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Dive #14 Hoki Maru, 110ft, 49min dive
Bulldozers, tractors, trucks and fencing are all highlights of this dive. The hold that all of this equipment in gets silted up pretty quick so the picture weren’t great but the experience (again) sure was! Saw a shark at the end of the dive.
Dive #15, Fujikawa Maru, 110ft, 55min dive
We entered this wreck through the torpedo hole which eventually took the ship down. Saw a bank of compressed gas bottles still all lined up. Lots of beer bottles and a good telegraph remaining on this wreck. Good bow gun
Dive #16 Fujikawa Maru, 89ft, 45min dive
Lots of old oil drums, collapsed zero planes, spare parts and props for the planes that were being transported for the war efforts. Empty shells, machine guns and gas masks. Lots of shoes and old uniforms on this wreck. Lots of sharks seen around this wreck (up to 12) and circling us when we were decompressing on the hang bar!
Dive #17, Nippo Maru, 120ft, 51min dive
Saw a tank and a truck on the deck. Gas masks and shells here too. Swam through the superstructure. Artillery guns and china on the wreck. Lifeboats davits and a telegraph in the wheelhouse.
Dive #18, Nippo Maru, 128ft, 49min
Lots of time on the deck to look around as well as the top of the superstructure near the catwalk. Enjoyed the schooling fish on this wreck.
Dive #19, Nippo Maru, 108ft, 55min dive
Lots of macro stuff to enjoy on this dive. Torpedo in the sand was cool to see.
Dive #20 (didn’t write down which wreck!), 89ft, 49min
Twilight dive. A white tipped shark circled us three times before we began or descent. It really played on your mind wondering where it went after it swam away and we were descending into the darkening sea!
Stubs.
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Dive #6 Fumitzuki (Destroyer), 91ft, 38min dive
One of the few destroyers in the lagoon. This vessel was present during the attack on Pearl Harbour. At 320′ it’s a good size. The bow is completely broken off and sitting in the sand. Lots of life boat davets to be seen on this wreck.
Dive #7 Shinkoku Maru, 90ft, 40min dive
This is a 500′, massive wreck. Highlights of this dive are an impressive bow gun, and inside the superstructure is the operating room. In this room remains operating equipment, an operating table and human remains, which have been placed on the table. The superstructure of this wreck has deteroiated a lot since my last time in Truk. Piles of steel have started to break off of the ship and lay in piles in the sand. Three great telegraphs remain on the roof of the superstructure. This dive we saw our first shark, a white tip reef shark. Telephone can be seen on this wreck also.
Dive #8 Shinkoku Maru, 121ft, 44min dive
Same wreck as last time, except this time we saw a baby spotted eagle ray. It was so cute! On many of the wrecks, items are brought up to the more shallow parts of the ships so that those who don’t wish to go inside the more dangerous parts of the ship can still see artifacts, they are commonly refered to as “displays”. On this wreck, the display contains a pretty cool first aid kit box.
Dive #9 Shinkoku Maru, 124ft, 48min dive
Amazing tour of the engine room with Ken. Massive room about five stories high. Saw human remains inside this wreck also.
Dive #10 Heian Maru, 89ft, 48min dive
Previously a luxury liner that was converted to support the war. 510′ long. Nice dive through the inside of the ship. Saw the old bathroom, periscopes and a good view of the name on the side of the vessel and an old telephone on the deck. Piles of china around the wreck.
Dive #11 Heian Maru, 91ft, 52min dive
Engine room tour with Ken again. Old light bulbs still intact, gauges to check out and a skull inside the wreck. Inside the wreck for 20 minutes of the dive.
Dive #12 Rio de Janeiro, 112ft, 55min
This ship was also previously a passenger liner. Beautiful props, stern gun and a cool hold filled with sake bottles. The hull has collapsed on this wreck
Dive #13 Rio de Janeiro, 84ft, 40min
Crazy tour of the engine room Went in the water at 530pm and it was dark by the time we were on the wreck. Multilevels to explore, gauges, clocks, about 25min inside the dark engine room When we emerged, it was night and really dark. Super cool dive overall.
Stubs.
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Seeing as I delayed writing this blog for so long, I am going to put together a few dives per blog and upload the pics more generally.
Dive #1 Kiyosumi Maru, max depth 75ft.
I have to admit, this was by far the worst dive of my life. A number of factors came together to require me to breathe off of a buddy regulator for the first time ever. A mix of nerves, complacency and being not set up to my liking with my gear resulted in me blowing through my air faster than I ever have in my life. Not much stands out for me besides my life flashing before my eyes, the bow gun and seeing my first human remains of the trip, a skull.
Dive #2 Kiysoumi Maru, max depth 67ft, 39min dive. 450′ Merchant Raider
This was a much better dive. I adjusted my gear, took a deep breath and took the plunge again. No better way to bounce back then to get right back on the bike. I didn’t bring my camera behind, as I had a new set up that I was trying out that contributed to my blunder on the previous dive. Took my time to enjoy the corals and fish.
Dive #3, Yamagiri Maru, max depth 89ft, 39min dive
This dive we saw 14″ bomb shells. This dive we swam through the torpedo hole which ultimately took down the ship. This ship was in repair at the time of the attack. It was cool to see how the ship was being repaired.
Dive #4, Yamagiri Maru, max depth 90ft, 42min dive
First engine room tour of the trip. There is really no way to describe one of these tours. Multi level, dives filled with huge boilers, piping, pumps, valves, catwalks gauges and so much more. In these parts of the ships, there is generally little to no natural light and the hazards are plentiful.
This wreck has an extremely unique sight on the inside of the wreck. As the ship was in repair when the attack happened, the ships engineer was inside the engine room trying to get the boat going to escape the lagoon. Unfortunately for him, his efforts were in vain, and his finger bones are fused to an I beam. Just adjacent to that, embedded in the ceiling, is his skull. I did see this sight on my first trip to Truk and I have to say, it was just as hit me just as hard this time.
Dive #5, Night dive on Yamagiri, max depth 71ft, 41min dive
Saw some cool crabs that only feed at night. They’re funny. Machine that are just constantly shoveling crap off the ocean floor into their mouths. Lots of sponges and cucumbers to be found, lots of things that were blooming and active that you don’t get to see during the day.
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In my attempt to catch up, here are some of my favorite videos from Truk Lagoon.
Here to start the train are some of my favourite diving videos from Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.
Enjoy
Stubs
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Please note: This blog is based on my trip in October 2015.
There is no where in the world like Weno, more commonly known as Truk Lagoon.
Staying at the Blue Lagoon Hotel, you are somewhat sheltered from the culture of the people on the island, so we were sure to take another tour of the surrounding islands. This gives a person an idea of what the entire area was like when it was consumed by the Japanese. Most of the things are falling back into the earth and without a good tour guide, you could pass right by some of these war relics and not even know what they were at one time.
Seeing the old fuel loading station, fuel storage tanks, old hospital, airport and a variety of other things is just beyond words. The descriptions will be with the pictures.
The people of Truk never cease to amaze me. Their smiles, and willingness to share their culture is just beautiful. The kids there have always stolen the show for me as their energy and the simplicity of their lives is inspiring.
Enjoy.
Stubs
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When you travel over 8000km over the Pacific Ocean to get to a tiny island, you might as well explore other tiny islands while you’re there. Majuro is not part of Micronesia but part of a chain of islands called the Marshall Islands. These islands are relatively unknown but if you know the story of Bikini Atol and the nuclear testing that occurred there, the Marshall Islands are in that same neighborhood and the Marshalese people were subjected to the same testing.
The island itself is one big sandbar. One main road goes through the island, Lagoon Road. The entire island is under 10km2. It’s pretty hard to fathom. Traveling from Truk to Majuro, it is a different vibe. Majuro, although still a poor island by many standards, is a world ahead of the islands in Micronesia. All of the homes here have power, plumbing and the hospital was quite impressive.
We took a boat tour to one of the surrounding islands of the atol two of the days we were here. The beach was amazing and the snorkeling was stellar. I saw a tiny baby shark for the first time, it was so cute!
I have a bunch of pictures of some of the grocery products from the island. It was amazing how much stuff on the shelves was expired, or clearly had been used. One of my favorite things to do on the island was to just roam the stores and observe the kinds of things that make their way to these tiny islands!
Stubs.
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Tiny and Stubs are on the road again.
After having fun in Pittsburgh, we decided it best to hit the road, and Oregon was on the agenda. Not quite Micronesia but I’ll take it!
We drove to Cranston, BC and stayed there for the night in a hotel that was really great on the outside décor but seriously lacking on the inside. Drunk guys staying next door made the night for even more of a pleasurable experience.
Luckily we woke up early, crossed the border without delay and began enjoying the beautiful drive to Oregon. The driving is pretty good and the landscape is always changing. From lush think forest in some places to desert in others and everything in between.
The first stop on the coast was in Tillamook, Oregon, where we camped in the Barview Jetty Campground. The campground was awesome, the people were friendly and we could hear the ocean surf the whole time we were in our campsite. We spend a day at Cannon Beach, did some shopping, walked about 19km and ate some good food.
Stubs
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- Vista House, Oregon
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- Cape Meares State Park
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- Cape Meares State Park
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- Cape Meares Lighthouse, State Park
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- Cape Meares State Park
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- Cape Meares State Park
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- Cape Meares State Park
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- Oregon Sunset
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- Oregon Sunset
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- Toasting to an Oregon sunset
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- Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
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- Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
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- Barview Jetty, Oregon
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- Barview Jetty, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Ecola State Park, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Tillamook, Oregon
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- Tillamook, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Cannon Beach, Oregon
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- Vista House, Oregon
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- Vista House, Oregon
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- Vista House, Oregon
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- Vista House, Oregon
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One of my favorite things to do to getaway is head to the west coast. Recently I went to Cortes Island, BC and loved it just as much as the other islands in the gulf between Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
My favourite part was climbing through the woods near the old homesteads on the island and finding the old cars all piled up, nature slowing taking them back. It was fun to explore
Check out my pics!
Stubs
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC. The Boat House. This is where we stayed.
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Cortes Island, BC
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- Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh
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- My first shinner
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- Downtown Pittsburgh
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- Josh and I. St. Patty’s Day, Pittsburgh.
Over the last few months, my excitement for my return to Micronesia has been building. I first had the opportunity to dive there in 2013 and have been eager to go back as soon as possible. My dad decided that he was going to come too, so we booked the first availability on The Odyssey, which was May 2015.
About a month ago, I was getting ready to get off a bus on the airstrip at work, when I dislocated my knee moving laterally. It was pretty painful and was a huge set back. I was on crutches for almost two weeks and during that time, I had a family trip to Pittsburgh, where, while having a few drinks, I managed to give myself a black eye when I bottled myself on a beer bottle. I cut my eye, leaving me with a sweet boxer cut over my eye. So, walking through Pittsburgh with a brace on my leg, cut and black eye, I was having a hard time blending in.
Everyday, my knee gets a little bit better. I now know that I tore my LCL, which is the ligament that keeps my knee from dislocating. Ironically, I tore it because it wasn’t doing a very good job apparently. I had and still continue to have quite a bit of fluid built up on it which is restricting my movement quite a bit. I can go up stairs (although not very gracefully) but still am not quite ready to go down stairs. At this point to try to get ready for my trip, I have been seeing my doctor, an acupuncturist, a massage therapist, physiotherapist and an osteopath.
After being to the doctor and being told that I would be able to dive and didn’t require surgery, I was pumped! That was until I heard about the Typhoon. Turns out a massive typhoon hit Chuuk and there were concerns that the boat we were going to be diving from was damaged. There was a couple of days where we were pretty sure the trip was going to be postponed. Although the disappointment was hard to hide, it was hard to feel too bad because the islands of Micronesia were devastated and there were several deaths. A few days ago, we found out that although the boat was damaged, it should be ready to go in the middle of May. The first tour scheduled to take place, if there is no more delays, will be ours. it is nail bitingly close!
Stubs.
Filed under: Uncategorized
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Exploring the Pearl Islands, Panama
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- Contadora Island, Panama
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- Contadora Island, Panama
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- Runway next to the road. Abandoned hotel. Contadora Island, Panama
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- Abandoned hotel. Contadora Island, Panama
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- Abandoned hotel. Contadora Island, Panama
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- Abandoned hotel. Contadora Island, Panama
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- Abandoned hotel. Contadora Island, Panama
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- Contadora Island, Panama
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- Contadora Island, Panama
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- Contadora Island, Panama
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- Contadora Island, Panama
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- Smallest plane yet! Contadora Island, Panama
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- Runway on Contadora Island, Panama
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- Ships lined up to pass through the Panama Canal
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- Flying over the Panama Canal
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Puffer Fish. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- White tipped reef shark. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- White tipped shark. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Nurse Shark. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Seahorse. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- A very unhappy eel. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Turtle. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Puffer Fish. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Frog Fish. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Frog Fish. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Frog Fish. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- White tipped shark. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Seahorse. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Lobster. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Seahorse. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Not a bad view after a day of diving. Santa Catalina, Panama
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- Spotted Eel. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Puffer FIsh. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Eel. Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Diving in Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Coiba National Park, Panama
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- White Tipped Shark. Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Lobster. Coiba National Park, Panama
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- Frog Fish. Coiba National Park, Panama
Diving in Coiba National Park was really something else. The amount of marine life and the health of the eco system there gives a person hope for our oceans.
The pictures speak for themselves and hopefully you can spot the seahorses!
Stubs.
stubsadventures 