|
|
Clipperton Journal: The Daily Record of Life on a Pacific Atoll, Part 3 |
|
Lance Milbrand |
| August 29, 2003 |
|
View a 'castaway' Photo Gallery by Lance Milbrand: Go>> April 22, Tuesday, Day 14: I write this as my generator charges my Canon battery. I though that I would have two chargers but found out that one does not work… The day started great with bird behaviors, fights, right outside my tent. I decided to call one bird that lives right next to my tent "Frank", because it has a loud cluck. Frank got the worst of it. He was pierced in the cheek and bill by his neighbor's sharp beak. The birds are super territorial and neighbors often fight over small infractions. I shot lots of pretty chick and parent "red footed booby" in the main grove. They are the most approachable booby unless they have really small chicks, then they cluck and ask you to back away. After lunch I went to the furthest south on the atoll that I could go. There was a wide sandy beach, real sand, and I did not expect that. I noticed some huge crab holes in the sand with football-size mounds next to their holes. These crabs must be early morning or evening critters. I walked from the palm grove of about 30 trees towards the rock. It was about a three-hour walk with stops to notice wildlife and debris. I saw one big drum of oil, a full size wave runner (not working), a boat mast along the shoreline, steel ribs from a previous shipwreck, and a dead sea turtle caught in plastic debris. I found some interesting plastic, a black bison, a man riding a tractor, a Volkswagen bug, several jeep bodies, and the large left leg of a baby doll. I also found some interesting glass, including Clorox bottles. I like the south west end of the atoll— a true smell of the sea where things wash up with the tide day after day. When I returned to camp and was walking towards the tent, I found an old pink bottle. This type of glass was leftover from the guano miners and is over 100 years old. April 23, Wednesday, Day 15: Strong wind and a short rain lasted less than five minutes and I netted a few gallons of water. Another rain came and I caught 16 glasses of drinking water. I put my waterproof cases in the shape of a U and used a piece of plywood from the beach angled at 45 degrees and then covered everything in a big black plastic tarp. In effect, I made a small bathtub. Everything was set up on top of the concrete slab and the birds seemed to enjoy the activity. By now, hundreds of birds had built nests near my camp and were becoming accustomed to my presence. Way across the lagoon, I saw from base camp that my tarp over at the rock had fallen down. I made a skiff trip over there and found out that everything was OK; it just collapsed after the big winds. I set up a lot of gear at base camp and then made it back over to the rock by 5:00 p.m. Shot more crabs and booby and then the crabs invaded my camp. I left bread out by accident and the crabs loved it. That bread was certainly stale by now anyhow. I also shot crabs using my dolly by the shoreline and found geckos eating insects along the rock. A strong "cold" wind may keep me up tonight? April 26, Saturday, Day 18: My warm morning started out normal until I heard VHF radio talk. I had tried to call the tuna seiner earlier to ask about a helicopter ride but got no reply. The Taurus II out of Venezuela was all business. A few moments later I was talking with Rick, owner of Hooked on a Feeling out of Phoenix, but he keeps his boat in San Diego, California. Rick sounded like a friendly guy and he knew all about the Royal Polaris coming back down so I thought it would be OK to meet with him and show him the cut in the reef for his jet ski. Rick came in with his captain, Clive, and we had a video talk about what I was doing on the atoll and the animals that lived near the lagoon. They were amazed at the amount of plastic trash that washed ashore…They came to Clipperton only to fish and they offered me everything I could want and I turned everything down, except for a ride in their skiff. If I could go diving again, that would be great. I could use more underwater shots and the opportunity to go out is important. Rick and Clive departed the atoll and I continued on to a spot across the lagoon in my skiff and dropped off supplies (water) near the rock. I noticed that one of the nests on the grassy island had chicks—moorhen or coot? I then drove my skiff over to the LST and shot some video, then walked back to the rock and continued on with my GPS work. Inch by inch, foot by foot, I had to complete my GPS survey, and using the skiff really helped. Walking around the rock was tedious because of the little waterways and bays. I made it back to the LST site before sunset, plotting about 103 wave points. I also took a roll of stills to help the map department. I called Rick on the VHF radio after dinner and he wants me to call him in the morning to set up a dive time. Good day overall—hot walking with the GPS, but productive. April 27, Sunday, Day 19: The day started a little differently than any other Sunday: windy. White caps appeared in the distance at sea. My hopes to go diving in the morning were shot so I decided to try out my kite and the wireless camera. I assembled everything and showed it to the camera. I had trouble making it fly, but when I got it into the air it flew up with great force. I found out too late that I needed gloves. Then the string-holder broke apart in my hands and my kite flew off and got stuck in a palm tree. It was ugly. Luckily, one of the wooden rods for the kite broke and I narrowly missed sending my kite into the sea. Video-wise, I recorded some good images with the wireless system and luckily I had a back-up stick. I decided to go fishing in front of my camp. I had a few fish strikes then my reel broke. Little intricate and important pieces fell down between my legs and the refraction in the water and swells washed them away. My kite just got stuck and my fishing career was short lived. I caught zero fish and ended up with canned albacore for lunch. I drove the skiff to the LST and continued my way north, making progress with the wave points and GPS. I am about two-thirds complete for the interior of the lagoon. At wave point 270, the beach is very wide until the sea. I walked over to the outside and noticed the cliff is high once you reach the sea, maybe 14 feet above sea level. At this location I saw hundreds of adult booby resting in a brisk wind after fishing. There were no chicks or nests up here and I think it may be because it's always windy on this side of the atoll. When I walked back to the LST and my skiff, the bird nests were made of pure plastic. Booby have adapted to collecting plastic junk to attract their mates. I also noticed some adult booby regurgitating their fish when startled. I found some beautiful 6-to-8-inch blue flying fish on the ground. The adult birds had flown away and I picked up the flying fish, throwing one to an adolescent bird, and it gladly accepted the meal. I found a yellow dinosaur in a nest, the same type I played with as a kid. The LST site could be promising for images. I need to bring the dolly and jib arm. I found a spot along the sea cliff that might be OK for camping, . 19 days on the atoll so far… Part 4: Crabs vs. terns >> Read Lance Milbrand's island journal. Lance Milbrand's Journal: Part One >> Lance Milbrand's Journal: Part Two >> Lance Milbrand's Journal: Part Three >> Lance Milbrand's Journal: Part Four >> Lance Milbrand's Journal: Part Five >> |
| © 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. |