! Fixing the three transoms - the back part of the three hulls of a trimaran - was a huge job.
All three had delaminated fiberglass. On top of that, the port transom had deck rot and some funky wood on the sides, which we replaced. Garrett, our friend from Los Osos and aspiring world cruiser, drove down and spent 3 days with us tackling that repair. He maintained good cheer despite the nightly din from the local fish factory (more on that later!)

The main transom had considerable rot, which we removed and replaced with a brand new panel. Sequoia, our friend and director of OceansWatch, took it upon himself to fix the main transom. It took 1 week in all to prepare the hole, cut new 6 laminates of 1/4 inch marine plywood, along with doublers and knee joints; epoxy, screw, and bolt into the frame; and reinforce the area weakened by the old chainplates.

Why had all this damage occurred? Water had leaked in and transoms are notoriously bad at ventilating air. The leaking was due to poor deck fittings (cleats, rails) that were not well bedded with sealant. Also the chainplates for the mast rigging were inserted through the deck, creating opportunity for water intrusion. Now we're reconfiguring the chainplates to the outside of the hull, to keep water out (and keep them from corroding and weakening).

From destruction to construction: rebuilding the boat

2009-11-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

The first 3 days were about destruction. It's a bit stressful but also rejuvenating. Begone, compromised fiberglass and rotten wood! The piles of debris just kept getting taller, the holes bigger. The funny pessimists would walk by and say, "wow, you've got a lot of work cut out for you - haha!" Somber pragmatists would note, "stop making holes in your boat, if you want to get out of here..."

Everyone had an opinion on what we shouldn't be doing - which is less helpful that what we should be doing. The last trimaran at the yard ended up spending 6 weeks with a $60K bill - they found delaminating fiberglass, the boatyard recommended they remove it all, and they basically rebuilt the shell of the boat. Gulp! Can't go down that path.

The marine surveyor, Mike Pyzel, visited and said he was really impressed with our progress. "Things are shaping up nicely." Everyone seems to agree we are lucky, the problems are really minor.

Then came the Turning Point: we shifted from destruction to construction yesterday. The new pieces of wood were cut and glued with epoxy and fastened with new screws. It is exciting to see light at the end of the tunnel. We're spending more time than we hoped, but we're doing a really good job... and that is what matters for our floating seafaring home.

Haul out day 1 - ripping fiberglass off

2009-11-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

The first day hauled out, we got a ton of things done! The crew was awesome. We ripped off all the bad fiberglass that the surveyor identified. Delaminating sections were cut and eliminated without remorse..!

With the guidance of Sequoia, the OceansWatch executive director, we carved away by chisel, knife, grinder, and bare hand. Our friends Tim, Scotty, Jack, Luke, and Alyssum made the trek to Ventura to help. Many thanks!!

The result? The job is huge but appears manageable (thus far!). Some rotten wood was found in the back of the boat, but otherwise it is in great shape.

Our plan is to finish prepping the repair areas tomorrow, fiberglass on Monday, and see how things go...

Haul Out - boat in the air!

2009-11-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the haul out, 12pm Friday.

There was some debate over where to position the slings, whether the keel would be strong enough to support the boat, etc. but the boat proved even more sturdy than expected. The boatyard manager even gave us a compliment on the boat's stoutness. Miracle.

Now the boat is being pressure washed, and we are waiting around. The surveyor, Mike Pyzel, is coming soon and we will see what he thinks!

Calling all Hands!

2009-11-20T10:16:00.001-08:00

photos from sailing from Santa Barbara to Ventura yesterday, 10 knots west wind. The day before was blowing Santa Ana winds, gusty from the opposite direction. Glad the weather changed.

Finally we are hauling the boat out of the water today in Ventura. This is our first time and will be a huge factor in getting ready for the trip.

What we'll be doing--> finishing the marine survey... painting the bottom and sides... sanding... more sanding...

How you can help--> if you're in the area, come join us from Saturday through Wednesday (at least..!). Just call me at 805-259-8627. The boat will be hauled out at the Ventura Boatyard.

Why we need help-->
1) the trimaran is great, but it's like having 3 boats, so it's 3 times the work.
2) It's expensive to keep the boat out of the water, each day costs $126.
3) We'd like to finish by Thanksgiving to enjoy turkey dinner.

Keeping our fingers crossed all will work out, and stay within budget!

The big survey

2009-11-15T23:55:00.001-08:00

Finally we are carrying out the official marine survey on the Kiri... I pulled everything out of the boat so that our surveyor, Mike Pyzel, could climb in and see the nooks and crannies.

Good news to report: he was impressed with the quality of construction of the boat. It's in good shape, though it may be a bit rough cosmetically, was his assessment.

This week on Friday we are hauling out in Ventura - that is the real moment of truth! We'll complete the below-waterline survey, and do a number of tasks like re-painting the bottom, changing some fittings, etc.

Amigos Cruise

2009-11-15T23:44:00.000-08:00

On a last minute we decided to have a sunset cruise, and no less than 24 friends joined us! It was really an 'amigos cruise'. The boat handled the big crowd well, even had 4 people on the transom. The smooth conditions helped - another gorgeous November sailing day in Santa Barbara. And, we had enough life jackets for everyone, not to worry... :) We were having so much fun, we returned after dark.

Presidio wine tasting cruise

2009-11-15T23:30:00.001-08:00

Perfect breeze and sunset for the wine tasting with our friends from Sustainable Vine Wine Tours. They kindly donated wine from Presidio Winery in Santa Ynez, with delicious organic Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio, etc.. and led us through a good tasting (we minimized tacking the boat to avoid disrupting the experience!)

Check out their tours of the organic/biodynamic wineries of Santa Barbara on a biodiesel van: www.sustainablevine.com.

Article published

2009-10-29T08:04:00.001-07:00

Our exploits last weekend were actually published in a magazine article!

I wrote a story for a national popular science magazine called Miller McCune, describing our kayaking tribulations and the global climate day of action on a philosophical level.

Read it here:

http://www.miller-mccune.com/news/the-most-widespread-global-happening-ever-1574

Happy Climate Day

2009-10-24T11:05:00.001-07:00

October 24th, Climate Action Day around the globe. I'm enroute on the
boat to help out the kayakers. Decided to make a quick pit stop to
enjoy the waves in Isla Vista.

At Bren

2009-10-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Arriving at the old stomping grounds, the "Bren Cove". My anchorage
during grad school at the Bren School of Environmental Science and
Management. I'll be anchoring and then straight to a reception!

Heading to Goleta

2009-10-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

headin under sail with 10 knots wind to Goleta and UCSB for the
@350.org climate event!

Kiri and 350

2009-10-22T23:36:00.001-07:00

A few dozen students kayaking 4 miles roundtrip to oil platforms to take photos with a huge 3-5-0 banner... what is going on??

It's this Saturday, October 24th, the Climate Day of Action, with over 4000 events scheduled in 170 countries. The goal is to raise awareness to the number "350", which is the concentration of CO2 in parts per million that scientists have stipulated as "safe" for Earth's atmosphere. We are already at 387 ppm. Raising awareness about this threshold is important for the upcoming Copenhagen climate talks, in 6 weeks time.

That's where the kayakers come in. Several dozen students from EAB (the environmental affairs board, from UCSB) are doing the trek to the nearest oil platform, just 2 miles off the coast, to take a big group photo and contribute their voices to the global conversation. Their aim isn't to protest the oil platform; rather, they are just using it as a symbol for the changes we need to make as a society - one addicted to oil for fuel, packaging, fertilizers, and more.

The Kiri sailboat was recruited as the support vessel for the trip - we will be in the perimeter to make sure people have a safe haven to retreat to, if needed. We will be sailing there from Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon, anchoring at UCSB, and assisting the students starting at noon on Saturday.

Tune into the Kiri Twitterfeed which will be our main channel during these two next days.

Links:

Idea List: emerging

2009-10-21T12:42:00.001-07:00

Folks onboard the Kiri have had some good ideas for the trip. Here are a few:

To illustrate how a boat can be a microcosm of a sustainable farm, have onboard composting and a small container, garden for fresh veggies and herbs.
Recycling program setups for removing plastic bottles and other trash from shorelines. Organized thru schools, sponsored by soda manufacturers, recycling funds go towards schools.
Solar panels on board - chart output - show kids (+parents) what it can do (exposed and then covered?)
Get a camera (or cameras) for kids to take photos!
Check with Prescott college for Baja info. Prescott has a research station on the Gulf Side. Could be a good educational contact. What do you think? We will compile the best ideas, and then put it up for a vote - we will try to incorporate the winners in our trip.

Feel free to comment on the ideas and suggest your own.

One dirty filter

2009-10-19T14:11:00.001-07:00

Great things can happen on the way to/from the bathroom. Yesterday, ran into Alaskan commercial fisherman/ mechanic Jerry, who said, "sure I'll come by to check out your new boat".

Next thing you know, he was climbing in the engine compartment, just having a merry good time, "I used to have this exact engine in my boat in Alaska- run her slow and treat her well mate, she'll take you 30,000 miles. By the way, this fuel filter has to go right now." Now??

Ok, so we pulled it off, and it was absolutely nasty. Wow. The secondary filter wasn't too bad, but we got things back together in time for the evening sunset cruise, unbeknownst to our guests. And the Isuzu engine was lovin' the clean calories, i am sure.

Good lesson - don't wait for the supposed mechanic appointment next week, when things need to be done yesterday. Find your local friendly commercial fisherman and ask for help!

Hurricane Rick in Baja

2009-10-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

The "hurricane season" is supposed to last until mid-October... but it was still surprising to see a Category 5 in the Eastern Pacific right now. At sea, it was measured as the second strongest on record (285 kph winds), but it is making landfall in a much weakened state, thankfully. It is expected to hit Cabo San Lucas as a major storm or minor hurricane Tuesday/Wednesday, according to the LA Times. I wonder if this strong storm activity is a factor of the warm water in the eastern Pacific driven by the El Nino phenomenon? Or longer term shifts in our climate?

Visitors to the Raft

2009-10-15T16:58:00.001-07:00

They were just rocking back and forth with the swell for a whole hour... later I discovered they had left some presents in there for me. Poo!

Storm prep

2009-10-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

Monday morning, before going to work - hustling to beef up the anchor
gear. Not the ideal timing!

Windy night, poor sleep due to water slapping the hulls. The trimaran
is stable at anchor, as expected, but it is noisy, as it keeps lifting
and plunging back down like a kid on a see-saw by the pool's edge.

All courtesy of the south wind driven by the coming storm, which is
the real concern - and the harbor is still full. Once the Coast Guard
issues a "small craft advisory", being a Public harbor they allow
everyone in- but no advisory had yet been called. So there I was,
Monday morning, not so quickly setting up a shackle on the 45lb CQR
anchor with some stainless wire and pliers.

I was using a technique I had only read about, but hadn't ever tried -
connecting multiple anchors to one chain rode. I just read about it in
Moitessier's book, "A Sea Vagabond's World", so I figured it might
work for us too. I rowed away, always that uncertain feeling.

The rain did in fact dump, but the wind never came up bad- and a spot
opened up in the marina later in the day. So now we are cozy and front
row to the spectacle, next to the breakwater, with the waves crashing
on the other side.

Weekend Sunset Cruises at 4pm

2009-10-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

The first Sunset Cruise was so fun, we may just have to do cruises twice a week.

Saturday and Sunday at 4pm, leaving from the Santa Barbara Harbor.

RSVP to confirm availability: captain@voyageofkiri.com

$15-$25 suggested donation, local wines available for tasting.

First Sunset Cruise

Red tide

2009-10-10T23:35:00.001-07:00

The brightest phosphorescence I've EVER seen right now thanks to a Red Tide. During the day, the ocean has a somber magenta hue, with untold numbers of phytoplankton swimming outside the range of the visible eye. Dolphins are going nuts feeding on fish which are probably getting fat off the little critters.

The best part is that while rowing at night, wherever the oars touch the water, bright fluorescent green/turquoise sparkles and swirls like clouds dissipating. Motorboat coming towards us has a green "beard" in the bow wave. We jumped for a swim just to make the equivalent of snow angels in the water ..!

We've been anchored for the week, saving money on slip fees - since the program is currently broke. Our nonprofit status has not yet become official, so we haven't been able to take on funds as planned. Meanwhile the boat is thirsty for repairs and the credit card is maxing out. Such is the way of a grassroots expedition I suppose. We are hoping things will get squared away in a month - fingers crossed.

Coincidences on the Dock

2009-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

I swear, even when you isolate yourself on the end tie dock at the end of a harbor all weekend long, you can still run into funny coincidences -

Trout, a fellow docked next to me on a home-built one-of-a-kind catamaran, is heading to Kiribati of all places, inspiration for my trip name. He also wants to visit as it may be one of the first nations to fall off the map due to climate change and poor resource management.

Next to Trout is a gorgeous black ketch that turns out to be a home-built ship (also), from an Ingrid design. I recognized that name, and told the owner, "Funny, I saw an Ingrid ketch at the islands last weekend" That was the ketch with the couple we went hiking and tasted Prickly Pear cacti fruit together.

The captain's response was quick: "That's our sister ship from Winchester Bay! How's Ken doin'?" Ha! They were cruising down the coast separately and planned to rendezvous for the Baja Ha-ha race coming up.

These little coincidences are fun! Like life-affirming momentos of interconnection. About being in the right place/right time?

One thing is a fact.. this end tie has a beautiful view of sunrise, right on the edge of the breakwater, with the Wharf across the harbor mouth and the mountains in the distance.. awesome way to wake up every morning.

SB Independent features Kiri!

2009-10-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Returning from our maiden trip to the Channel Islands, a reporter from the local weekly magazine "Santa Barbara Independent" came by to visit the Kiri.

The Voyage was featured on the homepage of the Independent (it will be up for a short while) and article is here:

http://www.independent.com/news/2009/oct/05/sailing-adventure-teach-climate-science/

The writer did a great job and the last line captured it: "Beadle hopes the KIRI's voyage will create a dialogue between students of different cultures who share this coastline."

Right on!

Video: Dolphins in SB Channel

2009-10-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Dolphins in SB Channel from Voyage of Kiri on Vimeo.
Returning from the Channel Islands, dolphins paid us a visit.

Tsunami hitting California..??

2009-10-05T12:59:00.001-07:00

Photo of the damage in Samoa

It was 7:15pm when I showed up at a dinner party and was told a small tsunami might hit the harbor (where my boat was) at 9:11pm. What?!

The Samoan 8.0 earthquake/tsunami that wiped out villages was just 1.5 meters. It hit Hawaii at about half that size and was enroute to California at an estimated 0.6 meters. The Harbor Patrol seem unconcerned on the phone but my boat lay uninsured right next to the breakwater. Damage to itself or other boats is not in my budget. Even though the threat was low, they say an ounce of prevention is best..

so I scrambled rudely away from the dinner party and had the engine going at 8:56pm.
we were out of the harbor at 9:05pm
and lay anchored in 35 feet of water at 9:12pm

Did the tsunami go through? Apparently their effects can last 1.5 hours. But nay... this was a false alarm. For a natural catastrophe "drill", this was pretty night with stars and altogether enjoyable... here anyway.

...hearts go out to the islanders in the Samoa and nearby who lost their lives and homes. May lots of aid go their way!

Kiri Maiden Voyage day 3

2009-10-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

"You guys are the first under-50 year olds we've seen in days!" Colin and Kristin are crew aboard the S/V Allymar, 38ft ketch from Oregon - they are also in their late 20s, and paddled over to visit us. Appears that young people are in shortage at sea. They are "hitchhiking" their way to South America on yachts.

Together we hike up the hill, and experiment eating the famed Prickly Pear cactus, which has micro thorns that stick to one's tongue, as Colin discovered...

We depart the Coches anchorage around 2:30pm and set the autopilot east - this is a wonderful gadget, being able to set the course and carry out work around the boat.

4pm we round the last headland in the island, and we are in the Santa Barbara Channel, sailing on a close haul at 5 knots, which is great upwind performance for a trimaran - which is typically sluggish into the breeze (I think it's because of an extended keel on this boat).

Dolphins cruise our bow, the boat is effortless and stable. I love it. As the sun sets, we crank the motor and jam back to the harbor at 8.5 knots, pulling in a calm dark night at 8:30pm, for my first attempts at docking...

Kiri Maiden Voyage day 2

2009-10-05T12:16:00.001-07:00

First Stop: Surfing, 2-3ft south swell.

One other guy in the water, John, who I had met at this same spot 4 years ago. He was spending the night on his 18ft inflatable boat so we invited him over to the "Hotel Trimaran".

Second stop: Coches Prietos anchorage.

John came by and tied his boat up behind ours.. remarked on the trimaran's carpentry ("whoever built this boat actually knew how to build boats!") and for his good company he got the aft cabin, some Zinfandel, pizza, and a movie. Nice time all around!

Issues: Batteries

And finally-- we mustn't forget, this is after all a shakedown cruise... figuring out what "falls when we shake 'er up a bit". And we find the batteries are indeed dead - without the motor they simmer away quickly. The lights stay on for a few hours but the galley sink and main toilet flush are electric and take up too much juice. The engine starter battery is in a different circuit, so it stays fine. Some other minor issues popped up, but so far so good..

Kiri maiden voyage day 1

2009-10-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

'twas the time for the shakedown cruise...

We worked like crazy bats and still managed to cast off the lines only at 4pm on the Saturday. Still, some basic questions remained: Would the batteries work properly? Would the inverter run the fridge? heck, where was the GPS??

I bought extras of each at West Marine (just in case) and we zoomed out. Crew was Alyssum, nutricionist extra-ordinaire, who has spent several seasons in Alaska commercial fishing - a good person to have around.

We sailed upwind for a few hours but progress was slow. As evening closed in, and a fog bank rolled in, it got interesting. Particularly as the rowboat (that was being towed) suddenly plunged underwater and pretended to be a submarine. We hauled the confused vessel on deck with the help of the mast halyard. We motorsailed from then on at a brisk 8.5 knots.

With very poor visibilty, happiness is to have a radar. Even if we don't actually know how to use it (!) at least it provides psychological relief. We dropped anchor 2 hours after dark at Smuggler's Cove. Pulled out the lawn chairs and enjoyed from stars from the deck.

Success for the first day!

..and what about Southern California MPAs

2009-10-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

closer to home...

You can support the version of the SoCal MPA network (soon-to-be established) that you prefer by going to this link - just need your name and city.

The map shows an image of the Group 3 proposal, which has the most biodiversity conversation (although not nearly as much as the scientific panel recommended).

Still, it does retrict fishing livelihoods and lifestyle, and is controversial. But I suppose so did the National Parks 100 years ago, and now they are incredibly valuable.

Kiribati and Hawaiian MPAs join forces

2009-10-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

The two largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world have now joined forces as "sister sites". They are the areas in Kiribati and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and together they make up 25% of the world's total MPAs.

The Kiribati (Kee-ree-bas) site, established in 2008, is called the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and is about the size of California.

The Hawaiian site is called Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and is slightly smaller. They encompass about 300,000 square miles of ocean.

"Our sites provide ocean insurance for the Pacific against the depletion of marine life that has accelerated across the globe," said Tukabu Teroroko, director of the Phoenix Island Protected Area.

For more details see ENS.

Prop stress

2009-10-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

I spent a good 45 minutes toiling with the propeller, cold and frustrated while free diving, trying to make it fit on the shaft while holding my breath (in many ways). The sun was going down. I was losing the battle.

This was one of the big gambles when buying the boat - the prop didn't fit the shaft from the get go. The Valley Prop folks did an honest good job refurbishing it to fit - but I still couldn't get the damn little "key" to fit, which aligns the prop and the shaft. This could be a problem.

I despaired. In my cold miserable state I retreated to a nap under the blankets, then in a half-conscious state the answer came to me. The voice said: "Do it backwards. Make the key small, insert it first, then slide the prop in." Which is pretty weird, like putting a key in the doorway hole then installing the lock around it.

But the hacksaw came out. Cut the brass key, sanded it down a bit, dived back down and loved the fact that it worked. Great satisfaction. The maiden voyage was on.

The big move

2009-10-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Getting things ready for the maiden voyage on the trimaran!

had to pile everything from the old boat into big plastic bags and load up the van, but that was the easy part...

The rowboat also had to get moved from Santa Barbara to Oxnard, where the trimaran was..

and turns out it had a delightful colony of algae and crustaceans living on the bottom - which I had limited success scrubbing away with just the paddles onhand...

The rowboat actually folds up, this is what it looks like without the benches... (it's called a Porte-bote)

<-- And fully folded up.. then just had to jam it in the van (which ended up smelling like seaweed, but hey, only for an hour or two..)

Enroute to the new mothership~

Up on the Mast

2009-09-30T15:55:00.001-07:00

Was hanging 40 feet up in the air, drilling holes in the mast... a cluster of lines and tools in the bucket bouncing around. All for good cause- installing the mast steps so I can reach the mast head quickly. Some consider them a luxury, I think they are a necessity...

...especially because the halyards (which are used to raise/lower sails) have been jamming at times. So I fumbled with screws and sealant and electric drills while rushing against the sunset, which was both a sweet sight and a cause for concern, due to the impeding darkness. But the task got done in time for our maiden voyage out to the islands

Repair Chaos

2009-09-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Working hard to fix things before this weekend- hoping to leave Oxnard
(where the trimaran currently lives) and head to Santa Barbara (new
homeport). With a little stopover in the channel islands of course...
Always makes for a good "shakedown" opportunity :)

Cockpit is in total disarray with tools and fiberglass scattered about.

hasta luego Black Pearl

2009-09-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it was time to say good-bye to the Cal 30, as the Voyage of Kiri is upgrading to the new trimaran. We sold it to a motivated sailor from the San Luis Obispo area who wants to sail to Hawaii and beyond. I was stoked on his story and felt great about selling him the Black Pearl.

Many fond memories aboard the Cal 30, anchored at UCSB campus point while doing graduate school, rowing in to class, walking out to the beach at 11pm so many nights (sometimes during high tide!)... sailing to the islands and camping... dodging storms during winter time in East Beach... staying with friends when the going go rough (thanks scotty!)... too many blissful mornings to count with dolpins and sea lions cruising about. I loved being able to see the boat from both my office, the bathroom, and the stairwell as we went to class!

Some stories from the Black Pearl's days at campus point can be found here.

Many thanks to everyone. Hasta luego Black Pearl...

6 First Steps to Digging Holes in the Boat

2009-09-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

And here starts the work to bring the Trimaran to decent shape... one can't purchase any boat, much less one that was discounted at 1/4 its original value (!), and not expect to labor tirelessly. Particularly on a 43 foot boat that is 23 feet wide. Gulp-- I have to wonder if this is a bigger bite than I can chew. But try not to think too much! Just march onwards.

Step One - stock up on tools!
Blessed Home Depot had a special discount on electric tools - jigsaw, grinder, circular saw, new drill. At least makes me feel like I'm making progress... even if all I'm doing is spending money (so far).

Step Two - search and destroy

Check out the rot on the edge by the white wall, darker circle area. It is soft and rotting because the fiberglass on the deck cracked and let water in. The boat is made of marine plywood with fiberglass. As long as the fiberglass is sound, the plywood should be fine. But when it's not, it's time for surgery.

Step Three - Let 'er rip
It helps to have friends that know carpentry - thanks Kitts!! - or else I'd feel pretty insecure about digging holes in the boat. Keep digging until you can't find more rotten wood. To an extent of course..

Step Four - Clean up the wound
Nice square smooth wound allows us to cut a piece of wood to fit in the hole and then fiberglass over that. Still, it's never exactly level and smooth, so I'm still a bit confused how to keep the piece in place..? Ahh!

Step Five - Sand it more! and more!
This is another spot from a collision when hitting the dock. Tarp is to keep the fiberglass from going in the water. Quite uncomfortable position to work from. But dug it out and discovered there was only styrofoam below the fiberglass, no wood! But trimaran advisor said, go back and sand more. Dang it.

Step Six - Obsess about boat wakes going by

This was damage from some other boat hitting the corner of the trimaran, which is out on an end tie dock. Boats going by fast set off a wake and get it wet. Finally I set up the tarp here too but it is impossible when the crack is just 3 inches above the waterline..!

Conclusion
Ran out of time. Of course takes longer than planned. So there's plastic over the wounds and will fix next Monday. But:

Gives me renewed confidence in the boat's wood condition - these were the funkiest spots and they were just superficial a few inches.
And... my sinuses are not stoked with inhaling lots of fiberglass dust even with the face mask. Got to get a better one! And ear plugs too, noisy power tools they are!

Trimaran for the trip

2009-09-14T20:54:00.001-07:00

The Voyage of Kiri just got a major upgrade!!

We are replacing our humble 30 ft Cal with a spacious 43 ft Trimaran. With 3 hulls instead of 1, the trimaran is very stable and fast. It will be great for bringing people on board (including kids in port visits) and carrying gear. The Cal was a good boat, but limited in many regards. We are stoked!

The trimaran is in good shape overall. It does need a lot of cosmetic work and some mechanical work - which is why we were able to afford it in the first place... ;) Will require lots of "elbow grease"! It's bigger and more costly, but it will open up a lot of doors for exploration and research for Kiri in the future.

We motored during the sea trial and tri flew at 9 knots under power. Speed under sail is still to be discovered! Currently she's in Oxnard, we hope to get repairs done in the next 2-3 weeks to bring it back to Santa Barbara. Gulp. Time to roll up the sleeves (and bring out the credit card). More on that soon...

Specs:

43ft LOA (length overall)
21ft beam (wide)
4ft draft (depth)
Spruce mast and boom
Fiberglass/Wood construction
56 HP diesel engine
3 double bunks and 2 heads (toilets)
Radar, autopilot, depth sounder.
Tons of storage space

Hurricane Jimena

2009-09-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

Glad not to be sailing in southern Baja right now. Currently a category 3, "Jimena" should make landfall in the next 12 hours on the Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula. It may be the largest hurricane on record to hit Baja California Sur (the last big hurricane was in 1976) according to Bloomberg. Hurricane Katrina was also a category 3 when it made landfall in New Orleans. The brunt of the storm is expected to narrowly miss Cabo San Lucas but will probably make landfall further up the peninsula, in areas with vulnerable communities such as Bahia Magdalena, that Voyage of Kiri plans to visit.

5-15 inches of rain should bring mudslides and flooding, and winds are currently around 200 km/hour or 125 miles/hour. The images are from Wunderground, and show the likely track of the hurricane, the sea surface temperatures (red colors) driving the beast, the huge size of the storm on the satellite image, and a historical chart of September hurricanes in Baja. Only two made landfall, one in southern California; so this is not a common occurrence. Fingers crossed everyone stays safe!

Kiri team sail

2009-08-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday 85 degrees in Santa Barbara -- great day to be out on the water. Taking the team (or, those who could make it!) out for a sail as appreciation for the work during the last two months. The wind was light so we 'ghosted' along and went swimming midway... then had a good run back to the harbor.

Thanks to Allyson for fundraising work, Ed from Bicicentro for non-profit advice, and Andrea for helping write the trip plan! And friends who joined us...

Heater bye-bye

2009-08-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

A symbolic day in the retrofit of the sailboat: removed the cabin heater. I loved that thing - burned mini wood logs during the winter like a fireplace inside the cozy cabin.

But we won't be needing the heater in Mexico anytime soon! Planning on leaving by early December, before winter kicks in. So removed it, and now a skylight is left where the chimney went through. It would be neat to keep it as a skylight instead of sealing the hole.

Included a photo from the "archives" of the heater in use last winter...oh nostalgia. So now the sailboat retrofit has officially begun. Next steps are to make a hefty mount for the solar panels and a new cabinet for the electric switchboard. Know of any carpenters or electricians..?

Morning at Anchor

2009-08-25T11:03:00.001-07:00

Million$ dollar view over the water for free? No wonder there are a lot of liveaboard sailors in Santa Barbara, where 1 bedroom rent is typically $700+ per month and houses start at $700K. Anchoring is free, but it is the ocean...! With its delicate ways of wind and waves. When its beautiful and sunny like this morning, it's like heaven.

Plastiki

2009-08-24T16:35:00.001-07:00

These guys are building a catamaran out of reused plastic bottles (!!) and sailing to the Garbage Patch in the Pacific to raise awareness of waste/plastic in the oceans. Their site is incredibly beautiful and well done: www.theplastiki.com

It's put on by David de Rothschild with big sponsors, what kind of budget I wonder?? They used dry ice in the plastic bottles for stiffness and used some fancy tech to make the 60ft catamaran sea worthy.

I particularly liked the exercise bikes on the stern of the boat that can generate electricity and keep the crew fit, while looking down at the fish... I always thought having a hot tub on the boat would be the ultimate luxury but now I have to reconsider...

California's adaptation strategy

2009-08-23T19:02:00.001-07:00

This draft report fulfills Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order last November, to develop a plan to address the impacts of climate change. It looks at how our water should be managed, as the Sierra Nevada icepack is forecast to melt earlier every season; how our coastal resources should be managed, given expected increases in ocean acidification; and the need for property development on the coast to account for sea level rise.

The Name

2009-08-23T18:37:00.001-07:00

The KIRI is the sailboat for the trip, named in respect of the Pacific Islands of Kiribati, which are low-lying atolls already planning the evacuation of their population due to sea level rise and water scarcity. Although the effects of climate are less obvious in other places (particularly when we are more than 5 feet above sea level!), the situation in Kiribati reminds us to pay attention to managing our coastal resources wisely. Climate change is not the only issue of course; it just adds another layer of pressure to already strained resources, which will ultimately affect the health of our coastal communities.

Kiri and Copenhagen

2009-08-23T17:09:00.001-07:00

The Voyage of KIRI coincides with the United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen at the end of this year. Our aim is to raise awareness of the challenges faced by coastal areas, and bring this knowledge to students in our shared Pacific coastline.

The climate talks in Copenhagen will take place December 7-18, 2009. Their objective is a big one: to get global consensus on climate change policies (of which there are many levels!). Most people think of climate mitigation, that is reducing emissions by cutting down on greenhouse gases to a certain level. There is also climate adaptation, which is about the best strategies to adapt to a world with a different climate. The Voyage of Kiri focuses on climate adaptation of coastal areas, which are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, extreme weather conditions, and water scarcity.

The Voyage of Kiri is...

2009-08-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

... an educational program about climate adaptation and water issues, connecting students from Santa Barbara to southern Mexico through online international exchange. The program will take place from December '09 to May '10, visiting middle and high schools (13-18 year olds). In short, awesome adventure and cross-cultural environmental education!

Follow the Voyage

2009-08-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

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