21 replies to this topic

[Jerrymxz]

WOW What a trip!!!!
A personal Thank You to all who were there to share this grand adventure with me.

I don’t know where to start. The air travel to get to Truk was long at best. When we arrived we were met at the airport by a crew of guys from the Odyssey. They put our luggage in a pickup and we climbed into a bus for the ride to the Blue Lagoon resort for the day while we awaited our boarding time on the Odyssey. The roads are very third world. The resort was very nice and worthy of a second look. We all had rooms to put our stuff in for the day while trying to get our clocks to sync.

Once we boarded the Odyssey the true adventure began. The dive day started with breakfast while they moved the boat to the next site. Once moored at the wreck while we were all still eating Captain JJ would give us the first “DIVE BRIEFING!!” of the day. Once the briefing was done the pool was open until 1230 when the boat was moved to the next wreck. After lunch the pool was open until 1830 when dinner was served. The night dive was at 1930 and was the only dive with a “start time” at about 2030 the diving was suspended until after breakfast the following morning.

The Local dive guides were always available to lead tours to the best spots on each wreck. I can’t praise their knowledge and skill enough they are outstanding divers. The dives and sites were chosen with a logical progression throughout the week to expand our comfort level and depth, working up to the deepest dive on Saturday morning diving on the San Francisco Maru. Many of the people on the trip set personal depth and time records as well as conducting planned decompression on a few of the deepest wrecks under the watchful eyes of the Captain and dive masters. WW and I were the only Tech qualified divers on the trip but she chose not to dive a tech configuration. I dove with AL80 doubles all week and on the deeper dives I carried an AL40 with 80% O2 that I used to conduct 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. With the hang bar setup on the Odyssey the abundant marine life and the 87 degree water temps the hangs were very relaxing. All told I dove on 13 different wrecks for a total of 22 dives.

The Wrecks are spectacular. An average one here anywhere else in the world in the condition we found them would be a huge attraction. But in Chuuk there are dozens and dozens of them in, for the most part, the same condition as when they went down almost 7 decades ago. The marine life is abundant and taking over every square inch of usable space on all the wrecks. The artifacts and remnants of war are stacked to the gunnels on many of the cargo ships sunk at anchor within the lagoon. The human remains are a stark reminder of the cost of the struggle that took place throughout the Pacific theater during WWII.

Each of the wrecks 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 to their story again.

[WreckWench]

Thank you Jerry...that was a great recap! And as you said I chose not to dive tech profiles initially...but having Jerry as my dive buddy for the week in Truk allowed me to dive a more technical profile with a single back mounted 108 using 30% as my backgas and a 30cf stage bottle filled with 50% to off gassing starting at 30ft to give me add'l time on my subsequent dives. It was not necessarily needed as I dove the first few days totally using recreational parameters aka one gas only of 30% but as the week wore on I know I was regaining valuable bottom time and I was happy I opted to dive a more tech profile.

Stephane aka clicksteve also an extremely competent diver dove with Jerry and I and dove strictly recreational profiles aka one gas and minimal to no deco times. He never had to abort substantially sooner than either Jerry or I but his diving a cochran helped to ensure he had similar run times as we did due to continuity of the computer algorythms.

All in all it was an amazing trip...one that only whetted my appetite to see MORE china and more remenants of history!

And yes I'm working on a return engagement for Feb 2014 for those who missed out on this truly 'bucket list' diving and for those on this trip who have started talking about doing some more technical training and might want to repeat the venue in a few years.

I am still traveling home so will contribute more later along with pictures! And yes I finally have gotten some great shots worthy of posting. I was truly blessed to discover Light and Motion's new video and photo modeling lights which also provided enough add'l light to my subjects that my internal flash on my camera gave me high quality output compared to my previous attempts.

Additionally Brett aka seawolf graciously offered to look at my pictures and help me tackle some of the hurdles I was facing and as a result helped to improve my pictures exponentially. I am going to try to recruit him to post his work on our site, and perhaps offer it to our members for a special SD price! Who knows we may even see if he would do a photo workshop(s) on a future trip!

I want to welcome everyone back and encourage each of you to post your trip comments, pictures and of course our typical "after-trip" feedback in the private trip forum.

[scubaski]

Welcome Back Guys, Sounds like a grand trip.

[Cajun Diver]

I have to echo what Jerry said WOW what a trip!

I'll add a few pics here since I can't think of anything to add to Jerry or Kamala's report.

At least I'll try to add pics - hmmm... it doesn't seem to want to let me upload so I'll have to do that later.

Edited by Cajun Diver, 09 May 2011 - 10:03 PM.

[shadragon]

Hello all,

Welcome back from wreck diving paradise (grumble, grumble, grumble)

I set up a photo gallery for you all here

Should be lots of space for all those lovely vacation pics to show those of us stuck in a small dark server room just how much fun you had...

Cheers

Shad

[Cajun Diver]

Hello all,

Welcome back from wreck diving paradise (grumble, grumble, grumble)

I set up a photo gallery for you all here

Should be lots of space for all those lovely vacation pics to show those of us stuck in a small dark server room just how much fun you had...

Cheers

Shad

Thanks Simon!

A few pics posted from both Truk and Palau - now on to my cold dark server room...

[ev780]

WOW is an understatement!!!!

Who would have thought we would have done the things we did!!! The sense of history and how 67 years later, WWII is talked about like it was yesterday in all of the islands we visited. Truly amazing!!!

Yeah and we didn't have any fun either. You people need to lighten up!!!!

[Cajun Diver]

Yeah and we didn't have any fun either. You people need to lighten up!!!!

Who says we didn't have fun?!? I won't forget the "DIVE BRIEFING" call from Capt. JJ or the dive briefing chants and song in Palau . I certainly won't forget going to Kramer's and those "Hammerhead wings" you got - good thing I stuck with the regular wings and didn't get the "Thermo Nuclear" sauce otherwise I would have been doing the "warhammer" maneuver while diving the next day

Hmmm I guess we need an official "Palau" trip report thread too or should we just do that here?

Edited by Cajun Diver, 10 May 2011 - 01:15 PM.

[ev780]

Yeah and we didn't have any fun either. You people need to lighten up!!!!

Who says we didn't have fun?!? I won't forget the "DIVE BRIEFING" call from Capt. JJ or the dive briefing chants and song in Palau . I certainly won't forget going to Kramer's and those "Hammerhead wings" you got - good thing I stuck with the regular wings and didn't get the "Thermo Nuclear" sauce otherwise I would have been doing the "warhammer" maneuver while diving the next day

Hmmm I guess we need an official "Palau" trip report thread too or should we just do that here?

Were you there during the tasting of the local sauce? I thought Mike was gonna melt and he was amazed I kept asking for more!!!!

It apears you missed my sarcasm in the "we didn't have fun" comment. Or I am missing yours. But I had an absolute ball and the people were awesome!!!!!!

[WreckWench]

Thank you Simon for giving us a photo gallery!

And one other comment...

For those who think Truk is ONLY about wreckdiving...know this. The wrecks give the corals both soft and hard LOTS of places to grow. It is some of the most beautiful I've seen anywhere in the world. It is spectacular. I WILL post some pics to prove it!

So while the historical aspects were mind blowing...the wrecks were the backbone for some of the most amazing reefs I've ever seen!

The wrecks also had varying depths and you could stay as shallow as 40-50 ft on many of them and of course as deep as well over 100+ ft.

And for those who did not want to dive on the San Francisco which was the deepest wreck...you could dive on the Betty Bomber which was shallow and nearby and many of our divers did dive on that wreck.

Echoing Jerry's comments about the guides...one of our guides had more time diving on the wrecks of Truk than ANY OTHER HUMAN BEING AlIVE!!! How cool is that? And he was teaching his fellow dive guides the tricks of the trade.

All of the dive guides were AMAZING and truly made this trip a 'TRIP OF A LIFETIME'. -ww

[Cajun Diver]

Were you there during the tasting of the local sauce? I thought Mike was gonna melt and he was amazed I kept asking for more!!!!

It apears you missed my sarcasm in the "we didn't have fun" comment. Or I am missing yours. But I had an absolute ball and the people were awesome!!!!!!

Yep - sitting right next to you as I recall

Yeah missed the sarcasm there - still jet lagged from the hours of traveling and canceled flight from Houston to Beaumont - I should see my bag sometime today plus the airline provided a taxi! Well worth it though and looking forward to another trip.

[Scubatooth]

Sounds like this was one heck of a trip.

well if the plan is to go back in 2014 then i can start planning some training now and get my ducks in a row. Will the 2014 trip be ready and published and open for booking 12 months before so if one wants can use FF miles to get most of the way there then buy the island hopper?

[WreckWench]

It will be posted WHEN pricing is released by the boat and if still reasonable we'll confirm the date, lock in the reservation and post the trip. The problem is having the 'add-on' trip ready to go as well since no one wants to travel that far for only one destination.

As for the island hopper...it was the preferred choice if you wanted to have a day to recover BEFORE the trip. And I think EVERYONE would agree it was well worth it having that day to recover.

[Diver Ed]

As for the island hopper...it was the preferred choice if you wanted to have a day to recover BEFORE the trip. And I think EVERYONE would agree it was well worth it having that day to recover.

I fully agree with that statement. As for me personally, the room in Hawaii, and the extra day in Truk were ideal. Ed

[ev780]

As for the island hopper...it was the preferred choice if you wanted to have a day to recover BEFORE the trip. And I think EVERYONE would agree it was well worth it having that day to recover.

I fully agree with that statement. As for me personally, the room in Hawaii, and the extra day in Truk were ideal. Ed

The island hopper is evil!!!!! Evil I tell ya!!!! But it did serve the purpose Kamala mentioned. Who knows what the schedule will be that far into the future. The downtime was a bit much in the transitions but Wenchie got us rooms at the right times and places so that we always had a place to nap, shower, etc. The day room in Guam was crucial!!!!!

The flight home was very efficient for me anyway. 24 hours on the nose from when I sat down in my first flght to when I pulled my truck out of hock in Denver. Not more than 5 or 6 hours of airport time. Wish it were that efficient getting there!!

I have reviewed the trip 5 or 6 times with the people in my office and I am still thrilled!!! We had a great time with a great group!!! This is on every diver's bucket list and there is a reason. Sell the cat, eat ramen noodles, save your pennies but make it to Chuuk before you give up diving!!!