The Coordinator of the Micronesian Challenge*, Lesley Vick, thoroughly enjoyed her ride on a traditional Marshallese canoe (September, 2014), despite the fact there wasn’t an abundance of wind. “I’m used to the rowing canoes they have where I live in Palau, so I wanted to see how the Marshallese canoes went. They are famed for their speed and agility.” Lesley’s skipper was long-time WAM employee and carpentry instructor Linton Baso. “We got a few gusts, when I really got the fell of how fast they can go. Plus, it was nice to get out onto the water and get a perspective of how large the lagoon in Majuro is.”
*The Micronesia Challenge is a western Pacific regional initiative to improve the conservation of marine and land resources. In late 2005, Palau President Tommy Remengesau called on his peers to join him in the Challenge, which hopes to see the conservation of 30 percent of near shore coastal waters and 20 percent of forest land by 2020. Signatories of the Challenge are Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the US territories Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.