Crossing the waves to reach An Bang island
The song about the beauty of Sinh Ton, Song Tu, and An Bang islands echoed somewhere, reminding me of the trip across the waves to An Bang island during the voyage to more than 10 floating and submerged islands in Truong Sa island district, Khanh Hoa province in 2019.
| “Break time is over, everyone wakes up, break time is over, the whole ship is alarmed”… The alarm sounded about 15 minutes earlier than usual, urging us to quickly prepare our belongings to get on the boat to An Bang. At exactly 5:45 a.m., we and the group of relatives of officers and soldiers working on An Bang island were present at the starting point to cross the waves to the island. The night before, the group leader Nguyen Van Thang told us - the team of reporters to get up early tomorrow because we could enter An Bang early in the morning if the weather was favorable, otherwise, we would not be able to enter. He especially emphasized that going to Truong Sa to experience the storms and waves, reaching An Bang is considered to have gone to the end of the Truong Sa archipelago. |
 |  |
| When the CQ boat slowly lowered into the sea, a huge wave came, surrounding it on all sides. The reporter team has priority to get off the boat and enter the island first. As the boat turned the waves and sailed away, vice captain Manh Luong advised us: "Remember to hold on tightly and cover your belongings and cameras carefully because the waves are very high". The vice captain, while controlling the boat, said that this is an island with large waves, so it is very difficult for groups to visit. On previous trips, due to high waves, many groups were unable to visit the island. Today, the weather is beautiful and the waves are less fierce, so we can enter the island, but we still have to be careful with the "sloppy" waves, which can overturn the boat at any time. After a while, An Bang Island appeared right before our eyes. The CQ boat crossed the blue edge, the boundary between sea and island, to reach shore. The island's commander himself and about 15-20 soldiers went to the water's edge to welcome each person. On the boat, a sailor threw a rope toward the island. Immediately, a soldier jumped up to catch it accurately, then the whole team formed a "human rope" to grapple with the waves to hold the boat tightly. |
 |  |
| The soldiers said that this job is not for newbies. They have all been trained for several months. Those participating in picking up the canoe must all be proficient in swimming, catching and towing rope alignment skills. We were the first group to reach shore. From the shore, I could witness with my own eyes the scene of large waves overlapping each other, sometimes it seemed like the boat was completely submerged into the waves. An Bang Island is located at latitude 07o53'31''N, longitude 112o55'17''E, along the North-South direction with a floating area and coral shelf of about 2.1km2. Belonging to a submerged coral shelf, when the tide is at its lowest, the height of An Bang island is about 3m, the edge of the island is about 50m further away. The island is made up of interconnected coral rocks and the island's shore is surrounded by large coral rocks. The West Coast is a narrow strip of sand. The south bank of the sandbank often changes with the seasons. From April to July each year, more sand is added to form a long sandbank. By August, this sandbank disappears and moves to the east bank of the island. The island's coral structure is steep, making it difficult and dangerous to get in and out of the island during the four seasons. An Bang Island has a very important position, serving as a bridge between islands in the Truong Sa archipelago, forming an outer shield to prevent enemy sabotage and attack activities towards the sea. |
 |  |  |  |
| Many ships that went out to visit officers and soldiers on An Bang Island on the day of strong waves were unable to enter the island. As a small island in the Truong Sa archipelago, An Bang is cool in summer and warm in winter. The number of sunny, hot and stormy days is high. On this island, there is high salinity in water vapor and air. There is no fresh water. The soil is coral sand, the surface is covered with a thin layer of humus, poor in nutrients, making it difficult for plants to grow. Summer is sunny, hot, and muggy, affecting the quality of learning, training, and activities of soldiers. |
 |  |
| It was hard and stressful, but our entire working group was still able to get to the island, which was extremely lucky because many groups had to return. In particular, this trip brought family love to the soldiers on remote islands. Looking out into the vast ocean, I felt the harshness of the waves and winds of Truong Sa. |
 |  |
 |  |
| After being able to visit the workplace, to stay and interact with the soldiers on the island for about 2 hours, all reporters and the working group returned to the ship and continued the journey. The soldiers' relatives will stay on the island for about 10 days. The special soldier team continued to help us get out of the waves near the shore. We all love, respect and express our gratitude to the soldiers on An Bang Island, who are guarding the peace of our homeland's islands day and night. By Nguyen Hong |
