What's the legality of exploring uninhabited islands? My friends and I did a 3 week sail throughout the Bahamas. We visited all sorts of obscure islands. All we had to do was give the authorities our itinerary and we weren't allowed to camp out on the islands. But exploring google earth I am seeing all these interesting places in the pacific--uninhabited islets in atolls, palymra atoll, flint island, vostok island, the various midway islands extending west of hawaii, etc.

I know a lot those places, especially those under the US, require a permit to visit. Some may require permission from the families that run the south pacific atoll and islands. But is this strictly enforced in reality? Would we get easily caught if we sailed to Laysan Island from Hawaii?