April 2, 2004
We are in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, but at the same time we feel like we are really in the United States. We came to Kwajalein, a U.S. base on the world’s largest atoll in the central Pacific, to visit some friends who are working here. We had to get special permission, be sponsored by someone who worked here and pass a security check to be able to visit for up to 60 days, but we were hungry for a slice of America after a long arduous session in and overdose of the third world. Not an easy place to visit but, just what we needed at the time.
We had such a rough 400 mile trip between Kiribati and Kwajalein that a wave took out one of our dodger windows and nearly carried most of the contents of the cockpit away with it. The waves were gigantic and steep, particularly outside the pass. Unfortunately our only detailed chart of the atoll was on the computer and as we prepared to enter the pass, we were forced to set up the computer to navigate. With a dodger window missing, we had little protection from the large waves that crashed sideways against the hull. We were petrified that a wave would take out our new computer, one of our last remaining electronic items that still functions on board. We were also anxious that, after our rough journey, we would be denied entry. We had so much broken equipment after our last few challenging months that we were desperate for a place where we could properly address these problems. Thankfully our worries were unfounded.
Kwajalein is located 2,500 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii at 8 degrees (700 miles) north of the equator. Known as a site of fierce battles which helped turn the tide of WWII, the area is steeped in history, and countless WWII relics lie at the bottom of the lagoon and along the shores of the islands of the atoll. The seizure of Kwajalein Atoll was the first capture of pre-war Japanese territory. U.S. victory here pierced the Japanese defense perimeter, severing the Japanese lines of communication and eliminating several strategic Japanese naval and air bases which ultimately shortened the Pacific campaign.
Upon arrival we felt like we’d found paradise on earth. Tons of friendly people warmly greeted us with accents like our own. We found stores with the best selection of products that we’d seen in months and brands we hadn’t seen in years. The produce area of the store alone, after so many months of cans, was enough to set us into a paroxysm of delight. We were awed by the rows of frozen and refrigerated food aisles. We’d continually have to remind ourselves to “close our mouths” while we stared blankly at the multitude of boxes in the cereal aisle. We had NPR radio on the AM dial and several English language radio stations that played good music. We were back to the land of orange cheddar cheese, air conditioning, acronyms and safety warnings. Pinch us to make sure we’re not dreaming.
Kwajalein is so wholesome and small, we feel like we are visiting the set of the old TV show Mayberry RFD, right down to the down home accents and colloquialisms. Bicycles are everywhere since no private vehicles are allowed on the island; A traffic jam is a back up of 4 bikes, a golf cart and a truck; And the average “daily commute” takes less than 3 minutes by bike, which reinforces our sense of returning to 1950’s America. Occasionally we notice the many Marshallese that work here and are reminded that we aren’t really in middle America. The ladies wear Mother Hubbard dresses (a remnant from the visiting missionaries) and fill all the lower skilled jobs at the cafeteria, the snack bar, the stores and construction sites. The Marshallese workers live on a crowded nearby island and commute by ferry each day. Year round, the air is hot 87 degrees and mostly dry with a decent breeze and very comfortable in the evenings.
Kwajalein is a U.S. Army base filled with civilian contractors that are charged with missile testing, satellite tracking, GPS maintenance and radar monitoring functions important for U.S. defense. Despite being a U.S. Army base, we see little evidence of Army uniforms or personnel around the island. For many contractors who come here to work, Kwajalein is a tiny outstation that requires readjustment from “Mainland” USA living, but for us it feels almost like coming home. Some people really love it and have worked here for many years and some multigenerational families reside here.
To offer enough activities to keep employees happy on a small remote island, lots of free facilities are available, which makes us feel like we’ve hit the mother load – a central Pacific country club of sorts. There is free Internet access on decent computers, a game room with pool, ping pong, Foos Ball, and many other games, a TV room with VCR and stereo, free movies 4 times a week, an excellent library with current magazines and recent newspapers from throughout the US (including Seattle) and more. There are softball, volleyball, and basketball teams that play nightly under intense competition. Two lovely pools sit along the ocean shore overlooking the beautiful beach. The Kwajalein Yacht Club hosts races several times a month, a weekly happy hour and well attended monthly dinner meetings. Individuals offer cooking, aerobics, crafts and music classes, and more serious coursework is available through a University of Maryland campus here. There’s a hobby shop, with a full array of woodworking machines and tools, weaving and stained glass as well as a ceramics/pottery studio; 10 whalers and several Cal 20s and Capri 22s that can be rented and raced for $5; scuba tanks that can be borrowed for free and low cost scuba classes. Regular concerts on the beach feature famous acts that tour with USO or the Armed Forces Network. On the beach last month for nothing, we got to see players from Blessed Union of Souls, a group that has had a number of top hits since the mid 90’s. For all these great facilities and activities, there are only about 2,000 Americans enjoying them. In a short time, we’ve gotten to know lots of people here and we run into people continually as in any small town.
We’ve been so busy since we’ve arrived we can’t believe how fast time has flown. We have to schedule down time, or we’d easily fill all our hours with social events and activities. Quite a contrast to all the quiet time we had in the Solomons and Kiribati. We’ve been able to order many of the items we needed to replace, through a nice account at Fisheries set up for the Kwajalein Yacht Club. We were able to use a Sailrite sewing machine to restitch our dodger and awning thread which had grown suddenly weak, with seams giving way at an alarming rate. People getting ready to depart for the Mainland often have garage sales and sell some items we needed for next to nothing. (Yet we needed to be there early before the Marshallese would buy everything.) Fixing the cracked tiller will take a little more effort to do a good job, but the hobby shop offers all the tools we could dream of for that repair.
Unfortunately Kwajalein does not offer very good protection in the anchorage. When we first arrived, we were treated to several weeks at the dock, but in the interest of fairness to others here who own boats that would also love to be at the dock and also to avoid being downwind of a sandblasting location during a couple of projects, we moved out to the anchorage. On windy days the swell and wind are misaligned and can make for an uncomfortable motion, so we often vacate and spend as much time as possible ashore. The conditions stress the boat a bit and we often find the dust has blown all the way out to where we are anchored from the sandblasting. A bird has discovered our fruit and vegetable bins and has flown in and had a feast on several occasions when we forgot to close the forward hatch. It seems a small price to pay to enjoy a slice of Americana after so long and we’ve really been enjoying ourselves. The many things that used to be so normal have become a very special treat after so long.
Photos of Kwajalein are coming soon.
Visit our photos of Kiribati and the Solomon Islands at: http://photos.yahoo.com/yachtvelella
Visit the rest of the photos of our trip at: http://photos.yahoo.com/atomicsalsa
Cheers, Wendy and Garth