World Class Surf of Pohnpei's Palikir Pass a.k.a. P-Pass

Map of Pohnpei Island

Kolonia Town looking down from Sokehs Ridge

District center of Pohnpei Circa 1980

Pohnpei International Airport Runway and Pohnpei Seaport Viewed from Sokehs Ridge

Diagram of Pohnpei

Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape) is the name of one of the states in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and one of the Senyavin Islands (part of the larger Caroline Islands group). Palikir, the FSM's capital, is located on Pohnpei. Pohnpei International Airport (IATA code PNI) is located near Kolonia, on a small island off the north coast. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1665x1075, 266 KB) self shot I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1665x1075, 266 KB) self shot I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (638x625, 88 KB) Summary Map of Pohnpei Island, Pohnpei State, Micronesia. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (638x625, 88 KB) Summary Map of Pohnpei Island, Pohnpei State, Micronesia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1441x953, 188 KB) self I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1441x953, 188 KB) self I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Adminstration Original picture at: [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Adminstration Original picture at: [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 354 KB) self I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 354 KB) self I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Pohnpei International Airport (IATA: PNI, ICAO: PTPN) is an airport located in Pohnpei, a state in the Federated States of Micronesia. ... Map of Pohnpei (FSM - Micronesia) from http://www. ... Map of Pohnpei (FSM - Micronesia) from http://www. ... Most countries with a federal constitution are made up of a number of entities called states. ... The Senyavin Islands belong to the Federated States of Micronesia. ... Sunset at Colonia on Yap The Caroline Islands form a large archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. ... Palikir (population approx. ... Pohnpei International Airport (IATA: PNI, ICAO: PTPN) is an airport located in Pohnpei, a state in the Federated States of Micronesia. ... An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier or simply a location identifier [1], is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). ... Pohnpei International Airport (IATA: PNI, ICAO: PTPN) is an airport located in Pohnpei, a state in the Federated States of Micronesia. ...

Pohnpei is the largest, highest, most populated, and most developed single island in the FSM. It is also considered to be the most user friendly of the group, and it is widely regarded as the most beautifully diverse island in all of Micronesia.

Pohnpei is one of the wettest places on earth with annual recorded rainfall exceeding 300 inches each year in certain mountainous locations.

Geography

The Federated States of Micronesia is an independent, sovereign nation made up of Pohnpei and three other states; Chuuk, Kosrae, and Yap. Together, the FSM comprises approximately 607 small islands in the Western Pacific spreading over almost 1,700 miles from east to west just above the equator some 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii and about 1,800 miles north of eastern Australia above Papua New Guinea. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Map of Kosrae State Kosrae (pronounced in English), also known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia. ... Map of Yap State Map of Yap Islands Yap is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, the westernmost state of the Federated States of Micronesia. ...

On the globe, Pohnpei can be found due North of Australia's East coast slightly above the equator.

While the FSM's total land area is quite small and amounts to approximately 270 square miles, it occupies more than one million square miles of the Pacific Ocean. It ranges from Kosrae farthest to the East, then to Pohnpei, Chuuk, and finally to Yap farthest to the West. Each of the four States is centered around one or more main high islands, and all but Kosrae include numerous outlying atolls.

At over 2,500 feet, Pohnpei's tallest peaks are lush and verdant towering above a gentle talus slope at lower elevations around its 80 mile circumference.

The FSM was formerly a part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), but formed its own constitutional government on May 10, 1979. Other neighboring island entities, and also members of the TTPI, formulated their own constitutional governments and became the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Republic of Palau (ROP). The FSM is an independent, sovereign nation with a seat in the United Nations.

The population of Pohnpei is approximately 34,000. Pohnpei is more ethnically diverse than any other island in the FSM. This is largely due to it being home to the capitol of the national government, which employs hundreds of people from the other FSM States having distinct ethnic and cultural origins. The indigenous makeup also includes people from the outer islands within the State, which comprise multiple regional ethnicities.

The majority of the population consider themselves ethnic Pohnpeian but from more than a century of foreign occupation Pohnpei is truly the FSM's melting pot, a veritable hodge-podge mix of Austral-Asian Pacific Islanders and Japanese, German, Spanish, Chamorro, Pilipino, American, Australian and other Western European people. Pohnpeian is a Micronesian language of the Ponapeic-Trukic subfamily. ...

History

Pohnpei was first sighted by the Russian navigator Fyodor Litke in 1828. From the mid 1800's to early 1900s, whalers, missionaries, the Spanish and Germans came to/took over the island. The island was a Japanese territory in World War II, Japan having acquired Pohnpei along with the rest of the Carolines, the Marshalls, and the Marianas (less American-owned Guam) as war reparations from Germany. However, the island was one of those bypassed by the US Navy during the island-hopping amphibious campaigns of 1943-1945. The military facilities were shelled on several occasions, including by the battleships USS Massachusetts (BB-59) and Iowa (BB-61), as well as being attacked by the aircraft of Cowpens (CVL-25). In 1945, when the Japanese lost the war, all Japanese citizens were forced off the island. Many of their Pohnpeian families remained. Litke, Fyodor Petrovich (Литке, Федор Петрович in Russian) (9. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Sunset at Colonia on Yap The Caroline Islands form a large archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. ... Motto: Jepilpilin ke ejukaan Anthem: Forever Marshall Islands Capital (and largest city) Majuro Official languages Marshallese, English Government  -  President Kessai Note Independence  -  from the United States October 21, 1986  Area  -  Total 181 km² (213th) 69. ... Mariana Islands (sometimes called The Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called the Ladrone Islands) are a group of islands made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the Pacific Ocean. ... War reparations refer to the monetary compensation provided to a triumphant nation or coalition from a defeated nation or coalition. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Island hopping refers to crossing an ocean by a series of shorter journeys between islands, as opposed to a single journey directly across the ocean to the destination. ... The firepower of a battleship demonstrated by USS Iowa A battleship is a large, heavily-armored warship with a main battery consisting of the largest caliber of guns. ... USS Massachusetts (BB-59), a South Dakota-class battleship, was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the sixth state. ... USS Iowa (BB-61), the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy, but second to be commissioned, to be named in honor of the 29th state. ... Look up aircraft in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... USS Cowpens (CV-25) was an 11,000-ton Independence-class aircraft carrier that served the United States Navy from 1943 - 1947. ...

The Federated States of Micronesia achieved independence in 1986. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

It has long since been a tucked away tropical haven under indirect U.S. control.

Surfing

With its spectacular and relatively unspoiled coral reefs, Pohnpei has long had a following among deep-sea fishermen and SCUBA enthusiasts. But it was not until recently that Pohnpei was thrust into the international surfing limelight. Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef. ... Scuba diving is swimming underwater while using self-contained breathing equipment. ... Hein Cooper at Banzai Pipeline, December 1981 Surfing is a surface water sport. ...

Pohnpei is host to Palikir Pass, a reef pass often referred to by the surf industry as "P-Pass". Located in Sokehs Municipality and situated in the northwest quadrant of the island's protective barrier reef, it was long known as an underground destination among surfing purists. Pohnpei was first mentioned by name in a 1986 edition of Surfer magazine and was later featured in the magazine's "Surf Report" publication from February 1998. Satellite image of a part of the Great Barrier Reef. ... Surfer magazine is a monthly surfing culture magazine published around Dana Point and San Clemente, California. ...

Although Palikir Pass was also prominently displayed on the cover of "Surfer's" 2000 Collector's Edition, it remained for the most part undiscovered and free from commercial exploitation until 2004.

Dan Malloy and Mike Todd were the first professional surfers to ride Palikir Pass in quality conditions. Renowned photographer Rob Gilley recorded the event and wrote about it without revealing the location in October 2000. The first person to have surfed Palikir Pass is Allan Hamilton. He challenged it alone for years starting in the late 1980s.

Surfing in Pohnpei was pioneered by Hamilton, Mark Hepner and Bruce "Whitey" Talley more than 12 years before others arrived claiming discovery in 2004 or later.

Palikir Pass was the site of the Innaugural Hobgood Challenge (IHC) surfing competition in 2007. The IHC was the first ever professional surfing competition in Pohnpei or the FSM. It was sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals [ASP] as a junior men's event but they declined to acknowledge the location.

Palikir Pass has been recognized as one of the best formed right-hand reef pass surf breaks in the world.

Nearby islands

• The atoll of Pingelap, located several hundred miles to the east of Pohnpei, but part of Pohnpei State, is notable for the prevalence of the extreme form of color blindness known as maskun. Maskun is relatively rare but often shows up in communities with small gene-pools. Pingelap was featured in the book, The Island of the Colorblind, by neurologist Oliver Sacks.
• The ancient artificial islands of Nan Madol are near to Pohnpei.
• Oroluk Atoll

Pingelap is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, part of Pohnpei state of the Federated States of Micronesia, consisting of three islands: Pingelap Island, Sukoru and Daekae, linked by a reef system and surrounding a central lagoon, although only Pingelap Island is inhabited. ... Color blindness in humans is the inability to perceive differences between some or all colors that other people can distinguish. ... Maskun is a medical condition (also called achromatopsia) characterized by a low cone count or lack of function in cone cells; these are the light receptors responsible for colour perception. ... Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (born July 9, 1933, London) is a neurologist who has written popular books about his patients. ... Nan Madol Nan Madol, consisting of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals, is often called the Venice of the Pacific. ... Map of Pohnpei State (with Oroluk Atoll) Oroluk Atoll is part of Pohnpei State in Micronesia. ...

Government and Politics

Municipalities

• Kapingamarangi
• Kitti
• Kolonia
• Madolenihmw
• Mokil
• Nett
• Ngatik
• Nukuoro
• Oroluk
• Pingelap
• Sokehs
• Uh

Kapingamarangi is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia. ... Kolonia is a coastal town in Sokehs municipality and the capital of Pohnpei State in the Federated States of Micronesia. ... In business, Net worth (sometimes net assets) is the total assets minus total liabilities of an individual or a company. ... Nukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia. ... Pingelap is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, part of Pohnpei state of the Federated States of Micronesia, consisting of three islands: Pingelap Island, Sukoru and Daekae, linked by a reef system and surrounding a central lagoon, although only Pingelap Island is inhabited. ...

References

Pohnpei in fiction

Pohnpei plays a central role in the fictional Cthulhu Mythos, in which it is only about ten days journey by fast ship from the fictional island of R'lyeh, the place where the fictional character Cthulhu currently resides. Several stories by H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth and others use this island as a setting or contain references to it. Cthulhu and Rlyeh Cthulhu Mythos is the term coined by the writer August Derleth to describe the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... Rlyeh is in the middle of one of the biggest patches of empty ocean on Earth. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh For other uses, see Cthulhu (disambiguation). ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Pohnpei's role in the Mythos was inspired by the ruins of Nan Madol (see above), which had already been used as the setting for a lost race story by Abraham Merritt, The Moon Pool, in which the islands are called Nan-Tauach. Some people believe Nan Madol to be connected to the lost continent of Lemuria. Nan Madol Nan Madol, consisting of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals, is often called the Venice of the Pacific. ... Abraham Merritt (January 20, 1884-August 21, 1943) was an American editor and author of works of fantastic fiction. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical lost land variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. ...

Books

• The Island of the Colour-blind, Oliver Sacks, Publisher: Pan Macmillan (June 6, 1997), paperback, ISBN 0-330-35234-2.

is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ...

See also

Nan Madol Nan Madol Nan Madol, consisting of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals, is often called the Venice of the Pacific. ...

External links

• The undisclosed Surfer magazine cover of Dan Malloy riding Palikir Pass, Pohnpei, the Federated States of Micronesia, February 2000
• myMicronesia/Pohnpei section
• Pohnpei-Between Time & Tide
• A Tour of Pohnpei
• FSM Visitors Board/Pohnpei Section
• Jane's Pohnpei Page
• Postcards from Pohnpei: marine life

Coordinates: 6°51′N, 158°13′E Image File history File links Flag_of_Micronesia. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Map of Kosrae State Kosrae (pronounced in English), also known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia. ... Map of Yap State Map of Yap Islands Yap is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, the westernmost state of the Federated States of Micronesia. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...