Chapter 10

From Noosa to Double Island Point Lighthouse might not look like much ... the shore being damn near straight. But the westerlies are confused and often contrary ... it’s a shitty sail. Then ... if one does a compass line from the point ... just drift a little west ... not much ... and due north one shall find ones self in Rabaul. With the westerlies it’s a beam reach and 6 to 7 knots all the way across the Coral Sea.

There’s the Louisiades in the way (The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands. WIKI) but one can ... with careful navigation ... sail right through them. You’ve just passaged the Coral Sea ... coral reefs should be a snap.

And snap they will as there are visible reminders of previous encounters along the way. Any anchorage will find natives carrying local produce in tiny canoes intruding ... it’s all for sale or barter.

Had no luck fishing? Some enterprising young lad will have lobster to sell ... they will be live, fresh and luscious. Want shrimp? Those will be hawked from small boats. Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid the islanders.

The Deboyne Islands are the next impediment but Misima Island has Bwagaoia on the east end with a decent harbor and a genuine market square. Non perishables are expensive as all-get-out, but fresh is cheap. Thoroughly cook meats clear through. 160 degrees F ... beef, pork or fowl. The FDA doesn’t exist out here.

Muyua Island is next. One thing you may be sure of ... if an island has fresh water ... there are islanders. They might not have cities, towns or villages but there will be extended families. They eat and they’re willing to sell or barter.

If one were to pick an area that defined the limit of southern Japanese advance it would not include the Louisiades.

Rennell Island, the southern most of the Solomons was surely visited during 1942. The invading force might have been a platoon of Imperial Marines ... but the Japanese were there ... and stopped there. Intent to go farther is not invasion.

So ... the invaders occupied or patrolled the Louisiades, Misima and Muyua. The occupiers may have been isolated, as was Rabaul, instead of liberated, until the defeat in 1945, but the troops were there and where there were troops there are arms. Weapons ... ammunition... 25mm AT/AA heavy machine cannon. This early in the Pacific, the rifles and squad light MG were 6.5mm of excellent manufacture with quality fit and finish.

A few judicious hints dropped here and there ... mostly to kids our age found us in possession of a number of slightly used and lightly damaged Type 99 Mark 1 aircraft machine cannons. This was a flexible cannon developed for the Mitsubishi G4M2 (Code named Betty) bomber, the 20mm cartridges were in drum magazines of 60, 30 or 15 capacity. The limited ammunition capacity was an important disadvantage.

I hoped we’d never have to use them. If we were in danger of Coast Guard inspection near Guam, the weapons and magazines would be the first thing overboard.

There were many shot down aircraft scattered among the islands ... evidenced by our possession of 7 cannon in various stages of disrepair. The Betty carried 2 cannon. Four had to have crashed to allow us the 7 weapons.

The machine shop in the sail locker allowed me to straighten slightly bent barrels and the mill made it possible to reproduce other parts. Thank the Powers that Be for guidance. All I could say for my repairs was they worked. It is 4,874 kilometers from Rabaul to Sasebo Japan.

That’s not important. What is important are the 600 nautical miles (1111km) from the islands where we were supplied with our armament to Rabaul More than half of that is completely devoid of land. The sounds of gunfire carry a great distance over water ... but not that far. Testing my repairs caused no inquisitive intruders.

Now ... about the Rabaul fiasco.

We reported to immigration and the port authority, paid our vigorish and were issued 3 month visas. That we were all kids created a minor ruckus. But judicious handshakes stopped that nonsense. We were in time. The wedding had not taken place.