The buoy is moored temporarily in a new location. In the period between the tsunami and sunset we could not get her back to her permanent anchor. She drifts north in the morning and we get some noise as she leaves the area where our dish antenna can pick up her signal. Willy's boat trailer is broken, and we have not been able to secure another boat. We were hoping this season to have our own service boat and a webcam pointed at her, but the economic tides have created challenges for the Whalesong Project.
Our all-volunteer team is operating in the red right now. At the beginning, the project was funded entirely by me. We became a non-profit corporation and over a period of several years were able to raise the $15,000 per year we need to operate through donations. Last year donations plummeted and my personal credit cards became maxed out to keep the project alive.
We raised $1,500 recently through the kokua of numerous volunteers and musicians at our fund raising concert. With additional donations from Whalesong Germany, we got the buoy in the water.We have another benefit concert scheduled for March 19 (stay tuned).
We have survived the tsunami and kept our project alive in an economic tide that left many of the world's largest and most powerful corporations in bankruptcy. But we are straining our volunteers resources to do it. We know that there are thousands of you out there who love the project and many express support with annual donations. Most of our donations are in the $10 to $30 range, and they are heartfelt and deeply appreciated. I have a hard time asking for more, but I just wanted to put it out that we need support to keep the project alive.
I read in the news that various countries are competing for rights to the oil reserves under the Arctic ice...looking forward to when the ice caps are gone and the resources can be "exploited." It's this kind of thinking that we are working to overcome. Please help us.
The picture above was taken right after the tsunami, when we recovered Hokumoanalani as she drifted. Paulo Mendes, on the left, caught a ride back to shore in Cove Park after the rescue. He picked up his board and looked back to see the cove was empty. The tsunami was still reverberating through our archipelago.
Hope you are all well. Thank you for listening.
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