| The Palmyra Gazette |
| Welcome to: PalmyraGazette.org Created by: Michael E. Murray January 2008 Enjoy your visit! |
| Roger Lextrait: The King of Palmyra Former Island Care Taker |
The South Pacific held a great many things for Roger. Stopping at
the various islands, living among the native people, exploring
and experiencing the open seas: here he was truly free.
Gone were the busy streets and capitalist driven lifestyles of the
so-called socialized world. The men of land subvert the will of
nature by constructing walls and digital methods of prediction.
On the open seas, man must step aside and give way to nature
doing what it does best.
Steady winds carried Roger to a small, isolated atoll, 1,000 miles
due southwest of Hawaii, at the center of Pacific. The
destination was distant, lonesome, and pure. A few friends and
fellow sailors had suggested he stop for a visit along his travels.
He wasn’t the first by far. At this point, he was just another
passing soul on a long, motley list of visitors.
Though the years of human interventions have left scars,
nothing has stopped it from producing some of the worlds most
diverse and colorful coral structures. It’s beaches serve as home
to one of the largest breeding grounds for rare ocean birds such
as the brown and white booby. Perhaps its strangest attraction
is the blue crab, which lives in the atolls trees and grows to
nearly 2 feet wide.
What Roger found when he landed on Palmyra was a unique
sense of peace. This place was wild, free, and for such a soul as
he, inviting. He remained on Palmyra for a full 6 months,
enjoying it’s many beaches and vivid wildlife. He left, promising
himself that someday he would return.
It wasn’t long before he was back on land, ending up in
Honolulu, Hawaii. Perhaps providentially, he made friends with
the Fullard-Leo’s, the owners of Palmyra. During the early 1990’
s, they were looking for someone to go and stay on Palmyra as
the year round caretaker. As technology was developing, the
ocean and it’s vast, open distances were growing smaller and
smaller. Despite it’s remote location, Palmyra’s beauty was too
great a secret to be kept for long. Roger immediately came to
mind as a prime candidate, and upon request, he agreed with no
hesitation.
For the next 8 years, Roger called the beaches, reefs and palms
of Palmyra home. Nothing before and nothing since has impacted
him quite so much as his time on Palmyra.
Each day he woke promptly at 5AM, to the calling of a hundred
thousand birds. Nowhere else on the planet do these creatures
gather in such numbers. After fixing himself a Palmyra Cocktail
(1 part Rum, 1 part Red Wine, 1 part Tang), he called up his radio
contacts in Tahiti and Honolulu. A shower on the beach in his
makeshift bathing system and he was ready for the day. The bath
and latrine systems Roger built were used by research teams
that visited the atoll for brief expeditions up till TNC built the
new Cooper Camp.
the various islands, living among the native people, exploring
and experiencing the open seas: here he was truly free.
Gone were the busy streets and capitalist driven lifestyles of the
so-called socialized world. The men of land subvert the will of
nature by constructing walls and digital methods of prediction.
On the open seas, man must step aside and give way to nature
doing what it does best.
Steady winds carried Roger to a small, isolated atoll, 1,000 miles
due southwest of Hawaii, at the center of Pacific. The
destination was distant, lonesome, and pure. A few friends and
fellow sailors had suggested he stop for a visit along his travels.
He wasn’t the first by far. At this point, he was just another
passing soul on a long, motley list of visitors.
Though the years of human interventions have left scars,
nothing has stopped it from producing some of the worlds most
diverse and colorful coral structures. It’s beaches serve as home
to one of the largest breeding grounds for rare ocean birds such
as the brown and white booby. Perhaps its strangest attraction
is the blue crab, which lives in the atolls trees and grows to
nearly 2 feet wide.
What Roger found when he landed on Palmyra was a unique
sense of peace. This place was wild, free, and for such a soul as
he, inviting. He remained on Palmyra for a full 6 months,
enjoying it’s many beaches and vivid wildlife. He left, promising
himself that someday he would return.
It wasn’t long before he was back on land, ending up in
Honolulu, Hawaii. Perhaps providentially, he made friends with
the Fullard-Leo’s, the owners of Palmyra. During the early 1990’
s, they were looking for someone to go and stay on Palmyra as
the year round caretaker. As technology was developing, the
ocean and it’s vast, open distances were growing smaller and
smaller. Despite it’s remote location, Palmyra’s beauty was too
great a secret to be kept for long. Roger immediately came to
mind as a prime candidate, and upon request, he agreed with no
hesitation.
For the next 8 years, Roger called the beaches, reefs and palms
of Palmyra home. Nothing before and nothing since has impacted
him quite so much as his time on Palmyra.
Each day he woke promptly at 5AM, to the calling of a hundred
thousand birds. Nowhere else on the planet do these creatures
gather in such numbers. After fixing himself a Palmyra Cocktail
(1 part Rum, 1 part Red Wine, 1 part Tang), he called up his radio
contacts in Tahiti and Honolulu. A shower on the beach in his
makeshift bathing system and he was ready for the day. The bath
and latrine systems Roger built were used by research teams
that visited the atoll for brief expeditions up till TNC built the
new Cooper Camp.
| Paris, Portland, and Palmyra The life and journeys of Roger Lextrait By Jesse M. Leary http://wayofsol.blogspot.com/ |
Several stories were told of this mystery man while I
stepped in the foot prints of this cool dude during
my stay on Palmyra! Text excerpts on this page are
brought to you by Cheyenne Morrison & Jesse M.
Leary. To read the entire article, please click on the
following link: Roger Lextrait
stepped in the foot prints of this cool dude during
my stay on Palmyra! Text excerpts on this page are
brought to you by Cheyenne Morrison & Jesse M.
Leary. To read the entire article, please click on the
following link: Roger Lextrait
In much more recent times, Palmyra welcomed her
single occupant. A wandering French chef turned
sailor and adventurer, found himself intentionally
and blissfully marooned on his own personal island
paradise for eight years. Before his time there, and
since, no one has experienced the atoll as intimately
as he has.
single occupant. A wandering French chef turned
sailor and adventurer, found himself intentionally
and blissfully marooned on his own personal island
paradise for eight years. Before his time there, and
since, no one has experienced the atoll as intimately
as he has.
Roger had a variety of things to keep himself busy.
Not least of which were his 3 dogs TouTou, Blackie,
and Padou. (DaDu) He trained them to hunt sharks,
helping to keep the predators population under
control. Always near were his 2 cats Tiger and
DouDouche, and the 2 birds he raised from
hatchlings, lovingly named Felix and Oscar.
Experience made him an excellent fisherman, using
only a diving knife, fishing net, and spear gun. This
was dangerous work as the reef contained a number
of less than friendly creatures. Roger had his share
of run-ins with everything from sharks to stingrays,
but never suffered any serious injuries.
Singing, playing his guitar, and drumming on an old
wheel barrel helped him pass the time and keep the
loneliness at bay. Despite his best efforts, Roger
still describes experiencing intense feelings of
depression and despair. “It (Palmyra) is so secluded,
so isolate,” he says.
He did have visitors, and lived up to his duties as
caretaker. Over the course of his 8 years, he saved
more than 52 boats from crashing on the treacherous
reefs, and helped repair numerous others.
Most were thankful for Roger’s presence on the atoll,
but others didn’t think so highly of him. “Some
resented the fact that there was a "Marshal" in town
and some were very rude and down right
threatening,” describes an old friend who visited the
atoll while Roger was caretaker.
Not least of which were his 3 dogs TouTou, Blackie,
and Padou. (DaDu) He trained them to hunt sharks,
helping to keep the predators population under
control. Always near were his 2 cats Tiger and
DouDouche, and the 2 birds he raised from
hatchlings, lovingly named Felix and Oscar.
Experience made him an excellent fisherman, using
only a diving knife, fishing net, and spear gun. This
was dangerous work as the reef contained a number
of less than friendly creatures. Roger had his share
of run-ins with everything from sharks to stingrays,
but never suffered any serious injuries.
Singing, playing his guitar, and drumming on an old
wheel barrel helped him pass the time and keep the
loneliness at bay. Despite his best efforts, Roger
still describes experiencing intense feelings of
depression and despair. “It (Palmyra) is so secluded,
so isolate,” he says.
He did have visitors, and lived up to his duties as
caretaker. Over the course of his 8 years, he saved
more than 52 boats from crashing on the treacherous
reefs, and helped repair numerous others.
Most were thankful for Roger’s presence on the atoll,
but others didn’t think so highly of him. “Some
resented the fact that there was a "Marshal" in town
and some were very rude and down right
threatening,” describes an old friend who visited the
atoll while Roger was caretaker.
PaDou or DaDu? The only remaining Dog
DouDouche or Duchy?
| TouTou's Grave |
On May 4th, 2000 the Nature Conservancy
bought Palmyra Atoll (with the exception of the
Home islands) from the Fullard-Leo family for
$30 million USD.
bought Palmyra Atoll (with the exception of the
Home islands) from the Fullard-Leo family for
$30 million USD.
Story credits: By Cheyenne Morrison & Jesse M. Leary
After leaving Palmyra, Roger went to Honolulu.
He sold his boat, and remarried. Rather than
letting the days pass blissfully by, he and his
wife moved to Laos, Thailand. He spends his
days touring the countryside on his motorcycle,
photographing the region, in hopes of sharing it’s
beauty with the world.
He sold his boat, and remarried. Rather than
letting the days pass blissfully by, he and his
wife moved to Laos, Thailand. He spends his
days touring the countryside on his motorcycle,
photographing the region, in hopes of sharing it’s
beauty with the world.
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