what would be expected on dives in subic? what could be seen at each wreck?
Subic Dive operators and general questions
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DevonDiver
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Each site at Subic has a very different character, and often, very different conditions/viz etc.
USS New York: Huge wreck with lots of interested features (guns, prop etc). Viz is normally bad due to proximity to Olongapo river discharge. Dive site between 17m and 32m depth. Lots of penetration, ranging from easy to suicidal. Mediocre marine life.
Oruku Maru/Seian Maru: Japanese supply/transport vessels sunk by American bombers. Rarely dived. Same viz issues as the NY. More broken down wrecks. Oruku Maru has a lot of historical significance.
Landing Ship Tank (LST): Large military wreck that enjoys good viz (typically 15m+). Deeper water (30-36m). Functions as a cleaning station, so attracts diverse marine life including occasional pelagics and sharks. Large swim-through into the vehicle loading deck. More technical penetrations into the passenger sleeping quarters.
El Capitan (USS Majaba): WWII US Supply Ship, decorated for service in Guadacanal. Large wreck with easy penetration from front to back, including the boiler rooms Not very much marine life. Depth from 4m to 19m. Best described as an 'underwater playground' because of the fun you can have penetrating its catherdral sized holds and boiler room.
San Quentin: Steam powered wooden galleon, sunk during the Spanish-American war. Largely broken in shallow (14-16m) water. Viz is typically 20m+. Covered in vibrant soft coral and great for photography. Good macro marine life. Adjacent to a coral reef with giant clam.
Barges: Large artificial reef, formed from sunken American military docking pontoons. Large pontoons laid on a sandy slope, starting at 4m and descending to 32m. Big schools of jacks, parrotfish, fusiliers. Stingray and numerous other reef fish. Occasional turtles. Octopus, nudibranch and ribbon eels. Viz typcially 15m+.
Japanese Patrol Boat: Smaller wreck that lies in 26m of water. Variable viz, but when it's good the wreck is very picturesque. Large schools of small fish, pipefish and soft corals. A few small swim-throughs.
Landing Craft Utility (LCU): Small landing craft (think size big enough to carry a single tank or platoon of men for beach assault). Lies in 18m depth. Small penetrations through crew and utility compartments. Lots of lionfish, with varied reef fish. Viz variable, but typically around 10m.
Castle Rock and Lighthouse: Both are reef dives tucked into the corner of the bay. Shallow sand with coral blennies, ranging into broken hard reef then a wall down to 25m. Good macro marine life - night dives here are typically very satisfying. Have seen mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish and bobtail squid here, along with many nudibranch. Viz between 10m and 25m.
Nabassan Reef: Average reef-slope/wall dive down to 20m. Mix of hard and soft corals. Occasional turtle.
Grande Island (west)/Canyons: Nice reef dives along the west side of the island. Viz typically 15-25m. Lots of hard coral. Good macro, but well hidden amongst the corals. Have seen juvenile Black-tip sharks here.
F4 Phantom: Beyond recreational range at 45m depth. Just outside the bay - most dive centres that visit charge a premium due to distance. Small wreck of American jet aircraft. Mostly visited by tec students.
More details/article here: Wreck Diving Subic Bay | Shipwreck Dive | Scuba Tech Philipines
Photos here: Scuba Diving Photographs from the Philippines
Many more pics on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ScubaTechPhilippines
USS New York: Huge wreck with lots of interested features (guns, prop etc). Viz is normally bad due to proximity to Olongapo river discharge. Dive site between 17m and 32m depth. Lots of penetration, ranging from easy to suicidal. Mediocre marine life.
Oruku Maru/Seian Maru: Japanese supply/transport vessels sunk by American bombers. Rarely dived. Same viz issues as the NY. More broken down wrecks. Oruku Maru has a lot of historical significance.
Landing Ship Tank (LST): Large military wreck that enjoys good viz (typically 15m+). Deeper water (30-36m). Functions as a cleaning station, so attracts diverse marine life including occasional pelagics and sharks. Large swim-through into the vehicle loading deck. More technical penetrations into the passenger sleeping quarters.
El Capitan (USS Majaba): WWII US Supply Ship, decorated for service in Guadacanal. Large wreck with easy penetration from front to back, including the boiler rooms Not very much marine life. Depth from 4m to 19m. Best described as an 'underwater playground' because of the fun you can have penetrating its catherdral sized holds and boiler room.
San Quentin: Steam powered wooden galleon, sunk during the Spanish-American war. Largely broken in shallow (14-16m) water. Viz is typically 20m+. Covered in vibrant soft coral and great for photography. Good macro marine life. Adjacent to a coral reef with giant clam.
Barges: Large artificial reef, formed from sunken American military docking pontoons. Large pontoons laid on a sandy slope, starting at 4m and descending to 32m. Big schools of jacks, parrotfish, fusiliers. Stingray and numerous other reef fish. Occasional turtles. Octopus, nudibranch and ribbon eels. Viz typcially 15m+.
Japanese Patrol Boat: Smaller wreck that lies in 26m of water. Variable viz, but when it's good the wreck is very picturesque. Large schools of small fish, pipefish and soft corals. A few small swim-throughs.
Landing Craft Utility (LCU): Small landing craft (think size big enough to carry a single tank or platoon of men for beach assault). Lies in 18m depth. Small penetrations through crew and utility compartments. Lots of lionfish, with varied reef fish. Viz variable, but typically around 10m.
Castle Rock and Lighthouse: Both are reef dives tucked into the corner of the bay. Shallow sand with coral blennies, ranging into broken hard reef then a wall down to 25m. Good macro marine life - night dives here are typically very satisfying. Have seen mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish and bobtail squid here, along with many nudibranch. Viz between 10m and 25m.
Nabassan Reef: Average reef-slope/wall dive down to 20m. Mix of hard and soft corals. Occasional turtle.
Grande Island (west)/Canyons: Nice reef dives along the west side of the island. Viz typically 15-25m. Lots of hard coral. Good macro, but well hidden amongst the corals. Have seen juvenile Black-tip sharks here.
F4 Phantom: Beyond recreational range at 45m depth. Just outside the bay - most dive centres that visit charge a premium due to distance. Small wreck of American jet aircraft. Mostly visited by tec students.
More details/article here: Wreck Diving Subic Bay | Shipwreck Dive | Scuba Tech Philipines
Photos here: Scuba Diving Photographs from the Philippines
Many more pics on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ScubaTechPhilippines
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