Dive Review of
Bikini Atoll Divers in
Micronesia/Bikini Atoll

 Bahamas,Caribbean, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia,Cocos Island, Cozumel,
Micronesia, etc. 

Dive Conditions

Specific decompression profile.  

There was a good sized table on the boat which was used for cameras and
everything else. No rinse bucket. Cameras were carefully handled by the
crew.  

Overall Rating

My husband and I recently returned from a third visit to Bikini Atoll; this
trip we stayed a total of four weeks, three on purpose and one week
stranded. Jim Akroyd has been head divemaster each time; his wife, Gen,
Rich, and Edward were the other divemasters, with Ronnie also acting as
divemaster when needed. The entire Bikini crew is outstanding. The
operation, operated through the Bikini government, is still run essentially
the same and amazingly well considering how far off the beaten path Bikini
is, which we really realized this trip.

The air conditioned rooms are basic but comfortable, and the food is basic
and filling. The dining hall is also air conditioned, as well as the
briefing room and small movie theater.

Two dives are done each day, as long as the planes are flying (for
potential rescue in case of an accident), with bottom times of 25-40
minutes and total run-times including decompression ranging from 60-80
minutes, depending on your personal safety level. Each additional minute of
bottom time can add another 6-8 minutes of deco time, so it is important to
pay attention to the dive plan. Depths ranged from 105 feet on the deck of
the Saratoga to 180 feet. Air is used during the dive until ascending to
the 30 foot hang bar, where the switch to 79% Nitrox is made. Twin tanks or
large singles can be used; either will get you the same profile as long as
your air consumption is good. 

There are seven WWII wrecks that are regularly dived: Saratoga, Nagato,
Carlisle, Lamson, Apagon, Anderson, and the Arkansas, all sunk during the
Able or Baker atomic bomb tests held at Bikini in 1946. Boat rides are no
more than 20 minutes.

There are some rules that are enforced by the Bikini and Marshall Islands
that may disappoint divers used to doing whatever they want in other
locations. There is no unescorted diving, especially penetrations, no
single tank penetrations, and absolutely no taking of souvenirs; you are
welcome to handle and admire everything, however.

Air Marshall flies “usually every Wednesday” from Majuro, the capital of
the Marshall Islands, to Bikini. They were having more financial and
equipment problems than usual since August, meaning late arrivals and/or
departures for some, or even no departure at all. One group a couple weeks
before we arrived had to be rescued by boat, and since the planes weren’t
flying, were unable to dive any of the five extra days they were on the
island. We arrived on time, but were stranded on the island for an extra
week. The rescue boat was unavailable; finally a plane was sent from the
Gilbert Islands, at great expense to the dive operation and Air Marshall.
We sat at the Bikini airport twice while planes took off and had to turn
back due to mechanical problems. The group trying to get into Bikini
couldn’t—some of them went home and the rest spent a few days doing
land-based diving on Chuuk—nice, but not what they had in mind.

What do you do while stranded on Bikini with no diving? We learned how to
fish Marshallese style, snorkeled over the Bravo nuclear bomb test crater,
hiked the beaches, watched movies, played table tennis, photo-shopped our
pictures, and read a lot.

Bikini is a phenomenal place to dive and it’s easy to get to until Air
Marshall takes over. We highly recommend you don’t have anything critical
planned for at least one week after your planned departure. When we left,
the future of Bikini diving and Air Marshall were both in doubt. Hopefully
both will weather the problems, because we would certainly go back again!
 

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