Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Numbers...

9 people + 2 bathrooms = chaos in the morning

7 men + 2 women = a ratio that is worse than Virginia Tech's

9,10,11 people / 8 seats in our van = .7272727% of a seat reserved per person or 0.36363% of a seat per butt cheek

6 day work week - 1 day off = 5 days of work your body didn't get to recover from

1 Night off / 1 Night out = Every Sunday being a LAZY sunday...

114'ft boat / 9 workers = 12.666'ft we are each in charge of getting ready for our trip (sounds easy enough right?)

24 hours in a day - (10 hours at work + 8 hours sleeping) = 6 hours of each day to be used wisely.


Why do we do it, you ask? We can tell you when it's finished... Right now, it isn't so clear.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Mir a culous!!!

So where did the name "Mir" originate?

Mir (Russian: Мир; lit. Peace or World) was a Soviet (and later Russian) space station. Additionally, Mira in Sanskrit means ocean or sea. Miras in Latin means (wonderment) and mirari (to wonder), mirar or mirer (to look) in Spanish and French, mirror (to reflect) in English, miru (to watch or look at) in Japanese.

Mir was the world's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space. Our Mir, will not be the world's first consistently inhabited long-term research boat on the water. But, it very easily could be the first time in many years that French, British, and Americans successfully worked together for a selfless common goal (with help from a pair of Belgians).

Many lucky children are given names that miraculously just seem to fit. Luckier children grow into their names and the two continue to evolve simultaneously. Mir's presence is slowly rising from the rust and rubble that once was Marilou. Nothing has come easy. Every task has had its own set of unique challenges. However, Mir cannot yet be a case study proving Murphy's law to be true. I believe Mir is the correct name for the upcoming stage of our boat's life for many reasons. For example, Mir fits because of the pieces of the world that are represented and will be represented on-board the vessel. More importantly, every port where it docks and every wave it glides past will make its impression on what we see and know to be Mir.

A combined interest in the relationships between various communities and a sense of global conservation drive PCRF leaders Mark Van Thillo (Laser) and Abigail Alling (Gaie). Gaie and Laser are a tireless duo who have managed to put together a team whose skills compliment their own and complete our PCRF family.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Marilou to Mir

Planetary Coral Reef Foundation Bio:

Our Vision is to stop the destruction of the world's coral reefs by 2020 and restore their beauty, health and abundance within this century. The Planetary Coral Reef Foundation (PCRF) was founded in 1991 to address the coral reef crisis. Since its inception, PCRF has pursued an unprecedented global mission to preserve coral reefs through innovative programs in science, education and technology.

A short description of what we are doing here in Malta: The boat we are refitting is a 114'ft, 100 year old classic Dutch yacht. There is ample space for science, diving, film and community outreach programs. The vessel will be based in Singapore during its work throughout Southeast Asia. Once in Southeast Asia, we will use the boat for mapping and monitoring remote coral reefs, marine conservation programs, skill-based training and education-outreach youth leadership programs. Additionally, we will continue work on our two marine conservation projects in Indonesia. One is a long-term program to protect endangered sea turtles and the other is to monitor and protect the coral reefs that lie within Bali's Barat National Park.