Bolster (ARS 38) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

As Bolster neared the end of its twenty-two island tour through the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, many of the atolls began to appear the same. It got so that one just couldn ' t tell the difference between Kapingamarangi and Farau- lep. Because many of the islands had steep under- water slopes, Bolster steamed off-shore of many of the islands as a five-man rubber raft carried the ship ' s technical experts to the beach to assist the islanders. Upon arriving at many of the islands the Bolster crew found that the islanders had a wide variety of items to trade which varied from wood carvings to an extensive array of shells. Some members of the Bolster crew found fishballs to be a worthwhile item to collect.

Page 8 text:

TRUST TERRITORIES OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS •W ' a . Kwajalein Atoll marked the beginning of the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands patrol for the Bolster when it arrived there on 30 September 1979. The Diamond Head of the Pacific stands out at the entrance to Ponape.

Page 10 text:

i Since Bolster couldn ' t anchor within all the atolls, the islanders came to the ship to trade.