Our return to the Tuvalu outer islands this
time is aboard the MV Baldur, an ex-livestock carrier which was in use for a
number of years ferrying cattle and sheep to and from the Chatham Islands off
New Zealand. She is one of the few locally owned and operated vessels available
to charter and, while smaller than the Komaiwai, has enough freight carrying
capacity to be useful moving teams, tools and equipment going forward.
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| MV Baldur |
We are still lowest on the priority list
for access to the wharf. Finally on Thursday afternoon we are able to bring her
up alongside and begin loading replacement cement for Vaitupu, our tools and
spare equipment for Nanumea. It is a struggle to get access to the port
forklifts and our cargo is strewn all over the port. The forklift driver asks
Shane which flat rack we need loaded and he points to the one buried seven
deep. Suddenly the forklift is out of fuel and its smoko time. He disappears
and we hope he is coming back.
He does. And by 3am Friday morning, we have
loaded as much gear as we can, having to leave behind 3 flat racks of cement
for the ship to collect on return through Funafuti for Vaitupu. We rush back to
our accommodation, shower, decamp and our generous landlord Pita delivers us
and our trailer load of gear to the port. By 4am the hammocks are up and we’re
all fast asleep while stevedores keep loading food supplies which we’ve offered
to transport for local stores on Nanumea. We are hoping this earns us a few
credits and some leverage when we ask to keep unloading on Sunday (Church day).
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| Sleeping quarters on the Baldur |
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| Arrival Nanumea and loading the whale boats |
We arrive Nanumea about 9:30am Saturday
morning and the first task is to unload the whale boats which will be used to
transport cargo through the narrow channel into the lagoon. With a 1-2m swell
rolling the ship, even this is a wild affair and we’re all apprehensive about
whether we’ll be able to unload gear at all. The crew are optimistic and
familiar with local conditions. The smaller whale boats are more manoeuvrable
in the channel entrance than the larger lighters which were being used by the
Komaiwai. Even then, waves are breaking in the channel entrance and the pilots
have to time their move. I decide to wear my lifejacket… just in case.
Saturday and Sunday are spent unloading our
tools and spares and then loading the McConnell Dowell tools which need to be
returned to Vaitupu for completion of the array foundations there. We spend
another half day sorting through damaged food crates and salvaging what we can.
We’ve now consolidated the food crates from 3 islands (Vaitupu leftovers,
Nanumea and Nanumaga). There were some very happy and well-fed rats living in
the Nanumea food crate. And now some very happy and well-fed pigs gorging
themselves on creamed rice, tinned peaches and muesli bars.
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| Salvaging what we can from the Nanumea food crate |
Supplemented with some fresh supplies from
Funafuti (eggs, onions, potatoes and cabbage) I am sure we will have enough to
keep us going here and to carry forward to Nanumaga. Especially if we can
source another 20kg tuna.
And it’s not just our food which has been
affected by the project delays and harsh conditions. All of our equipment has
now been sitting on the wharf and out in the sun for up to 6 months and much of
the waterproofing has disintegrated. Cardboard is a perfect rat nesting
material and mould flourishes in moist, dark places. The gear shifting,
unpacking, cleaning and repairing process is now a significant part of our
work. We have brought some spares with us, borrowed from the Niutao equipment
which was still in Funafuti. As we begin to put everything together it will
become evident what damage is likely to affect completion of the system and we
will make plans for any additional equipment or works.
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| Rats nesting in the battery rack boxes |
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| Washing all the workers t-shirts which smelled of mould after 6 months |
Despite these challenges, work started on
site Tuesday with our team of 10 local workers and progress has been fast.
Array cabling is almost complete, inverters are mounted, 6 out of 10 battery
racks are in place and loaded and work will begin on array framing construction
Monday. It’s going to be a busy few weeks but we’re all just pleased to be
working again and seeing some progress.
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| Eagle-eye view of the site, new powerhouse and generator building |
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| Inverter room well underway |
Meanwhile, in our evenings we’ve been
bringing out the new toy which we brought with us this time – a quadcopter. The
kids have very quickly worked out what it is and what it does. Their smiling
faces remind us to forget about work for a few minutes and launch ourselves off
the wharf into the water. None of us are sure how long we’ll be out here this
time so these moments are very special.
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| Piloting the quadcopter with an audience |
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| Afternoon shenanigans at the wharf |
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| Island sunset |
