Aves Island, the strategical Island in the Caribbian Sea
by Wolfgang Schippke, DC3MF

MapAves Island, left before broken by the hurican, and right, after the hurican

AVES Island is the most lonely island into the Caribbian Sea, located 15N40 and 63E36. It is a processoin of Venezuela since start of the century. Aves is located round 700 km NE of Caracas and round 230 km west of Dominica.

Aves is a 4.5 meter high sandbank, composited of sand and coral, some 1000 meters in a north to south direction and round 400 meters wide. There is a big iron tower on it, 18 meters in hight with a light, a radar-base and a Venezuelan coast guard station errected in 1979.

Today it is reported, that the island was brocken in a hurrican 1979, so today there is a some bigger NORTH Island and a smaller SOUTH Isl.

The Island was first reported in 1587 by the Spain Avaro Sanzze and named Isla de Aves. The Spain did not procession of the island. Later on the island was a procession of Engalnd, Spain, Portugese and last by the Dutch, till on 1878 the American Guano & Copra Company went to the island, build up some wodden houses and mined guano till in 1912 when it mined out. The island went a part of Venecuela since his independence in 1821, but never was used by it. Later on the Rep.Venezuela catched the island as a military base. Today the island is a Nature Reserve (founded in 1972) and any landing and stay on the island needs a special permit of the Government in Caracas by the military. Landing is only possible by Venezuelan people.