Report on a Classic Destination: Carl's 25th year revisit to
Truk
Lagoon!
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The
first
time
I
had
the
good
fortune
to
dive
Truk
Lagoon
was
in
1973,
the
heyday
of
the
legendary
Kimiuo
Aisek
and
the
very
beginning
of
divers
experiencing
the
wonders
of
Truk's
colossal
Japanese
wrecks. In those halcyon days, the wrecks were carpeted with astonishingly rich coral reefs--huge cannons were adorned with stony and soft corals which blurred their stark lines, while six-foot streamers of blazingly rain bowed soft coral hung from masts, superstructure and rigging everywhere. It was dazzling, undersea experience totally unlike any other I'd ever seen. Twenty-five years later, it is only fair to say that I felt some trepidation in flying in to Truk (now called by its original name, Chuuk). After all, I had just dived Palau's reefs, widely affected by coral bleaching. Also, over the years I had seen some evidence of diver damage, a gradual lessening of the corals due to wear and tear. |
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In
what
seems
a
perverse
zero-sum
game,
the
more
Chuuk
attracted
greater
numbers
of
divers
the
more
the
growth
on
its
wrecks--the
very
thing
that
made
them
unique
in
the
world--
had
seemed
to
decline.
 It was a sunny day over Chuuk when I arrived and was promptly whisked to a spacious air-conditioned stateroom aboard Thorfinn. This massive ship has now spent fifteen years welcoming divers to Chuuk and has a very polished operation. It was only fitting that she host my 25th anniversary dives. That coral covers a bow gun! I arrived aboard in midmorning, quickly assembled my gear and cameras, and leaped into an 11:00 A.M. skiff headed for the Fujikawa Maru wreck. It is one of Chuuk's enduring classics, and an acid test for my worries about the corals. |
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Imagine
my
surprise
when
this
oft-dived
wreck
looked
every
inch
her
royal
self--soft
corals
everywhere,
lots
of
fish,
all
displayed
in
gorgeous
visibility.
I
high
fived
 myself
for
my
wisdom
in
deciding
to
spend
a
few
days
in
Chuuk,
and
reveled
in
what
I
was
seeing.
It was much the same on my next dive on the Seiko Maru that afternoon, on the Kyozumi Maru, Unkai Maru, the Hoki Maru and--incandescently--on the finale, the Shinkoku Maru. This latter wreck was so carpeted with life that it seemed blessed with some fountain of youth. I was thrilled and happy to be here, to be enjoying this sublime moment of Nature's triumph. Alas, my three days in Chuuk were over all too soon, but I left Lance and Narinta of Thorfinn and their lovable, competent crew for their warm hospitality. Sometimes everything just works, and I'll remember how good these days were for many years to come. I'll highly recommend this diving to anyone! Truk Lagoon, new name or old, lives again to exhilarate another generation of divers!!! |