Crew Blog

Midway memories - part 2

18 March 2008

From my first glimpse of Midway, with hundreds of birds circling above, and a massive pod of dolphin escorting us in along with the “Follow me Boat”, it was apparent that this was a special stop over for us.  What an intriguing place it turned out to be; and with an interesting bunch of people working to preserve the habitat of the island. The most striking sight is the million or so Albatross flying around, feeding their chicks or taking part in an elaborate and comical compatibility ritual.  Since an immigrant rat population was destroyed a few years ago, they have no natural predators, so are easily approachable.  In fact their biggest threats are man made.  On the island its the lead paint and an imported plant which covers nesting sites with its over abundant growth.  The lead paint comes from buildings constructed in the 1930s and kills many thousands of Albatross chicks each year.  The other killer is plastic which the parents pick up in the ocean during their epic food forays and pass onto the chicks.  Many of the dead chicks are found to have massive amounts of plastic in their stomachs.
Eileen Moore

I was able to play out my favourite childhood adventure story – The Famous Five.  This was good old fashioned fun in its purist form.  Given bikes for the afternoon, we set along our chosen path to explore the island.  Our journey took us past the old air hanger of which sections had been fashioned into tennis courts and a vegetable patch.  Further along the track we dodged baby Albatross and competed with elders as we crossed the runway, one crashing by my wheel as she nose dived into the tarmac. The adventure continued onto the beach as we eagerly searched for a glimpse of the sea turtles and seals, our treasure wasn’t found but by no means were we disappointed for the afternoon ended with lashings and lashings of ice cream cake.
Lou Bennett

Running along the wooded tracks, taking care not to step on the furry, squawking, brown albatross hatchlings littering my way, the reality of not undertaking any aerobic fitness for months hit me hard. Every muscle in my legs and the vast majority in my upper body were in agony. My lungs were screaming at me to stop. In a flash the pain vanished. There it was, stretching out as far as my eyes could see; golden sand beaches, fringed with palm trees and lapped by tropical, turquoise waters.

Running into the wind, as the sand peppered my skin as only sand can, in the solitude that can only be found on a remote, desolate island summed up everything I loved about Midway; the isolation, the natural wilderness, the sheer natural beauty and a break from the fiasco that our race has become. The only thing that was missing from this scene was the warm smiles and friendly faces that welcomed us. Then I realised that I was not alone. Stretched out on its back, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies lay a Hawaiian Monk Seal. A delight to watch and a memory that will surely be part of my “when I lost my mast in the mid-Pacific” yarn to be told countless times in years to come!
Anon