The Majuro Buoy Adventure
The Majuro Buoy Adventure
Posted September 21, 2026Above: The team prepares the boat to re-deploy the Majuro wave buoy. Credit: PacIOOS.
How Teamwork and Persistence Kept one Challenging Deployment on Course
Wave buoy deployments often come with a few surprises. For Andreia Queima and Dr. Kate Feloy, their recent trip in June 2026 to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) presented more surprises than most. Equipment issues, delayed shipments, canceled flights, heavy rain, and even boat trouble tested the team at nearly every turn. But the experience also demonstrated something equally important: the extraordinary resourcefulness and commitment of PacIOOS partners and liaisons in the region.
Soon after arriving in Majuro, Andreia and Kate discovered that one of the Waverider buoys had taken on rainwater through a compromised seal. Several inches of water inside the buoy damaged the batteries and the “hat”, which houses the critical electronics. With key components no longer operational, the team began working on a solution.
Voneric Boktok and Andreia Monteiro Queima assess the wave buoy. Credit: PacIOOS.
With help from Olivia Hughes, fellow buoy technician back in Honolulu, new batteries were ordered. The team also coordinated with Reginald White at the National Weather Service (NWS), whose nephew was scheduled to fly in from Honolulu, to bring a spare buoy hat with him.
While waiting for the hardware, the team attempted to dry out the buoy’s internal components. PacIOOS liaison Voneric Boktok jumped in to help with troubleshooting. Lacking a proper dehumidifier, they improvised with a small portable AC unit. When the buoy was sufficiently dried out, they attempted to power the unit on, only to be met with a puff of smoke and the unmistakable smell of burning electronics. The troubleshooting continued.
Then came the logistical challenges. United Air Cargo misplaced the replacement batteries, requiring the team to order another set. Then the traveler bringing the spare buoy hat experienced travel delays, and a series of subsequent airline cancellations effectively sidelined the team’s progress for the weekend. It seemed the adventure would continue.
With their departure flight home looming just hours away, the traveler arrived with the replacement hat. The team put in the new batteries and hat, tested and sealed the buoy, and rushed it to the docks by 1:00 pm, allowing for a 7-hour deployment window. Thanks to the help of boat captain Jose (Jun) Dela Cruz and the crew from RMI Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the boat was prepared, loaded, and ready to go.
But there were still a few surprises waiting for them. Torrential rain brought near-zero visibility, and engine trouble required them to contact another partner, Moriana Philip from the EPA, for help. Moriana coordinated assistance by the Port Authority to get the engine back up and running to make it out to the deployment site. The buoy was successfully re-deployed!
Wet and salty from the deployment, Kate and Andreia rushed directly from the boat deck to the airport. They made their flight, leaving behind a functioning buoy providing real-time ocean information for Majuro.
The buoy at the surface after re-deployment. Credit: PacIOOS.
More than anything, the deployment demonstrated the value of relationships that make sustained ocean observing possible across the Pacific Islands. From the vital coordination with NWS and EPA to the Port Authority, the tireless help of PacIOOS liaisons, local partners, and colleagues back in Honolulu, people stepped in again and again to solve problems, coordinate logistics, transport equipment, and keep the deployment moving, even over weekends and birthdays.
The result was truly a community effort: a wave buoy to provide valuable ocean information to the people of Majuro.
To view and access this wave buoy’s data, please visit its product page on our website here:
https://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/waves/buoy-majuro/
Please note that the buoy is not currently reporting but will be back online soon.
