| Reports from traveling divers: | |||
Vanuatu
(formerly
the
New
Hebrides)
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  Over
the
years
I
have
enjoyed
a
number
of
adventures
diving
in
Vanuatu.
Vanuatu
is
a
charming
country
of
83
islands
and
over
217,000
people,
where
earthquakes
occur
about
four
times
each
day
and
you
can
climb
an
active
volcano,
Ambrym,
which
last
erupted
in
1913. |
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There are some other very impressive dives in Vanuatu. Two of the most notable in my experience are Hog Island and Pentecost Island. Hog Island has a spectacular vertical wall where our divers encountered chambered nautilus on a night dive at depths of fifty feet.
The other stunner is Pentecost Island, itself worth the entire visit to Vanuatu. In the shallow reef areas right off shore we enjoyed diving on a World War II U.S. Navy fighter-bomber near some magnificent reefs covered with radiant soft coral colonies. |
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The Pentecost Islanders were very friendly, even putting on a ceremonial dance for us. This village is also home to the world-famous Land Divers. The men of the village swan-dive off a tall tower with vines attached to their ankles. As they fall headfirst, the carefully-measured vines stop their fall as their heads brush the dirt! “Unforgettable” is a huge understatement! I hope you, too, will one day share these exotic wonders in a country that is off the beaten track for divers—but intensely rewarding to those who seek it out.
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Among
divers,
Vanuatu
is
best
known
for
the
astonishing
wreck
of
the
S.S.
President
Coolidge,
which
on
October
26,
1942
entered
an
allied
minefield,
uninformed
of
it
because
of
wartime
radio
silence.
Two
explosions
ripped
apart
the
aft
fire
room
and
the
engine
room..
The
Captain,
knowing
the
ship
was
mortally
wounded,
ordered
it
rammed
onto
the
reef.
Almost
the
entire
crew
escaped,
but
the
ship
then
rolled
onto
its
port
side
and
slipped
backward
to
where
she
lies
today.
My
friend
Allan
Power
has
made
over
12,000
dives
on
that
wreck,
whose
shallowest
portions
(the
bow
and
bridge)
are
easily
reached
at
depths
of
80-130
feet.
Enormous
black
corals
grow
in
great
profusion
under
her
bow,
and
a
bridge
cannon
on
her
starboard
(upper)
side
is
a
phenomenal
prop
for
underwater
photography.
You
can
enter
the
bridge
and
side
passageways
(a
somewhat
haunting
experience).
All
in
all,
this
immense
wreck
is
one
of
the
most
impressive
a
sport
diver
will
ever
see.
A
huge
grouper
named
Boris
was
for
a
time
a
fixture
for
visiting
photographers,
until
he
met
an
untimely
end,
presumably
at
the
hands
of
a
local
fisherman.
