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July 14, 1999
Hawaii to Tarawa Voyage, Update #77
SUPPORT TEAM REPORT 4
Tarawa, Kiribati
As Jason makes his final approach to the Island, attention is now focused toward the sea and determining Moksha's position upon it.
Tarawa is an atoll, this means that the Island is surrounded by a coral reef which shelters a large lagoon. The difficulty with this layout is that there are limited passages into the lagoon and onward to safe harbor.
Jason in his recent daily logs is correct when he says he has to make his approach carefully. It is quite like landing a plane on an aircraft carrier. There is a small narrow approach window. In this case, Moksha needs to circle Tarawa, which is shaped like an inverted letter L, and approach a channel heading West to East. All this while adjusting for wind, tides, and currents.
The problem, which may arise, is that the wind or currents could push Moksha faster than Jason can adjust and thus force him toward the reef. In which case he would need a tow tohelp get him back on line. This, however, is the worse case scenario and at this point Jason appears in fine shape after a dicey couple of days of "misdirected winds."
He is now headed toward a rendezvous point approximately three miles off shore. We will meet him there at daybreak Thursday (Wednesday in the US) with a local fishing boat and if all goes well he should be on shore by Noon.
Our support team of one was joined yesterday by April, from Colorado, who bicycled with Jason across the Western U.S.
We're now off to make final arrangements.
Bye for now
Maurice and April
Expedition 360 Support Team
Posted on July 14, 1999 6:00 AM