To be hard to reach, in the XXI century the inhabited island is not enough to be removed from the mainland or other islands: a key requirement, of course, the lack of an aerodrome. Here Easter Island, for example, geometrically much more Pitcairn from any human habitation (more than about. Easter - №2 by remoteness after Tristan da Cunha), but thank IPC (ICAO: SCIP), enjoying visits to dozens of Russian geobloggerov year). Alas, these days get to Pitcairn much easier than before, and from the call mad and quirky, the route turned into a shameful mainstream

Previously (up to 90) on Pitcairn fall either on a private yacht, or catching passing by the island cargo ships from New Zealand to the Panama Canal and back. Nowadays, there are 4 popular ways to get to Pitcairn, the most practical of them - one and half an ocean crossing to the island of Mangareva in the Gambier archipelago, where you can arrive by plane from Tahiti  1) MV Claymore II (as they say on Pitcairn -  supply ship): cargo-passenger ship, contracted by the Government of Pitcairn four cargo flights a year (about once a quarter) of the New Zealand Pitcairn - it is the main, if not the only, way to deliver cargo to the "mainland" to the island today (before the contract had to stoop to passing ships); on the  MV Claymore II  to the island comes everything - from frozen chicken to ADSL-modem. Arriving on a quarterly basis from NZ on Pitcairn and unload the ship makes two more flights to Mangareva with 12 passengers on board (total, 8 passenger flights per year) NZ $ 5,000 per person per round-trip ticket  MV Claymore II a kind of analogue RMS St. Helena (which hit the island of St. Helena), but economically arranged differently:  RMS  subsidizes Britain and the  supply ship  hires Government colony 

9.5 knots, 17.6 km / h (but the  RMS St. Helena  figachit all 20 knots (37 km / h)!)

2) Rent a yacht. For example, did pitcairn 

3) On a cruise ship, as did asosnin. Find cruise past Pitcairn - in itself is not easy, but the main disadvantage of this method is that rare cruise ship disembarks passengers to shore, usually limited circles around and lecture Pitcairn Island guests in the club ship. Record Pitcairn established ship landed on the island with a population of 49 400 people tourists (8 hellish tourists to every local!), But it is very rare 4) Pacific Expeditions, a company from Rarotonga, Cook Islands with a well-known owner of Captain Graham Wragg (Graham Wragg ) brings tourists 2-4 times a year to Mangareva on Pitcairn for a measly ~ $ 1,900. Write about them on the Internet and say verbally unreal amount of filth from the innocent ("do not pay masters"), to date hells compromising ("badly fed"); Nevertheless, the majority of tourists falls on Pitcairn was with them That is - amazing Mangareva, place on the edge of the world (the flight of 40 hours from Moscow), where from 1834 to 1871 there was a Catholic theocracy (!!!) State (!!!) founded and managed by some father Honoré Laval'em, and left behind a pile of material history as churches, towers, houses and monasteries. See it all on the edge of the world - a complete dump Baska 

Time Gambier an hour ahead of Tahiti

Pacific Expeditions now go mainly on  SRV (Sailing Research Vessel) Discovery. Harbor Mangareva empty, except the shuttle from the airport at the pier has only this:

When you realize that  SRV Discovery  - it's it and that's it for him to go on the open Pacific Ocean (not on the sea!) 36 hours in the shower comes known excitement. :) They say that at this point, people often turn around and instead travel to Pitcairn looking for a hotel in Gambier (or, if lucky, and the harbor is worth  MV Claymore II, transplanted to her for any money) 

© Capt Craig Markowski

While passengers fled, Captain  Craig Markowski  takes all passports - and relates to the gendarmerie, where tropical policeman puts a subtle stamp of the departure of French Polynesia

Men Polynesians often paint a piece of hair on top in white, yellow or orange. Like any fashion, it turns out pretty quickly picked up first by teenagers, and then the children 

Entertainment on Mangareva little, 4:00 pm - students' classes were over, so that all children Rikitea gather on the dock: jump entry and conduct  Discovery

Above the windshield left to right: GPS; 72-mile radar, "seeing" objects protruding above the water at 3 meters and above; Sonar at 2000m, suitable for fishing (and under it - a modern plotter with GPS, able to show map); short-ship-to-shore  SSB radio  is so 1930, it has become outdated  on the dashboard - electrical shield, ammeters and dials from diesel engines. Under the dashboard - normal car radio; under it -  VHF-radio, workhorse soveremennyy sea communications at close range; and the right of the radio - the autopilot, which is able to walk on the compass heading  Why am I - the tools to see the reefs on board not:-) 

SRV  on two engines a real beast, and figachit 7.5 knots (14 kmph)

In fact,  Discovery  just renamed from  Bounty Bay  after extensive repairs and upgrades at a shipyard in NZ (built a cabin on deck, mast and stuck an extra tank for diesel fuel) and it makes its first flight from New Zealand to Pitcairn 

* 44 hours *

Moorings given to using mothers little helpers: 

Go approximately 4. Between the arrival of the shuttle from the airport and departure  Discovery  does not pass an hour. Literate travelers in that hour should buy booze for 2 days, because  there is no bar on the  Discovery

In Gambier daunting karallovaya lagoon and out of her grave situation requires all forces small crew

© Capt Craig Markowski

Chuvakov name is Arthur and Ravid, and the captain - Craig. Neither Arthur nor Ravid not pay money they volunteers and everyone has their own motivation. Ravid - 22, he was discharged from the Israeli army and "looking for himself." Arthur - 27, he finished in New Zealand some morehodku and works on the  Discovery  of the entries in the record book and a sailor because he likes the sea (and it did not float when  Discovery  days goes overseas and does not go in any port - they there were 14 days of the Cook Islands NZ anywhere without going) But samoё around amazing is that Captain Craig goes on Pitcairn for the first time, and sometimes it seems to me that he was in something consults Arthur. Judging by the profile in linkedin'e and what he says about himself sometimes, Craig - adventurer large scale: the writer and the owner of some business, and here's another, Captain 

This is not to fotochki vkontakte: in the lower right corner, I found a woman to scale: to make it easier to understand the dimensions of MV Discovery and Gambier Islands

Dock 2.0: old yellowed card is not enough, to be sure need to print from the Internet with rounded corners 

After St. Helena, I learned that the Anglo-Saxon retirees - the main consumers of trips to the edge of the world. Among these 100 were 95 pence in Antarctica at least with a cruise, 75 went around the world, 50 went to the Soviet icebreaker to the North Pole, and 25 were on Pitcairn and St. Helena

It is necessary to go into the ocean, as the sausage begins. Passengers are finally starting to puke

Pamela needed to combat seasickness

In sealed drums on the upper deck is not liquid, and things: DP  is for diesel pump and FOOD  is for  food

At 40km from Gambier on the way to Pitcairn comes only in the way of the island - uninhabited atoll  Temoe  with the remains of a shipwreck light

The birds of the sky is not enough:

The next day, in the open ocean begins an interesting natural phenomenon: almost all the waves disappear and water is similar to mercury. Sure, Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 called it   the Pacific Ocean in such weather conditions

Quiet water disappears as suddenly as appeared minutes later 30. First, there is a ripple lёgaya:

It seems that our ship was disturbed and destroyed the Pacific Ocean, this unique balance:

Other weather events that have taken place during this trip included a rainbow, birds, sunset:

Birds during the journey between the Gambia and the Pitcairn did not disappear: it is necessary to be in the 2 days of the ocean from the nearest land, the birds flew there not

And the rain:

The Anglo-Saxon  babushka  sits on the Internet through the Iridium

Journey to the  MV Discovery  every second reminds amateur amateur or a game of "hide and seek" Behold, say, Captain, get in touch with the staff not using any special radio and through the usual Iridium 

Are you bored? This is not because of the poor quality photos and text! This is - a special author's technique, which allows the traveler to convey the feelings, 2 days at sea on this mikroposudine

Night Watch: a rare occasion when someone at the helm. Land or reef to face, over the 1.5 days in the ocean is not expected, and devices that can notice a real  danger for the SRV Discovery - China lost or container ship container, floating with the currents of flooding now on board is still no

Discovery - catamaran, and it floats in a bedroom space in 2 floors. No cabins

The madness continues: bestial boredom tourists and crew killed while photographing: it does not matter that the card is 2.0 Captain is holding upside down

Fuel economy! By  Discovery  just attached a mast and the captain always eager to try it, but you need to wind and no 

About food on this line write horror, but in our case it turned out to be a total lie, people entertain themselves particularly excellent meal 

* 77 hours * * *

With the dawn of the second day on the horizon, finally revealed Pitcairn

Captain Craig vыzvaet Pitkэrn 16-kanalu its marine VHF radio

In the age of Facebook and Twitter captains climbs onto the bridge not with binoculars, and with DSLRs

Hi, Pitcairn!