i
seasick.
~10-
When we arrived at Rongelap we were met by the new elected magistrate,
Jobwe, and his predecessor, Nick.
They were very cordial and urged us to set
up operations in thenew dispensary ashore.
The ship immediately procured the
oil drum raft which had been left on the island.
way and ship-to-shore shuttling began.
This was placed under the gang-
The only procedures that were required
to be performed aboard ship were the dental extractions and x-ray studies.
The
stay on Rongelap was uneventful until the final evening when we were preparing
to show a movie for the village.
While the medical staff and the crew of the ship
were setting up a projector, a young male living on Rongelap, who we later
discovered had been drinking vdédka, went berserk and attempted to run over anybody
he could hit with his Toyota truck.
In the process of his violent actions, he
ran over the projection table and the film cans; however, by the grace of God,
nobody was injured and all members of the BNL medical team and ship's crew
immediately returned to the ship.
Thereafter the magistrate and Nick came out
to the ship and requested that we notify Majuro immediately, requesting a policeman
to accompany the next field trip ship to place the young man under arrest for
aggravated assault.
I don't believe that his actions were directed against BNL/DOE
or the ship directly, but were rather as a result of uncontrolled fury secondary
to intoxication.
The people of Rongelap apologized profusely and we indicated
to them that we understood the situation and that they were not held responsible
for his actions.
On the following day we departed for Utirik.
moderate to heavy swelis.
Again we ran into
The ship was pitching so badly that Captain Coberly
chose to tack across the waves at 4.5 knots to prevent excessive hull strain.
He had originally attempted to head directly into the seas.
The ship, in pounding
head on into 10' seas would slam through the seas and then develop a prolonged
low-frequency oscillation that was induced by the heavy 30 ton crane amidships.