Aloha Scott, I was wondering if you encountered any shells affected by radiation in Bikini? Mahalo, Shea O'Neill >From: Scott Jordan <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Conchologists List <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: remote places >Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2006 07:28:40 -0800 > >The most remote location I have been at is the Bikini atoll in the Marshall >islands. First stop was Guam, then Continental's Micronesian circuit plane >to the Kwajalein atoll, then on to Majuro (capital of the Marshalls) and >from there a weekly plane takes you to a rubble landing strip on an >uninhabited island in the Bikini atoll. From there we were picked up by a >small motor boat and traveled an hour to another island where there lived a >staff of eight or so people running a dive operation and research station. > > > >Why would someone make this journey? Because there lies the best wreck >diving in the world. We penetrated some amazing ships, such as the USS >Saratoga (the only divable aircraft carrier in the world) and the Nagato >(flagship of the Japanese Imperial Army). Only problem is that these are >probably the most shark infested waters in the world since fishing has been >banned from the time of the nuclear tests conducted after WWII. As we >spent >long periods at 200 foot depths, we needed to decompress on pure oxygen for >up to 90 minutes, batting away the sharks the whole time. Fortunately >these >were only white tipped reef sharks and not the sometime encountered Tiger >sharks or worse yet, Oceanic White Tips. > > > >I can not express to you how eerily beautiful the island was with its long >white beachs, ocean vistas and unbroken silence. There were hundreds of >miles of water to the next populated area, so one really felt alone with >nature. > > > >The beachcombing provided bags of Cypraea moneta, like no where I have seen >before. Snorkeling was discouraged. And when I suggested a night dive, >they told me it would be suicide. > > > >Scott Jordan > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------