nickb
The JJ Kid
Back in June 2011 whilst doing MOD 2 in Malta, Paul Toomer mentioned that he was going to Bikini Atoll to dive the wrecks sunk by the US whilst testing their atom bombs in 1946 – Operation Crossroads. He further mentioned that there were a few spots free on the trip and 5 minutes later after a brief call home to Mrs NickB, I’d bagged one of them.
The trip was being run by Pete Mesley’s Lust 4 Rust and cost US$6500 for 10 days diving and transfers from Kwajalein Atoll. Gas, lime & return travel to/from Kwaj would be extra (quite a lot extra) and I figured on an overall figure of £8-9000.
Two weeks later my deposit was paid and all the relevant forms filled in and returned to Pete, then I started checking the flight websites for availability. This ain’t quite as easy as booking a return to Menorca with Easyjet and it was August before the flights even became available. I settled on an outbound trip via San Fransisco & Hawaii, returning via Guam & Seoul for just under £2400, which was at the lower end of my flight budget – happy days.
Once I had the flights in the bag, I then sorted out my ESTA approval to keep the US Immigration people happy.
I figured that I wouldn’t need much spending money on the trip as I wasn’t stopping for more than a few hours at any connection and I’d be able to use the airport lounges for free snacks & drinks. So, aside from some possible excess baggage fees, the only other expenditure would be gas, lime and crew tips and I budgeted $1200 for that.
So, all I had to do now was sit and wait for June 2012 to come around…………
That’s not quite true as there were many emails to and fro between various others on the trip. Research into some of the wrecks we’d be diving. Spares lists put together, kit checked/rechecked. Bags packed and weighed, unpacked, repacked, reweighed.
Fortunately the JJ is a delight to travel with. The whole thing, minus cylinders fits into a 1610 Pelicase totalling 25kg:
My other hold bag would contain my other dive kit: wetsuit, masks, fins, lights, bailout regs, spare bailout regs, tool kit, spares kit, chargers etc. weighing 23kg
The few clothes I’d need, books, laptop, wash kit etc all went into hand luggage at around 12kg
……….finally Thursday 14th arrived and I was up at 0420, leaving the house just after 0500. I was at the Heathrow long-stay car park for 0715, dropped my bags with a little juggling of weight and in No. 1 Lounge for around 0830. A slight delay meant a take off at around 1110
36 hours and 12 time zones later, very few of which were spent sleeping, I land on Kwajalein Island. It’s now 1015 on Saturday 16th, having crossed the International Date Line.
As this is a US Army base that is involved in missile testing and other sneaky-beaky stuff, security is even more enhanced than ‘normal’ airports and it takes around 90 minutes* before I’m allowed to finally find out whether my bags have also arrived – they had.
*Not as bad as Heathrow Terminal 5
I was under the impression that all the other members of the party had arrived the previous evening via Guam, but I met-up with one of the others, Robin from Holland, and we were greeted by Edward the dive guide and quickly shuttled over to meet the boat. It turned out that Edward is a Bikinian, who started diving the nuclear fleet back in the ‘80s and was instrumental in setting-up the diving operations on Bikini. He’s since logged some 14000 dives there.
When we arrived at the dive boat, the MV Windward, all the other party members were on board having just done their check-out dives on the wreck of the Prinz Eugen, a World War II heavy German Cruiser which survived the nuclear blasts, although badly irradiated, and was towed to Kwaj where it deteriorated, eventually capsizing within a few hundred meters of a small nearby island. One of the massive props is still visible above the water with another a few meters beneath. The third having been retrieved and placed in the Laboe Naval Memorial in Germany. The bow lies at around 30m.
Robin and I were offered the chance of diving the wreck right there and then before we commenced our 26+ hour journey to Bikini. As we were planning to dive her on our return and, given that our units needed building and that we were exhausted after our flights, we declined and the crew prepared for the transit to our main destination.
So, we grabbed a bunk each, dropped our bags and sat down for lunch, our first experience of the culinary delights that were to follow for the next 10 days courtesy of our cook, Manggo.
Those on board were:
From the UK:
- Me - JJ
- Paul Toomer - JJ
- Andris Nestors - JJ
- Andrew Rampton – Sentinel
From Ireland:
- Peter McCamley - Inspo
- Andy Gillespie – Sentinel
From Holland:
- Robin Macrander - JJ
From New Zealand:
- Pete Mesley – Inspo
- Simon Mitchell – Inspo
- Jonathon Davies – Inspo
- Dee Nagle - Inspo
Crew:
- Chris – Our very capable skipper
- Brian – Mate, gas blender, dive guide
- Edward – Dive guide, gas blender
- Manggo – Cook
- Linson – General gopher
- Andy & Terry – Deck hands & cover boat handlers
The transit to Bikini was uneventful, save for a 90 minute stop en-route whilst Pete Mesley wrestled with what turned-out to be a 200lb+ 8’ Marlin which only gave-up the fight after it was attacked by a shark and had a large chunk taken out of its tail. It would never have survived that wound, so it was dragged on board and expertly filleted by crew – big steaks!
Photo by Pete McCamley
The evening was spent chilling-out with good banter over a few beers and G&Ts and, some 55 hours after last sleeping properly, I turned-in.
Sunday 17th
Not much happens: food, chill, chat, tidy-up bunk etc. until land came into view mid-afternoon. First one picture postcard desert island, followed by another, the sea was the most amazing colour – almost royal blue – that I’ve ever seen. Finally we dropped anchor about 400-500 meters off the shore of Bikini Island itself. Some of the guys took the opportunity of going ashore for a walk around the island but I stayed onboard and did a quick dive for a weight check. Nothing to see here, just a white sandy bottom, but the water’s warm – like a bath.
Monday 18th
DIVE 1: Nagato – 51m, bottom time 55 min, runtime 122 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
I woke-up at around 6am and went up on deck to watch the sun come-up over Bikini for about an hour – it was spectacular.
After breakfast we all prepared for our first dive at around 0830. We were about to dive the Japanese battleship Nagato. This was Admiral Yamamoto’s flagship from which he gave the order to attack Pearl Harbour – Tora, Tora Tora!
I’ve dived the battleships in Scapa Flow but at 26000 tons they are dwarfed by the 43000 tons of this monster and I was expecting a treat. I wasn’t disappointed.
For those that don’t already know; when a battleship sinks, the sheer weight of the superstructure and armaments cause it to capsize. In doing so, the big guns invariably fall to the seabed having been located merely by gravity. If they fall away from the main wreck this can make diving the hull a little disappointing as all the action is hidden beneath. Fortunately, those clever Japanese mounted the massive 16” guns on bayonet mounts and they remained attached to the wreck, meaning the fore & aft decks, now on the underside, are almost completely accessible.
We dropped in on the shotline attached to the stern right near the props and rudders.
Photo by Pete McCamley
A quick look around these then down the port side to the seabed to inspect the aft 16” guns – awesome. Forward at a quick mooch pace, past the main superstructure lying out on the port side, passing forward 16”ers to the bow. Up the bow then down to the port hawser pipe followed by a quick fin back to the shot. Doesn’t sound like much, but the Nagato is 220m (725’) long and this took 55 minutes.
Standard procedure for all dives was to return to the shot, where a bottle of 50% nitrox and a slate would be left. As each team left the wreck, they would remove a peg and the last team up would retrieve the bottle. In the mornings, for the deeper dives, the support boat was tied-in to the shot deploying a 15m line with a further drop bottle and a trapeze with bars at 9, 6 & 3 meters with an O2 bottle. The main boat was live, retrieving surfacing divers after radio communication with the support. In the afternoon, for the shallower dives, the main boat would tie-in and deploy the trapeze and drop bottle.
DIVE 2: Saratoga – 49m, bottom time 67 min, runtime 121 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
In the afternoon, after a very pleasant lunch, we got to do our first of seven dives on the USS Saratoga.
A very substantial shot line at the bow meant that the main dive boat could tie-in to this avoiding the need to deploy the support boat.
We dropped onto the forward part of the deck and descended down the bow. This is a spectacular sight. The bow is very slender widening out at the bottom – very pretty (for a 40000+ ton hunk of metal). Then we went up and I popped in through a hole in the deck as went as far forward as I could. We then swam aft inspecting the many gun turrets on the port sponson.
Over onto the deck we continued towards the stern. The deck is much collapsed aft of the superstructure. On reaching the stern we headed back along starboard deck to the big guns aft of the bridge.
With little time remaining of our planned 120 minute run time we had a quick look in and around the bridge and a nose at the forward guns…
Photo by Jon Davies
…before legging it back to the shot and up for deco.
Photo by Jon Davies
Tuesday 19th
DIVE 3: Sakawa – 53m, bottom time 44 min, runtime 120 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
Morning dive was the Sakawa – a Japanese light cruiser. A very odd wreck, sunk into the sand to maybe 1-2m below deck level with what can be seen of the hull crumpled to buggery by the atomic blast. The shot was tied-in close to the stern, to which we swam before turning and heading forward to around midships before returning to the shot. To be honest, this was probably the least interesting of the wrecks we dived in Bikini and the whole dive was done at a very slow rummage pace.
DIVE 4: Saratoga – 53m, bottom time 70 min, runtime 139 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
The afternoon was once again the Saratoga. As the deck is at around 30m with the superstructure of the bridge area rising to around 20m this makes it ideal for a second dive and the sheer size of the wreck means you’re not going to tire of it any time soon.
This time we visited the 3 Helldiver dive bombers in the hanger aft of the main elevator.
Photos by Jon Davies
Passing through this we emerged on the deck coming across what looks like a mess table complete with cups, teapots, ladles etc. Back at home, none of this stuff would last five minutes before being bagged-up but here it was just sitting there. Very tempted as I was to grab a souvenir, I resisted and we headed on to the stern, this time to drop down to see the whole thing. I swam under the starboard side of the keel, under a prop shaft and, although I would have liked to carry on back around to see the starboard prop itself, I was conscious that we still had the best part of a 250m swim back to the shot, we headed back at a good lick and just made it within our 140 minute planned runtime.
Wednesday 20th
DIVE 5: Arkansas – 53m, bottom time 36 min, runtime 90 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
The USS Arkansas – a 27000 ton battleship, more like the size I’m used to. Legend has it that the ship was blasted vertically out of the water when the 150m radius water column was sent up by the Baker blast. The ship was right on the edge of this column and capsized within seconds. The dark patch at the right-hand side of the water column in this image was initially thought to be the ship, but later analysis revealed it to be the hole left by the capsizing vessel.
We descended onto the bow and immediately dropped down to view the forward 12” guns, small in comparison to the leviathans on the Nagato but nonetheless impressive. We bimbled past the midships, conscious that this area warranted further examination, but we knew we’d be back for another visit and I wanted to see the props & rudders which is where we headed. After that we swam along the keel back to the shot. The keel is crumpled like a piece of paper, crushed by the equivalent of 23000 tons of TNT going off beneath it – it’s mind-boggling.
On returning to the surface, I was informed that my ADV was bubbling slightly. When I started unscrewing the banjo fitting, the ADV barrel sheared. My planning hadn’t foreseen this and it was only thanks to Simon Mitchell and his spare Inspo counterlungs that I was able to salvage the situation.
DIVE 6: Saratoga – 43m, bottom time 54 min, runtime 98 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Once again the afternoon dive was the Saratoga. This time we visited the machine room, located at the bottom of the forward port side of the main elevator. Filled with lathes, drill presses, grinding pedestals and all the other paraphernalia you’d find in a well-equipped tool room.
Photo by Jon Davies
Sadly, the JJ doesn’t trim-out very well when worn with a 3mm wet suit. We all found ourselves to be feet-heavy and this meant that the visibility soon vanished in favour of an orange cloud of rusty silt, even by exercising the greatest care. I’ll try inverting the cylinders next time I dive this way.
After that we had a better look around the bridge section. Loads more goodies to see, including some intact gas masks sitting on a bench, ready to be photographed.
Photo by Jon Davies
On the deck in front of the bridge we came across an old brass diver’s helmet that was beginning to host a variety of sea life Again, it was just lying there like all the other tasty spidge.
Photo by Jon Davies
There are several more to be found inside the wreck and presumably this originated there before somebody thought it might be better moved to a more prominent spot. Not sure I agree, but it was fun to see it all the same.
Photo by Jon Davies
Thursday 21st
My 4th day of diving should have commenced with the USS Lamson, a small destroyer sitting bolt upright with the deck at around 46m. Sadly I had to miss this dive as my Shearwater controller was giving some very odd depth readings and it was clear that the pressure sensor was failing.
It did, however appear to be giving accurate PO2 readings and a quick dip after lunch confirmed that it would still drive the JJ, so I could keep diving with a backup Shearwater giving deco information with a fixed setpoint.
DIVE 7: Apogon – 52m, bottom time 38 min, runtime 105 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
I don’t normally do subs, but a sub in Bikini is better than most wrecks elsewhere and I was delighted that I could carry on diving despite all the things conspiring to prevent me doing so.
So, back in again, this time to dive the USS Apogon, a 96m submarine sunk by the Baker blast. Usual sub stuff but with a fairly interesting 4m high conning tower that warranted some inspection.
Photo by Jon Davies
Friday 22nd
DIVE 8: Nagato – 52m, bottom time 46 min, runtime 126 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Another visit to the Nagato, this time dropping in on the midships shotline, right above the main superstructure. Lots of openings worthy of investigation were probed slightly before heading underneath between the forward guns which was very atmospheric. The whole of the forward deck area is some 2 or 3 meters clear of the sea bed and one can swim right under it. I swam to the bow and up the starboard anchor chain before heading back to the stern via the aft guns for another poke around. I then went up to have a good swim around the giant rudders and propellers before gently finning back to the shot and up for another 80 minutes of balmy deco.
Photo by Jon Davies
DIVE 9: Saratoga – 42m, bottom time 56 min, runtime 106 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Normal service was resumed as we returned to the Saratoga for the post lunch dive. This time we had a better look around the bridge area.
In the main control room towards the top, the normal portholes were lined up against the front wall having been replaced with ones with small slits, presumably these were installed whenever the ship was likely to engage in battle and come under attack. Other fascinating stuff was littered about everywhere.
Photo by Jon Davies
After this we poked about in some of the hitherto unexplored (by us) holes in the elevator shaft and a quick dip down into the bomb elevator before heading back up.
Saturday 23rd
DIVE 10: Lamson – 46m, bottom time 44 min, runtime 97 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Fortunately, it was decided to have another look at the Lamson, which I had missed earlier in the week. At a little over 100m it was easy to have a gentle fin around the entire wreck, bow to stern and back. A very nice wreck and, for at least one of the party, a favourite of the trip with plenty to see including torpedo tubes and loaded racks full of depth charges.
Photo by Jon Davies
DIVE 11: Shark Pass – 27m, bottom time 30 min, runtime 37 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Once we were all back on the surface, we headed off for the only non-wreck dive of the week - Shark Pass.
During the preparations for the atomic testing, tens of thousands of personnel were stationed on the various islands that make up Bikini Atoll. The waste that was generated was dumped in a spot to the south west of the atoll and this attracted vast numbers of sharks to the area. Through some sort of ancestral memory, their descendents still come here to feed and do so en-masse.
Don’t ask me what kind of sharks they were, I don’t really do squidge and never asked but lying on the seabed surrounded by, at the very least, dozens of sharks, most of which were as big as me was quite a thrilling experience and they are beautiful creatures. I think all of us would have stayed a lot longer than the 30-40 minutes that we variously managed before it became all but impossible to cling on to anything when the current started flowing between the islands and into the atoll. Getting back on to the dive boat was interesting to say the least but when we were all safely back on board we were treated to a feeding frenzy as the crew began dangling chum from the back of the boat.
Sunday 24th
DIVE 12: Anderson – 51m, bottom time 41 min, runtime 113 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
The USS Anderson is another destroyer, very similar to the Lamson but lying on its port side in around 52m. As with the Lamson it was a nice easy bimble along the entire wreck from the stern to bow and back again. The attitude of the wreck meant that the props and rudders were a lot easier to inspect and the torpedo tubes, which were more intact than the Lamson, were pointing straight up. The bow was a very photogenic sight.
Photo by Jon Davies
Once again the afternoon’s dive was the Saratoga but I was beginning to feel a bit fatigued so decided to sit this one out.
Monday 25th
DIVE 13: Arkansas – 55m, bottom time 49 min, runtime 139 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
For this revisit to the Arkansas we dropped down the stern line straight onto the props. A bit of fun fooling around here, getting caught-up in the sea whips that are everywhere on these wrecks and I swam down the port side and headed towards the midships. There are lots of open doors and hatches dotted around, all inviting divers in and I obliged one or two of them, spending probably more time inside the wreck than out although there was no need to lay any line as the floor (ceiling) was reasonably silt-free and there was always blue light somewhere to be seen.
A quick swim up to the bow between the forward guns then up and back along the keel to the shot meant that this dive was over all to quickly, even though it was amongst the two longest dives I did during the trip.
DIVE 14: Saratoga – 43m, bottom time 57 min, runtime 112 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
This penultimate dive on the Saratoga gave us another opportunity to have a better look at the Helldivers & the parts of the Machine Room I hadn’t seen last time before the visibility vanished
Tuesday 26th
DIVE 15: Saratoga – 39m, bottom time 56 min, runtime 86 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Previous visits to the Saratoga had given one group a chance to be guided down the main line that penetrates the bow section from an opening in the forward bulkhead of the elevator and this final dive it was our turn. Our guide, the aforementioned Edward, led us down a long corridor and into various rooms on each side. Other lines head off up and down stair wells and Edward’s been along all of them, yet even he has only seen a small fraction of what the ‘Sara’ has to offer. He has spent hundreds of dives on this wreck and has yet to find a way into the engine room.
After surfacing, it was time to strap everything down for our return to Kwajalein Atoll. The 5 people flying back on Thursday took the opportunity to start preparing their kit for packing whilst the remaining 6 still had the prospect on one last dive – on the Prinz Eugen.
Wednesday 27th
As I mentioned earlier, Kwajalein Island itself is a military base and civilian boats are not welcome, so they have to go to the nearby Ebeye Island whence those with official business on Kwaj can take the ferry or authorised water taxis.
We arrived at Ebeye late afternoon and had a quick wander to the hotel to confirm our booking for the Friday night. The local bank appeared to have a better exchange rate than anywhere else on the planet - $1.62/£1. Aside from that, there’s not much else going for Ebeye. Most of the residents own large pick-up trucks that are worth many times more than the shacks they live in and appear to live on a diet of tinned Spam – they have it in vending machines :spam2:
This was the final night with everyone on board and a few glasses were raised.
Thursday 28th
We bid farewell to the 4 person New Zealand contingent and to Andris who is flying back to the UK as they board the water taxi to start their journeys home. Then we prepare our kit for our last dive.
DIVE 16: Prinz Eugen – 31m, bottom time 99 min, runtime 99 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
The water taxi returned to take us over to the Prinz Eugen. Being pretty much a small battleship, she capsized whilst sinking and lies with a starboard list on a slope, with the central prop out of the water and the bow in 30m. This makes for a very relaxed dive with little or no deco commitment and the whole wreck could be explored inside and out.
We then returned to the Windward to commence washing & breaking down kit ready for packing.
This was the final night on board for remaining divers
Friday 29th
We finished packing and leave our large bags on board before leaving for the hotel where we checked in and bought some wifi cards to get access to outside world for the first time in almost two weeks, save for a couple of satellite phone calls.
We wandered around Ebeye for a few hours, which was a bit grim, save for a small beach where we had a dip for an hour or so. Robin and Andrew went back to the boat to meet the water taxi as they were returning later that evening for Hawaii. Then it was back to the hotel for the remaining 4 for some food and an early night. It was party night on Ebeye but we declined.
Saturday 30th
Paul & I were woken at 0550 courtesy of Peter in order to meet our bags at the ferry landing at 0700 (a 5 minute walk!). The ferry, an old Vietnam landing craft, arrived on time at 0720 and the ‘entertainment’ for journey was provided by one of the locals who gave a sermon and sang some hymns. Most of the passengers appeared totally disinterested. We reached Kwajalein around 0800 and hung about for 80 minutes before being fetched by the base police and escorted to airport. We checked-in after a debate about our excessively heavy baggage, which turned out to be OK after the police persuaded the baggage checkers that dive gear was an exception and we boarded the plane around 1100.
United (now merged with Continental) are the only major airline that operate these routes and the flight from Hawaii to Guam is an island hopper via Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei & Chuuk, stopping at each island for about an hour resulting in a 7 hour flight. We arrived in Guam late afternoon and took a taxi to the Marriot where the other 3 were staying before their flight to Tokyo the next day. A quick shower then down to the bar and a steak dinner before getting a taxi to take us to a downtown bar, which turns out to be Porky's which Pete Mesley had recommended earlier in the week. This turned-out to be a bit of a bad idea as we soon moved from beers to Sambucas and Jägerbombs.
Sunday 1st
Around 0100 I legged it back to hotel to fetch my bag then on to airport for 0320 flight to Seoul. I arrived in Seoul around 0630, chilled in lounge until around 1200 before browsing the shops then heading to Gate 14 to board KE 907 for the penultimate leg. LHR at 1715, cleared customs in around 30 seconds, found bus waiting at stop 23 to take me to my car at the Long-Stay. Home for around 2030 and settled-in to watch 2nd half of Euro 2012 final only to give up and go to bed around 2100, exhausted.
Final thoughts
This was billed as the trip of a lifetime and it certainly tops every other diving I've done.
It came in at around £8000, which works out at £500 per dive. I’ll bet there are few here that would turn down the chance of a dive on the Nagato or Saratoga for £500, so I call that a bargain.
The Windward is a fantastic technical dive platform. It may not have some of the creature comforts that some people might expect from a tropical liveaboard, but for this sort of expedition it's hard to fault. The crew were highly capable and always ready with whatever you needed. The gas facilities, including an O2 generation plant that delivered 92-93%, were perfect. The food was as good as I've eaten anywhere; cold drinks, including beer, were always within easy reach AND there was a hyperbaric chamber onboard in case of emergency.
Trips can be booked directly through Indies Trader, but Pete Mesley adds a lot of value, not least bringing along a hyperbaric physician, in our case Simon Mitchell who was great company, as were all the other divers on board. We had a ball together and I'd love to be on a trip with any one of them again.
Photo by Pete Mesley
L-R: Andrew R, Robin, Me, Simon, Paul, Andris, Jon, Dee, Brian, Andy G, Peter Mc
Extras Bill
6 fills of sofnolime - $240
Many fills of O2 and 16/50 Dil - can't remember but less than $400 which included $50 for hire of 16/50 bailout tin
Crew tips - $200
2 bottles of Bombay Sapphire - $80
2 bottles wine - $49
Kit Failures
Mares Quattro fin strap - replaced with thick bungee - a vast improvement
iDive 300 iPod housing - failed first day – no more choons on deco!
Anderson connector on primary light - refitted
Broken ADV - replaced with Simon's spare Inspo one
Faulty Shearwater - repaired on return under warranty within a week by Narked@90 - with a new, thicker cable
The trip was being run by Pete Mesley’s Lust 4 Rust and cost US$6500 for 10 days diving and transfers from Kwajalein Atoll. Gas, lime & return travel to/from Kwaj would be extra (quite a lot extra) and I figured on an overall figure of £8-9000.
Two weeks later my deposit was paid and all the relevant forms filled in and returned to Pete, then I started checking the flight websites for availability. This ain’t quite as easy as booking a return to Menorca with Easyjet and it was August before the flights even became available. I settled on an outbound trip via San Fransisco & Hawaii, returning via Guam & Seoul for just under £2400, which was at the lower end of my flight budget – happy days.
Once I had the flights in the bag, I then sorted out my ESTA approval to keep the US Immigration people happy.
I figured that I wouldn’t need much spending money on the trip as I wasn’t stopping for more than a few hours at any connection and I’d be able to use the airport lounges for free snacks & drinks. So, aside from some possible excess baggage fees, the only other expenditure would be gas, lime and crew tips and I budgeted $1200 for that.
So, all I had to do now was sit and wait for June 2012 to come around…………
That’s not quite true as there were many emails to and fro between various others on the trip. Research into some of the wrecks we’d be diving. Spares lists put together, kit checked/rechecked. Bags packed and weighed, unpacked, repacked, reweighed.
Fortunately the JJ is a delight to travel with. The whole thing, minus cylinders fits into a 1610 Pelicase totalling 25kg:
My other hold bag would contain my other dive kit: wetsuit, masks, fins, lights, bailout regs, spare bailout regs, tool kit, spares kit, chargers etc. weighing 23kg
The few clothes I’d need, books, laptop, wash kit etc all went into hand luggage at around 12kg
……….finally Thursday 14th arrived and I was up at 0420, leaving the house just after 0500. I was at the Heathrow long-stay car park for 0715, dropped my bags with a little juggling of weight and in No. 1 Lounge for around 0830. A slight delay meant a take off at around 1110
36 hours and 12 time zones later, very few of which were spent sleeping, I land on Kwajalein Island. It’s now 1015 on Saturday 16th, having crossed the International Date Line.
As this is a US Army base that is involved in missile testing and other sneaky-beaky stuff, security is even more enhanced than ‘normal’ airports and it takes around 90 minutes* before I’m allowed to finally find out whether my bags have also arrived – they had.
*Not as bad as Heathrow Terminal 5
I was under the impression that all the other members of the party had arrived the previous evening via Guam, but I met-up with one of the others, Robin from Holland, and we were greeted by Edward the dive guide and quickly shuttled over to meet the boat. It turned out that Edward is a Bikinian, who started diving the nuclear fleet back in the ‘80s and was instrumental in setting-up the diving operations on Bikini. He’s since logged some 14000 dives there.
When we arrived at the dive boat, the MV Windward, all the other party members were on board having just done their check-out dives on the wreck of the Prinz Eugen, a World War II heavy German Cruiser which survived the nuclear blasts, although badly irradiated, and was towed to Kwaj where it deteriorated, eventually capsizing within a few hundred meters of a small nearby island. One of the massive props is still visible above the water with another a few meters beneath. The third having been retrieved and placed in the Laboe Naval Memorial in Germany. The bow lies at around 30m.
Robin and I were offered the chance of diving the wreck right there and then before we commenced our 26+ hour journey to Bikini. As we were planning to dive her on our return and, given that our units needed building and that we were exhausted after our flights, we declined and the crew prepared for the transit to our main destination.
So, we grabbed a bunk each, dropped our bags and sat down for lunch, our first experience of the culinary delights that were to follow for the next 10 days courtesy of our cook, Manggo.
Those on board were:
From the UK:
- Me - JJ
- Paul Toomer - JJ
- Andris Nestors - JJ
- Andrew Rampton – Sentinel
From Ireland:
- Peter McCamley - Inspo
- Andy Gillespie – Sentinel
From Holland:
- Robin Macrander - JJ
From New Zealand:
- Pete Mesley – Inspo
- Simon Mitchell – Inspo
- Jonathon Davies – Inspo
- Dee Nagle - Inspo
Crew:
- Chris – Our very capable skipper
- Brian – Mate, gas blender, dive guide
- Edward – Dive guide, gas blender
- Manggo – Cook
- Linson – General gopher
- Andy & Terry – Deck hands & cover boat handlers
The transit to Bikini was uneventful, save for a 90 minute stop en-route whilst Pete Mesley wrestled with what turned-out to be a 200lb+ 8’ Marlin which only gave-up the fight after it was attacked by a shark and had a large chunk taken out of its tail. It would never have survived that wound, so it was dragged on board and expertly filleted by crew – big steaks!
Photo by Pete McCamley
The evening was spent chilling-out with good banter over a few beers and G&Ts and, some 55 hours after last sleeping properly, I turned-in.
Sunday 17th
Not much happens: food, chill, chat, tidy-up bunk etc. until land came into view mid-afternoon. First one picture postcard desert island, followed by another, the sea was the most amazing colour – almost royal blue – that I’ve ever seen. Finally we dropped anchor about 400-500 meters off the shore of Bikini Island itself. Some of the guys took the opportunity of going ashore for a walk around the island but I stayed onboard and did a quick dive for a weight check. Nothing to see here, just a white sandy bottom, but the water’s warm – like a bath.
Monday 18th
DIVE 1: Nagato – 51m, bottom time 55 min, runtime 122 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
I woke-up at around 6am and went up on deck to watch the sun come-up over Bikini for about an hour – it was spectacular.
After breakfast we all prepared for our first dive at around 0830. We were about to dive the Japanese battleship Nagato. This was Admiral Yamamoto’s flagship from which he gave the order to attack Pearl Harbour – Tora, Tora Tora!
I’ve dived the battleships in Scapa Flow but at 26000 tons they are dwarfed by the 43000 tons of this monster and I was expecting a treat. I wasn’t disappointed.
For those that don’t already know; when a battleship sinks, the sheer weight of the superstructure and armaments cause it to capsize. In doing so, the big guns invariably fall to the seabed having been located merely by gravity. If they fall away from the main wreck this can make diving the hull a little disappointing as all the action is hidden beneath. Fortunately, those clever Japanese mounted the massive 16” guns on bayonet mounts and they remained attached to the wreck, meaning the fore & aft decks, now on the underside, are almost completely accessible.
We dropped in on the shotline attached to the stern right near the props and rudders.
Photo by Pete McCamley
A quick look around these then down the port side to the seabed to inspect the aft 16” guns – awesome. Forward at a quick mooch pace, past the main superstructure lying out on the port side, passing forward 16”ers to the bow. Up the bow then down to the port hawser pipe followed by a quick fin back to the shot. Doesn’t sound like much, but the Nagato is 220m (725’) long and this took 55 minutes.
Standard procedure for all dives was to return to the shot, where a bottle of 50% nitrox and a slate would be left. As each team left the wreck, they would remove a peg and the last team up would retrieve the bottle. In the mornings, for the deeper dives, the support boat was tied-in to the shot deploying a 15m line with a further drop bottle and a trapeze with bars at 9, 6 & 3 meters with an O2 bottle. The main boat was live, retrieving surfacing divers after radio communication with the support. In the afternoon, for the shallower dives, the main boat would tie-in and deploy the trapeze and drop bottle.
DIVE 2: Saratoga – 49m, bottom time 67 min, runtime 121 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
In the afternoon, after a very pleasant lunch, we got to do our first of seven dives on the USS Saratoga.
A very substantial shot line at the bow meant that the main dive boat could tie-in to this avoiding the need to deploy the support boat.
We dropped onto the forward part of the deck and descended down the bow. This is a spectacular sight. The bow is very slender widening out at the bottom – very pretty (for a 40000+ ton hunk of metal). Then we went up and I popped in through a hole in the deck as went as far forward as I could. We then swam aft inspecting the many gun turrets on the port sponson.
Over onto the deck we continued towards the stern. The deck is much collapsed aft of the superstructure. On reaching the stern we headed back along starboard deck to the big guns aft of the bridge.
With little time remaining of our planned 120 minute run time we had a quick look in and around the bridge and a nose at the forward guns…
Photo by Jon Davies
…before legging it back to the shot and up for deco.
Photo by Jon Davies
Tuesday 19th
DIVE 3: Sakawa – 53m, bottom time 44 min, runtime 120 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
Morning dive was the Sakawa – a Japanese light cruiser. A very odd wreck, sunk into the sand to maybe 1-2m below deck level with what can be seen of the hull crumpled to buggery by the atomic blast. The shot was tied-in close to the stern, to which we swam before turning and heading forward to around midships before returning to the shot. To be honest, this was probably the least interesting of the wrecks we dived in Bikini and the whole dive was done at a very slow rummage pace.
DIVE 4: Saratoga – 53m, bottom time 70 min, runtime 139 min, SP 1.2, GF 10/90
The afternoon was once again the Saratoga. As the deck is at around 30m with the superstructure of the bridge area rising to around 20m this makes it ideal for a second dive and the sheer size of the wreck means you’re not going to tire of it any time soon.
This time we visited the 3 Helldiver dive bombers in the hanger aft of the main elevator.
Photos by Jon Davies
Passing through this we emerged on the deck coming across what looks like a mess table complete with cups, teapots, ladles etc. Back at home, none of this stuff would last five minutes before being bagged-up but here it was just sitting there. Very tempted as I was to grab a souvenir, I resisted and we headed on to the stern, this time to drop down to see the whole thing. I swam under the starboard side of the keel, under a prop shaft and, although I would have liked to carry on back around to see the starboard prop itself, I was conscious that we still had the best part of a 250m swim back to the shot, we headed back at a good lick and just made it within our 140 minute planned runtime.
Wednesday 20th
DIVE 5: Arkansas – 53m, bottom time 36 min, runtime 90 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
The USS Arkansas – a 27000 ton battleship, more like the size I’m used to. Legend has it that the ship was blasted vertically out of the water when the 150m radius water column was sent up by the Baker blast. The ship was right on the edge of this column and capsized within seconds. The dark patch at the right-hand side of the water column in this image was initially thought to be the ship, but later analysis revealed it to be the hole left by the capsizing vessel.
We descended onto the bow and immediately dropped down to view the forward 12” guns, small in comparison to the leviathans on the Nagato but nonetheless impressive. We bimbled past the midships, conscious that this area warranted further examination, but we knew we’d be back for another visit and I wanted to see the props & rudders which is where we headed. After that we swam along the keel back to the shot. The keel is crumpled like a piece of paper, crushed by the equivalent of 23000 tons of TNT going off beneath it – it’s mind-boggling.
On returning to the surface, I was informed that my ADV was bubbling slightly. When I started unscrewing the banjo fitting, the ADV barrel sheared. My planning hadn’t foreseen this and it was only thanks to Simon Mitchell and his spare Inspo counterlungs that I was able to salvage the situation.
DIVE 6: Saratoga – 43m, bottom time 54 min, runtime 98 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Once again the afternoon dive was the Saratoga. This time we visited the machine room, located at the bottom of the forward port side of the main elevator. Filled with lathes, drill presses, grinding pedestals and all the other paraphernalia you’d find in a well-equipped tool room.
Photo by Jon Davies
Sadly, the JJ doesn’t trim-out very well when worn with a 3mm wet suit. We all found ourselves to be feet-heavy and this meant that the visibility soon vanished in favour of an orange cloud of rusty silt, even by exercising the greatest care. I’ll try inverting the cylinders next time I dive this way.
After that we had a better look around the bridge section. Loads more goodies to see, including some intact gas masks sitting on a bench, ready to be photographed.
Photo by Jon Davies
On the deck in front of the bridge we came across an old brass diver’s helmet that was beginning to host a variety of sea life Again, it was just lying there like all the other tasty spidge.
Photo by Jon Davies
There are several more to be found inside the wreck and presumably this originated there before somebody thought it might be better moved to a more prominent spot. Not sure I agree, but it was fun to see it all the same.
Photo by Jon Davies
Thursday 21st
My 4th day of diving should have commenced with the USS Lamson, a small destroyer sitting bolt upright with the deck at around 46m. Sadly I had to miss this dive as my Shearwater controller was giving some very odd depth readings and it was clear that the pressure sensor was failing.
It did, however appear to be giving accurate PO2 readings and a quick dip after lunch confirmed that it would still drive the JJ, so I could keep diving with a backup Shearwater giving deco information with a fixed setpoint.
DIVE 7: Apogon – 52m, bottom time 38 min, runtime 105 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
I don’t normally do subs, but a sub in Bikini is better than most wrecks elsewhere and I was delighted that I could carry on diving despite all the things conspiring to prevent me doing so.
So, back in again, this time to dive the USS Apogon, a 96m submarine sunk by the Baker blast. Usual sub stuff but with a fairly interesting 4m high conning tower that warranted some inspection.
Photo by Jon Davies
Friday 22nd
DIVE 8: Nagato – 52m, bottom time 46 min, runtime 126 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Another visit to the Nagato, this time dropping in on the midships shotline, right above the main superstructure. Lots of openings worthy of investigation were probed slightly before heading underneath between the forward guns which was very atmospheric. The whole of the forward deck area is some 2 or 3 meters clear of the sea bed and one can swim right under it. I swam to the bow and up the starboard anchor chain before heading back to the stern via the aft guns for another poke around. I then went up to have a good swim around the giant rudders and propellers before gently finning back to the shot and up for another 80 minutes of balmy deco.
Photo by Jon Davies
DIVE 9: Saratoga – 42m, bottom time 56 min, runtime 106 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Normal service was resumed as we returned to the Saratoga for the post lunch dive. This time we had a better look around the bridge area.
In the main control room towards the top, the normal portholes were lined up against the front wall having been replaced with ones with small slits, presumably these were installed whenever the ship was likely to engage in battle and come under attack. Other fascinating stuff was littered about everywhere.
Photo by Jon Davies
After this we poked about in some of the hitherto unexplored (by us) holes in the elevator shaft and a quick dip down into the bomb elevator before heading back up.
Saturday 23rd
DIVE 10: Lamson – 46m, bottom time 44 min, runtime 97 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Fortunately, it was decided to have another look at the Lamson, which I had missed earlier in the week. At a little over 100m it was easy to have a gentle fin around the entire wreck, bow to stern and back. A very nice wreck and, for at least one of the party, a favourite of the trip with plenty to see including torpedo tubes and loaded racks full of depth charges.
Photo by Jon Davies
DIVE 11: Shark Pass – 27m, bottom time 30 min, runtime 37 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Once we were all back on the surface, we headed off for the only non-wreck dive of the week - Shark Pass.
During the preparations for the atomic testing, tens of thousands of personnel were stationed on the various islands that make up Bikini Atoll. The waste that was generated was dumped in a spot to the south west of the atoll and this attracted vast numbers of sharks to the area. Through some sort of ancestral memory, their descendents still come here to feed and do so en-masse.
Don’t ask me what kind of sharks they were, I don’t really do squidge and never asked but lying on the seabed surrounded by, at the very least, dozens of sharks, most of which were as big as me was quite a thrilling experience and they are beautiful creatures. I think all of us would have stayed a lot longer than the 30-40 minutes that we variously managed before it became all but impossible to cling on to anything when the current started flowing between the islands and into the atoll. Getting back on to the dive boat was interesting to say the least but when we were all safely back on board we were treated to a feeding frenzy as the crew began dangling chum from the back of the boat.
Sunday 24th
DIVE 12: Anderson – 51m, bottom time 41 min, runtime 113 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
The USS Anderson is another destroyer, very similar to the Lamson but lying on its port side in around 52m. As with the Lamson it was a nice easy bimble along the entire wreck from the stern to bow and back again. The attitude of the wreck meant that the props and rudders were a lot easier to inspect and the torpedo tubes, which were more intact than the Lamson, were pointing straight up. The bow was a very photogenic sight.
Photo by Jon Davies
Once again the afternoon’s dive was the Saratoga but I was beginning to feel a bit fatigued so decided to sit this one out.
Monday 25th
DIVE 13: Arkansas – 55m, bottom time 49 min, runtime 139 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
For this revisit to the Arkansas we dropped down the stern line straight onto the props. A bit of fun fooling around here, getting caught-up in the sea whips that are everywhere on these wrecks and I swam down the port side and headed towards the midships. There are lots of open doors and hatches dotted around, all inviting divers in and I obliged one or two of them, spending probably more time inside the wreck than out although there was no need to lay any line as the floor (ceiling) was reasonably silt-free and there was always blue light somewhere to be seen.
A quick swim up to the bow between the forward guns then up and back along the keel to the shot meant that this dive was over all to quickly, even though it was amongst the two longest dives I did during the trip.
DIVE 14: Saratoga – 43m, bottom time 57 min, runtime 112 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
This penultimate dive on the Saratoga gave us another opportunity to have a better look at the Helldivers & the parts of the Machine Room I hadn’t seen last time before the visibility vanished
Tuesday 26th
DIVE 15: Saratoga – 39m, bottom time 56 min, runtime 86 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
Previous visits to the Saratoga had given one group a chance to be guided down the main line that penetrates the bow section from an opening in the forward bulkhead of the elevator and this final dive it was our turn. Our guide, the aforementioned Edward, led us down a long corridor and into various rooms on each side. Other lines head off up and down stair wells and Edward’s been along all of them, yet even he has only seen a small fraction of what the ‘Sara’ has to offer. He has spent hundreds of dives on this wreck and has yet to find a way into the engine room.
After surfacing, it was time to strap everything down for our return to Kwajalein Atoll. The 5 people flying back on Thursday took the opportunity to start preparing their kit for packing whilst the remaining 6 still had the prospect on one last dive – on the Prinz Eugen.
Wednesday 27th
As I mentioned earlier, Kwajalein Island itself is a military base and civilian boats are not welcome, so they have to go to the nearby Ebeye Island whence those with official business on Kwaj can take the ferry or authorised water taxis.
We arrived at Ebeye late afternoon and had a quick wander to the hotel to confirm our booking for the Friday night. The local bank appeared to have a better exchange rate than anywhere else on the planet - $1.62/£1. Aside from that, there’s not much else going for Ebeye. Most of the residents own large pick-up trucks that are worth many times more than the shacks they live in and appear to live on a diet of tinned Spam – they have it in vending machines :spam2:
This was the final night with everyone on board and a few glasses were raised.
Thursday 28th
We bid farewell to the 4 person New Zealand contingent and to Andris who is flying back to the UK as they board the water taxi to start their journeys home. Then we prepare our kit for our last dive.
DIVE 16: Prinz Eugen – 31m, bottom time 99 min, runtime 99 min, SP 1.2, GF 30/80
The water taxi returned to take us over to the Prinz Eugen. Being pretty much a small battleship, she capsized whilst sinking and lies with a starboard list on a slope, with the central prop out of the water and the bow in 30m. This makes for a very relaxed dive with little or no deco commitment and the whole wreck could be explored inside and out.
We then returned to the Windward to commence washing & breaking down kit ready for packing.
This was the final night on board for remaining divers
Friday 29th
We finished packing and leave our large bags on board before leaving for the hotel where we checked in and bought some wifi cards to get access to outside world for the first time in almost two weeks, save for a couple of satellite phone calls.
We wandered around Ebeye for a few hours, which was a bit grim, save for a small beach where we had a dip for an hour or so. Robin and Andrew went back to the boat to meet the water taxi as they were returning later that evening for Hawaii. Then it was back to the hotel for the remaining 4 for some food and an early night. It was party night on Ebeye but we declined.
Saturday 30th
Paul & I were woken at 0550 courtesy of Peter in order to meet our bags at the ferry landing at 0700 (a 5 minute walk!). The ferry, an old Vietnam landing craft, arrived on time at 0720 and the ‘entertainment’ for journey was provided by one of the locals who gave a sermon and sang some hymns. Most of the passengers appeared totally disinterested. We reached Kwajalein around 0800 and hung about for 80 minutes before being fetched by the base police and escorted to airport. We checked-in after a debate about our excessively heavy baggage, which turned out to be OK after the police persuaded the baggage checkers that dive gear was an exception and we boarded the plane around 1100.
United (now merged with Continental) are the only major airline that operate these routes and the flight from Hawaii to Guam is an island hopper via Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei & Chuuk, stopping at each island for about an hour resulting in a 7 hour flight. We arrived in Guam late afternoon and took a taxi to the Marriot where the other 3 were staying before their flight to Tokyo the next day. A quick shower then down to the bar and a steak dinner before getting a taxi to take us to a downtown bar, which turns out to be Porky's which Pete Mesley had recommended earlier in the week. This turned-out to be a bit of a bad idea as we soon moved from beers to Sambucas and Jägerbombs.
Sunday 1st
Around 0100 I legged it back to hotel to fetch my bag then on to airport for 0320 flight to Seoul. I arrived in Seoul around 0630, chilled in lounge until around 1200 before browsing the shops then heading to Gate 14 to board KE 907 for the penultimate leg. LHR at 1715, cleared customs in around 30 seconds, found bus waiting at stop 23 to take me to my car at the Long-Stay. Home for around 2030 and settled-in to watch 2nd half of Euro 2012 final only to give up and go to bed around 2100, exhausted.
Final thoughts
This was billed as the trip of a lifetime and it certainly tops every other diving I've done.
It came in at around £8000, which works out at £500 per dive. I’ll bet there are few here that would turn down the chance of a dive on the Nagato or Saratoga for £500, so I call that a bargain.
The Windward is a fantastic technical dive platform. It may not have some of the creature comforts that some people might expect from a tropical liveaboard, but for this sort of expedition it's hard to fault. The crew were highly capable and always ready with whatever you needed. The gas facilities, including an O2 generation plant that delivered 92-93%, were perfect. The food was as good as I've eaten anywhere; cold drinks, including beer, were always within easy reach AND there was a hyperbaric chamber onboard in case of emergency.
Trips can be booked directly through Indies Trader, but Pete Mesley adds a lot of value, not least bringing along a hyperbaric physician, in our case Simon Mitchell who was great company, as were all the other divers on board. We had a ball together and I'd love to be on a trip with any one of them again.
Photo by Pete Mesley
L-R: Andrew R, Robin, Me, Simon, Paul, Andris, Jon, Dee, Brian, Andy G, Peter Mc
Extras Bill
6 fills of sofnolime - $240
Many fills of O2 and 16/50 Dil - can't remember but less than $400 which included $50 for hire of 16/50 bailout tin
Crew tips - $200
2 bottles of Bombay Sapphire - $80
2 bottles wine - $49
Kit Failures
Mares Quattro fin strap - replaced with thick bungee - a vast improvement
iDive 300 iPod housing - failed first day – no more choons on deco!
Anderson connector on primary light - refitted
Broken ADV - replaced with Simon's spare Inspo one
Faulty Shearwater - repaired on return under warranty within a week by Narked@90 - with a new, thicker cable
