The Ya is now on anchor in the Taiohae Bay of Nuku Hiva, Marqueasas. Every day when you walk along the shore, the waves splash against the sea wall. Often some refreshing drops come in your face. Nice.
Last blog told about smart turbines. But what about a cheap one? Then there is the Airloom. It is a bunch of blades running on a oval track.
The blades are 10 meter in length, mounted to a rail 20 meters high. The blades have a profile to let the wind make a lift power to forward and the blades move along the cable. The cable propels the generator and voila: there is the electricity.
The Test
It is tested with a 15 kiloWatt setup in Wyoming, USA. This is a small scale test, just for a 15 kW maximum yield. When extrapolated to a larger scale, it looks promising.
Comparison to the conventional 3 blade turbine
The disadvantage of the Airloom compared to the conventional three blade turbine is clear: the Airloom is build low, and there is much less wind.
But, you can put much more blades, and many more fields closer to each other, that per square surface you will get more yield.
The advantage is the price. Now, the estimates are that a kilowatthour generated by an Airloom would cost $ 0,13, whilst a conventional 3 blade generates our energy for $0,35 or more.
The cheap price is possible because of:
the low technology. The Airloom blades and construction can be built from normal materials, while the conventional blades and construction must be built from high tech carbon.
The transport costs. An Airloom construction for 10 MW fits in one container, while the transport of a conventional turbine, with its enormous blades, is a specialized job, sometimes taking a planning of one year ahead.
The maintenance is cheap. The materials cost not much, and especially the labour doesnot require any special efforts. The conventional 3 blade turbines on the contrary, require extreme costs, or it even can not be repaired.
The estetics, on land. Not much people like the 100 to 150 high wind turbines, dominating the horizon for many miles, of complete provinces. Many counties in the Netherlands have the policy to permit the enormous windturbines, just out of the necessity of power. If the Airlooms were built in stead, it would save a lot of horizon pollution.
Realization
Just now, there has been found a sponsor/investor to build a larger scale field. If this would work according to the expectations, it could be the future for windmills on land.
We will keep you posted.
You are interested to build a small one yourself? Check out here and see it running.
For more than two thousand years we use windmills, or windturbines. They all have a horizontal shaft, and nowadays they mostly have 3 blades.
These blades have a bended profile, so they make the wind bending and then slide along the profile. It is looks like the wings of an airplane and it works that way. The wind bends along the profile and that makes the wing go up, or the blade go round. They call this ‘lift’ power. It can work great, because, when the blade starts moving, it gets more wind by its own speed. The speed of the tip of a blade is always much higher than the true wind blowing. And, more wind speed along that blade means: more lift power. So more electricity.
Nowadays, windturbines are built even higher than 150 meter. The highest at this moment is even 270 meters (Maasvlakte turbine). One rotation with 4 Beaufort delivers the energy of one household!
These enormous windturbines are impressive, but expensive. .
With all forces in top of the mast, it means a heavy construction, with extrapolating costs on building and maintenance when you go higher.
Other disadvantages: * the blades can not handle wind direction changes. The yield lowers and there will be extra forces on the mast top. * in the downwind area of the strike of the enormous blades, the wind is disturbed. So you can’t place these turbines close to another, and you need a lot of space for a wind turbine field.
Vertical shaft
There are windturbines with a vertical shaft.
That would solve a lot of these problems: * the forces are evenly spread over the complete mast, which is the shaft itself. * Changes of wind direction have no influence at all. *You can put the alternator low. maintenance costs are low. * the downwind area of disturbance is very small, so you can put a lot of them in a dense area. * The building and maintenance costs for maintenance will be relatively low, with nearly all moving and electric parts on the lowest level.
But, there is a big ‘but’. First, these ones work not on lift, but generally on the resistance of the wind. Mr. Darrieus solved this a bit by inventing his windturbines
The smart windmill is the double windmill
Already for some decades, there are experiments in Japan with a smart principle: you make a double windmill, where one spins on the rotor (anchor) of the motor, and the other counter rotates and make the stator spin, the motor itself.
It leads to this principle, shown here under.
A next step is made by the Norwegian World Wide Wind, with the development of a double windturbine, light enough to float.
This turbine should deal with all disadvantages of the horizontal shaft windmill:
The construction is light and cheap; maintenance costs are low
No problems with wind direction changes
High density of turbines possible
They float so they can also be build in deeper seas
No need for hurricane stops, because the construction and profile make them self regulating
In about five years we will know if this is true, because then they should be operational.
The rate of ocean warming has almost doubled since 2005. In addition, more than a fifth of the world’s ocean surface will experience a severe heat wave in 2023, reports the European climate service Copernicus. The oceans, which cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, are an important regulator of the Earth’s climate. This week tropical storms killed 300 people in Nepal and 30 in the USA. Ocean sailors know that a seawater temperature of over 29 degrees Celsius is the main precondition for hurricanes. In August 2022, a record temperature of 29.2 degrees Celsius was measured in the coastal waters of the Balearic Islands.
Where did that lead for sailors? Here some films with the concrete consequenses of climate change this summer.
The irony here is that some guests on board of the superyacht belong to the richest of the world, who also create a relative big part of the climate change.
The phenomenon already has a name: Medicane.
What can you do?
Live in a small house
Use public transport instead of a car (electric or not).
Reduce your consumption and start at the source: protect yourself from advertisements and ‘social’ media.
Vote for a political party that dares to make regulations at European level, that makes the polluter pay. And with the associated law enforcement.
Your responds were great last week, so here another walk in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva. Again Pori and his musical friends sing, Every Friday morning you can find them from 7:30 to 10:00 under the tree next to Celine Magasin. The song is about the life here, I understood. So that inspired to make this movie.
Nuku Hiva is the central island of the Marquesas. Taoha’e is the central town. So this is the busy place. The life style here is a great example of sustainable living. It is shown in this movie. Enjoy.
Two pictures, taken in a week time. Both taken by Jean Luc, who did an awful lot of care the last week. From reanchoring t the Ya to bring me up and down in his dinghy to shore. The last thing he did that so many times, but from now on Peter can do it alone. Lool at the last picture, to the right, with two paddles and our kayak on the background.
Peter, with his sore back and with his bungee belt on, can get the kayak himself from the Ya to this place, just on the side of the quai. With a line along the shore, with two wheels, with the use of the waves, and with some creativity.
Check it out here in this movie.
We bought this kayak because of its sustainability. Its length and its little weight and wind drag make it easy to make speed with only the paddles, so you don’t need an engine.
A dinghy would be way to heavy to hold. The engine would make the entry to the ramp impossible. Moving or lifting such thing would be way to much weight for a sore back. But this kayak has all you want: no engine, and so light that even with a freshly broken vertebra it is a handy thing.
A hurray for the kayak, for this sustainable solution!
We were in the bay of Fatu Hiva, a little island with 300 souls. Let’s sum it up Murphy’s results since he was on boardwere:
It is the 4th day that Peter lies with an injured back on his bunk.
Our main anchor did not hold and then hooked up a heavy thing, (like a big crab cage?), to heavy for the anchor motor to lift.
Our anchor battery has been pushed too hard and it is presumeably dead. We did a reconditioning programme, but Peter guessed it could have too little stamina to deliver the necessary energy to the anchor chain motor.
We are on our second anchor, on a long rope. The rope could chafe on a rock and finally break, so it is a temporary solution.
Or temporary anchor place was OK, but the wind turned and pushed Ya pretty close to the rocks.
Inge does all the work: cooking, anchor watch, deckwork, and nursing Peter, and that is too much.
Only Inge can move to clear the anchor from that heavy thing, but that needs a pretty technical skill and a fresh mind, no room for mistakes, and some hours of work.
A fellow sailor
In the early morning Inge heard something strange slipping on the uncleared anchor. Kg, kggg, kgggggg, kgrrrrrrr, KLOINK and then nothing anymore. Was that the big thing slipping off the anchor? Inge simply tried if the anchor winch could lift the anchor now. Yes! Slowly but surely the anchor came up. Great, we could take in the second anchor and go for anchoring with our main anchor again!
Inge just started preparing , when a dinghy passed by, with people from another boat: Adrien, Marine and Lionel. They’re on their way to a diving spot. Inge briefly outlined our situation and they said that on their neighbour yacht, there is a doctor on board. A French GP. After their dive they will tell him about Peter’s back; perhaps he pays a visit.
A second dinghy passed with one man, Jean Charles is his name. He offered to help and we could use that. Peter made his way to the engine throddles, Jean Francois pulled in the anchor line, Inge did the other things. We dropped the main anchor closed to Jean Francois’ boat, just where the depth went from 15 meter to 30 meter. It appeared to hold well.
The doctor
Next day, when the wind picked up, the doctor arrived. Alain did the anamnesis with Peter. What he could diagnose was the risk that some vertebra was seriously hit. Peter asked: “Well, here is no medical service whatsoever, so what about sailing with Ya to Nuku Hiva? There is a little hospital with facilities”. Alain responded that any sailing, even an odd move, could damage Peter’s back and he might end up in a wheelchair. To put more stress to this answer, some strong gusts hit the Ya. Alain called a neurologist in Tahiti and in a 10 minute conversation they discussed the possibilities. Meanwhile, more gusts hit the Ya.
5 fellow sailors
Alain just ended the call and again some knocks on the Ya. It is Adrien, Marine et Lionel: “Your boat is moving, it is from its anchor!” Indeed, we were drifting out of the bay, towards the ocean. Time for action right now.
We needed all hands on deck. Marine took the helm, Inge did the engine controls, Adrien and Lionel pulled in the heavy 10 mm anchor chain by hand, because the anchor battery was dead in half a minute. Peter did all the yelling from his bunk: “Go to there and you find this, and you, there you find that!” Meanwhile, Alain (the doctor) exchanged the anchor battery for the spare one.
A next fellow sailor arrived, It was Jean Luc, a free diver. He knew the bottom well and went in his dinghy to point out the best anchor spot.
Within an hour the Ya was anchored again, Jean Luc free dived straight to the anchor on 25 meter deep. He reported back, : “No worries Peter. Although it is deep here, the anchor is dug deep in excellent anchor soil on a great plateau. With your long anchor chain, it will definitely hold, you can leave your ship without any worry.””
A nurse, six fishermen, a stretcher, a pilot and an anesthesist
Meanwhile, the specialist in Tahiti already activated Peter’s transport. Our fellow sailors were just leaving when a fisherman boat already rafted up the Ya. A nurse embarked with 6 strong Marquesian fishermen and a stretcher. They took Peter from the Ya into their boat. his team is too strong and Murphy had no chance to mess about. In the harbour Peter was put up a pickup truck and we went to the soccerfield. There the trauma helicopter landed. Peter was slided in. And a seat for Inge, with a bag of luggage she grabbed in a hurry, and that proved to be exactly what we would need the next days. It was a 150 mile (250 km) flight. Inge had a great view. Peter, on his stretscher at the bottom of the heli, just had pain. But on the end of the ride he was well drugged. When the pilot asked if he was still allright, Peter could say: “Couldn’t do better. But, it would be nice for my wife if you could fly an extra tour around the beautiful island of Nuku Hiva.”
In the next film you can see the whole trip from the boat to the hospital (it includes some blackouts, sorry, caused by the circumstances).
The hospital team
The hospital team in Nuku Hiva was ready and prepared. Peter was put in the radio scanner tunnel. That machine delivered a great slide slow, if you are a doctor. The specialist, still in shorts and T-shirt, showed one picture and told that the a little bone on the Lumbal vertebra #1 was broken. Fortunately, it was not displaced, so no surgery necessary.
Peter stayed for observation in this very friendly hospital, where you still can see that ‘hospital’ has its origin in the word hospitality. Inge could sleep in the same room – a great relief for her, for us.
Peter and Inge stayed here for 3 days. A great time to think these days all over. In general, a responsible sailor does a lot to cut down the risks. However, once Murphy is on board on his chosen time and place and keeps on going, you , despite precautions, despite redundancies.
But, when fellow sailors pop up to help you, Murphy gets in trouble. And, when they start working as a team, till the very detail, Murphy looses. The warmhearted help from fellow sailors, is way too hot for him – he flies away with his tail behind his legs.
Fellow sailor Jean Luc
Jean-Luc called. He offered to keep an eye and take care for Ya. “Anything I can check on board Ya now, Peter?”
August 7, still night, the wind suddenly shifted to the North, more against us. So a t 7 o’clock, with changing of the watch, we started the sail change. Peter furled in the outerjib. The furling line slipped, a wave bumped the Ya, making Peter slip, and fall. Unfortunately, he fell with his back exactly on a corner. A burning pain. He stood up, tried to pull the furling line again, again a flaming pain hit in his back. A bit dizzy he held himself to the pole in the cockpit and slowly went down. In a final effort he crawled on his knees all the way to his bunk and went lying on his belly, the least painful position,
Peter was out of service. Inge took over.
And Inge did take over! We were 250 miles from the nearest island. Inge furled in the outerjib, she reefed. Inge cooked. Inge nursed Peter, for every bit, with meals and drinks with a straw because Peter couldnot even lift his head to drink or eat.
Heroin Inge, suffering Peter
Despite the predictions, the wind turned really against. Inge tacked, unreefed, reefed later, she hoisted the mizzen. She even lowered the complete furled outerjib ant stowed it away- normally a job for two persons. On this beating course, the waves put the Ya up and down, including Peter and his sore back. It did not help the healing for sure. For three days Inge slept with the electronic ships alarm on. She navigated us all the way to the bay of Hanavave, Fatu Hiva, the remotest island of the remote Marquesas islands.
Anchoring with Murphy
We entered the bay by night. There, the water was flat, so Peter went on his feet. Very carefully, it took him an extra gram of Ibuprofen an half an hour to make the 3 meters to the cockpit. Now he could check the radar and handle the motor throddle. Inge could lower the sails. We were not lucky, there were 12 boats in this little bay. It took half an hour to find a place for us to drop the anchor.
The anchor did not hold. Finally we lifted it. There was a heavy thing on it. Anchor unclear. Shit. For sure Murphy was on board. Inge pushed the anchorwinch button, but it simply stopped, it was to heavy. We ended up between the other anchored yachts. Peter could find the way out. Meanwhile Peter instructed Inge to get the second anchor and make it ready. That was an anchor without a chain. We would drop the anchor on a deeper spot, so we needed our 200 meter line to secure the holding.
We anchored again, closer to the side of the bay. The line we had to let go was 120 meter. We gave 150, to be very shure. On this place the anchor was holding well. We were happy, and Peter was already for 3 hours on his feet and went straight to his bed.
A night with Murphy
Every boat swings a bit behind its anchor. Also the Ya swinged, and with that long line it swinged pretty much. The wind changed a bit and that made the Ya come very close to the side of the bay. That close, that Inge could even see in the night the waves hitting the pointy rocks. So Inge went looking. She shortened the anchor line. That helped a little bit.
A day with Murphy.
At first light in the morning the the wind changed again. Again Ya went close to the pointed rocks. What to do? Peter has to stay in bed, Inge was tired, and had pretty much work on just cooking, the infirmary and cleaning up the mess a bit. Also the anchor battery was completely empty of all the hassles, and perhaps even damaged. So we’d better set that on a reconditioning program this day and night. Actually, we decided only act, when there is a direct emergency that we hit these luring sharp rocks. So Inge only prepared the kayak to blow up. Then, it was already evening.
Another night with Murphy
Sometimes Inge woke up, looked out of the window and saw only a huge wall. That was the side of that bay. With the waves turning in to shiny foam on the pointy rocks. At night you hardly see distance so for Inge it looked like it was just some meters away, so she jumped out of bed. This way she passed the night.
Peter was already recovering a bit, but hat means nothing more than that he could drink without a straw in his bed. Inge was the only one able to do something, but with the continuous workload and the many lacks of sleep in the night, she simply cannot do everything.
Will it be another day with Murphy? How will this end?
To be continued next week. Teaser: even a helicopter is involved.
Anna and Stig invited us aboard Ziganka III and told us all about how they love sailing and visiting places that are off the beaten track, like Gambier. We both love slow sailing.
We discussed how COVID influenced our decisions to embark on our journeys differently. Anna and Stig postponed their trip to July 2022. During COVID, Anna wrote a truly beautiful book on vegan cooking.
Anna and Stig on board of Ziganka III. Anna proudly shows her cookbook over a great vegan lasagna
Anna’s first cookbook: Vegan cuisine of the Alpes
Being a real sportswoman who loves hiking, cycling and climbing, she dedicated the book to the traditional cuisine of the Alpes. She turned her 100 favorite dishes into new classics: the vegan version. Stig was happy to be her guinnee pig, so all recipes are tested on live human beings and all the pictures in the book are of real food, in their kitchen in Munich.
Before visiting Ziganka III, we went to Tauna Beach to watch the sunset
On board of Ziganka III she explains that it is relatively easy to replace basic recipes with vegan options. And, if you do that, you can always add non-vegan ingredients for vegetarians or flexitarians. The pictures in the book look appetizing and invite you to explore this new way of cooking. A great accomplishment!
A second cookbook
After Anna and Stig set sail in 2022, she started working on her second cookbook. However, this time she wrote it together with her colleague and friend Lena Reichgardt. Lena was at the time training for the Ironman in Hawaii. The theme of the book: Vegan Sports Cuisine. In the book, they introduce the reader to recipes that make it possible to train hard and still get enough protein and all the other nutrients. Just so you know: Lena Reichgardt finished the Ironman in Hawaii 2023, on a vegan diet.
The cover of Anna’s second cookbook: even tough sports are possible on a vegan diet
Towards vegan cooking
Anna gave us some tips for introducing vegan elements in our lifestyle:
Use whole products like nuts, grains, seeds, fruit, veggies, beans etc.
Add enough fat use avocado, nuts, coconutmilk, olive oil etc.
Add enough flavor to your dishes. Depending on the dish you can think of green herbs, capers, dried tomatoes, dried mushrooms, smoked paprika powder, yeast flakes, miso, lemon, jalapeño, garlic,harissa, tahini, mint, kimchi.
And if you go ‘all vegan’ you need to watch your B12; supplements are easily availably around the world, even in toothpaste.