| CANTON, KIRIBATI AUG. 6 - SEPT.10 2007 |
The sail to Canton from Tuvalu was 7 long days fighting currents and
wind on the nose. We had to watch our course carefully and make
constant adjustments to get the best VMG that we could. We were
never able to rhumb line it so we tried to stay as close on the wind as
possible in either a north northeast or south southeasterly direction.
Because of the strong currents, we found that we had to use the
motor a lot more than we had hoped to gain a little more momentum
against it's southwest setting push.
We finally made it to Canton on Aug. 6, but not without snapping our
forestay 20 miles from the pass. It snapped at the top and sail and all
fell into the water but we were able to retrieve everything on deck
quickly. We were very happy Amazing Grace was a cutter rig that
morning, otherwise it could have been disastrous. We realized our
luck was really running when we were able to radio and talk to a
couple on another boat arriving in Tuvalu and then planning on
coming on to Canton in a week's time. They were willing to pick up
some wire we ordered via email on one of the 2 planes that come into
Tuvalu weekly and bring it to us in Canton. They ended up having a
very hard time fighting the currents and winds so didn't arrive Canton
until Aug. 27. Our original plan of 1 week in Canton turned out to be 5
and a half before we were able to set off again on Sept 10.
wind on the nose. We had to watch our course carefully and make
constant adjustments to get the best VMG that we could. We were
never able to rhumb line it so we tried to stay as close on the wind as
possible in either a north northeast or south southeasterly direction.
Because of the strong currents, we found that we had to use the
motor a lot more than we had hoped to gain a little more momentum
against it's southwest setting push.
We finally made it to Canton on Aug. 6, but not without snapping our
forestay 20 miles from the pass. It snapped at the top and sail and all
fell into the water but we were able to retrieve everything on deck
quickly. We were very happy Amazing Grace was a cutter rig that
morning, otherwise it could have been disastrous. We realized our
luck was really running when we were able to radio and talk to a
couple on another boat arriving in Tuvalu and then planning on
coming on to Canton in a week's time. They were willing to pick up
some wire we ordered via email on one of the 2 planes that come into
Tuvalu weekly and bring it to us in Canton. They ended up having a
very hard time fighting the currents and winds so didn't arrive Canton
until Aug. 27. Our original plan of 1 week in Canton turned out to be 5
and a half before we were able to set off again on Sept 10.
| Light house built by the Americans in 1938, with plaque commemorating the crew of the Pan-American Airways wreck of the "Samoan Clipper" while surveying the first South Pacific Aerial trade route. |
| click images to enlarge |
With all our time there and not a lot to do but explore this small atoll, we inadvertently learned a lot about this land
coined "The Crossroads of the World", or the "Aerial Crossroads of the South Pacific".
Canton was named after a whaling ship of the same name from New England that ran aground on it's reef in 1854.
Because Canton was one of the few places on earth without clouds and the solar eclipse could be viewed in it's
entirety, both the Americans and New Zealanders met there in 1937 for the observation. There was tension at first
over who had the right to be there, but in the end they agreed to share possession. With New Zealand being a
member of the commonwealth of England, Canton became a condominium state of England and America. It was
then that the Americans realized that this atoll and it's large lagoon would be the perfect refueling point for Juan
Trippe's Pan American Airways Aerial Trade Route across the South Pacific from California to Hawaii, Canton, Fiji,
New Caledonia and down to New Zealand.
After building piers, docking slips for their many sea planes, a landing strip for land planes and a hotel to
accommodate the passengers while the planes were refueled and serviced, they ran their route through Canton
until 1945.
In 1941 Noel Coward was on the Island and wrote a play there. His Mr.and Mrs. Edgehill was based on the
experiences of the British representative whose job it was to maintain the condominium British-American political
status of the atoll.
coined "The Crossroads of the World", or the "Aerial Crossroads of the South Pacific".
Canton was named after a whaling ship of the same name from New England that ran aground on it's reef in 1854.
Because Canton was one of the few places on earth without clouds and the solar eclipse could be viewed in it's
entirety, both the Americans and New Zealanders met there in 1937 for the observation. There was tension at first
over who had the right to be there, but in the end they agreed to share possession. With New Zealand being a
member of the commonwealth of England, Canton became a condominium state of England and America. It was
then that the Americans realized that this atoll and it's large lagoon would be the perfect refueling point for Juan
Trippe's Pan American Airways Aerial Trade Route across the South Pacific from California to Hawaii, Canton, Fiji,
New Caledonia and down to New Zealand.
After building piers, docking slips for their many sea planes, a landing strip for land planes and a hotel to
accommodate the passengers while the planes were refueled and serviced, they ran their route through Canton
until 1945.
In 1941 Noel Coward was on the Island and wrote a play there. His Mr.and Mrs. Edgehill was based on the
experiences of the British representative whose job it was to maintain the condominium British-American political
status of the atoll.
| Signs of the roads to the Pan-Am Hotel are still visable |
| Lighthouse memorial plaque |
| Kelly encounters deadend road while riding around the Atoll |
Then came WWII. Because of it's crossroads location, landing strip and large lagoon, Canton was used as a refueling
and staging refuge for our ships and troops. There were underground bunkers, hospitals, generating plants,
barracks and officer's housing built for the thousands of troops that were stationed there.
Next came the space program. NASA erected Satellite dishes to track John Glen's first orbit around the Earth and all
of the technical equipment that goes along with accomplishing that task. When the Americans left the island in the
early 1970's they handed it and all that was built on it over to the Kiribati government. The Kiribati government sent
some of their people over to Canton to colonize it. In the early days there were hundreds of Kiribati people there, but
as time went on and all the buildings fell to ruin less and less people were sent over.
When we arrived there was only 30 people living on Canton and we made fast friends with many of them in the 5 and
a half weeks we were anchored in their lagoon.
and staging refuge for our ships and troops. There were underground bunkers, hospitals, generating plants,
barracks and officer's housing built for the thousands of troops that were stationed there.
Next came the space program. NASA erected Satellite dishes to track John Glen's first orbit around the Earth and all
of the technical equipment that goes along with accomplishing that task. When the Americans left the island in the
early 1970's they handed it and all that was built on it over to the Kiribati government. The Kiribati government sent
some of their people over to Canton to colonize it. In the early days there were hundreds of Kiribati people there, but
as time went on and all the buildings fell to ruin less and less people were sent over.
When we arrived there was only 30 people living on Canton and we made fast friends with many of them in the 5 and
a half weeks we were anchored in their lagoon.
| Here we are with all the people of Canton at the fete that they gave us. |
| Ann Teague and Cuyler from "Wind Rose". The wonderful people who brought our forestay wire. |
| Underground WWII hospital entrance |
| Old satellite dish surrounded by the ruins left behind. |
| Kelly in the corridor of the underground hospital. |
| Typical landscape of Canton. Whale bones and ruined remains of previous occupation. |
| Our best friends on the island Brandon, Kelly, Donna |
| Brandon and son shucking coconuts |
| Kelly with our other favorite family. Rino, his wife and grand baby. |