[Mldxcc] VP6DX - News # 24 - March 1, 2008

[Ken Anderson]

News #24- 2008 Mar 01
Highlights:
... Operator team continues homeward journey ...
... High volume of inquiries about, and corrections to, donations ...


Homeward journey
Feb 28 Thursday found the M/V Braveheart motoring west-northwest away from
Ducie Island. By mid-afternoon the radar picked out Henderson Island,
another member of the Pitcairn group.

Henderson Island was discovered and inhabited by Polynesians. The Spanish
navigator Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, aboard the sailing vessel "San Pablo",
was the first European visitor on 1606 January 29, nine days after Quiros
became the first European visitor to Ducie Island.

Henderson appear forbidding from sea. A typical Makatea-type island, 15m
high undercut cliffs drop into the sea on all sides but the north.
Makatea-type islands are old coral atolls that have been uplifted, exposing
the old coral bed above the sea. Crevasses and other irregularities make
travel through the interior slow and treacherous.

Landing on Henderson's northern beaches through the fringing reef's surf is
difficult. The island is reported to be invested by mice and rats. We did
not attempt a landing, but motored along the northern half of the island,
admiring the dramatic terrain and vegetation in the low, late afternoon
light. Although we trolled some lines, no fish were caught. Then the ship
turned its stern toward Henderson and set course for an overnight journey to
Oeno atoll.

At 9am today, Friday, we anchored off the northern barrier reef of Oeno.
Oeno was discovered much later on 1891 Jan 19 by Captain Henderson. A low
and dangerous atoll, its lagoon contains two beautiful sandy islands with
coconut palms and some shorter trees. These islands migrate within the
lagoon and at times are joined together by a sandy spit. Some time was spend
diving, fishing and snorkling. A freshly-caught tuna will serve as lunch
today. We had hoped to picnic ashore today, but a northerly swell has raised
the surf across the entire northern reef line, closing off a narrow and
shallow gap that occasionally provides access the lagoon.

After lunch, we will depart Oeno Atoll for Mangareva. The eastern skies
presently contain a line of towering cumulus and rain showers, the
deteriorating weather that we largely avoided with a prompt departure from
Ducie. We wish to stay ahead of it for the remainder of our sea voyage.

High volume of inquiries
The expedition webmaster has reported large traffic volumes on the website.
We are grateful for the interest in the expedition and thank those who have
made financial contributions via the web. Not surprisingly, a percentage of
some transactions go awry; the most common problem occurring when the
contributor forgets to include his callsign. We haven't fully automated the
recognition of contributions on the website, and we are falling behind. This
generates additional traffic along the lines of "did you receive my
donation" and related questions about LOTW credits.

We are getting some additional help to handle these matters, but that will
be much easier accomplished when we get home next week. Please be patient if
your inquiry has not been answered right away, or your contribution has not
yet been recognized on the website. We intend to bring matters up to date by
March 10.