TIME: 2014/02/18 6:40AM or 18:41UTC
LATITUDE: 10-27.25N
LONGITUDE: 169-57.05E
Ailuk Atoll, Majruo Marshall Islands
Yesterday, we walked around the most northerly of the islands on Ailuk atoll. It was only a 2 mile walk, but a beach combers delight with an incredible number of fishing floats. I decided to try to photograph each unique type of float we encountered, the photos turned out pretty good.
North end of Ailuk atoll, Marshall islands is very nice.
Kathy on the move during a beach walk.
Can you spot all 12 kinds of trash and 1 sea shell.
Drinking bottled water is sooo cool. Can you spot your favourite brand littering this pristine beach? If you purchase bottled water you support this on some level as you enable the companies to continue to operate. The ultimate waste. These bottles last 200 years in the wild.
Fishing float U5544
These mall fishing floats numbered in the many hundreds maybe even thousands.
This float was carved out to create the most basic version of a fishing reel. Fishing line is wound around the inner hub for storage. We see these in use throughout the pacific.
Old radio beacon on left.
Big egg shaped float.
Floats eventually break down and tiny bits of plastic enter the food chain.
Large yellow tuna seine boat float after several years in the sun.
Another float quickly deteriorating.
Chunk of round hard plastic float.
Commercial fisihing float 41520 from the Pacific Northwest?
Bits of a plane? Note the hole on the right side where the metal is expolded outward. Seems strange. Aircraft debris found on Ailuk atoll, Marshall Islands.
If you zoom in you can see ID numbers on this bearing. Maybe a sleuth could figure out the likely origin. Seems too new for WWII.
Another close up of the bearing
Is this a airplane flap?
Grey blue pain on one side and red on the other? Maybe it's military?
Underside shows more corrision.
And one last shot of the bearing that has ID marks. If you figure out what this is please let me know.
Looks like a commercial crab float from the Pacific Northwest. L21070.
Very common black plastic float.
This could be the most common float found in the Marshall islands. Usually manufactured in Asia or Japan.
Cute little float. Once you start looking these are fairly common and where you find one you usually find many.
Kathy explores the tide pools
A few of the bigger fishing floats. Again where you find one big one you find many more nearbly.
Typical pile of plastic trash.
Old battery being used as an anchor for small boats. At first I upset by all the batteries 'thrown' on the beach and then I realized they were being used for anchors. Not ideal. But, where should they go? On the atoll to potentially pollute the drinking water? No good answer here.
Old stainless steel fishing beacons. Often you see these used as bar stools.
Not every bit of the beach is trashed. This photo is tropical paradise screen saver material.
Later in the day we tried to kite, but the wind went light.
Today it looks like another light wind day, so we're planning a snorkelling expedition at the northerly most pass on the west side of Ailuk atoll. The crews of Blue Bie and Radiance will join us aboard LightSpeed and we'll make a day out of it.
That's it for now.
