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July 6, 1999
Hawaii to Tarawa Voyage, Update #67
SUPPORT TEAM REPORT
Tarawa, Kiribati
Before I left San Francisco to come to Tarawa friends joked that all I would have to do before Jason arrived was sit on the beach and hang loose.
Boy did they have it wrong. It seems ever moment I've been here there has been something to do.
I spoke with Jason by Iridium satellite phone and he is in good spirits and feels fine. He has finally entered the Westerly currents and is making much better progress. The next time we talk we'll decide how far out to sea he would like to be met. Right now we're projecting an arrival in Tarawa toward the middle of July.
This morning I met with Tarataake Teannaki who heads up the Kiribati visitors bureau. He is quite excited about Jason's arrival and would like to organize a reception at the harbor. He asked if I had a banner with me. I told him I didn't and he quickly said "we have to have one." He would like to time Moksha's entry till late afternoon so that local people, when they get off work can come to the pier to join in the welcome. Hope Jason is up for all this.
So what is the Republic of Kiribati like? Here is a very quick overview. Kiribati (pronounced Kiri-bas) is actually a series of 33 low lying coral atolls spread over 2500 miles running East to West. According to travel brochures it is the only country lying on both sides of the Equator.
It also has another geographic claim to fame. In 1995 the country moved the International Date Line toward the East, creating a rather large bulge, so that all the Islands in the group would be on the same day. "A perfectly reasonable decision from an administrative point of view." So says the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
This realignment now places the outer most Island, originally called Caroline Island, but now call Millennium Island as the leading contender to see the first sunrise of the 21st century. This will, no doubt, give Kiribati quite a moment of fame.
Beside the excitement of the year 2000 the Island Republic has, within the month been admitted to the United Nations. And they are celebrating their 20th anniversary as an independent nation on July 12th, just a few days away, with a big parade, speeches and much music and dance.
So lots going on. I'll be videotaping a good deal of the celebration and will send pictures to the website. There is much more to report, but I think this is enough for today. Bye for now.
Maurice Jacobsen
Expedition 360 Support Team
Posted on July 6, 1999 5:38 AM