Down the memory line

[Jan K]

From Egabrag II back to Louisiana to help out with Egabrag III. The fleet is growing...

Fortunately, I did not have to spend too much time in the bayous now, they continued the
conversion without me and I returned to San Diego, waiting for the arrival of the Eagbrag II
from Panama. It limped in on one engine, so more work before we got it running again.
Shake down cruise to nearby Southern California islands.

The abalone was still plentiful then

[Jan K]

Yes, I traveled a lot in those days ...
Quick trip back to the Marshalls and in the spare time visited another of the World War II
wrecks conveniently sunk close to my house

[Joshua Smith]

Jan- thanks again for this thread. I find it to be absolutely amazing. I'm struck by how little I've really done with my life, in comparison to yours, and somewhat humbled. Thanks again for sharing this stuff with us!

[Jan K]

Josh,thanks for kind words. But let me assure you, it is not always fun, many days at sea
when you just hold on as everything around you heaves and rolls and if you could, you
would gladly step off onto firm land and leave the shipboard life to somebody else
How different was my first ocean crossing aboard the sailboat from all the others...
This voyage aboard the Egabrag II from San Diego to Kwajalein: one page is all about what
I feel like to devote to it.. But I would be lying if I said that it was not great life in the
long run ...

[Jan K]

As soon as we arrived at Kwajalein, we loaded supplies and next day departed on first
mission of Egabrag II in the Marshall Islands :

Progress is coming to the remote atolls. Runways are being build and what used to be
very infrequent visits by the copra collecting trading ship few times a year, will soon
be history...

And soon after unloading one customer, another comes aboard and off we go, not rest
for the weary sailors

[Jan K]

Start new year with another mission to Enewetak Atoll, resupply it with food:

and get in little bit of diving

[Jan K]

And the show goes on, from atoll to atoll

[Jan K]

And the show continues, some new players, some old hands ...

Majuro was not as good dive locale like the other atolls, but we kept on trying.
Too bad I was not into critters then :(

This wreck sunk right at the dock, it was heading for a scrap yard when it sunk, so this wreck
was less then 20 hours old when we dove on it..

[Jan K]

From the capital of the Marshall Islands, we took our medical show to the Northern outer islands.

[Jan K]

Things got little busier, I left the Liktanur II and her now routine trips to the northern atolls with
the ongoing projects and started up the second ship in our arsenal in preparation for a new task.
Short shakedown cruise up the lagoon ..

The new project presented new challenges and also we got to use our heliport for the first time!

Our little Egabrag II became an important part of a much larger effort. To recover a diagnostic missile
as fast as possible, so water doesn't ruin the instruments inside it.









The whole mission went off like a clockwork. The Sensor Payload Vehicle was recovered in record time
and instruments stayed dry and in working condition ... Beach party back at Kwajalein was enjoyed by all

[Jan K]

Time to hit the road again And get away from the water and enjoy vacation
in Mexico, in pursuit of ancient ruins ! We started our search close to Mexico City
where we landed after a long travel from Honolulu...
The Pyramids of Teotihuacan



From Mexico City we flew to Merida on the Yucatan peninsula and visited
some of the Mayan ruins there.

After rather a small site near Merida we head for the mother lode - Chichen Itza.
This is a trip down the memory lane. Reading about the site now, It stated, that
visitors are no longer allowed to climb any of the monuments, most stuff is roped
off and one has to pay extra to take photos ...

[Jan K]

The travel though the Mayan country brought us close to Cozumel Island,
which of course was famous even then as diver's paradise. I just could not
pass it without a peek, so we took the first ferry to Cozumel, I rented all
the gear and did two boat dives there. Without an underwater camera, it
was somewhat frustrating in view of my addiction, but I promised myself
that I will return some day...

We managed to catch the last ferry of the day back to mainland and continue
our trip, our goal the ruins of Tulum. Finding shelter for the night this late
proved to be a challenge ..

The Tulum ruins are small enough to explore them easily in few hours, not many
tourists here. (1981). When we revisited Tulum in 2002, it was a different story...

[Jan K]

As we continue our journey across Mexico, utilizing local bus transportation,
next stop is still my very favorite of them all - Palenque. Set in the tropical
forest, the surrounding hills and lush jungle fit exactly my vision for Lost Cities
of the Antiquity ...

[Jan K]

And the search for the ancients goes on ..



Leaving the Atlantic coast and cross to the Pacific side in pursuit of more old rocks..

[Jan K]

Vacation winding down, last ruins visited at Tula..




I hope you enjoyed trip to some of the ruins of Mexico...

[Jan K]

Vacation over, back to work.
Making changes aboard the Egabrag III.

[Jan K]

I leave the Egabrag III and the remodeling effort and fly back to the Marshall Islands to give
hand to the Liktanur II crew on a medical mission.

When we arrived in the Marshalls year and half ago or so, the outer atolls were
depended on the copra ships which were diverted to come and medivac people
in need. Now, most of the atolls have a runway which can accommodate aircraft
suitable for outback operations. Australian pilots were behind the controls of
this Nomad . At that time, there were two flights a week scheduled for Utirik
and Rongelap.

Breadfruit is a very important part of Marshallese diet..

And time to do some diving. Rongelap lagoon had many of these, but there were already signs
that outside world in the form of foreign fishing boats will take a toll on these beautiful animals...

[Norris]

SCUBA Jeans??

[Joshua Smith]

SCUBA Jeans??

Yeah. Like they say:


She was more like a Diving queen from a movie scene
I said don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dive at Seacrest all year round
She said I am the one, who will dive at Seacrest all year round

She told me her name was (insert name of nwdc member), as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dive with me at the coves all year round

People always told me be careful of who you dive with
And don't go around breaking young dive girls' hearts
And Calvin always told me be careful of who you dive with
And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth

SCUBA Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But I am not John Rawling's son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

[Jan K]

SCUBA Jeans??

Oh yes,
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dive forever and a day
We'd dive the gear we choose
We'd dive and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
La la la la ...
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days

Norris, the BC just made an appearance and trim diving was, like the internet,
somewhere in the distant future. The BC had not air supply connection, there
were two small CO2 cartridges which in case of emergency were to be activated and
inflate the vest. I never did it so I don't know the effects of it.
Jeans in the tropical water were used as protection against Fire coral and all the known
and unknown stinging critters floating in the water. Also it helped against sunburn under
the tropical sun while transiting to dive site in an open skiff...

Josh,

[Jan K]

From the remote outer islands to the capital of Marshall Islands - Majuro.

All work and no play make .....

Both ships are much younger then our Liktanur II. Wonder what difference little maintenance does ...

[oldsalt]

Jan: I see you are still publishing magnificent posts, so you must not yet be well enough to dive. I remember after returning from a day of diving in the Philipinnes in 1967 burned by sun and coral. Coveralls became the preferred dive clothing. Not only was my dive gear primitive by current standards, but I was navigating by star and sextant. They might be the good old days, but I like my dive computer, BC, and GPS.
-Curt

[Jan K]

Curt, I do agree with you, it sure is nice to have BC, dive computer and for me especially - digital camera.
Having only 36 exposures to document something like a sunken aircraft carrier was always challenging,
I was always worried that I will be out of film when something really nice will show up. And then I had
to spent hours developing the slides or in case of black & white film, fusing around blackened out room
with stinky developer and fixer, enlarger and all that jazz. Give me a memory chip and a computer any time
And yes, still recovering from my cold :(
So I continue on dragging out pieces of my past ...

[Jan K]

From a medical mission to a quick resupply trip, switch boats for this one ...
Load up the Spam and breadfruit seedlings ( like captain Bligh did in Tahiti
many moons ago and off we go :0

We made it back from Enewetak, few dives in Kwajalein Lagoon.
We dove the G- Buoy wreck again, this time the visibility was bad
so I use pictures from an earlier dive on it ...

[Jan K]

Time for Bikini again ..
It is not easy to get rid off the contaminated soil aft :(