My trip report/opinion on the Coron wrecks

[Gilligan]

I just completed seven dives on the wrecks in Coron Bay. The vis was very poor. The wrecks are deep enough to require Nitrox so as to maximize bottom time, which I did.

Photography is near impossible. Using a strobe is defeated by the amount of particulate matter. Using no strobe and calibrated white balance is defeated by the lack of ambient light due to depth and the resulting digital noise from using higher ISO settings to compensate.

Strong current was not an issue when I did the dives, possibly due to the moon phases. Others have said there are strong currents at times. I was prepared by having a reef hook with me.

IMHO Sea Dive Resort is the best setup in Coron Town for accommodations, food and diving. Patrick, one of their dive guides, is the most safety conscious dive guide I have ever encountered. That's a plus here due to the depth of the wrecks.

I did not find these wrecks to be all that interesting and would not repeat the visit. I would not recommend this dive location to anyone who has underwater photography as a requirement.

One has to simply enjoy the wrecks for what they are and as they are. They were stripped long ago. They are penetrable so I assume a "wreck diver" would enjoy them. I did not.

 

[mattmexico]

Hi there

I went last year in July to dive the Coron wreck and liked them I have to say. I left a detailed trip repost on our web page Philippines 2008 / http://www.protecdiving.com / /Virtual House Community - tp-S

We where closed circuit rebreather diving and getting the logistical support was the biggest issue. We did usally a bottom time of 45 - 60 minutes

I had with me my old Olympus 30/30 camera iside a Light and Motion Tetra housing and a wide angle screw on lens adapter. I was able to get some images doing ambient light photography in black and white as the viz was bad and color was dark green

We had almost no current though

greetings
Matt

 

[rab1412000]

i love coron
heading back on tuesday!
jim you should have tried gunthers cathedrale and siete pecados for better photo ops as i suggested.
the wreck experience is great but if your just in it for photography then you may end up being quite disspaointed

 

[chip104]

Thanks Jim. I enjoyed your photos over in the UW subforum.


Chalk me up in the I love Coron category. I'll be heading back there next month, this time to enjoy more top side adventures, which I regret not doing the last time I went.

 

[bill22]

I know what you mean by the vis... it was one of the reasons, I didn't even bother with wide, just stuck with macro. I did really enjoy Siete Pecados Marine Park and the dive in Barracuda Lake was interesting. I wanted to dive Cathedral, but wasn't able to.

I agree with you about Sea Dive. I was impressed with all their guides. They were very safety conscious and gave a thorough brief before each dive. The only other place I've seen in the Philippines that was as thorough was Palawan Divers in El Nido.

Chip is correct in saying that there are a number of topside activities you can do, which I spent little time doing this time. I think a nice place for a vacation, not the top for diving, unless you're into wrecks

I'll likely make it back at some point, but there are other places in the Philippines yet to try

 

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

I spent a week in Coron last September diving the wrecks with Gunther from Discovery Divers. While the viz wasn't the best I had ever experienced these are still some great dives. Especially the seaplane carrier Akitsushima and the unmissable Barracuda Lake Thermal Dive with 36 degree water. Swimming all through the wrecks was a very cool experience especially if you do a little research on the ships beforehand. I would definitely recommend it to anyone passing through.

Gunther was a pretty interesting and laid back guy as well.