Landing at Gardner

Why didn’t the Navy pilots land at Gardner Island, since the report says the lagoon is deep enough and big enough, and Lambrecht landed at Hull?

Lambrecht’s landing at Hull made sense only because there were people there who could come in a canoe to talk to him. Landing a float plane in one of those lagoons leaves you stranded out in the middle of the lagoon, unable to get anywhere near the shore for fear of running aground, and forced to keep the engine running to keep from drifting into a coral head and holing a float (in which case you would really be in deep trouble). Even in those days before modern SAR techniques, losing people and assets while looking for lost people and assets is not a good equation.

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