Kure Atoll Day 1 - It is day one in our return to Kure and another nice day after several days of strong winds and cooler temperatures. I actually turned the thermostat up a bit to make it warm in my stateroom. I think it is set right now as it isn’t too hot to where I am sweating and too cold to require several layers of blankets when I am asleep.
I got a nice view from the weatherdeck of the atoll. Of course, nothing has changed since the trip last year and likely for quite a few years prior to that. This is a bird sanctuary and I caught another one sitting on top of my expensive anemometer that measures relative wind direction and speed. One of these units costs around $4200 to replace! During break, I would go outside to enjoy the warm sunshine and watch the birds fly around the ship as well as looking to the island.
I do not know why this place is intriguing. The name caught my eye first, but that was years before I joined NOAA. I used to see this atoll on the ham radio map next to Midway. In addition, it is the name of a Japanese city so I always wondered if there were any relations with it. When I saw this atoll from the ship for the first time, I read some articles about it and it is interesting that a tropical atoll would be this far north. I am also wondering if Japanese pilots to find a heading towards Midway during their attack in 1942 used this atoll as a landmark. Of course, I could imagine what went through their minds when they saw how miniscule this and Midway is.
Today was another busy day with PMs and updates for clients and servers. I am going to deploy the update server and set it up to where it will do it for me automatically. I will not be putting myself out of a job but allow me to concentrate on more pressing issues, such as the gyro and AIS. For the gyro the digital age like the gyro and AIS issues. Moreover, my experience with automation in flexible manufacturing systems in Japan led me to believe I will have a job for life as long as automation exists. Someone has to adjust the sensors, ensure the programs are running and make corrections when things crash.
I will hit the rack and tomorrow is Sunday. It always makes me yearn to be home due to special breakfasts we make on early Sunday morning. I bid you goodnight from Kure Atoll.
Kure Atoll Day 2 – What happened to me? I forgot to publish the blog last night. We were drifting close to the island today. Close enough to make out details on it. I went back into my stateroom and grabbed my binoculars to look. I could see apartment complex that probably is billeting and office space for the small scientific parties that rotate here for studies. Then the big tree in what appears to be in the middle of the island is so obvious, even if we are several miles away. You know the island is a bird sanctuary with all the birds flying around and coming towards the ship. The beaches were sandy white but the mounds backing it were lush green with what appears to be small trees but bigger than bushes covering the island with the exception of the beach and the coral reefs that surround it. Kure and Midway are literally thousand miles out in the middle of nowhere. I did take a photo of Kure but I doubt you can see the tree in the center. The Facebook page you can see but I will have to wait until I get to Hono to upload that.
Another productive day and report went out early. The usual scheduled PMs and maintenance and the list added a few unplanned ones too. I already have a project to keep me busy during the transit to Layson.
I am going to hit the rack but before I do, figure out more about this update server. I got the hang of most of it but a few more things to get it working to our advantage.
I bid you goodnight from one of the most isolated islands in the world, Kure Atoll.
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