Saturday, January 14, 2012

Laysan Delivery - Day 16 - Arrival at Johnston

At 8am this morning, we arrived at Johnston Atoll. We are located at 16-44N,
169-31W.

This is a US Wildlife Refuge, with an interesting history. It was used as a
Military Base, and as a chemical weapons disposal location. There have also
been nuclear testing conducted here. Check out wikipedia for a full history.


Yachts don't normally stop here, but we've been granted permission. The
strike team leader, Stefan met us at the dock and helped us to tie up and
gave us a history of the atoll, and a brief description of the activities
that his team are doing here. Their primary objective is to eradicate the
invasive Yellow Crazy Ants, that are invading the nests of the breeding bird
populations.

We've spent the morning doing a few boat chores (transfer fuel, change oil,
repair nav lights, check knotmeter and prop, etc), and are heading out for a
tour of the island with Stefan this afternoon. Tonight, we've been invited
to dine with the rest of the field team here.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Laysan Delivery - Day 15 - Kicking Butt

It feels as though someone has stuck a spur into Laysan's flank. Or maybe she's picked up the scent of the barn.

Whatever it is, she is off and galloping...

We are cruising along at a killer 5 knots!! I know...that may not seem fast to you. But, after two weeks of 3.5kn, it feels like lightning to us. The wind and waves have both dropped considerably. And, we're 60 miles to Johnston Atoll. It is a ex-US Military Base. Nowadays, it serves as a protected fish and wildlife reserve. It has quite an interesting history, and among other things, it was used to disassemble chemical weapons, test
nuc's, etc. We look forward to the stop.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Laysan Delivery - Day 12

We've just realized that we have so much to learn about power boating.
Yesterday on the PacSeaNet, one of the radio operators asked us if we've
been enjoying lots of ice cream in this nice weather. Well, John and I just
looked at each other with a big "DOH" look on our faces. We've never cruised
with the luxuries of a freezer, and we didn't even consider loading up with
ice cream. I bought a bit more frozen meat than usual, but didn't alter our
provisioning from our usual passages. Now we're kicking ourselves. ICE
CREAM!!! We're running a big freezer. With lots of room. And what a treat
ice cream would be. Or frozen pizza. Next time...

We're 45% of the way to Honolulu!!

0300 utc:
14-11N, 174-57W
Crs: 064T at 4.0 kn
Wind: E 16kn
Waves: E 2m
Cloud: 50%
Bar: 1008

24hr: 79nm, 59.2 gal, 3.3 kn