26th September by Christina:
Wow! We had a lot of wind last night, up to 50kn. Pachamama was tied up well at the dock, nevertheless we had a rocking night and the swell managed to snap a 1 inch mooring line with a spectra core (26 mm). Nature is always stronger, than we are!
This morning Dario gave a presentation at the all-grade school here in Makkovik and we did a clean-up with the kids around the school. Sabine and Christina did a workshop for the Climate Solution Drawing Contest. What a nice school! Thank you for having us..
We invited part of the school to the boat. Our kids explained them how our solar angels and wind mills work. Dario traced them some navigation skills and safety on board.
Later on we had lunch in Jodie’s house, a nice lady from town that helped us organize things. She told us about the Muskrat Falls project and her concerns. The local people don’t get any money nor electricity from that project and they are worried about their health.
The project includes the construction of an 824 megawatt hydroelectric dam on the lower Churchill river, near Goose Bay in Labrador. The constructions began 2013. Full power from Muskat Falls to the island of Newfoundland and on to Nova Scotia through subsea cables is expected in mid-2020. The reservoir will be 59km long with an area of 101 km². The area of inundated land will be 41 km² at full supply level.
But as Jodie said, the local people have their concerns with the construction of that dam. The Lake Melville Scientific Report is a study by experts in Canada and the United States on how methylmercury will affect Inuit who rely on lake Melville for food. The study found there will be a “sharp increase” in methylmercury production in the Muskrat Falls reservoir immediately after it is flooded and those levels will remain high for decades. Nalcor, the energy corporation has only committed to partial clearing of the wood, brush, vegetation and topsoil. As this organic material breaks down, it will create higher level of methylmercury, which is then ingested by marine life. Methylmercury is proven to be toxic to a human’s central nervous system. Nalcor downplays this study. But the Inuit leaders want them to clear all the trees, brush and other organic material from the reservoir site. We hope they will find a good solution.
Thank you Jodie for all your help.
Gofundme link:
https://www.gofundme.com/2gb7d6c
Donations: http://www.toptotop.org/bank.php
Voyage link:
https://share.delorme.com/ChristinaHartmann
Best high resolution pictures:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s0aorug11707501/AAC394QkszKupn4syRj2EyMpa/best%20pics%20of%20TOPtoTOP/2016-annual-report?dl=0T
