Moving right along …..
We've heard back from the folks at Betchart Expeditions who are putting together the 2015 cruise to Nikumaroro. As you may recall, they were asking for expressions of interest from the public to see if there was enough demand to justify the excursion. They are flabbergasted. The response has been greater than they have ever gotten for any proposed trip. Needless to say, they are moving forward with setting up the logistics and getting ready to start accepting bookings.
They are looking at several ships, all very nice, ranging from 60 to 130 in the number of passengers they can accommodate. At this point they're projecting 3 full days and two half days at Nikumaroro. Tom King and I are now trying to figure out how in the name of Nei Manganibuka we're going to give upwards of a hundred people a meaningful and rewarding experience at Niku. Just getting people ashore safely will be a challenge. The landing channel can be treacherous, especially at low tide with surf running - and our guests will not be carefully selected and hardened TIGHARs. This is going to take some careful planning.