ESPIRITU SANTO, VANUATU

by Catherine Corcoran

This is a wreck diver's paradise. SS President Coolidge was a luxury 200 metre liner launched in 1931 and commandeered by the Americans as a troop carrier in World War 2. She sank on the shoreline and so over 5000 men waded to safety expecting to go back to collect their belongings, but the ship filled up with water, listed and slipped down the steep reef wall. The Coolidge now lies on her port side with her bow at 20 metres and stern at 60 metres and is still full of jeeps, helmets, gas masks, medicine bottles etc as these were all left on board so that people could escape quickly from the sinking ship.

I went on a club trip to dive the Coolidge with Aquamarine Dive in late July 2005. This is a shore dive and we were picked up from our hotel and taken to their open air kitting up area with benches by the bushes to kit up on, 3 steps down to the beach and groynes going into the water as an alternative kitting up site. There are no toilets or enclosed changing rooms. We had to wade out 75 - 100 metres (depending on tide) before putting our fins on in chest depth and swimming a short distance to the descent point for dives from the bow or a 5 - 10 minute swim to the mid ship buoy for deeper dives. The water was flat and 26 degrees C so this was easy enough, but the guides were happy to offer help to anyone who needed it. They also made sure that we were relaxed before descent.

As this is a deep dive site I was very happy that Aquamarine were using very conservative dive tables so we were doing even more deco stops than BS-AC tables would recommend and my Suunto computer (usually very conservative) was happy. The other good thing about these deco stops was that they were done by coral reefs with plenty of reef fish (including triggerfish) to watch, so it was a far cry from hanging on a rope in Scapa. The visibility was between 10 - 15 metres which is about the worst it gets here I'm told - not bad!

The dive operation was also very safe in that we were given detailed briefings of what we'd see and told what signal the dive guide would give us to indicate typewriters, compasses etc which was just as well since they weren't so easily recognisable covered in coral, on their sides and at depths which may cause narcosis. The depth of our dives was built up gradually with more experienced and qualified divers going to the deeper sites like the swimming pool (55 metres) where we were given the narcosis test of having to count the number of different colours of the mosaic tiles and the engine room (46 metres) where we had to read the Captain's last telegram. A couple of our club also did the "Gauntlet" which was a quick swim through the ship from stern to bow - not for the faint-hearted!

I did 9 dives on the wreck and I'd advise you to read their list of possible dives before you go and let them know what you want to do as there are so many possibilities. My introductory dives were to the promenade deck and then to medical supplies and the barber's room at around 30 metres. We had chance to try on helmets and gas masks. Next day we got into two cargo holds (30 - 35 metres) and saw loads of jeeps, wheels, guns and mines and switched our torches off to see flashlight fish. On the night dive we also watched lionfish hunting on our way up and at the deco stops. Building our depth dives gradually we dived to the Captain's bathroom (39 metres) where he'd left his "Old Spice" and other toiletries and also saw a very 1930s mosaic drinking fountain on the prom deck.

The most famous dive on the Coolidge is to "The Lady" (40 metres). This is a fresco on the wall of the 1st class smoking lounge which was originally of a lady and a unicorn. The unicorn has since lost its horn but otherwise still looking very good. Be warned that you have to swim down some dark corridors to get to her, which freaked out one of our divers. A good torch is vital for this trip. After this I just had the swimming pool and the engine room to look forward to, but we visited the Lady again on our way back from the engine dive.

We also dived Million Dollar Point where the Americans dumped bulldozers, tractors, jeeps and a couple of small boats that would have been useful to locals but they wouldn't pay the price. This was an easy shore dive where you could see plenty above 15 metres or go deeper to sit on fork lift trucks etc. This reminded me of Capernwray but with warm water, tropical fish and more things to play with! Aquamarine also gave us a free night dive off the jetty by their dive shop in Luganville. This was a 10 metre dive with plenty of fish life to watch as well as coral gardens, eels and a bit of rubble.

Great diving, but what was the rest of the holiday like? We were there for the Silver Jubilee of their independence, so we saw plenty of people in grass skirts and traditional costumes as well as the string bands with ukuleles which reminded me of George Formby. Don't expect fast service in restaurants - just relax into "island time". This was a big contrast to the dive operation who were very punctual, so it's a good idea to pre-book your midday meal before you go on a morning dive if you want to do an afternoon dive too. Food was generally good and cheap, but a bit limited for vegetarians. You will get offered kava which numbs the body, but sharpens the mind - best to leave that until your diving's over. If you go on tours round the island be warned that most of the roads are still the same ones built by the Americans in WW2 out of coral and so are bumpy. For transport you can get a taxi or flag down the local minibuses for a much cheaper ride or you could sit on the back of a pick-up if you want the real local experience. If you cycle into town, leave your bikes at the police station for safe keeping. There are beaches to enjoy and snorkelling as well as kayaking, fishing and some interesting shopping. The official languages are English, French and Bislama, an entertaining form of Pidgin English.

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