Instant Reader Report
on Odyssey / in
Micronesia: Palau, Truk, Bikini Atoll and Marshall Islands / Truk Lagoon on
2003/09
by
Russ Snyder , Cleveland, United Kingdom
Report Number 030912064232641

Questions?
Send an email to the author of this report

 Caymans, Red Sea, Cebu, Hawaii. 

Dive Conditions

No restrictions.  

The camera table on the Odyssey is large and well appointed. Lighting is
good and the three levels of the table allowed for plenty of room.  

Overall Rating

Getting to Truk is difficult and time-consuming. I left the UK on a Tuesday
and arrived Truk Friday AM. I would recommend a day of rest when you arrive
as jet-lag is an issue – especially as long flights can result in
dehydration. 

I dove with the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop (BLDS) on Saturday and Sunday. The
DM’s are great and have an uncanny knack of pointing to a
direction when instructing the boat drivers and bingo you’re on
top of a wreck. The boats are fast and since there were only six of us in
a ~25 footer room was not an issue. The rides are a bit rough which is OK
for a couple of days but I would not want to do a weeks worth of diving
off these small boats. Nothing stays dry on the boats and camera equipment
is in peril. The boat seating area is painted with an orange material that
will come off on your clothing so wear stuff you don’t mind
getting ruined.

The Odyssey trip started on Sunday evening. In general this is a great
boat. The food was terrific and there was always a cooked-to-order
breakfast of your choice each day. Snacks were plentiful and tasty. I had
one of the single rooms up front and it was as big as some double rooms I
have had on other live-aboards. The DM’s were fine with one
British guy as the lead and two locals who were outstanding. They even put
your fins on your feet on the dive deck – doesn’t get
much more convenient than that! The camera table is big – always
an important consideration for us photographers. They use 112 cubic feet
aluminum tanks which means that unless you are a total air hog you run out
of time way before you run out of gas. The Odyssey uses 30% nitrox as
standard which covers the ranges I was diving albeit at a PO2 of 1.6 on my
Cobra and Stinger. Tours were available if you wanted them or you could do
your own thing.  There were 11 divers on this trip and all were
well-experienced. 

Comments on the diving: Truk is a fascinating place to dive. The wrecks
are the obvious attraction as otherwise the dives would be boring. During
the eight days I was there I was able to dive on the Fujikawa, Shinkoku,
Sankisan, Heian, Kansho, Rio DeJaneiro, Yamagiri, Hanakawa, Fumizuki
Destroyer, Unkai, Gosei, Betty Bomber (one to miss in my opinion), Nippo,
and the Seiko. The Fujikawa and the Shinkoku are the premier wrecks and
they are awesome but my favorite was the Nippo. The tank on the deck is a
great photo op although it means going to about 130 FSW to get an upward
angle. The bridge is also quite impressive. I was able to get in the water
first on that dive and after making a quick visit to the tank headed for
the pilot house at about 90 FSW. As I entered the room I could hardly see
the telegraph for all the bait fish but I aimed where I thought is was and
hit the flash. A huge Napoleon Wrasse must have been hidden from  view as
he darted away (thankfully) from me. On the second dive on the Nippo I was
in front of the pilot house and witnessed a feeding frenzy by a school of
yellow and black stripped Trevails. Not sure what set them off but
something was dead for sure after that event. All the while the Napoleon
Wrasse was calmly moving around gulping down scraps. 

The visibility during the week I was there varied from OK (60 feet) to
awful (20 feet). It rained off and on all week so less than ideal
conditions were to be expected. Bring your macro outfit for those low-vis
days.

The diving in Truk is deep and the profiles are flat. Most of the dives
were over 100 feet
deep or more. The divers on the boat usually stopped for a minute or more
at half of the 
maximum depth and then did a six to ten minute safety stop. 

This may be old news but Truk now has a recompression chamber.
It’s been in 
operation for about six months and as of this writing has seen no
customers.

The final day: On Sunday a number of us from the Odyssey went on a land
tour of Dublon – the main island for the Japanese forces.
It’s a good way to kill a few hours on an otherwise wasted day
as the flight to Guam and onward does not leave until ~02:00 Monday
morning. Bring a rain coat and something soft to sit on as the
“tour bus” is a Toyota pickup truck and everyone
climbs in the back.

Overall the Odyssey and the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop were well run
operations.

 

Questions?
Send an email to the author of this report

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. It is presented here to provide Undercurrent readers with timely information on dive operations worldwide. The material may contain errors, typos, ... Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above. An edited version of this report will likely appear in the next Travelin' Divers' Chapbook, which will be sent to newsletter subscribers and published online for Online Members.