Fun with Koalas

Got to stroke two koalas yesterday at Sydney's Koala Park.

Here's me with Tassie.

Nick was less keen just in case they savaged him.

The kangeroos were pretty cute to feed too.

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Four

China from the Kansho

For what was to be Woody’s last morning of diving, it was decided to do the San Francisco – Truk Lagoon’s signature dive.  At 50m, it was a deep one and when Nick woke up still feeling unwell, he decided against it.  I didn’t fancy doing it without him, so pulled out as well.  This left Woody to go off with Tomo on his own.  However, the weather was really rough – with wind and rain lashing Thorfinn, the dive looked like it might be called off before they set off.  However, Buster in charge of the tender and Tomo tried their best to get Woody on the wreck, but it wasn’t to be and they eventually turned back to a different site out of the wind and waves.  So we were quite pleased we had staying on Thorfinn and had enjoyed a relaxing time in the lounge with a coffee and our log books.

More heavy rain delayed the second dive of the day, which was to be…

Dive 10 – Kansho Maru – 4,862 ton passenger cargo ship.  Had fun with computers bleating, as we exceeded their MOD for 32% in the very interesting engine room.  There were a few tight squeezes and we were in single file in the maze of gangways across two or three decks.  There was a great set of spanners (as in huge!) still on the wall in one part.  Out through bridge and another fully kitted up kitchen.  Finished on mast for safety stops.  It was Woody’s last dive of his trip.

Back to Thorfinn and straight to lunch where we were joined by two new guests, Colin and Caitlin Chance.  They had been living in Guam but about to go back to the US so taking the last opportunity to come and dive in Chuuk.

So there were four of us who set off for the dive at 2pm…

Nick on the Unkat

Dive 11 – Unkat Maru No 6 – 3,230 cargo ship.  We were guided this time by Buster - the Chances were with Hayley.  It was a very choppy ride to the dive site in the rain – not a good start to their Truk adventure for the others and not the best diving experience for Caitlin.  No penetration on this dive but lots of life on the decks including a turtle, a shark and a school of barracudas.

By the time we were back on Thorfinn, it was quite late so the next dive was postponed to 5:30pm, which gave us time for a coffee and sit in the lounge.

Dive 12 – Sutzuki – patrol boat.  Much calmer weather conditions so was a shame Caitlin decided she’d had enough for the day after the earlier dive.  So just three with Buster guiding again.  Much shallower dive than any other so far in the week, averaging only 6.1m.  Bit of a current at surface but ok around the wreck.  Started at the stern – swimming between the props and the rudder, then made our way along the ship which was sunk on its side.  Lots of corals and I took pictures.  Nick suffering with sinuses again particularly at 6m safety stop so surfaced earlier than the rest of us.

Woody’s last evening on board so we were up chatting with him and the Chances after dinner.

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Three

Into the swing of getting up in time for breakfast at 7am (today waffles) and out of the first dive at 8am.

Dive 6 – Hoki Maru – 7,112 ton cargo ship. Were supposed to be getting some depth progression today. However, as we dropped into the blue above the wreck, Nick got a pain in his teeth, so Tomo made decision not to go to depth point at the props, but instead started straight into the cargo holds, though still did 42m. In the holds were bulldozers, jeeps and trucks (very like the Thistlegorm) and we made our way through the vehicles then on to another hold with depth charges all about. The front half of the ship was destroyed by a blast so we head outside along to this and back along the starboard side looking at the coral and fish.

No time to spare before next dive although delayed due to a rainstorm…
Dive 7 – Kiyosimi Maru – 8,614 ton passenger-cargo ship. A huge ship on her port side. Descended down to the torpedo hole and swam inside, passed a box of shells then worked through the levels of the ship to what was the top deck. Then headed along the ship in and out of holds including one with a bicycle leant against a wall. Looking up along the decks, the boat towered above us and the masts and stack were stretched out over the seabed. Managed to make it right to the stern and then swam back along the starboard side. More artifacts laid out on the top including chinaware.

Late back for lunch (pasta bake) so quick turn around for next dive. Nick decided against it, as his teeth issues seemed to be sinus related and he thought he should rest them. So it was just me and the lovely Woody following Tomo for…

Fighter planes in hold

Dive 8 – Fujikawa Maru – 6,938 passenger cargo ship. Ed said this was a stunning dive during the brief – and it was fantastic and probably my most stand out of the trip! This disappointed Nick left back on the boat but Ed promised we would get another chance to dive it again later in the week. We descended down to the top deck then through the living quarters: kitchen with wok still on the stove and coffee machine, passed the bathroom and down into the engine room. Woody “walked” down the stairway. We then weaved our way through the engine rooms including the machine shop with milling machine, lathe and vices. Then started through the holds one full of barrels and then turn a corner and we were in a hold full of fighter aircraft. The light was just perfect breaking through to deck to illuminate the scene. Even tried the joystick in a plane and it still moved around. We then went through holds with plane spares and suicide torpedoes. We emerged on the top deck and made our way to the bow gun, back along to look at some memorials which have been placed on the deck, then up the mast to do stops and watch the fish. Tomo played with one little one who was swimming in and out of a hole.

Back on Thorfinn, I found Nick dozing in bed with a headache so he’d ruled out diving again that day. But we had a bit of time to relax before...

Dive 9 – Emily Flying Boat. Woody and I decided we were happy to keep it short. All split up and pootled around the plane – I swam across the wings and looked around the engines. After about 20 mins, I looked up to find I had completely lost the others – they had both gone off to the surrounding reef and in the dusk light, vis was down to 10m so I couldn’t quite see them – though they both had a eye on me. All decided we’d done enough and ascended.

Night dive ruled out again (too tired), so showered and changed for dinner and again spent the evening relaxing in the lounge.

Pygmy Seahorses

Got to see a couple of these today...very cute!

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Two

Woody

Second morning, with the other groups about to leave, divers were down to three – us two and Woody, a retired pilot from Alabama, who’d arrived the day before us.

Dive 2 – Seiko Maru - a 5,000-ton cargo ship. Early morning deep dive – down to 43m. Following our guide for the week, Tomo and spotted a grey reef shark swimming around the deck as we descended. Took a bit of getting used to diving deep, getting into deco and watching our air. Swam around the holds, one with torpedoes, and round the bows, then back to the line to start ascent at 100 bar.

Then started the usual liveaboard routine – eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, sleep! Just about time to shower, rinse off swimsuit and eat a cake before the next dive. Slightly longer break before the next dive, as the tender was off to take the other guests back to Weno. However, we weren’t long before we were off to…

Dive 3 – Heian Maru – 11,614-ton submarine tender, sunk on her port side. Dropped down to the wreck making our way to the bow to see the name on the side of the ship. Then in and out of holds, saw torpedo warheads stacked on the deck and periscope tubes piled in a gangway. As we swam along, we got a sense of just how vast the ship. Managed to make our way right to the stern and up over the propellers, which were covered in life and back along the starboard side to the shot line and safety stops.

Dive 4 – Yubae Maru - 3,217-ton army cargo ship on port side. This is the wreck with the sewing machine in one of the holds. Couldn’t do too much penetration as it’s starting to collapse but we went in a few holds and saw lots of chinaware. Spent quite a long time at the propellers (where the shot line was) looking at the plentiful life growing on and swimming around them before it was time to ascend for stops.

One of the Betty Bomber engines

Dive 5 – Betty Bomber – Mitsubishi G4M3 Navy type attack bomber. More a dusk dive starting at 5:20pm. We descended down to the wreck but immediately set off over the reef to see the engines, which settled a hundred yards beyond the rest of the plane. Had the camera out for the first time in Chuuk and got a few shots before the light started to fail. Was too scared to swim through the body of the plane as it needed a bit of a wiggle to get out at the tail but went inside to see the thousands of glassfish. As the fourth dive of the day, we were all getting a bit tired so dive didn’t last too long despite being over 10m shallower than any of the others that day.

A general consensus between the three of us that we didn’t want to do a night dive after dinner (much to the delight of staff) so instead showered and changed for dinner and the evening. After eating, we moved rooms to the lower deck – with only one other guest, we had the choice of any cabin for the week. Then an evening of relaxing in the lounge before another early night.

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day One

Another overnight journey – two short flights and a several hours at Guam airport – and another time zone changed left us a bit tired again. However, as the plane came in to land and we circled over the outer reef and the blue seas sparkled it was enough to give us a boost. A real tropical island paradise!

Landing was exciting…coming in over the sea…wondering if the runway will appear before the wheels hit the water, but it’s just another regular landing at Weno Island. And as a small international airport is very quick to clear immigration and customs, we were soon out in a taxi making our way (slowly) to the Blue Lagoon Resort. Recent rain and serious potholes in the road meant winding around pools of muddy water but we were soon at the resort where we were to be collected by the tender from SS Thorfinn. The rain started again which meant a slightly wet journey across the lagoon to the ship – but despite being soaked the welcome was very warm as we were introduced to Hayley, shown around the boat, had time to change and finally went down for lunch.

SS Thorfinn

We were offered a dive immediately – the others onboard were about to go out for the 2pm dive, but we were still a bit tired and felt we needed a chance to get sorted out. So spent a while unpacking the dive gear and getting set up for the later dive. So Dive 1 was on Friday at 5pm on the Futagami, a Hashima Class salvage tug - just a little shakedown dive to 27m. It was covered in life with interesting holds to look in, but as it started to get dark, the others started to ascend so Nick and I followed, despite his reluctance to get out the water.

Back on board we showered and changed ready for dinner. As it was Friday, it was BBQ night as a final farewell to the current group of divers, four from a club from Battersea and a pair from Hong Kong. Nick and I struggled to keep our eyes open after a sleepless night so retired to bed early.

Keep on Truk-ing*

At first I was going to call this post "Chuuk-ing it down", as we arrived to torrential rain and a presumption of crap vis, if there was to be any diving at all.

So, we got soaked on the boat ride out to the live aboard, but weather always seems to be short lived on Chuuk (allegedly it is where the weather comes from) so it was fine for the early evening dive, and what a dive. A wreck with so much of life and colour plus clear and warm water (30°C, nah, I exaggerate, it was only 29°C).

I felt euphoric, and was particularly taken by some tiny box fish which were just so cute. I don't think I was narked as it was pretty shallow and we had nitrox, but it may have been days of sleep deprivation. I wanted to stay and play for hours, but soon it was dark and their mum said it was late and that they had to go to bed. Or
something.

Anyway, "The Ghost Ships of Truk", eh? They are fantastic, and I don't generally like hunks of metal, but, well, beautifully preserved (no ransacking and little to no current) to the extent that woks are still on the cookers and spanners (some add big as me - if less fat) still in the engine rooms... And what engine rooms... Well, you get the idea.

There are wrecks for all levels, we did ones from around 15m to 50m (yes, I was a bit scared on the way down and 24 minutes of deco is just as much fun as it sounds).

As well as ships there are planes and sub's, it is truly as good as they say.

A tank on the San Francisco Maru, at 50m (ish)

* Hey, at least it is a better title than "Up Chuuk".

I'll ketchup

Chuuk was great but there was no wifi (gasp) and not even any mobile phone coverage - unless you get a "local" phone, presumably only for local people...?