- CAPTAIN'S LOG / Pacific Ocean
- 28 November 2019
Upon entering the Marshall Islands, inbound clearance can be completed in Majuro. Our local agent, Romeo Reimers from Central Pacific Maritime Agency, facilitated our clearance and organised bunkers and provisions. Romeo is a fantastic agent, has great contacts with the local authorities, and is always available when support is required.
The fleet of fishing vessels anchored off Majuro town make this a less than scenic anchorage, so Romeo organised access to one of the islands a few miles to the west of town (07 7.668’N, 171 18.596’E).
This became our preferred anchorage during our time in Majuro, with plenty of activities to keep the crew occupied between trips.
There are a couple of wreck dives in the anchorage, another dive on some WWII patrol boats a short tender ride away, kiting in the gap between the islands, and some surf breaks by the main pass as well as under the bridge on the south side of town.
We never had any security problems during our time in the Marshall Islands. We did, however, have plenty of interested locals cruise past the boat, so we always ensured the yacht was locked down each evening with no valuables left on deck.
Additionally, if you’re cruising to Chuuk in Micronesia, the security of the vessel at anchor is of some concern. We took the precaution of hiring a local guard to standby on the aft deck between 6 pm and 7 am. We were also warned to completely avoid the Fairchuuk Islands to the west where our security could not be guaranteed, even with a local guard on board.
Having said that, we did not experience any security issues or feel threatened at all during our time in Chuuk. When ashore and doing shore-based tours, we found the Chuukese people to be very friendly and welcoming.
Mili is a beautiful atoll with plenty to offer; you could quite easily do a week-long guest trip here without needing to move to another atoll.
Note that the NE trade winds blew consistently during our time in the Marshall Islands and can whip up the waters between Mili and Majuro, making the 80-nautical-mile journey an uncomfortable trip. Permission to enter the atoll must be granted before arriving.
Reiher Pass on the north coast of Mili is one of the easily navigated passages into the atoll. There is a surf break on the east side of the channel entrance with very good waves for surfing and kiting. Anchoring just inside the west of the entrance (06 13.548’N, 171 53.553’E) provides protection in the lee of the reef. Enkor Island is only a half-mile tender ride from the anchorage and is a picture- postcard island with white sand beaches, all-tide access and crystal clear water.
Permission to visit can be organised through Romeo or the Chief on Jobenor Island to the north. Less than four nautical miles to the east are the three small islands of Acharan, Rarubeppu and Bue.
At mid to high tide, you can take the tender across a shallow sand bar and into the protected water between the islands (06 13.353’N, 171 57.444’E). This hidden spot allows guests to go wakeboarding or snorkelling in perfectly flat conditions, even when the trade winds are pumping. If the winds back off, there’s also a great right-hand surf break just to the north of Acharan Island (06 14.080’N, 171 57.048’E).
Beware an outgoing tide, however, as the current can haul through this pass and sweep you out if you aren’t paying attention.
Depending on the conditions, many of the passes offer opportunities to surf or dive, although care must be taken due to potentially hazardous currents. We brought a local dive guide called Brian Kirk on board, who had a wealth of knowledge of the best spots.
In the north-east corner of the atoll is a blue hole that can be accessed across the reef by tender (reef access 06 12.841’N, 172 4.791’E). As the access to the blue hole is from the east, the run across the reef is best done in light trade winds, a small swell and at a mid to high tide. Inside the blue hole is a great dive or snorkel, with an abundance of sea life and underwater pinnacles.
Don’t overstay your visit in the blue hole as you will need the tide high enough to exit the blue hole in the tender across the reef. We anchored Dragonfly by the blue hole (06 12.156’N, 172 4.527’E), but this can be an uncomfortable anchorage in an easterly swell.
On our most recent visit, we flew the customs and immigration officials to Woja Airport on Ailinglaplap. This was organised by Martin Daly of Beren Island Resort and is a great option if approaching the Marshall Islands from the west. The anchorage off Beren is another top location for a guest trip.
Permission to access the surf breaks or beaches on the nearby islands must be sought from Martin who has been based there for a number of years and acts as an excellent local agent.
Surfing and kiting were big drawcards for us while we stayed in Ailinglaplap. There are also several dive options in the passes near Beren, and our dive guide’s expertise was incredibly helpful here.
The pass on the southern side of Ailinglaplap offers a good wreck dive with plenty of sea life, while the most popular dive was on an incoming tide in the pass at Bowls, where the team saw some big pelagics, turtles, and a number of sharks.
The famous site of US bomb tests in the 1940s and 50s sees very few visitors – the island caretakers reported only 20 tourists in 2017. We felt very privileged to be able to visit, do an official island tour, and dive on the wrecks in the lagoon. We were required to bring two Bikinian officials with us; they boarded in Kwajelein and did the overnight passage up to Bikini.
It’s worth noting that with the NE trades blowing, the passage to and from Kwajelein can be very uncomfortable.
We anchored off the north-west coast of Bikini (11 37.728’N, 165 31.653’E). While quite deep, the diving here was excellent with a massive number of battleships, cruisers and aircraft carriers.
The visibility was very good and while there wasn’t a great deal of marine life to see, the wrecks themselves were very impressive. The 259-metre aircraft carrier USS Saratoga is the most impressive, and at 27 metres to the deck, offers a longer bottom time than some of the other dives in the atoll.
Being well and truly in the trade wind belt, one of the activities on offer in Bikini is kite surfing, either off the back of the boat or off the beaches on the windward coast.
Probably one of the coolest things we did was a downwind kite across the reef, through the waves on the eastern side of the island and back to the boat.
This was something that amazed the caretakers, who said we were the first people to ever kite in Bikini.
Prior to entering the Mochenap Pass into Chuuk Atoll, we brought a pilot on board who helped us conduct reconnaissance in Chuuk and the nearby Neoch/Kuop Atoll. He was a great addition to the team and provided much-needed guidance in areas that were poorly charted. The pilots do not permit vessel movements within the atoll at night and were required to be on board for any daytime movements.
There were only five anchorages within Chuuk Atoll that we were permitted to use. The distances between them are short, so it doesn’t take long to move to a different anchorage if you want a change of scenery. Some of the dive sites are several miles from any of the designated anchorages and with the NE trades blowing, the tender run to and from these sites can be quite uncomfortable. Having said that, a bumpy tender ride is well worth it when you get underwater.
The drawcard of Chuuk is the wreck diving at Chuuk Lagoon (Truk Lagoon) and it did not disappoint. There are more than 30 wrecks to dive, and most are so big they could be dived several times.
Highlights included seeing skeletal remains of the dead seamen on the Shinkoku Maru, the wall of hundreds of sake bottles on the Rio De Janeiro Maru and the Zero aircraft on the Fujikawa Maru.
The Fujikawa also offers the most unbelievable swim-through of the engine room and was my favourite dive of the trip, while a night dive on the Shinkoku Maru was another amazing experience for the crew.
For those who don’t like wreck diving, there are a number of reef passes and coral heads within the atoll that have an abundance of large sea life and are quality dives also.
For non-divers, Chuuk offers several shallow snorkel options in around eight metres of water where you can see the wrecks of a patrol boat or Zero aircraft. There were also a number of options for shore-based activities, including tours of WWII tunnels and local dance performances. You’ll need to give 24 hours’ notice to get permission to go ashore.
Neoch/Kuop Atoll is only seven nautical miles to the south of Chuuk and offers a more remote experience. The short passage between atolls is protected, even in strong trade winds. There are a number of unspoiled beaches, fishing spots, clean wind for kiting and absolutely no-one around (although we spotted some jellyfish on our visit).
We entered Kuop through the NW end of the atoll (07 6.412’N, 151 52.205’E) after first using our tender-mounted WASSP transducer to sound a path over the reef. There is a wide and well-charted pass on the SE side of the atoll, but going through there does expose you to the trade winds and add another 20 nautical miles to the trip. Permission to access the atoll must be sought first and this can be requested through our pilot, Mayday, whose family owns one of the islands there.
It’s definitely worth the mission over to Kuop if you plan on staying in Chuuk for a week or more.