Last night’s little nap turned out to be a four hour one. I awoke to update the blog to say I fell asleep and too tired to continue. When you feel like this, you know you are on the last segment of the cruise. It can be good times as we look forward to getting home to Hawaii or it can be bad times on board any ship as anxiety creeps in and the environment can be hostile. I just look at this as human nature, especially in conditions sailors live in and it isn’t a NOAA or Navy thing but just natural state of causes. It’s a mixed bag here depending on individual’s response to the situation.
Having sailed the Ka’imimoana for four years provided me with discipline to endure the last legs of any cruise. I used to sail the Hawaii to Kwajalein to Hawaii voyage quite a bit. I always wanted to avoid that trip at the end of the year. The schedule would put that ship into Hawaii about a week before Christmas. Last station would be eight north and 180 on the International Date Line. Transit time from there to Hawaii was nearly twelve days. It was end of the year, and winter storms slam across North Pacific along with angst of the crew wanting to get home for the holidays. Photos of ship Christmas parties show few smiles but the eyes tell the full story.
I still have three weeks until I get to Hawaii and then five days after that before I fly home. I kidded my partner about submitting a parts requisition for a new ET to replace me as the one that is showing signs of wear, intermittent brain functions and needs either overhaul or replaced. I asked if this could be an exchangeable item or is it dispensable. The response I got was that I would be replaced with a patched up dinosaur that was a bit cantankerous. I needed that laugh to motivate and get me started.
We said goodbye to Jarvis Island this afternoon. No mountains or hills, trees or bushes and the only distinctive characteristic are mounds of white sand elevated out of the water to let you know it is there. You could see an occasional patch of green to let you know the island has vegetation. In olden days the guy in the crow’s nest better pay attention to detail. It certainly is not a place I would want to run aground and be shipwrecked. As we pulled away from the island, I could see its one well-defined man made structure, the tower. I ended my e-mails with Jarvis Island (human population zero, birds infinite). I am positive that it is one forlorn place if you were marooned there. For those of you having snow, you never have to worry about that at Jarvis.
Tonight we are steaming northwest to Palmyra Atoll. It is about 400 miles north of the equator and we should be there day after tomorrow. Unlike Jarvis there are people living on Palmyra. Most of them are Nature Conservancy personnel. I took great pictures there and it was at Palmyra I took a photo of a baby booby bird up close. If I get a chance I will go to the island and look around again.
Baby Booby bird on Palmyra (2008)
We are moving the clocks one hour ahead tonight to conform to the Hawaiian Time Zone. I lose an hour sleep so I am hitting the rack a bit earlier than usual.
I bid you goodnight from the open seas of the North Pacific, just north of the equator.
Sunset at the Equator near Jarvis Island
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