On a warm wet night the team from Eaglehawk Dive Centre met at Cairns Airport. Our flight to Guam was leaving at 10 after midnight. The check in went relatively smoothly with the security paranoia a pain in the bum but destined to get worse. Fortunately this was about the only downside of our trip. The flight to Guam was uneventful and arrived on time early the next morning. To go from Gate 10 to Gate 9 we had to enter the USA by collecting our baggage and queuing for several hours in a very warm terminal. Don?t believe everything the signs say about friendly staff waiting to help you enter the USA, it?s crap. We just wanted to change planes for the 1? hours to Chuuk.
Our arrival in Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia was met with more customs and immigration checks but finally we were on the bus to the Blue Lagoon Resort. We had been met at the airport by staff from the resort who made sure that the locals were kept away from our luggage as it was loaded aboard the truck that the resort had also sent. We were not the only arrivals. A group of seven from Brisbane had also arrive on the same flight. The friendly and competitive interstate rivalry started at the airport and continued throughout our stay.
The resort and accommodation was clean and well presented and the staff friendly. We made the pilgrimage to the dive shop and paid for our dive permit. Everybody was pretty stuffed from the trip but I managed to convince them that we should meet on the point to have a snorkel on the reef around the foreshore. This was very successful and got everybody ready for a few drinks and dinner.
The next morning our dive gear was collected from outside our rooms and we presented ourselves at the dock to find our gear assembled and loaded. Our crew of Chenny (DM) and Jongki (boat driver/trainee DM) didn?t mess about we were on our way to the first wreck by 0845.
The first dive was on the 10,020 ton "Shinkoku Maru" and was a great introduction to our week of wreck diving. Sitting upright on a sandy bottom the top of the superstructure is at 12 metres, the deck at 20m and the bottom at 39m. The ship has fantastic coral both hard and soft, swarms of small fish and a squadron of eagle rays and many interesting relics.
As it was to early for lunch Chenny took us to the wreck of Patrol Boat No. 34 for a snorkel then to Etan Island for our lunch and more snorkeling on a Zero before locating the nearly 7000 ton "Kiyozumi Maru". The ship lies on its port side and is visible from the surface. Maximum depth is 31m and can be penetrated. This vessel has bicycles in the aft hold and the damage from the bombs around the bridge and torpedo?s in the hull is very obvious. We had about 50 minutes diving this vessel before returning to the resort, a shower and off to the bar for pre-dinner drinks.
This was to be our routine for the next week with dives done on the following vessels.
Day 2
Fujikawa Maru: Displacement: 6,938 tons; Length: 435 feet; Beam: 58.5 feet;
Heian Maru: Displacement: 11,616 tons; Length: 510 feet; Beam: 66 feet;
Night dive: Fujikawa Maru
Day 3
Hoki Maru: Displacement 7,112 tons; Length: 450 feet: Beam: 66 feet
Sankisan Maru: Displacement: 4,776 tons; Length: 367.5 feet; Beam: 51.8 feet;
Day 4
Nippo Maru: Displacement: 3,673 tons; Length: 352 feet; Beam: 50 feet;
Rio de Janeiro Maru: Displacement: 9,627 tons; Length: 450 feet; Beam: 62 feet;
Day 5
San Francisco Maru: Displacement: 5,864 tons; Length: 385 feet; Beam: 51 feet;
Mitsubishi G4M: Crew 7; Wingspan 85 ft.; Length 66 ft.; Height 20 ft.;
Kawanishi H8K1 Flying Boat: Crew 16; Wingspan: 124 ft 8 in.; Length: 92 ft 3.5 in.; Height: 30 ft;
Day 6
Aikoku Maru: Displacement:10,348 tons; Length: 492 feet; Beam: 66 feet;
Yamagiri Maru: Displacement: 6,439 tons; Length: 436.4 feet; Beam: 58.3 feet;
Day 7
IJN FUMIZUKI DESTROYER: Displacement: 1913 tons; Length: 330 feet; Beam: 30 feet;
Kansho Maru: Displacement: 4,861 tons; Length: 380 feet; Beam: 52.5 feet; Engine:
In subsequent blogs I will endeavor to expand on the best dive trip I have ever experienced. No doubt the Eaglehawk Divers will be heading back probably in 2007.
Anybody interested in joining us can drop us an email and we will keep you in the loop.
