An Island Away, Excerpt 4

Below is the 4th Excerpt from my novel, An Island Away. Captain Beck has survived the sinking of his tug, Patricia, and has been adrift for several days… page 45 …

When he first saw land, Beck had thought it was an illusion. It was dawn, and a mile or two in the distance he perceived what seemed to be cliffs. They stood above the sea, brown blotches with streaks of black among them. He stared with his itchy eyeballs for what felt like hours. When the cliffs grew bigger, he realized they were real.

He felt a smile crack the skin of his lips. He was close enough to swim for land. His muscles cramped, but he couldn’t scream through his parched throat. Thankfully, his life preserver kept him afloat, or he would have sunk to the bottom like a rag-covered stone.

The wind lent him its assistance. It pushed him in the general direction of the cliffs. The waves steepened as they approached more shallow waters that led to dry land. As his body hopped along with the waves, he did his best to steer toward shore. 

Late in the afternoon, he was close enough to see the surf pour over the rocks. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he wasn’t sure, but the currents pushed him parallel to the boulders. He heard the noise of rocks blunting the ocean. He saw birds playing in the updrafts at the edge of the cliffs. What he did not see was an appealing beach on which he could land safely. Those rocks would have shredded a man in excellent condition. After a week at sea, he would have felt only the first blow.

In the final light of the day, he realized he was passing by the tip of an island. It had to be Aruba because Curaçao had a lighthouse at its southern tip and Aruba did not. There was a beach in the distance, but it was tucked behind that fringe of nasty rocks. He drifted along, unable to swim against the current. Salvation had come and now it was going. The devil was laughing into the wind. He could hear his cackle echoing over the deserted beach.

Published in: on July 28, 2008 at 5:09 pm  Comments (1)  
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What A Letter!

Here is a photo of a framed letter that hangs in Charlie’s Bar, San Nicolaas, Aruba. This letter is one of the most amazing documents I’ve seen over the years. Tells you just how memorable a place can be. Enlarge the photo by clicking on it, and discover what this man has to say.

Imagine being a sixteen-year-old merchant mariner, ending up in a place like Aruba several times during wartime. Amazing. This is the stuff great stories are made of and is one of the reasons why I like San Nicolaas, specifically, and Aruba in general. It is a crossroads. A small place, but also an important one at times, as it was in the Second World War.

And the weather is pretty nice, too.

Published in: on July 25, 2008 at 10:58 am  Comments (1)  
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Charlie’s Bar, Book Signing Event

Wow! What a turnout for the official launch of my novel, An Island Away. There was only one place where this could be held, Charlie’s Bar, Main Street San Nicolaas. I want to start by thanking Charlito (aka Charles III, that is Charlie, Jr.’s son) and Mr. Speziale for making the event a huge success. The bar had to be rearranged a bit, a steel band brought in, and everyone pitched in to get things ready. By 11:00 am people were literally waiting for the bar to open, even though things weren’t scheduled to begin until 12:30. The doors opened at 11:30 and the party began. Here are a few photos:

That’s Mr. Speziale and I, just before things got crazy. And here’s how people lined up.

I’m signing on a table we put on Main Street so there would be room for more people in the bar. In the photo above is my friend from college and her mother. Like so many people who love Aruba, they visit the island at least once a year. Then there was this lady, who reminded me of a character from the book, but she insists it wasn’t her.

It was tons of fun to meet people who have heard about the book and wanted an official “Aruba” copy. I want everyone to know I sincerely appreciate their support and look forward to hearing from all of you about the story. Yes, I am working on the sequel (with brief breaks to hang out at Charlie’s). Here’s a look at the band.

Their music kept everyone entertained. And here’s a few random shots of me with some readers.

One more for the fun of it.

You can find more photos and details on my website, http://www.danielputkowski.com, under the news heading. Or you can simply click HERE (yes, on the word “HERE”). Once again, many thanks to everyone for coming to Charlie’s as well as the staff at the bar who did a yoeman’s job of keeping everyone happy. I can’t wait to do this again. Don’t forget to email your comments about the book to my website.

Published in: on July 24, 2008 at 12:24 pm  Comments (3)  
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Island Wind Power, Part 1

I am optimistically titling this post Island Wind Power, Part 1, because I hope to post numerous more times on this subject. Here in Aruba, the trade winds blow just short of constantly. They range from a breeze of about 5 knots to a steady cracking of 30 at times. Nonetheless, the island currently relies on an oil fired electricity plant. Part of this plant has boilers and turbines, the other part is giant reciprocating units (think big diesel engines). To me, this is outrageously foolish. (There is a plan to investigate a wind farm here but it’s moving slower than backwards.)

Anyway, some people have put up small wind mills to generate electricity for their domestic needs. The unit shown below doesn’t look like much, but it is probably in the 500 watt class.

 I’ve seen a bunch of these go up in the last six months. With the price of fuel, it’s no wonder there aren’t more. So, just how much power can this unit provide? Given that the wind in Aruba is steady and strong, the unit probably runs at 90% of it’s output about 80% of the time. Thus, we’re talking about 72% of 500 watts or 360 watts at any given time. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? Well, consider that this is 24 hours a day. (I know it’s an assumption so don’t remind me how this may be inaccurate. We’re making an example to illustrate the point for discussion. Okay?) Then, 360 watts times 24 hours equals 8,640 watts per day. What will that do for your electric bill? Here in Aruba, it will do a lot. That is enough power to run one of my air conditioners about four hours a day which is all I run it in the first place. Given that air conditioning is the single biggest user of power in my house here, it would reduce my electric bill by a significant amount thereby giving me a handsome return on the investment for the wind turbine, and protection against future price increases.

If your eyes haven’t glazed over yet, let me say I’m cutting the cable now so as not to bore you to tears. These posts will take a look at how a system can be put together, one piece at a time, and supply virtually all of a home’s electricity needs off the grid. In Aruba, there is foolish talk that if you put up a windmill the electric company will cut you off the grid. Not true. The electric company does not want your system CONNECTED to the grid and at present this is a good thing. In the first place it is a safety issue to protect the linesmen who must work on the transmission cables. Secondly, every Tom, Dick, and Harry, dumping power into the grid without a standard is bad for the grid. Therefore, as long as your system is COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT of the grid, you’re okay. They will send you a nasty letter, and after your lawyer sends a nasty one back with verification that you’re not connected the story ends there.

But our energy alternatives will continue here, hopefully, because I love the idea of making a reasonable investment, getting a great return, and protecting the environment in the mean time. Power on!

Published in: on July 24, 2008 at 11:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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