"Memories"
This is long, but it's a story I wrote detailing my first trip to dive the wrecks of Chuuk in Truk lagoon. It's just a portion of the article that I hope to get published at some point. It is my absolutely finest memory of diving with SingleDivers!
Prior to our arrival I had contacted the Odyssey and arranged for a set of AL80 doubles and a pair of AL40 sling bottles. After we boarded and were settled into our rooms during the first orientation briefing they called my name then showed me the doubles and asked me what station I wanted to set my gear up. The Odyssey has a whip system to fill tanks at your station so you never have to move tanks or re-set your rig, a great help when diving for a week. All I had to do was remove one first stage and the next time I came back the tanks were full. Then a quick check on the O2 analyzer and you’re ready to go again. On the deeper dives I carried one of AL40’s with 80% O2 that I used to accomplish any deco obligation I had but to also minimize the amount of nitrogen loading I carried by doing long safety stops on the high O2 gas. I wanted to minimize the amount of nitrogen loading I was carrying throughout the week as I’m not 20-something anymore and real help is a long way off; rather safe than sorry. My technical certifications, all from TDI, allowed me the flexibility to explore deeper and if I wanted to stay longer or explore some feature I have the training and gear to safely do decompression dives on high oxygen concentration gasses. I didn't do any long mandatory decompression dives, but I did run 6 or 8 dives into deco that for the most part cleared on the ascent. I kept my Shearwater Predator and my secondary computer very happy and never got out of the water unless both were well clear. With the hang bar setup on the Odyssey, the abundant marine life, plus the 87 degree water temps the hangs were very relaxing. I was comfortable in a .5mil neoprene full skin all week.
During the entire week the divemasters were available to escort divers to any of the notable sites in and around the wrecks. Each wreck also has a small collection of artifacts that the local dive operations have recovered and placed high on the wreck that make for some very interesting photo ops. Plus the divemasters also point out all the interesting life that has taken over almost every square inch of available space on the entire outside of all the wrecks making for great macro photo opportunities. During the dive briefings Captain JJ posts drawings detailing the shipwreck and the dive site, Giving highlights and hazards as well as standard dive brief fare of depth and layout.
The dives themselves were as challenging or benign as you cared to make them. The penetration opportunities are almost limitless but there are also a myriad of outside artifacts and interesting things to see. All the wrecks with the exception of the Fumizuki and the I-169 submarine have a ton of relief. Most dives my buddy and I would go deep early until we were playing with deco then work our ascent up the structure to limit or eliminate our deco obligation. The majority of the upright ships still have masts and kingposts that extend many feet above the decks that are absolutely covered in coral and marine grow of every description. Several come within just a few feet of the surface and are readily visible from the deck of Odyssey. These made for great ascent paths and off gassing locations. Everyone on the trip spent many long enjoyable minutes slowly swimming around and around these pillars of life looking at the incredible diversity of creatures clinging to every inch of usable space as we ascended in the tropical waters.
Several of the more memorable wrecks were the Yamagiri Maru with her cargo of huge naval gun shells that were so carefully stacked in the hold that even when she rolled completely over on her Port side the shells are now standing on the shaft galley. The Fujikawa Maru has fighter aircraft wings, fuselages, engines, spare parts, plus trucks, a bulldozer and many artifacts. Some of the more interesting artifacts are the bow gun which was made in England and still has its ID plate attached. Arguably the most famous residence of the Fujikawa is the air compressor affectionately known as R2D2. Penetrating the skylights into the engine room is a dive not to be missed for it’s the easiest way to get to the machine shop where R2D2 resides. Light pours into the engine room from several large openings and the overhead volume above the massive engine cylinders is a sight to behold. A word of caution is in order here as an errant fin touch will foul the great vis for a couple hours and make you rather un-popular with the picture taking crowd. Good buoyancy control and horizontal position in the water are the order of the day. On the main deck are located several memorials placed there over the years that also warrant a few minutes contemplation
Dives on the Fumizuki and I-169 were both everything I had hoped for. The submarine I-169 is a much bigger boat then the U-352 I’ve come to know. I’ll not go into it here, but the story of her sinking is one of those ironic footnotes of war that a little digging will uncover for you. The Destroyer Fumizuki was sunk on the night of 17 February after taking severe damage at Rabaul and transferred to Truk for repairs. At the time of the attack she only had one partially operational engine and many hull plates buckled and twisted, that even today, records the efforts required to put her permanently out of action. Two great dives that were over far too soon. Both ships are worth a second look and will be high on my do-over list when I return.
Only the last deep dive of the week on the San Francisco Maru did I truly plan and execute what I would consider a formal tech dive. The dive plan was created on my lap top with V-Planner and run times written on a wrist slate. By this time of the week most people had developed the confidence to do the deck at 150 FSW. On the deck there are three small Japanese battle tanks creating probably the most iconic photo op and recognized artifacts in the lagoon. Plus all the holds are packed full of the materials used to make war. On this dive extra air tanks were placed on the deck, at 30feet and another 80cuft on the hang bar at 11fsw. NO one needed any of it but it was reassuring to those unaccustomed to dives to these depths that it was readily available. Captain JJ and the divemasters divided the divers into two groups with 15minutes between splashes. They stayed above the wreck and kept an eye on the dive to ensure issues didn’t escalate into serious problems.
Everything went well for my buddy and me on the first penetration of the number one hold where the inter-deck spaces are jammed full of hemispherical shaped beach mines, artillery shells stacked like cord wood and various other crates of nasty’s. During the dive brief Capt JJ told us of a rusted out bulkhead between the first and second hold that saved us the ascent out of the first hold, traverse of the deck and decent into the second hold. After a circumnavigation of hold one I pointed to the spot I thought the short cut was located. My partner gave me a confidant ok and nod so I led the way between decks and just like it was briefed my Greenforce canister light illuminated a large hole in the aft wall. (I love it when a plan comes together) We proceeded through into the second hold where Stephan finds two perfect juice glasses that we hold up for a quick photo and a mock toast before we carefully return the glasses to their previous resting place. The investigation of this hold yielded cases and cases of square finned aerial bombs, many miscellaneous cases of munitions and aircraft parts. But the highlight of hold two in my opinion is a perfectly intact upright air-cooled radial engine of the type used on fighter aircraft half buried in the silt and debris. By this time in the dive we had several minutes of deco obligation and Stephan’s bottom time was getting short so we started our ascent to rendezvous with the first group of divers.
When I was in sight of the divemasters and as briefed I signal to them my intent to go aft for 5 minutes to take a few pictures of the tremendous quantities of anti-aircraft ammo strewn about the aft deck prior to starting my own ascent. I swam aft over the pilot house taking note of the damage inflicted in the course of the attack and subsequent deterioration from decades in sea water. As I descended a few feet over the aft edge of the superstructure to compose a photo I glanced at my computers and noted I had just acquired a mandatory 50 foot stop on both computers. At that point I turned my dive and started my swim back forward. I angled my swim forward and up to arrive at the top of the forward mast at 100fsw. I had just started my ascent and swim back when in the great tropical conditions I was able to spot the mast and my first waypoint on my planned ascent. As I approached the mast I could see the up-line attached to the top was rather crowded so as a way to …entertain my fellow divers, I pulled my SMB and at about 50 or 60 FSW I preformed my classic demonstration of how not to deploy a SMB for all to see. Once that was sorted out I swam near the line to ensure everyone was doing alright. By the looks in their eyes and smiles barely contained behind their masks, all was well. Just to prove it isn’t over until it’s over: while leisurely swimming aft toward the hang bar, while towing my SMB, I lost concentration for a bit and as the Odyssey gently swung at anchor it caught my bag and started to gently drag me along. This caused me to ascend just two or three feet but it was enough to violate my deco stop. At that point I just dropped my reel so I could sink the couple of feet to get back below my ceiling and continue my swim to the hang bar. Once the Odyssey reached the end of the swing and started back the other way I swam out the 40 feet or so and retrieved my reel and bag before returning to complete my deco and extended hang. After the completion of the dive, seated at my station I had 1900PSI in my doubles and 1800psi in my al40. Although it didn’t go off as perfectly as I would have liked it was of one of the most memorable dives of my life.
My total for the week was 22 dives on 13 different wrecks. It was the most amazing dive week I have ever done. And yes I'm going back!! You don't need Tech certifications to go to Truk and have a great time. But no amount of advanced dive training is a waste (IF you have a good instructor). That being said, I don’t think anyone came away feeling like they missed anything because of their certifications.
Sitting on the sun deck later that evening with several great friends a nice cocktail in hand and enjoying a beautiful hand rolled Puerto Rican cigar looking at the incredible blanket of stars only visible many miles from civilization we reflected on the week of incredible diving we had just concluded and the events many years previous that came together to create this incredible place we had come so far to enjoy. The human remains present on several of the wrecks are a stark reminder of the struggle that took place throughout the Pacific theater during WWII.
Each of the wrecks we visited has a tale to tell about its life and its final demise. If you are willing to take the time to do a bit of research, are observant and while diving in dark places listen to the account each has to tell, You cannot come away unaffected.
I for one will be back to listen some more.
. Long story short, the German now lives in the United States and we'll be married two months next week. What are the chances that a German woman and a guy from New Jersey would meet on a boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and two years later be married?! Oh yeah and by the way, the Maldives trip also happened to be the most amazing diving I've ever done in my life on top of everything else! It's something when the most spectacular diving of your life is a sidebar to an amazing trip LOL!
but I'm glad you won too! So one blue photostick coming up! Please email or pm me your mailing address and I will get it out before heading out to Palau! 
