As I sit here writing on the top deck underneath the moon lit sky with nothing but the shadowy figures of islands and shiny stars I reflect on the dives I accomplished. Today we had some big dives planned. We head back to the amazingly beautiful San Francisco Maru. Our group just can’t get enough of the wreck. Maybe it has to do with how intact it is, or maybe it’s the appeal of the intense depth that she rests at.
This time around I followed our guide Kitachi through a hole, which lead down into the engine room. I honestly know very little about ships or machines in general. My Mum will back me up when I say I know nothing about machines, especially cars. Something about the engine rooms on these ships really appeals to me. Maybe it’s the intricate passageways you have to navigate or the fact that its pitch black with no light. It’s like taking a step back in time. I find myself imagining crew running around, checking dials and gauges making sure the ship is running well. I really enjoyed the engine room on the San Francisco. Truthfully, I can’t go it to much detail as I was still half asleep boarding the boat at 8am and forgot my GoPro. On top of that, I was extremely narc’ed on that dive due to being at a depth of 183ft (new record!!!). Matt passed me (who was on different mixes of gas to prevent nitrogen narcosis, that thing that makes it seem as if you were drunk) and said I was glazed over and he got a good chuckle out of it as he knew I was really narc’d. Apparently my light was just fixated and I was just looking at the guide’s fins in front of me not realizing what was around me. We ascended to a better depth where the effects wore of and I was back to normal. We swam to the stern of the ship and explored the aft holds. I saw more sake bottles (no surprise) and ammunition. I ran a total of about 15mins at depth and then did close to 25mins of deco on the way up for a total run time of 50mins.
We headed back to the SS Thorfinn for some snacks and lunch before heading out to the Rio De Janeiro Maru, oh and a quick nap. Diving on compressed air really knocks you out. This is another benefit of diving different mixes of gases because you are far less fatigued. It was a 40min boat ride out to the Rio De Janeiro. This was a really awesome dive. The depth wasn’t too crazy so it allowed us to have a lot of bottom time. We started off by entering a small hole in the side of the ship. We navigated through small passageways, weaving in and out until we reached the engine room. Like I said, I love them. You could see all the piping lining the side of the walls running to gauges and dials. A really cool moment was discovering the clocks inside the engine room. I imagine they stopped working as the ship sank so it was chilling to see the time the ship sank. It was like something you seen in a movie.
We swam through multiple passageways and came out another hole in the ship. As we swam along the outside we came across the large gun mounted on the deck of the boat. This gun was massive; I couldn’t believe the side of it. It used 6” shells and had to be at least 15ft in length.
We made our way into a cargo hold which would dwarf any wine/alcohol cellar you’ve ever seen. Stacked inside were crates of Sake and Wine. So far I had only seen the empty bottles on the wrecks so it was really cool to see bottles in the crates. I looked up to the ceiling to see crates either floating or stuck in the roof from the sinking of the ship. It was a really neat sight. I really enjoyed this wreck, the engine room was one of the most intact out of all the wrecks I’ve dove these past two weeks. It made imagining the scurrying of the soldiers to make sure things were working well that much easier. We headed back to the boat after about an hour of diving and 20mins of deco where we were greeted with chicken wings and crackers. The food on this trip has been phenomenal and easy on the stomach considering all the intense diving we are doing.
After about an hour of downtime, we headed out to the I-169 Submarine. This submarine took part in the attacks on Pearl Harbor and has a fascinating story. It dwarfs the size of the San Fransicio with being over 400ft in length. It was one of the staples of the Japanese navy. It carried 4 sister submarines with it. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, it snuck in through a gap in the defenses and the 4 smaller submarines released from the main submarine and wreaked havoc. It took out quite a few ships. On the way out it was trapped in torpedo nets. After 3 days of trying to maneuver out of the torpedo nets and oxygen, electricity, and food supplies running low, the captain gave it one last shot and managed to break free from the traps. It headed back towards Chuuk Lagoon. After a night of partying and drinking, the air raid alarms sounded and the crews were told to get inside and dive down to depth to avoid being bombed. It happened to be a false alarm but that was the final dive the I-169 Submarine ever made. In the drunken rush and panic to get her down to depth, the crew left the air vents open to the control room. The control room flooded and all the crew inside the control room drowned. The rest of the crewmembers inside the submarine sent one guy into an airlock and sent him to the surface. He swam to the nearest island and notified everyone. Three ships went out to rescue the submarine. Divers dove down and communicated with the crew inside using Morse code by tapping on the submarine. A recovery went underway as they looped cabled around the submarine and proceeded to lift it to the surface. Apparently submarines are fairly easy to lift, as they are not too negatively buoyant. As the submarine approached the surface, the conning tower buckled under the weight of all the water causing the submarine to snap and plummet back down to 140ft. No more taps were ever heard and the crew inside drowned.
We descended down onto the submarine; I swam to the stern of the submarine looking at all the damage and rubble caused from the pressure of the submarine snapping. It was incredible to see how much of the ship had shattered. It was not very intact. As I swam off the side of the submarine I noticed something gliding through the water. It was a stingray! I cheered with excitement and proceeded to chase after the stingray. It swam away really fast and I was sad I didn’t get a chance to get good video of it. As I turned around I noticed two more stingrays lying on the ocean floor, it must have been my lucky day. I spent a good 5mins filming them and was in a daze with how majestic they were.
I swam toward the other end of the ship and that is where all the fun started. Matt came up to me with what’s best described as an underwater flower and wedged it between my mask/hair. Lets just say our bromance was brought to the next level. Afterwards, I watched him try shoving his body and rebreather into a tiny porthole, it was the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen him do. Next up Grace had to show the guys they are no match for her and squeezed her way into the porthole. Matt later went in another spot and started to swim through when the submarine started to collapse a little on him so he was smart and backed out. It was a really good way to end our last full day of diving. It was filled with great exploration, laughter and one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.
I look forward to our diving tomorrow as we plan to do the Yamagiri Maru at 8am and our shark dive at 11am. Then it will be laying out our gear to dry and packing up for our long journey home. I’m really going to miss this place. The landscape, people and food are unbeatable. The island way of life really speaks to me.
Thank you to all who have supported me and motivated me to write about my trip. I know I’m not the best writer but I hope that it is giving you a glimpse into my passion of scuba diving. I’m hoping it has at least inspired one of you to pursue your dreams and passions. Life is far too short to live with regrets so go out there and make your dreams a reality.
—-
Justin Steele
The Green Ranger