I still remember my first visit to the President Coolidge – in less time than it takes to swim to the Yung Penn the massive structure of this luxury liner cum troop carrier appears below you. At 199m in length she lies in 20-70m of water just out of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.
Built in 1931 the President Coolidge as a luxury passenger liner many of these luxuries are still visible on the wreck today Including chandeliers, skylights, the tiled pool, mosaic fountain and most famously ‘The Lady’ – a 3 dimensional wall fresco.
Converted to a troop carrier during World War II she was able to carry over 5000 troops. Luxury furniture was removed and replaced by bunks and you will not forget the sight of the compact rows of toilets. Guns were also added to the bow & stern of the ship.
On Monday the 26th of October 1942 the President Coolidge was heading for the safety of the Segond Channel and the main town of Luganville. Communication errors meant that the Captain was unaware of the mines laid in the area and the first mine was struck at 9:35am the second 30 seconds later. The captain headed for the beach and ordered the ship to be abandoned. Although the ship was struck & sunk within 90 minutes there was only two casualties – Fireman Robert Reid killed by the initial mine blast and Captain Elwood J. Euart, who successfully rescued several men but was then unable to escape himself and went down with the ship.
There is so much to explore throughout the President Coolidge that you cannot possibly get to see it all. My biggest regret of our 4 month stint working on the Coolidge was that I only did 186 dives on the wreck!
With dives along the Promenade Deck, to the Engine Room, through the various holds, visiting ‘The Lady’, swimming to the 1st Class Swimming Pool, or a special tour along A Deck you will never be bored. These are not recreational dives as you know it and are run as decompression dives with a 25 minute bottom and decompression stops on the ascent. With a coral garden built in 3-6m with plenty of life these stops pass quickly enough – perhaps you can challenge your guides to noughts & crosses or practice blowing bubble rings.
Another famous dive is Million Dollar Point, where Americans built a ramp and dumped everything they could take home again after the war. This included bulldozers, forklifts, trucks, tyres, cooking vessels, crockery & crates of spare materials. Now a National Park nothing can be removed but swimming through the remains is an odd sensation when thinking of today’s attitudes to dumping rubbish into our oceans.
After all the diving spend your day off relaxing along Champagne Beach or head to one of several freshwater Blue Holes for a refreshing dip.
WINTER ESCAPE 2013
Tomo is returning to Vanuatu next year, 24th August – 1st September.
The trip includes 10 dives, flights & accommodation with breakfast.
The cost is $2730 ex Wellington and a deposit is required to secure your spot at this great price. Contact Claire or Tomo on 045685028 for more details.