Truk Part 2.
by Neil Hambleton
Finally we arrived in Truk. And the following day our luggage turned up. But it was worth it...
The following day and we got some good news. There are not many flights a week to Truk, but fortunately there was another one in the morning, and better still, our luggage was on it. As a result we missed a couple of dives, but it could have been worse.
First dive was a 40m dive on to I 169 a Japanese sub that sank because of a mistake by the crew. The rear of the sub is intact, but the front is badly damaged as the Japanese depth charged it after bringing out the bodies of the sailors who died. As Trevor repeatedly pointed out, this is not one of the best dives in Truk, but gives the dive guides the chance to assess people without too much risk, as even Steve couldn't get inside.
Louisa and I were diving with the only 2 people on the Thorfinn not with our party. 2 Americans, Don and Bob, from the frozen wastes of Wisconsin had joined us. They'd spent a week thawing out in Palau, and were now doing a week in Truk. (Don very kindly donated some of the accompanying photos, and you can see more of his excellent photos from both Truk and Palau). The next dive was on one of Truk's showcase dives, the Fujikawa Maru. The wreck is upright in 35 metres, with the mast coming up almost to the surface. We swam through the engine room, and saw a workshop and some other rooms before popping out in one of the forward holds. Here are parts of 3 aircraft, including the cockpit and fuselage of a Zero. There are also several torpedoes and a whole host of shoes. There was a lot of coral and loads of fish.
Next the night dive - yes some of us did one. Even Robert postponed his after-dinner nap. This was on another upright wreck, the Sankisan Maru, the ammunition wreck. It was a bit crowded, but we saw a giant puffer fish while swimming through the holds. There were several truck chassis in the holds and on the decks, and tons of ammunition in the first hold. We didn't get to the stern, but we wouldn't have seen much if we had. A large bomb landed in the aft holds and set off the ordinance stored in them. It was a good dive marred only by the fact that I flooded Steve's torch. It was probably due for an upgrade anyway as it was the same colour as his old car.
Ammunition from Sankisan Maru. Photo courtesy of Don Dixon
The first dive on Tuesday was on the Amagisan Maru which was in deeper water. Consequently the water was remarkably clear. The ship is on its side and has a staff car in one of the holds. There was an anti-aircraft gun on its turntable. It was good, but the stops were longer than the dive.
Robert missed this one, and complained that his buddy should have woken him up for it. That seemed a bit harsh, since waking him up is practically impossible.
Our next dive was on the Rio de Janeiro Maru. This was a huge passenger liner which used to take Japanese farmers to Brazil, where the Government was giving away land, to try and settle more of the country. It is on its starboard side, and we dropped down to it in bright sunlight. The rear hold was full of sake bottles in crates. The 2 propellers and rudder were impressive, as was the rear gun that was bolted on when the Japanese Navy took over the ship. There were lots of fish, and it was another excellent dive, helped by the sunlight on the wreck.
Next was the Gosei Maru, which was again on its side. There was not much doubt about why this sank, a massive hole where the hull should have been. There were a number of torpedoes which had 'exploded' when their compressed air burst them open. The engine room was easily accessible. We did the stops on the hull near the stern accompanied by a huge shoal of sweetlips.
When I first heard about the Thorfinn, I thought that the hot tub was an unnecessary luxury. After getting back from several of the dives a bit chilly from the wind in the small boats, it rapidly became essential. Every dive boat should have one. Oh and the waitresses bringing food and beer to you while you soak would be a welcome addition to Hung's junk as well. This was particularly valuable after the last dive of the day. We started doing a sort of dusk dive, by postponing the 5 pm dive until around 6pm. This provided the benefits of a night dive without requiring the superhuman willpower needed to turn down a beer in the hot tub. This popular innovation was started by Chas, Linda, Bo and Park in the starboard boat. I've always said I'd do a lot more night dives if they could be done earlier in the day. But the only chance of that happening is if we do a trip to the Arctic Circle in winter. That's a bit unlikely since Louisa consider 25 degrees Centigrade an arctic temperature.
On Wednesday we did the Sankisan Maru in daylight, and it was spectacular. This time I did head out over the stern, or rather the hole in the seabed where it had been. Eventually I came upon a lump of ship, but it was a long way from the rest of the wreck, and not very recognizable. The forward hold was full of small arms ammunition and detonators. Number 2 hold was full of trucks. The sides had rusted away, but the wheels still had tyres on (and they're probably in better shape than those Firestone ones that Ford keeps putting on its Explorers). Steering wheels, engines, radiators are all still recognizable. There are some cowlings for Zero fighters in there too. It's a very pretty wreck with lots of coral and fish life.
We did the Aikoku Maru in the morning. It's a deep dive, partly because of the hole that it blew in the seabed when it exploded. Like the Sankisan Maru, a bomb landed in a hold full of 1000 lb bombs. This time it was one of the forward holds. The largest part of the front of the ship that has been found was about 18 inches long. The rest was vaporized. The superstructure absorbed the blast and sank first, with the stern sticking up. It hit the bottom at high speed, and then settled upright. The front of the superstructure looks like someone has taken a giant meat cleaver to it, bending down the steel as if it was (Space reserved for a witty metaphor). The stern section is remarkably intact considering. The rear holds were full of Japanese marines, all of whom were killed. There is a memorial to those who died at Truk on the superstructure. It is a spooky, dark, atmospheric wreck. I'm glad we did it, but I would hesitate to say I enjoyed it. The stern has a large gun on, pointing upwards. It was firing up until the ship sank. We saw a shark and a large school of barracuda, but there was less coral because of the depth, we stayed around the top, but were still at 52 metres. Several partially successful attempts to restore Steve's torch to a useable state came to an end on this dive, after it flooded catastrophically.
We really appreciated the way the Thorfinn organizes their diving after the Heian Maru. We arrived to find the Truk Aggressor already there. We should have gone somewhere else, but the Heian Maru is the biggest thing in Truk, so how crowded could it get? Very! Every time we tried to come out of a hold, about 10 people would be pushing their way in. The hold entrances were quite narrow, and the ship is on its port side, so the holds were actually quite dark. There was a skull in one of the holds, which attracted the entire Aggressor group who wanted to pose for photographs with it. The Heian Maru was a submarine tender, and there are several periscopes stored along one of the companionways. Linda mistook these for the longest telescopes she'd ever seen. In a hole on the hull we came across a massive octopus.
Dusk dive was on the Sutsuki, a patrol boat. It was quite small and cramped inside. There were a lot of recognizable gauges in the engine room, and we came across a bunk in the crew's quarters. Outside again and we finished the dive as a night dive.
The highlight of the trip for me was the San Francisco Maru. It's another deep dive, as the decks are at 50 metres, but it's remarkably intact. The bomb that sank it landed in the only empty hold, otherwise it may have ended up as badly damaged as the Aikoku. Steve's group covered the rear of the ship, where one hold apparently has more rifle ammunition than the "ammunition wreck", the Sankisan Maru. The other hold is full of 1000 lb bombs. I spent both my dives at the front. There are 3 tanks on the deck, 1 on the port side, and 2 on the starboard side in a compromising position, with one on top of the other. The number 2 hold is full of trucks including several fuel tankers. There were also front wheels from aircraft landing gear. The bridge telegraph has fallen from the bridge onto the deck just behind the second hold. The first hold is full of anti-ship mines. They are stacked up the entire height of the hold. There is apparently a steam roller on the seabed off the port side, but our bottom time was pretty limited, so we concentrated on the main parts of the ship. The following day's dive here was made more interesting when the tender's anchor chain broke and we had to do the stops in blue water. Fortunately there is no current in the lagoon so that did not present a serious problem. It also threw Linda's eyesight or memory (?) into question. She remembered the bow gun, but that was about it. "Did you see the tanks / trucks / mines" all drew a rather blank response. Still she had missed her breakfast, so was perhaps not at her best.
Especially for Linda. Photo courtesy of Don Dixon
