Forgotten and far away from everyone and everything, the Marshall Islands may carry a terrible past,

but as Carine Camboulives, Manu Bouvet, Levi Siver and Keith Teboul discover, this cluster of atolls and islets in the middle of the Pacific may well be the best windsurfing spot on Earth Words: Carine Camboulives Photos: Maxime Houyvet

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appy as a clam, says the double-page magazine ad for a luxury hotel chain. I cant help but stare at it while we take off from Honolulu airport. A loving couple relax side-by-side in their loungers in inches of water on a sandy beach theyre supposed to be having the time of their lives! Im not sure about you, but lying around doing nothing is the last thing Id like to see myself doing. Manu and I have a good laugh about it, but he quickly gets back to his windsurfing mag. It gets me thinking though, as each time I take off for a trip I find myself asking the same questions: How are we going to be feeling in that same plane on the way back? What visions and souvenirs are we going to be carrying with us? How were the local people? and so on. I love this mind game, and wonder if the others do the same. Kiki (Keith Teboul) seems absorbed by the in-flight movie. Our photographer, Max (Houyvet) is already sleeping, trying to recover from the jet-lag from France. Levi (Siver) cant think about anything because my daughter Lou is jumping all over him and seems really excited. (I dont know who started it though) Our cameramen, Johnny and Jace, are doing just fine in business class thats the producer lifestyle! Happy as a clam! Speaking of clams, Jace promised himself to bring back a giant clam from the Marshalls. His dad is a doctor and was sent to the islands by the US army after the atomic bomb testing on Bikini Island that started in the 50s. As a young kid Jace was captivated by his dads story and the amazing shells he brought back from the tropical paradise.

busy with people and buildings. Its where a lot of Marshallese come looking for work, far away from their paradise islands, but unfortunately many of them end up living in misery. Some, however, do manage to make their way to Honolulu, the closest port of entry to the US. We dont feel like wasting too much time in Majuro, so after an uncomfortable night in a noisy motel (on a ladies night) where only Lou managed to grab some sleep, we head to a small island. But first we have to handle the gnarly and wet crossing on a motorboat. It seems like a long journey, and Lou doesnt have time to digest her breakfast while Levi already regrets his coffee. I cant wait to see land! Finally a green line appears on the horizon, and we make land. What a shock it is compared to the capital! Here there are no modern conveniences no electricity, no running water only beautiful jungle and a crystal-clear lagoon. Whats more, the winds blowing strong. This place will be home for the next 10 days. Lakwe! (Hello.) Francis, our local contact, is waiting for us on the dock. We load his old truck then help him to pushstart it to get on the only road, which splits the island down its centre. I look to my right, and see the ocean; I look to my left, and see the ocean. It comes as no surprise to me to learn that these atolls are forecast to disappear within the next 20 years due to rising sea levels. There isnt even a high point on the island not a single hill or a dune that could protect people and already on some of the highest tides people have to be evacuated. As a result of this tidal flooding the soil and water sources are becoming contaminated by salt, so some Marshallese are having to leave their homes. I dont see any crops or fruit trees growing, and Francis explains that people here end up cultivating plants in old petrol barrels to avoid the salty soil.

Majuro Motel
We land at Majuro, the capital of the Marshalls. Its a long, narrow island, and although the population of just 55,000 people is spread out over the Marshalls two chains of atolls and 1,000 islets, Majuro is very

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 What a wave! How perfect is that? Unbelievable! What if it gets bigger?

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 Its hard to find the words to describe the sessions we scored, but it was the best windsurfing weve ever had

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Local life
Francis shows us our home on the beach and what a beach it is! Looking at the endless sandy vista and the thousands of coconut trees in the background, I cant believe my eyes. Theres not a single building for miles. The suns high in the sky, so hot, and the equatorial light is strong as is the wind! The boys have already left to check the waves, so Lou and I head off to explore the island and meet the local children. The houses are colourful and basic, typically wooden with a tin roof and surrounded by a well-maintained garden, which will usually also be home to the graves of ancestors. Some people are busy maintaining their homes, while others relax under giant tamanus, the sacred Polynesian tree. The atmosphere is extremely calm and peaceful, and I feel like Im part of a Gauguin painting! We introduce ourselves. Some women speak English, which makes it easier for me, though the kids dont need to talk to get together they run to the beach for a shell hunting party. The young Marshallese know that shells are a real treasure for rubelas (meaning foreigners, literally dressed people). More than a century ago the dressed people thought they had to teach the local women that showing their knees or elbows was inappropriate, and forced them to dress decently. Ironically, nowadays the locals are fully covered under a burning sun while the rubelas work on their tans, wearing shorts or bikinis Of course, Bikini is particularly relevant in the Marshall Islands, as the notorious atoll which gave its name to the revolutionary bathing suit is not too far from where we are. And the bikinis designer, Louis Reard, was hoping that his creation was going to have an impact as strong as the atom bomb tested on the island. To learn more about all this Id brought along several articles on the subject, but before getting into those I have to keep an eye on all the kids that are now playing with Lou by our bungalow and building a huge shell mountain by the door. I invite them all to come in and watch Lous Princess DVD so I can start reading. Within two minutes there are 20 kids staring in awe at the computer! I quickly get into one particular article written by Fabienne Lips-Dumas, which tells the story of a young girl called Lijon Eknilang, who could almost fit the description of a latter day Marshallese Cinderella with a dark future. Her story certainly begins like a fairytale: Once upon a time in the Marshalls, there was a paradise island called Rongelap. Lijon was born there on 1 March 1954 But the fairytale ends there. On Lijons 8th birthday the sun rose in the west. Between ocean and sky a star exploded. It had a name: Castle Bravo. It was a thermonuclear bomb with 1,000 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb, which killed 140,000 people.

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That day Lijon was brutally woken from her sleep: I opened my eyes to a blinding light. Outside I could hear my grandmother yelling after my cousin as she thought shed set the house on fire. I ran outside the house crying. I was scared of fire. Outside the light was still extremely strong. Then I saw that thing falling from the sky. It was huge and round like a sun, a ball of fire. Then there was a huge explosion The ground was shaking. The wind blasted us all down onto the ground. We were all scared to death. The wind died suddenly. There was not a sound to be heard; all was silent. People thought we were being attacked and that we were all going to die. We hid in the bush. I was thirsty, then we all got hungry. We did eat but all our food was covered by a white powder. The powder had no taste; the food was as good as usual. In the afternoon we all got very sick, as if wed all got very bad heatstroke from too much sun. Our stomachs were hurting so bad we all threw up. Parents were too sick to look after their kids. Nerja, Lijons sister, was 7 years-old at the time. I thought that it was soap powder. It had no smell to it. I took some and washed my hair with it as if it was shampoo. Her radioactive hair wash caused her to lose all her hair and she got badly burnt. Her testimony goes on, and I start feeling uncomfortable. Half a century later women are still giving birth to baby monsters or jellyfish babies, as theyre called here. These babies are transparent, and only their brain reminds you theye human beings.

 Cameramen Jace and Johnny and photographer Max cant believe the quality of shots theyre getting for the Windsurfing Movie II
Castle Bravo remains the most powerful bomb ever tested. In 1994 some documents became public and showed that the army deliberately tested the effects of atomic radiation on the people. I stop reading to look at the kids. Coincidentally they are watching the scene where Cinderella cant go to the ball and cries in the arms of her fairy godmother. They all try to hide their tears, and so do I All of a sudden I hear the boys coming back all excited from their wave scouting mission. Theyre all talking at the same time, cheerful and happy. This is more like it! I have a hard time understanding what theyre saying, and can only grab a word here and there. What a wave! How perfect is that? Unbelievable! What if it gets bigger? Okay guys, tomorrow Ill be coming with you, thats for sure! Lou had been invited to go to school, so shell be looked after. At 8.30am I drop her off, say komol tata (thankyou) to the teacher and run to the harbour where the boys are loading the boat. That will be our routine for the next 10 days or so. The wind blows every day, and the waves are pumping up to mast-and-a-half high! Way too much for me, and way too good for the guys, who swear theyre having the time of their lives on the water. Cameramen Jace and Johnny and photographer Max cant believe the quality of shots theyre getting for the Windsurfing Movie II!

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Sauvage times
We start feeling like were at home on our little island. Happy as clams I would say, even though the time has come to resume the search, to move on with Sophie and Didier, our guides for the next 10 days. In the morning we get aboard Sauvage, their 60ft aluminium monohull that will take us to the outer atolls. Although were all really excited about getting on the boat for a whole new experience, were a bit worried about how well handle the first crossing, which will take a good 24 hours. Various techniques are employed to avoid the dreaded sea sickness. Carine, Levi and Johnny are game on to try any product on the market, from wearing anti seasickness bracelets on both wrists to popping Dramamine tablets twice a day. After each dose they all have full smiles on their faces and head straight to their cabins for a long nap! Max is also a bit sick, but hes so happy to be part of the trip that he tries the denial technique, which consists of saying Everythings great all the time. Jace feels quite at home on the boat, but to safeguard against any unexpected reaction he drinks several glasses of whisky before putting his light meter to rest for the day. Keith decides hes a Dramamine man too, but goes for the open air option, sleeping outside in the cockpit. I do the same, as Lou falls asleep on the outside bench.

Thus prepared, the crossing is great, and the rhythm of life slows down as the sea slides past Sauvage. At dusk we enter a huge lagoon (one of the biggest in the world) by the southern pass. As the local customs require, we ask the chief of the atoll for permission to stay in the area and surf. Permission is granted by an elderly man whose face displays all the warm-heartedness of the Polynesian people. We wont see another boat or any other traveller during our time in the outer islands. We cruise from island to island, exploring passes and headlands that look very promising for waves. But for now the swell is playing shy, so we enjoy life on board: the amazing surroundings, the deserted islet, the colourful coral heads and the great fishing. We all get some outstanding flat-water sessions and SUP cruising by the reef. The last two days we scored some of the best windsurfing weve ever had maybe even better than what we had at the beginning of the trip. But no matter how hard I try I cant find the words to adequately describe those sessions, and thankfully there is no need to do so, because no words can tell the story better than Maxs amazing pictures. We sailed for seven hours on the last day. Not one of us could remember the last time we did that! In fact, no-one could think of a better trip altogether

 Not one of us could remember the last time we sailed for seven hours straight

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marshall facts
The Marshall Islands consist of two chains of coral atolls, together with more than 1,000 islets, just north of the equator. The atolls are coral deposits on the crater rims of submerged volcanoes. The islands were occupied by the US for several decades after World War II, but are now a sovereign nation under a Compact of Free Association with the US. The legacy of the post-war US occupation is seen particularly starkly on Bikini and Enewetak, which were both used for nuclear weapons testing between 1946 and 1958. Gaining financial independence remains a major problem for the islands, as imports dwarf exports, unemployment is high and many islanders live by subsistence farming. Tourism, of course, is one option. As you can see from the stunning images on these pages, unspoiled beaches abound and the islands are an ideal base for windsurfing, surfing, SUP, scuba diving and sports fishing. Full name: Republic of the Marshall Islands Population: 54,400 Capital: Majuro Main languages: Marshallese, English Main religion: Christianity Currency: US dollar Main exports: Chilled and frozen fish, coconut oil, copra, shark fins

For the trip of your life visit sauvageocean.com

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