This video was shot with some friends from Okinawa Underwater Explorers, a group of GUE divers in Okinawa Japan. The islands, The Keramas, are about 1 hour boat ride from Okinawa, which is about 1000kms south from mainland Japan.
Keramas dive - Okinawa Japan - 16 June 2009 from Eric Gray on Vimeo.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
A recent GUE trip to The Solomon Islands saw 4 divers enjoy amazing wreck diving with huge WWII historical significance known as the Battle of Guadalcanal.
The Battle of Guadalcanal, was fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. Fiercely contested on the ground, at sea, and in the air, the campaign was the first major offensive launched by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.
During our trip, limited by certification to Tech 1 diving we visited 6 wrecks in total over 10 dives:
“Hirokawa Maru” (Bonegi I), “Kinugawa Maru” (Bonegi II), Kyusyu Maru, Azumasan Maru, USS John Penn and the USS Kanawha. Although all of the wreck were outstanding we were amazed by the USS Kanawha which is a big American fleet oiler sitting upright near the entrance to Tulagi Harbour at about 60 metres (200 ft) with the decks at an average depth of 45m (160ft). As a warship, it was heavily armed with guns on the bow, bridge, midships and stern.
On 7 April a group of enemy Vals slipped through fighter defences and zeroed in on Kanawha as she awaited an escort in Tulagi harbor. At 1502, shortly after clearing the harbor, the slow and vulnerable oiler came under bomb attack. The first five planes hit an oil tank under the bridge, causing fires to spread rapidly along the deck. Lt. Comdr. Bock ordered the ship abandoned to minimize danger to his crew from burning oil on the surface. After rescue operations were underway, volunteers returned on board and extinguished fires amidst exploding ammunition. The tug Rail towed Kanawha to the west side of Tulagi where she was beached shortly before midnight. However, she slid off into deep water and sank before daybreak 8 April. Nineteen of her crew were lost.
In summary the Solomon Islands has some of the best wreck diving in the world. The water temperature is a balmy 30’C on average even at depth. Conditions are superb, great vis, calm seas and completely stress free. Although we were limited by certification there is diving for all levels – recreational through to exploration. Best time of year is May to August. We used Invader Charters as our operator and they catered for our every need, a big thank you to Chris, Stu, Grant and James for a fantastic trip.
.
USS Kanawha from DiveBondi on Vimeo.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
This wreck lies in 75m along the NSW south coast about 6 hours south of Sydney. On Saturday we have perfect conditions both on and underwater. Sunday we got blown out but never the less it was a great weekend.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Last Saturday we went to The Apollo Barge which lies in 45m off Long Reef, Sydney. It has 2 large cargo holds, bridge, engine room and sitting upright fully intact.
Enjoy Liam.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
New Years Eve Markus, Daniel, Phil, Nicole and myself went to Cronulla to dive the wreck of the SS Tuggerah. Not only is it a great wreck but it also has some amazing marine life on it. The prop and rudder is still in tact and is the most spectacular part of the dive.
Hope you enjoy the video.
Liam.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!