I was asked at work today to write a blog so here I am…. not sure this is what was intended but hey…. when you are 77 sleeps away from the most awesome diving holiday ever I surely can’t be blamed for being distracted!
In 77 sleeps time the journey to Truk Lagoon will begin…..
Heathrow to Abu Dabi, Abu Dabi to Manilla, Manilla to Guam and finally Guam to Truk! We leave at 14:05 on 26th Nov and arrive 10:08 on the 28th Nov……. Some OV divers will be taking different routes….. some lucky enough to be able to extend there journeys further………..
What every the route and travel time it WILL be worth it!
It was at 305 sleeps to go that I started counting so to be only 77 sleeps away is too close to contemplate!
After the long journey we will spend 2 days at the Blue Lagoon Resort to recharge our batteries before boarding Odyssey…….
With small groups of only 16 people, this promises to be the most amazing way that you can see the famous Truk Lagoon!.
The legacy of Truk Lagoon was born out of Warfare from a period of bloody history surpassing all before.
Today in stark contrast, an entire fleet lies silently on the bottom of a lagoon in Micronesia. WWII wrecks are scattered across 77 square miles. After 70 years these vessels remain a museum to that conflict, they have now been reborn, brought back to life by Mother Nature.
The wrecks that we are going to be visiting were all sunk during the carnage of Feb 17-18 1944 and lay between 0 and 60+ metres so accessible by all levels of qualification. Most of the vessels are of Japanese origin, the letters IJN preceding the ships name refer to a naval vessel (Imperial Japanese Navy). Merchant ships are designated with the word MARU after their name. (Maruroughly translated means “to go around”) In the case of an “auxiliary” naval vessel, such as a fleet oiler, the correct designation would be IJN and not Maru. Most Japanese vessels had their name embossed in both English and Japanese characters, this is due to international shipping procedures and canal transfers.There is loads to see – battleships, tanks, trucks, tractors, bombs, airplane fuselage, guns and so much more…….
So what will a typical day have in store…………
The day aboard Odyssey begins after a 7:00 a.m. hot breakfast with our first dive briefing around 7:45. We will be able to do two dives before lunch. During lunch we possibly move to a new site. After lunch we can have the option to either do another dive, or relax on the either of the sun decks. A late afternoon dive is offered and around 6:30 p.m. a sumptuous dinner will be waiting for us. After dinner we may choose to do a night dive. At night guests usually gather in the entertainment lounge to enjoy a movie, or review what was captured that day in video.
Since most of the dive sites in Truk Lagoon are fairly close to each other, it is easy to move around. The best part about diving aboard Odyssey is going to be that we don’t require everyone to dive at the same time. So it won’t be unusual for buddy pairs to be the only divers on a 500′ wreck. For the OV photographers, this offers more opportunities to shoot those popular scenes without having to wait for others to move out of the way – Woo Hoo! my camera and lenses are already packed ready!!
THANKS Super Jolly for this amazing article and here for more images of what the OV Truk Explorers can expect!
Bring it on!……..
