Palmyra Atoll

Palmyra Atoll was our last stop enroute to Hawaii from the Marquesas. The Atoll lies about 6 degrees north of the equator and is out of the cyclone belt so it is a logical place to wait for a weather window for the final sprint north.

Palmyra

During WW II and up to 1959, Palmyra was occupied by the US Navy as an airbase. In the above photo, you can see the blasted and dredged entrance channel to the inner lagoon running down and to the left in the photo. The channel was used by both ships and sea planes. While it appears easy to see in the photo, it is most difficult in real life and a mistake would be extremely costly as the water is ankle deep on both sides of the channel and the channel is barely wide enough for a boat. Currents sweep across the channel making it more difficult.

DSC 6775

Those small bouys are the only markers.

Permission to come to Palmyra is difficult to obtain. It is run by the Nature Conservancy and the US Government as a wild life refuge and is an incorporated territory of the US (the only incorporated territory of the US in existence). Before landing, a permit must be obtained and the process requires that any visiting vessel go thru a certified de rat inspection and bottom cleaning at its last port of call before coming to Palmyra. We managed after considerable effort to obtain a permit and we were actually the first visiting yacht to arrive in Palymra in several years. Now Palmyra is primarily run as a research station with no permanent residents and a small rotating staff along with a few scientists.

IMG 1412

Here we are being greeted by some of the staff and subsequently followed them on a safe path thru the shallow lagoon to the anchorage.

DSC 6784

IMG 1348

Palmyra does have an old crushed coral air strip and once every month or so, a benefactor flies supplies, staff and scientists in and out on his Gulfstream from Hawaii.

IMG 1392

IMG 1394

Some flights didn’t end so well as this old Lockheed Electra will attest to.

IMG 1395

IMG 1398

Palmyra does have a number of amenities. This is the Yacht Club.

IMG 1388

And some of the treasures retrieved from around the island.

IMG 1354

Recreational facilities.

IMG 1352

The Yacht Club Bar (every yacht club has to have one)

IMG 1350

The old swimming hole.

IMG 1406

Mark Fritzer displaying his athletic prowess at said swimming hole.

IMG 1410

In addition to various research projects, one of the main scientific endeavors is to develop techniques to restore Pacific Atolls like Palmyra to their original state. This begins, strange;u enough, with eliminating cocoanut palms which are not indigenous and are extremely invasive. This is a long term goal and only a few area have been cleared as there are virtually millions of coconut palms. The second, which has been accomplished is to eliminate rodents – again an introduced species.

The result is a proliferation of bird life – which has both its good and bad sides.

DSC 6804

IMG 1374

It is hard to imagine just what a mess these fellows could make in a short period of time.

DSC 6798

A walk around parts of the atoll revealed some of the old fortifications from WW II.

IMG 1366

IMG 1372

Along with other critters like this coconut crab.

IMG 1360

This nursery for blacktop sharks on the north side of the atoll.

IMG 1362

This eel eating another eel.

IMG 1375

And large Manta Rays.

IMG 1383

And lots of nice scenery.

IMG 1359

IMG 1361

I’ll close with a nice Palmyra sunset and a thank you to the folks on Palmyra.

DSC 6802

IMG 1390

This entry was posted in South Pacific 2013. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to Palmyra Atoll

Leave a Reply