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nagrom snoyl · 15-02-2013, 11:23

I was watching a documentary on the island of anuta the other night and was wondering has anybody from cf been ashore there? what is the most interesting remote island that any of ye have ever visited and why?

nagrom snoyl · 17-02-2013, 08:32

so has anybody been to anuta

AndrewB · 21-02-2013, 01:49

Anuta must have suffered from the recent earthquake and tsunami, and might welcome any supplies a yacht could bring.

I thought about it when considering a passage to the Solomons from Vanuatu, as its the first inhabited island you reach in the Solomons. Being encircled by a reef, it lacks any decent anchorage, though Clay reports a temporary light-weather anchorage in about 10m a couple of cables to the west of the island with difficult landing through swell.

It's not of course an official place of entry in the Solomons, I don't know how strict they'd be about that. I can't imagine you would consider going all the way back there after having cleared in at Honiara.

But it is interesting to visit these outliers in the Pacific and taking a chance on clearance. The remotest I've visited is Clarion, an uninhabited islet about 500 miles off the coast of Mexico, but with an open anchorage that provides a brief respite on the long haul to French Polynesia.

nagrom snoyl · 21-02-2013, 12:03

how come clarion is uninhabited is it because it has no water source?

AndrewB · 21-02-2013, 12:53

Clarion is arid but does have a water source - a rather boggy pond. Its never been inhabited - too remote perhaps, though there is plenty of wildlife and excellent fishing. A tiny Mexican garrison is now posted there. There's a Wikipedia entry (Isla Clarion) if you are interested further. I have a blog about our visit.

S/V Alchemy · 22-02-2013, 13:31

Andrew, I thought you sounded familiar. We met about five years ago in Toronto and had a drink on the deck of our steel boat Alchemy. We relaunch after a big refit in April. It's good to see you and Lyn are still at it.

I've put your blog on my blog...I get a fair number of visitors.

yap · 22-02-2013, 18:59

In 1995 we stopped at Banaba Island in the Kiribati group.
It was so special as at those days only 4 boats / year would stop.
The supply boat came also not more than 2 or 3 times a year. No airport.
No way you can anchor there.
When we were there, the very small boat harbor was Full Up with just us: 34 feet sy Jan Haring. see www.syalishan.com (and look for entry flash back).

Sayonara,
Yap
Lagoon 421, Fukuoka Japan

Kettlewell · 22-02-2013, 19:16

I've been to a bunch of uninhabited islands up in Labrador that were interesting. One had an abandoned whaling station on it, with most of a whale skeleton on the beach. But, more recently we were beating down from the Yucatan passage towards Panama and decided to pull into Swan Island for a break from the tacking, heat, and dodging thundersqualls. The best chart I had was a copy of an old British chart reprinted in an out of date Reeds Caribbean. Arrived just before sunset, which was exciting with the coral and uncharted shallows, but managed to make the "harbor" on the west end of the island. I say harbor in quotes because a huge swell rolled right through it almost directly on the beam, so rolling was extreme. The only people on the island were a few Honduran navy guards who were living in the remains of the abandoned US weather station building. They were living ashore more primitively than we were onboard. I guess they were there to keep drug smugglers from using the air strip and to claim the island for Honduras, as I believe Nicaragua also lays claim to it. I went ashore and landed at the hard wharf in the big swell and managed to bring out a couple of the Navy guys to check us in, all very informally. I think they got seasick pretty quick on our rolling boat. Strangely, another sailboat was there too. They said we were the first boats they had seen in a month and they had another month to go before someone relieved them.

**atoll** · 22-02-2013, 20:13

nagrom snoyl · 23-02-2013, 10:11

jesus alex your only making me jealous with all the different remote places that you have been to , interesting that story about the starving islanders that you came apoun. went ashore on babel island on the way to st helens in tazzy once strange little island people used live there once catching mutton birds that lived in burrows on the island but the place is abandoned now

**atoll** · 23-02-2013, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagrom snoyl

jesus alex your only making me jealous with all the different remote places that you have been to , interesting that story about the starving islanders that you came apoun. went ashore on babel island on the way to st helens in tazzy once strange little island people used live there once catching mutton birds that lived in burrows on the island but the place is abandoned now

there are quite a few more! that due to weather or swell we saw but never managed to land on..........such is the life of an international treasure hunter!

st.peter and paul rocks Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

hanish islands Hanish Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ilhas desertas Desertas Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dsanduril · 23-02-2013, 10:48

Uninhabited - Caroline Island (Caroline Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Fascinating to see how quickly nature can recover when people leave. Amazing number of sharks on the outside.

Inhabited - Kapingamarangi (Kapingamarangi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Felt like one of the family. Hard to leave.

Wildlife - Midway. Walking around amongst a million albatross. Hold your nose.