Greetings from the FSM! I have so much to tell you already! Read on to find out about our long flight and scuba diving in Chuuk Lagoon.
A Long Flight
Our trip to Micronesia was a long one. We spent a total of 19 hours in the air on four different flights to get to our destination. Karen and I started our trip on the East Coast of the U.S., where we took a 2 1/2 hour flight to Houston. From Houston we spent 7 1/2 hours on a flight to Hawaii where we had a short layover before taking another 7-hour flight to Guam. From Guam we hopped on a smaller jet that took us to the island of Chuuk on a 2-hour flight after circling around for a while and returning to Guam.
Scuba Diving
After arriving at our hotel in Chuuk at 2 a.m., Karen and I took much-needed 5-hour naps. Then we fired up our computer to check our emails. I was surprised to find over 40 emails from Truckee High School in California. Hello Truckee!
Truckee is a wonderful town in the mountains just west of Reno Nevada. In fact I used to train for kayak racing on the Truckee River and lived just outside Verdi. Karen and I will not have time to answer all your letters individually, but keep following our journals and we will respond to all your great questions in the next few days. Great job Truckee High.
After a quick breakfast of vegetable fried rice (this is a very common breakfast throughout Asia and Micronesia), Karen and I loaded our dive gear onto a small boat and headed out into the lagoon for our first dive.
Out first dive today was near the Fujikawa Maru. Maru is a Japanese word that refers to a merchant supply ship. Almost immediately after I rolled off the side of the dive boat I was able to make out the deck of this 437-foot armed aircraft ferry. The ship sits upright in 110 feet of water with its deck at 75 feet. The Japanese used this ship to transport fighter planes from one location to another. As I ventured into one of the dark cargo holds, my light illuminated a complete Zero fighter fuselage and several wings.
Swimming up out of cargo hold #2, I moved toward the bow of the ship and dropped down into cargo hold #1. Here my light illuminated large ammunition shells, thousands of bullets, and an old shoe. The realization that this shoe actually was once worn by a living individual gave me an eerie feeling.
Once again I swam outside the wreck where schools of baitfish swarmed the masts attracting larger fish, such as a few wary barracuda that patrolled the length of the vessel. A large platform on the bow held an almost unrecognizable gun draped in coral and sponge growth pointing at an imaginary target.
The outside of the ship is enveloped in waving soft coral branches, zigzag oysters, and black coral trees. Gorgonian corals and whip corals reach out for passing divers. Just before I started my ascent to the surface I looked out over the starboard side of the wreck and saw a beautiful Black Tip Reef Shark swimming off in the distance.
On February 17, 1994 a commemorative plaque was placed on deck marking the 50th anniversary of the ship's sinking. It reads, "Fujikawa Maru Sunk February 17, 1944 during U.S. Navy's 'Operation Hailstone.'" This plaque is dedicated to the preservation of and respect for the remaining ships, aircraft, and artifacts as a heritage for the people of Chuuk Lagoon.
Many students have sent Karen and me emails asking if we could bring up artifacts from the wrecks. The lagoon has been designated a historical monument, a museum whose ships and artifacts are protected from removal by law. Nothing may be removed from any of the wrecks.
After our dive Karen and I visited the Ethnographic Center to photograph some of the artifacts that archeologists have brought up from the Fujikawa Maru.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)
Tomorrow Karen and I will be exploring another wreck as well as visiting students at a local school here on Chuuk. If you have any questions you would like us to ask the students please email us today. I will also be talking a little bit about the science involved in scuba diving, so feel free to email me any questions about that.
Tom
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