Kure Atoll: Difference between revisions

Two shipwrecks in the early 19th century were the ''Gledstanes'' and the ''Parker'', in 1837 and 1842 respectively.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=The American Whaling Ship Parker|url=https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/maritime/parker.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument}}</ref> The ''Gledstanes'' crewmembers were able to make it to the island and then were able to build a new vessel from the debris of their old ship. Some of the survivors then sailed it back to mainland Hawaii.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=The Wreck Diver|url=https://hanahou.com/20.2/the-wreck-diver|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Hana Hou!}}</ref> Once they reached Hawaii, they sent a ship back to rescue those who had stayed behind on the island.<ref name=":3" /> The shipwreck of the ''Gledstanes'' was found in 2008.<ref name=":5" /> The ''Parker's'' crew had a somewhat more difficult time but did manage to get to land by floating on a raft for several days.<ref name=":4" /> On Ocean (now Green Island) they managed to survive on a diet of birds and other wildlife at the atolls.<ref name=":4" /> They even encountered the dog from the ''Gledstanes'' who had been living wild on the island in the previous years.<ref name=":4" /> They attempted to make contact with the outside world by attaching messages to seabirds.<ref name=":4" /> The ''Parker'' had shipwrecked in September 1842 and having lived at Kure Atoll, many of the crew were finally rescued on April 16, 1843, with the remainder taken off on May 2, 1843.<ref name=":4" /> The first rescue ship was the ''James Stewart'' and the second rescue ship was the whaler ''Nassau''.<ref name=":4" />

The wreck of the [[USS Saginaw (1859)|USS ''Saginaw'']] was found in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|last=TenBruggencate|first=Jan|date=October 18, 2003|title=Historic Hawai'i wreck found|work=The Honolulu Advertiser|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Oct/18/ln/ln06a.html|access-date=September 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113014327/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Oct/18/ln/ln06a.html|archive-date=January 13, 2012}}</ref> The research dive studying the wreck was featured in the book ''A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Life on Board USS Saginaw''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Young|first=Jackie M.|date=2018-03-06|title=Finding Sunken Ships and Discovering their Secrets|url=https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/finding-sunken-ships/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Hawaii Business Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2010, the wreck of a sailboat was recovered from Kure Atoll.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=Kaya|first=Travis|date=2010-07-24|title=Ship salvaged after 4 years|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2010/07/24/hawaii-news/ship-salvaged-after-4-years/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser|language=en-US}}</ref> The sailboat was discovered in 2007, and was determined to be the boat of sailor who departed from [[Fiji]] in 2006, but was lost at sea.<ref name=":8" />

In 2020 a crew of four stayed on the island from February through to October.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|last1=Heyward|first1=Giulia|last2=Gray|first2=Melissa|date=2020-12-02|title=Researchers who spent months on remote island return to COVID-stricken society|url=https://abc11.com/8445547/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-07|website=ABC11 Raleigh-Durham|language=en}}</ref> While there is no television or cell phone service, limited internet connectivity allows for emails to be sent and received.<ref name=":9" /> The island is occupied by two crews each year that are rotated in and out.<ref name=":9" /> Their job is to keep an eye on the island, and they also try to clean up trash that washes up on the island.<ref name=":9" />

The [[callsign]] prefix for Kure Atoll as of 2017 is KH7K, and for nearby Midway Atoll KH4, on the DXCC list.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=May 11, 2017|title=Midway and Kure Islands - Reinstated as DXCC entities|url=https://dxnews.com/midway-kure/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-07|website=dxnews.com|language=en}}</ref> They were briefly deleted from the DXCC list and had to be re-added after a review, due to a legal change of the overall regions status.<ref name=":10" />