Sailing Sweet Rucavideo
Unbelievable Discoveries on a Remote Pacific Atoll – Sailing to Wotje, Marshall Islands [Ep. 178]
March 30, 2025 · 19 min · 308K views · Wotje Atoll
What this video covers
Kate and Curtis sail Sweet Ruca to Wotje, Marshall Islands, after a 23-hour passage, anchoring stern-to an unmarked WWII-era wreck — a roughly 60-foot vessel with a visible propeller.1:04 Before going ashore, they dive the anchor to check set and scan for coral heads.0:58 Check-in at Wotje requires paying a $50 visitor's fee to a collector near the south dock, then presenting a receipt and signed permit to the acting mayor, who clears them to move freely across the island.2:28 Wotje has about 800 residents, no restaurants or dive shops, and receives a supply ship roughly every three months.3:05 Ashore, local children guide Kate and Curtis through dense jungle to Japanese WWII bunkers, crumbling military buildings, rusted cannons half-buried in sand, and an unexploded bomb lying in the forest.7:06 A collapsed concrete building holds massive diesel engines Curtis identifies as a Japanese power generation plant.4:59 Off the seaplane ramp, in about 40 feet of water, lies a submerged Japanese seaplane wreck.13:34 A nearby uninhabited sand spit provides a beach stop.12:11 A police officer named Mielsen hosts them after a pickup basketball game and gives them coconuts.9:41 The unexploded ordnance in the jungle is a live hazard; the island's WWII relics are entirely unguarded and accessible to visitors.
More from Sailing Sweet Ruca
From Sailing Sweet Ruca — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analyzed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.