Wotje Atoll

After a week of hanging with friends and reprovisioning in Majuro, we set
off through the pass and headed north. We sailed 175 miles to the atoll of
Wotje, which has 75 islands circling the atoll, a total area of 8 km2, and a
peak elevation of 3 meters.

We are anchored in 15 feet of crystal blue water, with a crumbling flying
boat ramp on our north side, and a crumbling pier on the south of us. We're
nicely sheltered in one of the calmest anchorages we've seen!

This island was another major Japanese base during WWII, and our guidebook
tells us that it is covered 'end-to-end' with war bunkers and artifacts.
We've read that 3000 Japanese military were heavily bombed by the Americans
here and many of those who didn't die in the attacks starved to death. Only
1200 survived.

After two days of wandering around, we've seen remains of some bunkers, pill
boxes, a radio tower, torpedo racks and barracks. There does not seem to be
as much here as Maloelap, but we still have some exploring to do. This
morning, we plan to snorkel a sunken ship and plane wreck not far from our
boat.

These racks held the torpedos for the flying boats and planes

Wotje is also the location of the regional high school for northern islands,
so there are lots of students here. It also seems to be more wealthy than
the other two local islands we've visited so far. Most homes are made of
cement block and almost all are painted in cheery colours, a luxury that we
rarely saw on Aur or Maloelap. There are even a couple vehicles here - we've
seen three trucks so far. There is a large generating station providing
power to most homes. It is a pretty unusual sight to see a local home built
of simple materials with a power meter mounted to the outside wall.

This old Japanese ammunition bunker is now being used as a home, and you can see the power meter mounted on the side.

After a couple months of both local planes being away for repairs, the local
airline had one plane running for the last month or so. But now it is back
in the repair hanger. This is a common theme in the islands. It is well
known that if you fly "Air Maybe" there is a good chance that you might not
be able to return as planned. There are currently a few people here on Wotje
that are looking for a ride to Majuro - we've been asked to take four people
so far, and we've heard that there are more. Our plans aren't firm yet,
we're waiting to hear when we need to be back in town, so we haven't yet
committed to the passengers. In any case, looks like we're in for an
interesting ride...

Savannah Joins Us

Our friends on s/v Savannah came to join us at Maloelap. Even though we were holding a piece of their mail hostage, I like to think they came because they wanted to hang out!

Savannah arrives!

We've had a great time hanging out with them again. It's been great catching
up on what we've all been up to since we were last together - we last saw
them in December in Majuro. I've destroyed numerous military bases, rocket
launchers, gun turrets, and even a aircraft carrier as a result of some
serious battles against Jake. He's six. And we're putting a good size dent
into our booze supply with our regular cocktail hours. We've all wandered
around the island, as John provided (once again) his tour guide services of
all the relics we've located here so far.

Touring the junk...

John and Andy dove on a sunken Japanese supply ship. Andy took some amazing
pics, so be sure to check out their blog soon (there is a link on the right
side bar). We've also moved 5 miles to a nearby island of Ollot Island, and
dove on two wrecked Japanese ships. Tomorrow we'll snorkel two Japanese
zeros (fighter planes) nearby.

Jake checks out a stash of old bullets on the beach

Our plans from here are not firm. We're down to our last few potatoes and onions, so I expect we'll head back to Majuro before venturing to any new atolls further north.

Our new position is 8 45N, 171 10E.

Maloelap War Remains

Our first few days at this atoll of Maloelap have been very interesting.
This atoll was a major military base for the Japanese during WWII, and there
are tons of artifacts strewn around the island. At one time over 3000
military personnel were stationed here. Every day we've walked in search of
guns, bunkers, bombs, planes and buildings. And we have not been
disappointed. Some days, the local kids guide us. When they are in school,
we just wander on our own.

 

We've found:
- zeros
- betty bombers
- bunkers
- live artillery shells
- live bombs
- 127 mm howitzers
- machine shop
- generator shed
- hospital building
- large fuel and water tanks
- huge storage areas
- gun emplacements
- sunken ships
- railroads
- air field and runways
- Japanese gravesite or memorial
- rebutments (?) for plane storage

The ground is covered in pits where bombs landed.

And many times, we don't know what we're looking at. The jungle is working
hard to take over the land and conceal all the evidence. Pigs and chickens
dig amidst the rusty relics. Coconuts grown on old buildings. Vines twist
themselves around the guns.

But still...no glass balls.

One of many generators

The locals are using this engine cowling to cover their well

Another boat has arrived here. S/Y Jennifer from Sweden
(www.yacht-jennifer.nu), with 7 people on board. We were treated to a
wonderful dinner aboard yesterday. Today we all tromped through the jungle
on another junk-hunting mission. They are moving quickly and will only be
here another day or two.