Roi Survival Kit
Roi Namur Survival Kit
Posted 12/7/07
OK, let’s say you’ve just landed what looks to be a challenging and highly rewarding job working on Roi-Namur and you’ve started going through all the usual steps of preparing to relocate there such as the thorough physical examinations that are required to insure you are in the prime of health. You’ve also put most of your household goods in storage, stored or sold your car and now you’re wondering what is it you should take with you to this island paradise. Here are a few tips.
First and foremost, pack as many clothes hangers as you can get. You cannot buy clothes hangers on Kwajalein atoll at any retail outlet that I know of. They are worth their weight in gold so even if you take more than you can use you can sell them to other poor suckers who were not fortunate enough to read this highly informative article.
Next, if you’re a dude, and most men living on Roi are dudes, be sure to pack razor blades and other associated toiletries. The store on Roi which bears the name Gimbals (not associated with the department store in New York) does not carry the razor blade that you use no matter what razor blade you prefer. Often they do not carry any razor blades at all and if they do you can bet it will not match your razor. In general, pack enough toiletries to last a millennium and bookmark the address to drugstore.com (not affiliated with roiratjournal.com).
This leads us to your next Roi survival necessity. Be sure to pack a computer. Having access to the internet is a life saver. It will allow you to both order CDs, DVDs and other survival necessities as well as to keep in touch with loved ones back in civilization. CDs are necessary because the KVZI 97.9 FM Rastaman Vibration Reggae Hour(s) extravaganza is only on Friday nights so where else are you going to hear reggae music if you do not bring your own discs. I highly recommend you go to see Ranger at Twelve Tribes in Tucson. He’ll help you stock up on the CDs you’ll need. The television on Roi has improved some over the years but it is still quite limited compared to what you’re use to in civilization. When I was there, there was an Australian discovery channel, Filipino MTV, and Chinese professional wrestling. There is also the Armed Forces Network. My favorite channel was the movie channel put together by dedicated volunteers on Roi who provided the movies and kept the TV station going to everyone’s benefit. At one time there was the Roi equivalent to Blockbuster, called Tape Escape but the company was not making enough money off their employees from it so they discontinued it and gave most of the movies to the movie rental store on Kwajalein even though that store already had plenty of movies and the people on Kwaj had plenty of other activities to do that are not available on the lonely outpost of freedom on Roi. So I recommend taking plenty of movies with you to watch yourself and to lend to your friends.
Since we’re on the subject of activities let’s move outside. This is a rough generalization but there are basically two groups of outdoor sportsman, no three. One, the largest perhaps, is the golfers. Roi hosts a 9 hole golf course that actually has 18 tee spots if I’m not mistaken. There is also a driving range. The golf club is quite active. I know one resident who went after the record for most holes. If I’m not mistaken he played 72 holes in one day, maybe more. So if you like golf or were ever thinking of taking it up, now is the perfect time to take it up. I’d take clubs with me if you have them. It is one of the cheapest places on the planet that I know of to play golf so it is well worth it to play. I think the cost is $35 a year for unlimited golfing.
The next largest group of outdoors men, when I was there, was the dedicated men and woman of the Roi Dolphins SCUBA club. Roi is one of the best places on earth to go diving. The water is crystal clear, typically over 100′ visibility and the waters are largely unspoiled by tourists. I cannot imagine living there and not diving. There are world war two wrecks to explore, an abundance of sea life from giant clams to the trillions of sharks plus the varied life of a coral reef. Do not feel alarmed if you do not have equipment. You cannot buy razor blades or clothes hangers on Roi but you can buy virtually any dive equipment you want from one of the local manufacturer’s reps distributors who live there. You can actually buy it cheaper on Roi than you could in the states, at least when I lived there 3 years ago. Things may have changed. I easily got by on a 3 mil thick dive suit but many divers dove with just a t-shirt and swim trunks. I liked wearing a suit to prevent scratches from the man eating coral but the water is 80+ year round so a dive suit is not necessary depending on your constitution. I would buy a mask and gloves before going to make sure you got one you were pretty comfortable with but that is just me.
The third great outdoor activity on Roi is deep sea fishing. For some strange reason when I lived there, there were only a few regular anglers. The fishing is excellent so be sure to take along the proper fishing gear. I did not do enough of it while I was there and I was dependent on my friends who were helping me and providing all the equipment. Often when I fished I only used a hand line and had some success with it. The Army has boats for you to use when fishing or diving. There is even a sail boat you can rent.
Drinking in the bar is a favorite activity but you do not need to take anything with you when you move there for that other than a strong liver or the name of a donor.
I would also suggest that you take some beach furniture. I had a hammock made by my friend’s Dad who was a former Merchant sea captain. He would make hammocks in his spare time while at sea and I was lucky enough to receive a beautiful one that he made. I had it strung between a cocoanut tree and a pandana tree on my beach area. I also had a few lawn chairs at my beach. I spent many a evening there with my ukulele dreaming of home.
Musical instruments were also a great comfort to me on Roi as you can read about in my article on Tribal Fusion. Since you cannot really buy them there I took full advantage of Musiciansfriend.com (not associated with roiratjournal.com). It was always an exciting day when a new guitar or ukulele would show up. If you think there is any possibility of needing a large bass amp I highly recommend that you purchase it before going to Roi and send it on the barge with the rest of your household goods. I had to go through a great deal of trouble to get mine there. There is a weight limit for normal shipments using the army post office.
My friends there would think me remiss if I did not mention surfing. So I am mentioning it.
There are no personally owned vehicles on Roi. Most residents commute by bike or bus. There is an island bus that runs throughout the work day and at certain times on the weekend usually based on the LCM schedule. When selecting a bike to take do not choose a fancy multiple speed mountain bike. The island is flat and you do not need any speeds. The gears will rust out as I can attest to. In addition the hand brakes will rust out too. The most popular bike from my memory is a ladies Huffy. For some odd reason, and I was no exception, almost everyone, men and woman alike, rode ladies bikes.
OK the surfing was a tease. Some of my best buddies there were avid surfers. One friend Joe, was a former professional and I got the impression from him he wasn’t overly impressed. But other dudes there quite enjoyed surfing on the atoll. I think the conditions varied greatly. I had friends learn to surf after arriving so evidently it is possible to buy a board there. But it wouldn’t hurt to take one with you.
For your wardrobe, take plenty of shorts and t-shirts since that is what you’re going to live in. You’ll only need long trousers if you think you would ever go to a Marshallese church. Likewise, you can get along just fine without a dress shirt. You might want to throw in a nice looking Aloha shirt for special occasions. Shoes are only needed for work the rest of the time you can wear sandles. I would always buy several pairs every time I took my vacation. I always passed through Hono on my way home to Seattle so I would pick up numerous pairs of shoes while I was there. I may have mentioned this in another article but I would not count on being able to buy shoes on Roi. One guy, could only find golf shoes in his size so he’d wear around a pair of spiked golf shoes. I could not find size 8 sneekers there so if my shoes wore out (and several did) I was fresh out of luck. I also had a pair of glasses break on me and with no optometrist, I had to tape my glasses back together to be able to see. I’ve noticed since coming back to the States that I am much more tolerant of things that are not quite right. I will put up with something broken much longer than I need to just because I’ve kind of gotten use to that kind of life.
I’d round out my survival kit with swim trunks, sun block, playing cards, and plenty of books. Just imagine trying to live for years on a lonely island with nothing but a poorly stocked 7-11 (not affiliated with roiratjournal.com) and bring items that you think might be needed based on what isn’t in a 7-11.
2 Responses to “Roi Survival Kit”
 Comment by Richard Jones December 12th, 2007 at 9:38 am |
Nice… now all I haev to do is find my way to Roi for a year… and be able to take my dogs… with this, Im all set. |
 Comment by Glenn December 19th, 2007 at 10:57 am |
Sorry but you can’t take dogs to Roi, only cats. On Kwaj you’re allowed to have a dog. |