Reefs, Atolls, and Islands Between and Around Mangareva and Rapa Nui

Leg 3-- Mangareva to Rapa Nui: the navigators will sail east, looking for and taking their bearings from islands along the way. Ducie Atoll, should they find it, will provide the last known landfall and final bearing before they head into the empty ocean toward Rapa Nui about 800 miles away. Sala-y-Gomez, an island with a large seabird population 260 miles ENE of Rapa Nui, may provide a backstop for the navigators should they overshoot Rapa Nui.

[Bibliographic Note: The descriptions of the islands, atolls, and reefs between Mangareva and Rapa Nui are from Pub. 126: Sailing Directions (Enroute) / Pacific Islands, 5th edition (Bethesda, Maryland: Defense Mapping Agency 1996); the description of Sala-y-Gomez is from Paul Bahn and John Flenley, Easter Island, Earth Island (London: Thames and Hudson, 1992, p. 28).]

Reefs and Islands just East of Mangareva

Temoe (Timoe) (23° 21' S., 134° 29' W), 22 miles ESE of Mangareva, is 3.5 miles long and 2 miles wide. Its barrier reef has several islets planted with coconut palms.

Recif de Ia Minerve (22 ° 40' S, 133° 30' W.) lies about 85 miles ENE of Mangareva. The reef, which is reported to break heavily in a smooth sea, has a depth of 14 m; a reef, awash, was reported (1963) to lie about 11 miles ENE of it.

Portland Reef (Bank) (23° 40' S., 134° 20' W.) lies about 17 miles S of Temoe. There is a least depth of 8.8 m, sand and rock; the sea breaks heavily over the reef.

Oeno, Pitcairn, Henderson, and Ducie

Ancient Interisland Trading

Archealogical evidence indicates that between 1000-1450 A.D., trade took place among Polynesian settlements on Mangareva, Pitcairn, and Henderson, with Mangareva supplying oyster shells for fishhooks and ornaments, Pitcairn supplying basalt for adzes and obsidian for cutting tools, and Henderson supplying possibly turtle and bird egg, birds and feathers, and fish. Trading ended when trees for canoes were no longer available in the forests of Mangareva.

Mangareva (23° 07' S 134° 59' W): Largest island in a 15 mile wide lagoon enclosing a number of small islands and atolls. Resources: forests, oyster shell. Polynesian Settlement (earliest carbon dates): 600-1000 A.D. European Arrival: 1797. Present Status: Territory of France, French Polynesia; pop: 500.

Pitcairn (25° 04' S 130° 05' W): Evidence of Polynesian Settlement: temple platforms, petroglyphs, stone tools. European Arrival: 1767. 1790ÑMutineers of HMS Bounty with Tahitian wives arrived and settled the island. Colony of Britain; pop: 52. (See geographical descripton below.)

Henderson (24° 22' S 128° 19' W): Emerged Atoll; 14 sq. miles; reef; no groundwater. Evidence of Polynesian habitation: midden piles, crop plants. Colony of Britain; uninhabited. (See geographical description below.)

Oeno, Pitcairn, Henderson, and Ducie Islands are British possessions today. They form the district of Pitcairn and are administered under the United Kingdom High Commissioner to New Zealand, as Governor, by a council consisting of a Chief Magistrate and four other officers. Though far apart, they form a separate group lying off the SE end of IIes Tuamotu, and about 1,170 miles SE of Fatu Hiva in Ths Marquises.

Oeno Atoll (23° 56' S, 130° 44' W), about 65 miles NW of Pitcairn Island, is a low and dangerous atoll, and the shallow lagoon is completely surrounded by the coral reef. Near the center of the atoll there is a large island covered with trees; Sandy Island lies in the center of the N part of the reef. In 1978, the N ends of both islets were being eroded, and the S end of Sandy Island and the E extremity of the center islet were extending. Two towers, each 24m high and about 1 mile apart, stand on the reef.

Pitcairn Island (25° 04' S, 130° 05' W) lies about 103 miles WSW of Henderson Island. The island is about 2 miles long in an ESE-WNW direction; it rises to a height of about 305 m. The shore consists of high and almost vertical cliffs, except in one or two places. The island is thickly covered to the summit with luxuriant vegetation and the cliffs are skirted at their base with thickly branching evergreens. It was reported (1983) that the island was picked up on radar at 50 miles, with good identification at 43 miles.

Adamstown is situated on the N side of the island, and is connected with the landing place at Bounty Bay by a path. The most convenient anchorage is off Bounty Bay, on the NE side of the island, in 23 to 31 m, about 0.4 mile from shore; St. Paul's Point is in line with, or just open E of Adams Rock and Youngs Rock bearing 284°. The bottom is sand with rocky patches. The best anchorage with E winds of any strength is in 22 m, 0.3 mile offshore, with Youngs Rock bearing 058° and Point Christian bearing 180°. The preferred communication with the shore is in the islanders' own boat.

Currents in the vicinity of Pitcairn Island generally set to the W at about 0.5 knot, but frequently flow at greater rates.

Henderson Island (24° 22' S, l28° l9' W), 195 miles WNW of Ducie Atoll, is about 31 m high, with a flat surface covered with trees and dense undergrowth, except for its S extremity. On all sides except the N it is bounded by perpendicular cliffs, about 15.2m high, and considerably undermined by the sea. The island is about 5 miles long in a N-S direction and 2.8 miles wide.

A reef extends about 0.1 mile from the NW point. Anchorage for small vessels in 27m, sand and coral, may be taken 0.45 mile SW of the NW extremity of the island. Larger vessels may anchor farther out in 37 to 46m, but with NW winds, this anchorage becomes untenable. There is a deep, but narrow, boat passage through the reef, 0.3 mile S of the anchorage.

Ducie Atoll (Island) (24° 40' S., 124° 47' W): a low islet covered with trees lies on the reef on the N and NE sides of the lagoon; several smaller islets, also covered with trees, lie on the reef on the S side of the lagoon. Breakers extend for 0.5 mile S from the atoll.

Sala-y-Gomez

Sala-y-Gomez is a small reef, 415 km (260 miles) away to the northeast of Rapa Nui. It is only 300 m (985 ft) long at low tide, and shrinks to a mere 70 m (230 ft) at high tide. It is constantly swept by salt spray, and only four species of land plants grow there. There is a small depression which sometimes contains fresh water. Sea birds abound in the breeding season. Although it is possible to land only at times of exceptional calm, the Easter Islanders say that they used to visit Sala-y-Gomez on a regular basis, to collect sea-bird eggs and young as a food supply.