If you could dive anywhere in the world...

[Manta 888]

Aegir,
As Glidingray mentioned above, the http://www.asiandiver.com site is an excellent source of information on the Indo-Pacific area and also has two messageboards posting job opportunities and also to post details of the job you are seeking. They are not particularly extensive boards so may require regular checks to see what's brewing.
I wish you good luck - most of us would love to be in your shoes !

Manta 888

 

[Aegir]

I am just heading off now to have a look at asiandiver magazine right now. Thankyou very much for your kind words and the info Manta 888.

 

[Walter]

.............I'd love to dive Truk lagoon.

Walter

 

[Mario S Caner]

Would have to be Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. We are planning a trip there in the near future, and would love to see some of you come along. The site is home to 54 shipwrecks sunk intentionally as part of nuclear experiment's in the 40's & 50's. The radiation is no longer present and has been open to divers since June of 1996.

The premier wreck in the lagoon is that of the USS Saratoga, a history making US Aircraft carrier. She was 900ft(273meters) long and weighed in at 48,000 tons. (In comparison the Titanic was 883ft(268meters) and 46,000 tons.) The hanger deck of the Saratoga is in 130ft of water and is decorated with planes, live ordinance, machine guns, rockets, torpeedos & bombs. She is truely a spectacular dive and is kept in perfect condition because she is safe from looters where she lies.

Another very noteworthy wreck is that of the Japenese Battleship Nagato which was not only Admiral Yamamoto's flagship but also the ship in which the Pearl Harbor attack plan was carried out.

There are many-many other wrecks lieing in water depths from 130-180ft. Many of them are decompression dives and require advanced training to be able to dive them. If interested and qualified to dive these waters please contact me and we'll keep in touch and even begin to coordinate our schedule.

 

[Aegir]

Yes that certainly sounds a trip worth while. If you are worried about the radiation levels as a result of nuclear testing you can read this http://www.bikiniatoll.com/whatrad.html to set your mind at ease. I read somewhere that the US saratoga was the worlds only "known" aircraft carrier wreck. I picked up dive magazine the other day and theres a great article about another aircraft carrier off the island of Arran, west Scotland.

I will quote from "dive" magazine:

"The HMS dasher (standing upright) lies in 170 metres of the worlds worst water. The water is infested with stinging jellyfish and visibility is reliably bad (approx 15cm during the dive). it sank after a myserious explosion on 23 March 1943. When the dasher sank the seas boiled with 75,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and 20,000 tonnes of aviation fuel bubbled to the surface."

Wow that sounds like a pretty BIG ship to me. Mario, are you sure you didnt mean 480,000 and 460,000 tonnes, respectively?

Anyway these guys in the magazine dived to what turned out to be 160 metres to the seabed with open circuit scuba. According to the article they where to spend around 8-10 minutes on the wreck between 140 metres and 160 metres, for this each man carried 7 tanks. "Gas used was 60 percent helium and nine percent oxygen carried in 2 15 litre back mounted cylinders". They used EAN32 to EAN36 nitrox for the travel gas which was carried in 2 300 bar cylinders under the left arm. Decrompression was carried out with EAN82 nitrox, carried in 2 more 300 bar cylinders under the right arm. Extra tanks where squeezed between the twin sets on there backs and argon cylinders where used for there dry suits.

These guys must be nuts lol. It was a great read though and some of the pictures of there kit are unreal.

_____________
"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
-Joshua J. Marine

 

[King_Neptune]

Aegir,


You wont find more listings anywhere on the web than these 2 resources...

1) ScubaSearch.com

and

2) ScubaDirectory.com


=-)

 

[joewr]

Aegir:

Palau and Truk -- no question! The best wreck diving in the world at the latter. Not the HMS Hood or Royal Oak, but lots of WWII marus from the Dai Nippon Teikoku (Greater Japanese Empire). The fish life (AKA, biodivesity) is legendary. When most scuba mags have a photo issue, you can expect to see photos from Palau.

And the climate -- just wonderful. Spring is the best time to go to avoid algae in bloom, etc. But Summer is okay.

If you are looking for a hot Summer sojourn, try Cozumel and swing down to Bonaire -- these are not as exotic as Palau and Truk, but have their joys -- and they are a lot cheaper!

Joewr

 

[DEEP SEA]

If you are a hard core diver and want adventure, Cocos Island can't be beat. Everything is big and in large schools. Whale Sharks are common as well as Hammerhead Sharks. The Island is a trip to explore with stories of millions of dollars still hidden.

My vote is for Cocos Island [sp]

 

[DameDykker]

I went to Palau in March 2000. And I'll echo the professor on his sentiments. I dove with Sams Dive Tours - really great operators, very safety and enviromently friendly and great guys!

DSAO

 

[tb]

I was in Papua New Guinea last April for a week and loved it. I have logged about 100 dives in the Carribean and nothing compares with Papua New Guinea for volume and diversity of the marine life.

An Aussie diver in Cairns commented that Papua New Guinea was much better than the Great Barrier Reef. I did a land-based trip, staying at Tufi and am starting to plans for a return, perhaps to some other locations as well this time. Tufi has a marvelous protected fijord in addition to access to ocean reefs.

Travel logistics in Papua New Guinea involve using small commuter flights to get anywhere. While a liveaboard would be nice, they all seem to provide fairly lengthy hauls of over a week. I would caution against taking the warnings about safety overly seriously.

I would not be at all worried about personal security if you have travel experience in major cities where you have to pay attention to what neighborhood you are in. If not, this may be more 3rd world than you would find comfortable.

Good luck on your search.

travis