Translating a dream

I spent the day with owners, engineers and workers at Skallywag Bay in Trinidad. It was my last day this trip to explain the many things I wanted. We trudged back and forth across the site, me with spray bomb and tape measure in hand. My task was to lay out the foundations of the rides, fences and features on the uneven ground and then explain my vision to them as clearly as I could articulate it to them. Behind us a team of surveyors recorded the marks I made in the dirt for they will quickly disappear as construction proceeds. Over the next four weeks they will translate these rough marks into concrete walls, feature footings and a newly imagined hilly terrain. Then I will make a whole new set of marks to build the next features.

My vision is the same plan for the site I've described and drawn for more than four years. Only now it is finally becoming real. One tiny piece of this giant complex puzzle is the cave that will become the hole twelve of the adventure golf. Above, on the mountain top guests will start their golf game by putting into the back of a giant cannon affectionately named Joe Blow. The difficulty is that no one on site has seen the cannon for it is tucked safely into one of the sealed shipping containers. None of the workers have seen the sketches and drawings, only plans from the architect which are little more than plain lines. The drawings from the architect are constantly being adjusted by the needs of the mechanical and plumbing engineers and myself as I translate my vision into spray marks on the ground. The form builders will simply follow the lines, not knowing what they are building. It takes a little faith on all sides that it will all turn out just fine.

Visiting old friends

Most of the work we did in our shop for Skallywag Bay in Trinidad was completed and sent on it's way last year. There are fourteen containers of our pieces, plus four of rockwork, four of rides and two others with other bits and bobs from other suppliers. The first containers were shipped from our studio almost two years ago. After their arrival the containers were lined up in long rows, waiting for the infrastructure work to be complete. As with every project there were unavoidable setbacks and delays onsite. Now, the work on the buildings and infrastructure is proceeding much more quickly. It is time, at last to begin establishing the final grades of the site. Many hundreds of loads of fill will be trucked to the site in the coming days. While I was here this trip I went into each container to verify measurements of the pieces. As I entered each container it was like visiting old friends. Every piece has arrived in perfect shape and was waiting patiently in the dark shadows.

I then transferred these feature measurements around the site to mark out the placement of a number of foundations and footings which will be built in the next few weeks to support these features. The next time I come back to Trinidad we will start to pull out many of the features and hoist them into their permanent homes. That will be truly exciting!

Clearly seeing a vision of what will soon be

Skallywag Adventure Park is still very much a construction site but coming along quickly now. Giant machines trundle across the landscape, giant piles of dirt and gravel litter the site, rebar and bare concrete walls are everywhere and construction materials are stacked throughout. Workers labor in many different areas at once in all manner of tasks. My job today was to lead a team of engineers, foremen and owners through the site trying to get everyone on the same page of how it will appear when we are done, and how everything will relate to each other. The difficulty is that as I look out over the landscape I can clearly see what will be. They see what is present currently. They think in terms of straight lines of the structures and site plans. I hear the wind rustling through the leaves of the yet to be planted trees, and hear the water falling from the water tumbling off the beautiful (not yet there) rockwork. I also see the fourteen shipping containers full of features scattered throughout the site. I also see the rides set up and people enjoying them. It has been many months of typical structure building. In another month or so my task will be to make it look like a magical and imaginary place. This is going to be a whole lot of fun!