Delivering Solar Lights by Sailboat with “Watts on Water”

On Friday 9th April 2021, La Soufriere, the volcano on St Vincent, began erupting with great plumes of ash which covered the island and surrounding areas. We were struck by the significant impact the cloud of ash had on the residents of the island as well as those on neighbouring islands and sailors in the local area.

Having spent time some time in St Vincent and the Grenadines at the beginning of our journey, we felt a special connection to the island and were keen to get involved in a meaningful way somehow. We began by sharing local news and updates of the volcano’s activity on our social media as the international news was disturbingly quiet on the topic.

After a few days, we had a phone call from Brooks Watson, the Founder/Director of Watts on Water, an NGO that deliver and distribute solar lighting to coastal and island communities. We had connected online through a sailing forum on Clubhouse (an app that allows people to host live, interactive podcasts) and he was keen to discuss how sailors might respond locally to the disaster relief programs on St Vincent.

In the days and weeks that followed we worked alongside Brooks and others to set up reliable information sharing from our contacts on the ground. We spoke with friends on St Vincent, sailors in the area and connected with NGOs and scientists on St Vincent to keep up to date with the situation and the various needs on the island.

Initially, the ash fall caused disruption to the power grid as its conductive nature caused shorts in the lines. 20,000 people were evacuated from the northern half of the island and moved into temporary shelters in open air schools and community centres. Ash fell into the rivers and water system, contaminating the drinking water for the whole island. Tanks had to be emptied and cleaned before it was safe to drink, and so neighbouring islands sent bottled water in by ship.

We started to see hundreds of offers of support from all around the world, but the COVID pandemic and necessary travel restrictions stopped much of the aid reaching the island. NGOs like World Central Kitchen supported local restaurants in supplying meals to the shelters and several individuals helped out wherever they could, donating toys and clothes to children and working together to clean up the ash which had turned to slurry on the roads.

Where Watts on Water is unique is that it recognises the incredible ability sailboats have in delivering precious resources to hard-to-reach communities. In times of emergency, a boat can sail to places where planes often can’t land, arriving with a fully sustainable home to ensure aid workers are not a drain on the local community or resources.

On our boat, we can sail across oceans to reach islands and coastal communities without costing hundreds or thousands of dollars in fuel. We bring with us a stable home to live in while we are there, we can provide solar power through the day to run computers or other machines and we can turn salt water into fresh water by running it through our filters to provide a precious commodity.

In the scenario that a volcano is still erupting, it is unsafe, however, for us to sail into the danger zone as the volcanic ash can get into our air or water intakes on our engine and cause huge damage, or ash in the water can disrupt our water maker filters. The boat itself would also be in danger as volcanic ash can corrode the sails, the lines and any blocks or external moving parts.

For all these reasons, as well as the fact that we were still installing some major pieces of equipment onboard (solar panels and lithium batteries for one), we didn’t sail straight to St Vincent. Instead, we connected with local sailors who were able to travel and put them in touch with people providing aid or NGOs on the ground in St Vincent who were able to manage the situation much more efficiently.

We intend to sail to St Vincent once we (and our boat) are ready, and we hope to be able to deliver some solar lights for Watts on Water. They build incredibly strong and versatile lights that last 10 years and can be worn as lanyards, headtorches or mounted on the ceiling to provide light to a whole room. Children are able to do their homework and continue in their education, workers are able to extend their business hours past sunset to create more revenue, and families no longer need to rely on dangerous kerosene to be able to see in the dark. Solar lighting is such a powerful gift, and we are so excited to team up with Watts on Water to be able to provide a light for those living in darkness.