Exploring Japanese WWII structures on Moen and Eten Islands.

These photos were taken in 1994. Truk is a wreck diver's paradise.

WW II bunker near the Truk Continental Hotel.

Looking out of a bunker near the Truk Continental Hotel.

A rusty machine-gun at the tip of Eten island. In this area we dove on a crashed and submerged Japanese Zero and a "Betty Bomber".

During our dive interval we explored Eten island. There was a communications building on the island that had been heavily bombarded. Here is a photo from the interior of the building. In its day it was a beautiful 2 story building with a huge central staircase. Note the rebar and the structural damage.

More rebar damage. 

Buckled rebar.

Looking out the slits in a bunker.

Zanryusha

Zanryusha was the Japanese word for a straggler, a modern day Robinson Crusoe who managed to survive a war and it's aftermath. (quote taken from the article)

I cut this article out of the newspaper while we were living on Guam between 1989 and 1995. This just absolutely fascinates me! Yokoi, the last straggler was caught 28 years after the end of WW II. If you click on the page it will make it readable. You can then scroll through all four pages. Be aware that the pages overlap. 

Whenever the kids and I were in the boonies on Guam, I always kept a sharp eye out just incase there was a Zanryusha more zealous than Yokoi. Yokoi past away in 1997. 

The Wonder of Seashells

This is a collection of macro photos of our seashell collection.

Abalone Shell

I have always been intrigued by the structure and patterns of shells.

Sand Dollar

This is a small section of the
 intricate pattern of a cone shell.

Razor Coral

Triton's Trumpet

Abalone Shell

One of my favorite quotes - H.W. Tilman

Tilman said this back in the 1950's or 1960's.

With all of the heart disease and such today, it is more 

apropos than in the past.

STRENUOUSNESS IS THE IMMORTAL PATH,

SLOTH IS THE WAY OF DEATH.

H. W. TILMAN

HIMALAYAN EXPLORER and MOUNTAINEER

New favorite nautical book!

When I was at Mystic Seaport on Sept 2nd I saw a book in the gift shop that immediately interested me. It was called WHALE HUNT and was the narrative of a young man that had been the harpooner on the Charles W. Morgan from 1849 to 1853. The price was a little steep so I decided to write the name of the book down and then I'd try to find it in Amazon for a better price. I forgot all about it until my eyes caught hold of the words WHALE HUNT on a used book in a thrift store in North Syracuse, NY where my daughter's family lives. As I pulled the book out of the shelf and my eyes caught the words "Charles W. Morgan" my heart surged with excitement. I may sound cheap but I love being a thrifty shopper when it comes to books. The price was 99 cents. I couldn't wait to get home and curl up and delve into the book. I finished it yesterday (Oct 5, 2013) and I must say that it is right up there with TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST and MOBY DICK.

Having had the opportunity to crawl all over that whaling ship and then read such an interesting narrative that is not fiction was great. As I would read about them tangling with cannibals on south sea islands, or in combat with sperm whales, I would then close my eyes and visualize the exact location on the deck where the occurrence happened. 

That is real reading to me.

Now, some may say, "you who have captained hundreds of whale watching excursions, how can you enjoy reading about whales being killed?" My answer is that back in those days if I was from New Bedford or Nantucket and I needed to feed my family, I would have done what I needed to do to take care of the temporal needs of my family. I believe in "saving the whales". Thank goodness that nowadays, we know better! Some specie populations are still dangerously low but many are rebounding like the success story of the Gray Whale. Still, when I here Nic Jones sing "The Humpback Whale" it stirs me to my core. .  .  .  when I walk the water front in New Bedford, it stirs me to my core,  .   .  . when I crawl in the dark spaces of the Charles W. Morgan, it stirs me to my core!

My dad and mom introduced me to nautical books. For my birthday when I lived in Guam they bought me a book called, "THE VOYAGE of the BARK STEFANO".  Since then I try to devour every good nautical books that I can get my hands on.

My dad also introduced me to the book, "TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST", which is definitely one of the top nautical books of the genre.

My top 5 favorite nautical books are:

1. Two Years Before the Mast

2. Moby Dick

3. The Sea Wolf

4. Whale Hunt

5. The Bark Stefano

Honorable mention:

1. Captains Courages

2. 20,000 leagues Under The Sea

3. Mutiny On THe Bounty

For a real treat  .  .  .  read WHALE HUNT!

Beautiful moon last night!

Sea Sorcery

Robert Service

Oh how I love the laughing sea,

sun lances splintering;

or with a virile harmony

in salty caves to sing;

or mumbling pebbles on the shore,

or roused to monster might:

by day I love the sea, but more

I love it in the night.

High over ocean hangs my home

and when the moon is clear

I stare and stare till fairy foam

is music in my ear;

till glamour dances to a tune

no mortal man can make;

and there bewitched beneath the moon 

to beauty I awake.

Then though I seek my bed again

and close the shutters tight, 

still, still I hear that wild refrain

and see that mystic light  .  .  .

oh reckon me a crazy loon, 

but blessed I would be

if my last seeing be the moon, 

my last sound  -  the sea.

The Deck Prism

I had the opportunity to visit Mystic Seaport earlier this week in Mystic, Connecticut. It is one of the premier "Maritime Museums" in the world.  It had been on my bucket list for quite a few years.
Mystic Seaport has the last wooden whaling ship in existence on display.

"The whaleship Charles W. Morgan was launched in New Bedford Massachusetts in 1841. 

After an 80 - year career and 37 voyages that spanned the globe, 

she is now on exhibit at Mystic Seaport 

where she tells the story of whaling's role in U.S. history.

A National Historic Landmark, the Morgan is the oldest American commercial 

vessel still afloat and the last remaining wooden whaleship in the world."

(Mystic Seaport Brochure)

The Morgan was retired from whaling in 1921 and arrived at Mystic Seaport in November of 1941. 

The Morgan is in the Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport. It is undergoing a restoration. In July it was put back into the water after having her hull restored.

Me with the Charles W. Morgan on Monday, September 2nd, 2013

I had the chance to examine the Morgan and enjoyed inspecting the ship's main deck and the deck below the main deck. 

**********

I believe that members of the church who read about Mahonri Moriancumer (the brother of Jared) are inspired by his faithfulness and good works. He is our example of going to the Lord with questions and desires and then going the extra mile to fulfill the adage, "God helps those who help themselves".   (Ether Chapters 1 through 6)

A dark, confined space in a windowless dish-shaped barge would be terrifying. Especially when the irregular and abrupt movement of rough and tempestuous seas were experienced. The Brother of Jared went to the Lord in prayer and asked what was to be done for light inside the hulls. The Lord said, "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:23) and "what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?" (Ether 2:25) The Brother of Jared came up with an idea. He would molten clear white stones that the Savior would touch so that they would glow.

*******

The deck prism was used in wooden ships because candles and lamps produced an open flame that was very dangerous for the flammable vessels.. When the Morgan was brought to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, an in-tact deck prism was found in the deck. It has now been reproduced and is widely available. I purchased one when I was there. Mystic Seaport found advertisements for deck prisms from ship chandleries with the earliest that they have on record as 1855. The deck prism allowed light to enter the flat surface embedded into the deck so that it would not be a tripping hazard, and then the light was reflected into the room below from the angled prisms.

.

A deck prism set in the deck of the Charles W. Morgan

More detail of a deck prism set in the deck of the Morgan.

Looking up to the bottom side of the prism from the deck below the main deck. I used a flash to illuminate the entire ares.

Interesting photo from the deck below the main deck. In this photo you can see  the ambient light from a window, the light from an electric light (top left), and the glowing bottom of a deck prism. (top right)

This photo is taken from one of the rooms in the second deck that had no other light source than the prism. I didn't use a flash and had to hold the camera very still, of course.

Here is a look at the prism end.