We dove on the UNKAI MARU NO. 6, a 305' 3,220 ton cargo ship that sits upright at 130' with its deck at 100' and the upper structure at 80'. She was almost gutted by fire before sinking. This severely corroded and collapsing structure has no cargo.
It wasn't our most interesting dive but there is always something that seems to keep us down for our maximum time.
We entered the water at 9:24 am and stayed down for 33 minutes reaching a maximum depth of 98'.
The first thing we saw upon reaching the top of the upper structure was our dive guide holding up a gas mask. The sight was disconcerting to say the least. Immediately what comes to mind is the people who were trapped when she went down.
There was a huge gun barely visible on the deck. I discovered an engraved identification or registration plate on it indicating that the armament was built in 1898. Its reported history was that the gun was originally owned by the Germans who sold it to the Japanese.
Adding color to the setting was a very curious black, white and yellow angel fish.
Photos:
1) Namy and the gas mask
2) The large deck gun
3) The upper structure
4) The large gun's identification plate
5) The curious little fish
Since the weather was so nice, instead of charging across the Lagoon to a small island for our required surface interval, we got close to the shore of one of the larger islands, anchored the boat and went for a snorkel on a small ship close enough to the surface to see much of the detail. Jerry and the others snorkeled but I took advantage of the sunshine and hung out on the dive boat.
While sitting on the little dive boat I could reflect on the vast area. The Lagoon is 7 degrees north of the equator which means it is tropical all year round.
It is 40 miles wide with only three or four passages or breaks in the surrounding reef giving the Japanese a perfectly protected Naval base.
The Lagoon is comprised of approximately 40 inhabited islands and countless small islands. The island of Weno, where we stayed is the capital of the region. The population of Chuuk today is about 53,000. Seven thousand live on Weno. Weno has 11 villages where clans play a prominent role even today. Each village has its own chief.
The names Chuuk and Truk are used interchangeably. The official name is Chuuk, pronounced Ch-you-k. When the Germans had possession of the islands prior to 1913 before the Versailles Treaty mandated them to the Japanese, they missed pronounced "Chuuk" making it sound like "Truk" (truck).
Because of its treaty arrangement with the US, the citizens can travel to the US without a visa and can serve in the US military (which a lot do). It is estimated 20% of Chuukese live outside of Chuuk in places such as Guam, Hawaii and mainland US.
We were told by an educated bus driver that Japan has done genetic studies of Chuukese and found that 25%-40% have Japanese blood. The bus driver's grandfather was Japanese.
Our second dive of the day was one of the best so far. The SHINKOKO MARU, a 500', 10,200 ton Naval Tanker is regarded as Chuuk's (Truk) most popular and "must-do" wrecks. It was sunk upright with a huge bomb hole on her aft port side. Her superstructure is just 40' deep, her deck is 60' and the bottom at 125'.
Swimming through this vessel was interesting. It seemed more personal that the others. We swam through the crew quarters where toilets and a bathtub were still present. The area was dark and could only be viewed with flashlights so photography was difficult. When we exited the compartment we did find that one of the toilets had been blown out on the deck.
As we passed through the galley area, Jerry caught a moment when one of the other diver's light illuminated various bottles, jars and a jug. It is a beautiful photo. Various other utensils were easily visible just outside the galley entrance.
Sick bay was also accessible but many of the jars of medicines had been tossed on to the deck. One of the medicine boxes sat near the opening.
We entered the cargo hold and I happened to capture a photo of a bicycle still hanging on its rack. As we swam back toward the dive boat we swam over the large anti-aircraft guns sitting quietly on the bow.
One of the most memorable things about this dive is the beautiful coral growing on the engine exhaust stack. The colors were spectacular.
Later at the bar, we watched the videos made by Mark from the UK
Photos:
1) Toilet sitting awkwardly on the deck
2) Striking photo of jugs and bottles in the galley
3) Additional utensils
4) Someone's bicycle
5) Guns on the bow
6) The beautiful (several photos)
7) Watching the videos
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