Never Satisfied

Dive Log, April 2005 by Trevor Jackson

In Espiritu Santo in the north of Vanuatu lies the wreck of the unsurpassable SS President Cooldige. One would imagine that for most people this would be enough for a drawcard for any dive holiday. The wreck is at once massive and mysterious. I was lucky enough recently to have the opportunity to dive her for the fifth time and lucky enough to be diving with an operator who was on the lookout to improve his customers value for money whenever he could.

My dive buddy Angela Koek and I arrived on the early evening flight into Santo. Mayumi Green from Aquamarine was there with her customary mile wide smile to whisk us away to the Deco Stop Lodge where I feel at times I’ve become part of the furniture. There has been plenty of great things written about the deco stop and Aquamarine in countless issues of DiveLog, so I won’t repeat the same old thing. As we had visited the islands many times, Aquamarine’s manager and co-owner Barry Holland decide to show us something a little out of the ordinary, as he put it. Legendary Coolidge guide Kev Green had recently discovered a new wreck in the channel just offshore from the dive shop. Kev was skippering the new Vanuatu liveaboard “Silent One” and used its sophisticated electronics to pinpoint the position of a wreck that he had previously dived on only once, many years previous. At the crack of dawn on the first morning of our stay, we gathered on the lawn at Aquamarine and looked out on the big blue dive boat riding gently at anchor a few yards from shore. A 5-metre inflatable tender was on its way to shore as we discussed the identities of the wreck we were about to survey. Kev had only done a quick dive a few years earlier and had assumed it was the wreck of the TUI, a tug that had been involved in the removal of fuel oil from the tanks of the giant President Coolidge. In no time we were on board the “Silent One” and weighing anchor en route to the western end of the Segond Channel. As a liveaboard owner myself, I can say with some authority that the Silent One is nothing less than impressive. The dive deck is large enough to land a light plane on and comes complete with its own outdoor bar for whiling away the evening hours after the days diving is complete. Cabins are spacious and modern and come in many different configurations to cater for all divers and all budgets. Groups of friends can share a multiple berth cabin whilst couples can enjoy the privacy of their own cabins complete with ensuite. Trips run to and from Espiritu Santo and Vila and occasionally incorporate exploratory dives, a personal favourite of mine. Kev Green is one of the skippers on board and divers benefit from his many years of experience in Vanuatu and his insatiable sense of adventure.

The wreck site was a few miles westward along the channel. In no time we were in the area and Kev was circling the big boat, trying to position her in the crosshairs of the landmarks he had taken years before when first diving the site.

After about ten minutes he reckoned he had spotted something on the sounder so we hastily finalized our gear checks and sat across the huge duckboard waiting to be dropped off directly above the sounding. The depth was about 50m and we were doing a free descend to the seabed, hopefully landing on or near the wreck. At the last minute we decide to chuck a buoy in and follow a line down, but upon reaching the bottom it became apparent that the buoy had dragged and we would have to search for our target anyway. Kev had been close enough though, and out of the gloom just a couple of dozen metres away we could see the domineering outline of a shipwreck, scattered with schooling baitfish. Whilst we weren’t technically the first to ever see her, the feeling was the same. She had never been identified, and her position could now be positively recorded for future use. The wreck was about the size of a large ocean going tug, so the theory that she was the Tui was beginning to look fairly solid. We however were having way too much fun to be digging around in the bowels for engine serial numbers and the like.

Angela and I cruised through the many penetrable areas of the wreck, brushing aside inquisitive marine life and marveling at the clear crystal tropical water. Barry was off towards the wheel house area tying off a buoy for other divers to use in the future and looking for any clues he might find to help with Kev’s TUI theory.

Before long we were cruising along the stern section and checking our computers, time to fly. We kicked off the hard sandy bottom and spiraled upwards above the wreck. The hum of the engines from the awaiting silent one could soon be heard as we hovered at the first of our stops. Climbing back on board a half an our later it was all smiles and backslaps, there’s nothing like diving for the feeling of true adventure. The crew of the Silent One made a hot breakfast on the way in and gave us a tour of the ship, before we were ferried back into the tiny harbour at the rear of the Aquamarine diveshop.

For the following ten days we were treated to some fantastic diving on the famous SS President Cooldige. Aquamarine’s experienced guides never cease to amaze me with their knowledge of the wreck and their constant enthusiasm. Nothing was too much trouble, twins, Nitrox, Trimix, you name it, they can provide.

Barry from Aquamarine once said to me “Trev you’re a hard customer coz you work in the industry and a bloke like you is never satisfied.” Well Barry I can happily say after this trip, “You’re dead wrong mate!”