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| Vanuatu | ||||||||
The world's largest air-accessible wreck, the President
Coolidge,a 640-foot ocean liner converted into a troop ship, is a beach dive
on Espiritu Santo. It's mainly for advanced divers, starting at 70 feet and going
down to 250.... Check with DAN about your evacuation insurance before going; you
may not be covered due to the number of divers getting bent on this site.... Some
diving is available from the capital city of Port-Vila, but it's not spectacular....
Little reef diving is offered so far.... Water temperatures in February hit the
mid 80s and in September may drop as low as 70.... Don't miss the side trip to
Tanna Island to visit the active volcano, dugongs, and Melanesian villagers living
according to ancient customs.... Other side trips include the island of Pentecost
in April to early June to see the land divers leap head-first from 70-foot towers
with nothing but vines tied around their ankles....
For full reviews of the following Vanuatu destinations, see:
Bougainville Resort Santos, In Depth- October 1995 Aquamarine/Aore Resort, November 1998, Peter Heseltine (heseltin@hsc.usc.edu), Los Angeles, CA. Vis: 80-120 ft. Water: 77-83 degrees. Water calm. No E-6. No rinse tanks on boat(s). Shallow macro very good e.g., seahorses 10' offshore. Bring your own film. Shallow shore diving excellent. Deep (>150 fsw) wreck dives on President Coolidgegood to excellent. SS Coolidgeis largest diver accessible wreck and has many interesting artifacts. For such dives, deco on Nitrox is recommended and required for dives deeper than 140 fsw dives to the Coolidge(deco station with Nitrox on a flat rocky area with interspersed corals, anemones and fish to while away the time). All deep dives carefully guided and specific profiles must be followed. Good practice as most divers will not have sufficient experience at these depths to plan their profiles. Shipped helium to Vanuatu and could remember what we saw! Kevin Green & staff of Aquamarine professional and accommodating. Nitrox deco available for US $3. Kevin does excellent organized shark dive; delivers many large sharks right to your face with good safety. But it is a shark feeding event. Excellent tours of island. The setting for Michener's Tales of the South Pacific. Air Vanuatu strict about baggage allowance; United, Vanair more accommodating. Bad: Million dollar point overfished. Could not dive other area wrecks local dispute. Most reefs very deep >80 fsw for second dive of day or less. Current/tides in channel can be strong. Aore: rooms are spartan. Aore is a boat ride from town. Expensive and got lost in channel in a rainstorm. Better resorts on Santo. Carry gear from boat to resort and back each day and even between dives! Food was good. Long trip from the US. Little diving other than the Coolidge.The Million Dollar Reef is not worth it. (Telephone: 011-00678-36-196)
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