Dolphin Address 14
April 2th 2005
By nature I am a seeker of resistance, as long as it is worth my while. Last summer Verena and I used the lee of a rock chunk, often in combination with an ugly red plastic washed up fisherman's tray, to cook or bonfire. This was not very adequate, but as the winds change a lot of direction flexible solutions seemed the only way to cope with the elements.
Again, this year it seemed to take forever to boil me a cup of tea and I felt the urge to establish a more permanent shelter. The head of the stone wall that runs directly to the ocean has provided a foothold for washed up blocks of rock over the ages that roughly measures five meters in diameter und up to two meters high.
As a sculptor I have always removed material until I saved the shape I wanted, so it was not too hard to imagine what would remain when I excavated the center of this two to three hundred kilo lumped up rubble. I figured that what I would take out I could use again to heighten the walls around me and eventually cover the floor with the flat, rounded slabs that were abundant on the stony beach only some thirty meters away. For a partial roof finally I could saw up the long plank that I found last year, but this I first needed for another use.
In my work as a sculptor I have gained a lot of experience in handling heavy weights using mainly a jack that could lift up to 5 tons and with the principle of leverage. This time I had to do without the jack, but the four meter long plank would give me a lot of lifting power if I used it right. Soon it all came back to me, the principle, the variations, the analysis, the tricks, the problems and the solutions. It is like a sport, really, in which you have to outsmart your opponent, a dead weight, three times your own and in an awkward position.
To give you an example. Maximal leverage power is attained on the farthest end of the lever. When a rock chunk is lifted first a support must be placed there under, but if you walk over you loose your lifting power and the rock will drop to the same position as before. For someone else it is as easy as pie to position a support, but I was alone. My solution was to place a short length of a round wooden pole in such away that it was no longer halted by the rock when I pushed it up, so it rolled under it, thus forming support. Of course things did not always work out according to plan, but you count your blessings and try something else if it does not work out.
Thus I toiled for several days in my self inflicted slavery, until the upper and lower half of my body were solely connected by pain. There remained two more giants to be moved out, but I truly feared I might cripple myself for life if I were to pursue my intentions. I have nothing against quick solutions, but slow ones do give you more time to consider.
I decided I was ready for the next phase and combed the rocks for rope. After an hour of disentangling I had about 30 meters of usable cable. This I securely hitched around one of the stones while the other end went through the tow-eye of the car. This proved to be crude, violent but very effective.
The nest now has to be cleaned of smaller stones and washed up rubbish, then I will lay the floor with those friendly smooth slabs and maybe heighten the wall a bit. Finally I will place the roof planks and then I will place the gas stove and brew myself a well-earned cup of tea in no time at all.
Jan Ploeg, Fanore meadow, April 2th 2005
print version