Sailing Sweet Rucavideo
We Explored an ABANDONED ISLAND in the Pacific PART 2 [Ep. 188]
June 8, 2025 · 20 min · 93K views
What this video covers
Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands remains largely abandoned following the 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear test. The crew of the 45-ft sailboat Sweet Ruca anchored at the atoll to explore the vacant village, which currently hosts only three rotating caretakers. The island features deteriorating residential structures, a store containing abandoned school supplies and office equipment, and a full-size basketball court. Wild hogs roam the island, requiring visitors to keep pets leashed. The crew also visited the Rongelap Airport, where they discovered a flight manifest logbook indicating infrequent Department of Energy charter flights, with the final entry dated January 2019. While the island was evacuated in the 1950s and later resettled for 30 years, residents were eventually removed by Greenpeace due to lingering radiation concerns. The crew utilized a drone to film the runway and surrounding infrastructure before departing the atoll.
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