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Day 19: Growing Up in the NWHI

Bodeen family: Tim, Stephanie, Bailey and Tanzie, with Jean-Michel Cousteau. Photo credit: Holly Lohuis,

Midway Atoll

Date: 7/25/03
Location: N28°12.8' W175°50.3'
Weather: Wind 21 knots
Sea Conditions: Flat and calm in the protection of the small harbor

The team spends Day 19 on Midway Island, an important logistical stopover for refueling, refilling freshwater tanks and offloading recycled garbage. They also meet with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff, who show them more of the damaging effects that humans have had on their local environment. Jean-Michel sees albatross chicks with droopy-wing syndrome, an eventually fatal effect caused by lead paint on the old military buildings around the island. Four crew members also head out with a marine debris team and film the removal of fishing nets from the ocean floor. So far they've removed an astounding 82 tons of nets in the area.

Jean-Michel Cousteau views the shocking sight of 82 tons of marine debris collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's team at Pearl and Hermes Atoll in a brief two-and-a-half-week period. Photo credit: Tom Ordway Click to enlarge

The team's host for the day is the Bodeen family -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee Tim, the island manager; his wife Stephanie; and their daughters, Bailey and Tanzie, ages 11 and 9. The girls are the only two children on Midway Island, where they have lived for almost two years. Home-schooled by their mother and a volunteer teacher, the girls seem to love living on Midway and are eager to share their experiences with the crew.