Trip Report

-9-

The next day was spent by all doing backbreaking work,
The crew
ended up carting most of the BNL gift food aboard.
After talking to
Dr. Iaman I decided he would be our "pilot".
Both he and
Kalmen Gideon knew Utirik well enough that there would be no problem.
(I did find out that Global would allow an employee to come with us
if needed.)
The last day before leaving was one of frenzy.
for patients,

We put on board chairs

tables, and an additional 16" freezer, all of the

bunks were welded into place. The x-ray was working, the crew's
food and gift foods were on,
I talked with Dr. Pratt at lunch and
asked if he had any last minute problems or needs.
He said "No"
then asked me if I had a copy of the contract with U.S. Oceanography.
The crew was working very hard, and the raft they built is very
efficient and proved invaluable during the course of the trip.
We left at 7:40am on Friday, which was right on target and the result
of well planned and executed work by U.S, Oceanography. The trip to
Rongelap took 17-1/2 hours and we had winds and high seas all
the way.
No one had much sleep.
The wind was 25 knots in the lagoon
at Rongelap.
Hugh Pratt said that he didn't sleep at all because the
He also
air conditioner over his bed was condensing and leaking.
said that there were not enough mirrors on the ship and noted that
the LCU had cut the corner coming into Rongelap instead of going one
mile off as Otterman did.
He also was very put out that when he
caught a fish it had to be cleaned by members of his medical team
and not by the crew "like the LCU crew always did",
I didn't even
reply; the whole crew was hard at work securing items in rough pitch
and roll seas,
It was hard enough just to stand up.
I then overhead Dr. Pratt tell Dr. Grant about the strange relationship
on board whereby he had to go through Harry Brown to get something
from the Captain.
A bit later when we were alone I told him that
the communications situation seemed to have evolved this way but I
certainly was open to suggestion and that we could modify it any way
he liked.
He said "No, it is working okay this way".
I told him
that I was well aware that it was awkward to communicate formally
through this chain with such a small group of people and suggested
we three establish a regular dialogue.
He said "No".
He said that
"This is the way Stanley seemed to want it".
JI again stressed that I
was completely flexible.
It was obvious that with his personal attitude we were in for a long
trip, but the other members of the medical team seemed delighted with
the whole experience.
U.S. Oceanography so far had done everything
asked of them, and more.
The Liktanur II was anchored about 100
yards offshore, and Dr. Pratt and I went ashore on a whaler at 11:30

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