SharkLover
Contributor
It will be wheels up from Chuuk on the 5:15 AM flight to Guam. I have spent the last several years diving in the Micronesia area but this was my first trip to Chuuk. I stayed in Chuuk from Sunday 1/12-1/19, 5 complete dive days. Before I go any further let me say that I am not a wreck diver but a fish and corals man. So now you ask what tempted me to go here rather than letÃÔ say ..the Philippines? I had spoken with several people and they told me that the soft corals and marine life were often overlooked when diving the wrecks. Long story short, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was ÅØowed at the soft corals and marine life. Now for the trip specifics:
I stayed at the Truk Stop and spent the week diving there with Kelvin and crew. The people here are BIG tech divers as they primarily like to focus on the deeper wrecks. Since it was slow I was for the most part diving with a guide only and was able to chart my own course so to speak. Kelvin and his crew did not disappoint and worked with me before and after the dive day to make sure that I was getting the most out of my dives. I was diving Nitrox 30% (the standard mix here), my dives 2-3 per day were in the 65-85 minute range. Depths were in the 20-120 ft range.
The soft corals here are stunning; I would treat the hull of these ships as a wall dive and soaking in the soft and hard corals that are draped over the rails on these ships. Then hull penetration if it had something of interest to me. Then I would spend the second half of the dives on the deck guns and finishing up on a slow cork screw type of ascent of the masts that were just clustered with the colors of the rainbow in soft corals and juvenile fish. Most of these wrecks can be done in 2 tank dives as they are in the 350-500 ft range. My most favorite wrecks were the following:
Shinkoku Maru: Awesome deck gun with soft corals and great marine life in this 500 ft long wreck.
Sankisan Maru: Lush soft corals and marine life on the masts with plenty of ammunition in the hold.
Hanakawa Maru: A soft coral mecca, a mast in the shape of a ÅÄross that is breath taking.
Fujikawa Maru: Similar to the Shinkoku but with plane fuselages in the holds.
In closing, this is truly a dysfunctional island and is the poorest one that I have been to date. Having been suggested to me to not be walking around at night (not that you would want to) pretty much says it all. Would I go back? Yea, sure I would but I have many more places that I want to go to first. Finally, a special thanks to ncchuck for guiding me on this one.
PM me if you need any further info, Dave
I stayed at the Truk Stop and spent the week diving there with Kelvin and crew. The people here are BIG tech divers as they primarily like to focus on the deeper wrecks. Since it was slow I was for the most part diving with a guide only and was able to chart my own course so to speak. Kelvin and his crew did not disappoint and worked with me before and after the dive day to make sure that I was getting the most out of my dives. I was diving Nitrox 30% (the standard mix here), my dives 2-3 per day were in the 65-85 minute range. Depths were in the 20-120 ft range.
The soft corals here are stunning; I would treat the hull of these ships as a wall dive and soaking in the soft and hard corals that are draped over the rails on these ships. Then hull penetration if it had something of interest to me. Then I would spend the second half of the dives on the deck guns and finishing up on a slow cork screw type of ascent of the masts that were just clustered with the colors of the rainbow in soft corals and juvenile fish. Most of these wrecks can be done in 2 tank dives as they are in the 350-500 ft range. My most favorite wrecks were the following:
Shinkoku Maru: Awesome deck gun with soft corals and great marine life in this 500 ft long wreck.
Sankisan Maru: Lush soft corals and marine life on the masts with plenty of ammunition in the hold.
Hanakawa Maru: A soft coral mecca, a mast in the shape of a ÅÄross that is breath taking.
Fujikawa Maru: Similar to the Shinkoku but with plane fuselages in the holds.
In closing, this is truly a dysfunctional island and is the poorest one that I have been to date. Having been suggested to me to not be walking around at night (not that you would want to) pretty much says it all. Would I go back? Yea, sure I would but I have many more places that I want to go to first. Finally, a special thanks to ncchuck for guiding me on this one.
PM me if you need any further info, Dave
Last edited:
