Category Archives: Daily Lime

Exclusive Yacht Club in Rongerik

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Rongerik is an uninhabited atoll.  The only visitors here are private yachts seeking solitude and remote beauty.

However, if you are in the know, you can find a hidden treasure on one of the small islands, tucked into the woods.  What kind of treasure? A small “yacht club.”  Seven years ago some very creative cruisers established a private space for future cruisers.  There are no coordinates, no markings, and no indication of a club.  You have to know exactly what island it is on and where it is located in order to find it.  It is not visible from the beach.

How it Started

Fishing floats, random items, and trash float up on to the windward side of every island of every atoll.  The clever cruisers gathered some items and the yacht club was born.  

Cruisers made the table from an old crate and fishing floats. The swing was made from a large fishing float cut in half and the RYC sign at the entry appears to be an old surfboard.  Then of course several floats with boat names and random items hidden in trees.

Please keep in mind that we are not leaving our trash behind, we simply took items off the shores and created this unique and interesting space to enjoy.

Matt and I wanted to scope out what already at the yacht club before we started our search. We were looking for unique items to mark our visit.  

It was great fun to recognize several of our friends that have been here over the years.

Some cruisers got super creative.  They made wind chimes, a seat, table, and more.

Go Big or Go Home.

We had a lot of different ideas.  But they all hinged on what we could find on the island.  We scored the best item!  Matt and I found HUGE 2′ 5″ long pair of binoculars. They had a 25 x 150 zoom!  Makes you wonder how big the ship was that they came from.

We had to schlep the binoculars 200 meters to the corner of the island. We picked them up with the dinghy and brought them closer to the club.

RYC Signage

Matt and I found a large piece of drift wood on the windward side of the island. It became the perfect canvas for a sign so we carried this drift wood back to the beach. My creative husband hand carved “Rongerik Yacht Club.”    I think this is super cool and it looks really sharp!

A New Hammock

We picked up a large net from a FAD and made a hammock.

Matt and I spent several days cleaning the space. We then hung our new sign, hammock, binoculars, and float. 

We are felt pretty proud of ourselves.  Hopefully, others will enjoy our contributions when they visit.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  The events from this blog post occurred in December 2025. 

Check out the Enchantment of Rongerik in our last blog post.

The Enchantment of Rongerik

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Despite the hardships this beautiful atoll has endured over the last 80+ years it is one of the most beautiful places to visit.  We had the pleasure of visiting 8 of the 12 islands on the perimeter of the Rongerik Atoll.

This is our beautiful anchorage between Rongerik Island and Bird Island. Look at the various colors of blue!

Most of the island have this stunning pink sand on the lagoon side that has crystal clear turquoise waters lapping up their shores.

On the windward side (ocean side) you can find these pretty little pools of water with crabs, fish, and eels thriving.

A few of the islands have coral walls that put on an impressive water display when the waves crash against them.

Sand dollars covered one part of the beach on Rongerik Island. It was a treasure trove of beautiful shells.  I tried so hard to walk around them so as not to ruin the beauty for others.

Loads of Bird Colonies

One island has been apply named “Bird Island.”  However, most of the islands are heavily populated by a variety of birds, including boobies, frigates, terns, and oh so many more.  When humans come ashore, the birds become super curious. These birds are not used to seeing two legged creatures.  Many will fly right over your head or swoop down you to check you out.

We did our best to stay on the outer perimeter of the island – as close to the water’s edge as possible so as not to disturb the birds and their nests.

So Many Babies

The good news is that we came across many birds nests with 1-2 eggs in each nest.  I’d say half were on the ground and half in the trees.  The nests on the ground are a clear indication that there are no rates on the islands.  Check out this beautiful blue egg.

We also came across over a dozen infants and teenagers.  They are so cute when they are so fuzzy!  Yes, I have a very good zoom on my camera. We tried to always be 10 meters from the nest and the babies.

Turtle Nests

The other beauty about rat-less islands is the survival of the turtle nests.  We encountered so many nests but never saw any baby or mamma turtles.  

We came across an old ship wreck. Only the bow remains.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual events.  We were in Rongerik during the last week of December and early January 2025. Don’t miss out on our last blog post on The Haunted Past of the Northern Atolls.

European Artifacts in Likiep

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Two European settlers left behind a huge legacy on the island of Likiep. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s these two created families and built a thriving business.

The island continues to host many family members from both the deBrums and the Capelles.  We had the extreme honor of getting to know the deBrum family really well.

The de Brum House

The de Brum house was built in 1888 by Joachim deBrum. The house was made with a timber frame and consisted of three large rooms. In addition, a 3 meter-wide verandah surrounded the house on all sides.

The de Brum family lived in the house until 1947.  Then, the property was converted into a museum to display all of the expensive and rare artifacts. 

Unfortunately, the house fell into disrepair and the museum was shut down.  Most of the artifacts were moved into “storage.” Today only the pillars that used to hold up the house are remaining.

Antiques, Furniture, and Volumes of Books

The de Brum house held fine furniture imported from Southeast Asia. Many visitors flocked to the home, and later the museum just to see the artifacts.

The remaining furniture was stored in the last remaining direct relative’s home after the museum closed.  Bobo (grandmother) is 91 years young and she allowed us to take a peak at some of it.

Top left is a photo of the table and chairs in the museum and the other two photos are the chairs today.  This table and chair set is intricately carved wood!  The craftmanship is spectacular.

The room divider captured my attention with its detailed and intricate carvings of dragons.

A Library Dating back to the 1800’s!

The Joachim de Brum house has a vast and diverse library. Consisting of over 1,000 books covering a wide variety of topics from science to literature.

In the lower left photo you can see the reflection of the bookcase and some books.  I took the other 3 photos at Bobo’s house.  There are books dating back to 1823!  Treasure Island, The Pioneers 1823, The Hoop 1927, The Man Who Almost Lost 1935, The Country Beyond 1922, Mr. Crewe’s Career by Winston Churchill 1913!  These are just the ones I could zoom in on in my photo (as I could not get close enough to touch them).

Incredible Finds

The top left photo shows an old camera along with slides on display in the museum.  The bottom photo is that same camera that I saw sitting in storage.  

The “camera” is actually a “postcard machine” and we even found some old “postcards” or slides that still looked beautiful. Check out the bottom left photos of the slides.

We also found a bell from 1832 and some beautiful vintage Villeroy & Roche plateware.

Lanterns and pottery are just sitting in storage.  Makes you so sad to think of these just wasting away.

Beautiful plate ware and glass ware wrapped up and unused.  Bobo did manage to keep Joachim’s walking stick.  She used to use it when she could get up and around.

The de Brum Family

Bobo in the middle.  She is a beautiful, vibrant 91 year old woman. I sure wish I spoke Marshallese so I could hear her stories.  Junior, her grandson is the man in the far right and was such an incredibly host.  He was super welcoming and kind to us during our stay.

The names de Brum and Capelle are still dominant in Likiep as well as spread throughout the Marshall Islands. 

This is truly a distinct community with a unique culture and beauty all around.

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Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred over 3 weeks in December.  Read about the start of the deBrum family in our last blog post.