At Pro Dive Brisbane's birthday celebrations last year I was the lucky winner of the giveaway trip and in July I travelled to Vanuatu to dive one of the largest most accessible wrecks in the world, the SS President Coolidge. WOW!
The Coolidge is a shore dive off the island of Espiritu Santo, you just walk in from the beach and then descend on down to the amazing underwater world of a shipwreck. The Coolidge was originally a 900 birth first class passenger liner, not unlike the Titanic in its stature, and it was commissioned into military service and outfitted as a troop carrier to carry 5000 troops during World War II. On 26th October 1942 while the Coolidge was heading into port, she struck friendly mines; the captain ran her aground saving most of the troops, although 2 did go down with the ship when she slipped off the reef. Now she is an awesome dive site lying on her side between 20 and 70 metres.
With an amazing group of divers and a pretty cool dive crew from Aquamarine we had a fantastic week of diving. Groups of 4-5 of us had our own dive guide to take us on tours through the sometimes hauntingly eerie decks and rooms of the Coolidge. We visited the Promenade Deck, Cargo Holds 1 and 2, the Medical Supply room where powdered medicines are still intact in glass bottles, we got to see and kiss the famous "Lady", the Engine Room, and the Swimming Pool. Our tech divers Smiley and Colin dived the Gauntlet, from the stern all the way up the middle of the ship. To try something different a group of divers went diving at Million Dollar point and others went out for some spectacular reef diving followed by a night dive to Cargo Holds 1 and 2 with the amazing flashlight fish. And what an amazing place for Geoff to complete his Wreck certification.
To off-gas on the last day we went out to the amazing Blue Holes, while some of the boys went fishing and caught us dinner. While having dinner at the Deco Stop Lodge we were entertained by the local village cultural show, it was fantastic, and what better way to end the trip!
The Coolidge is definitely on top of my list of dive sites to do again. A BIG thank you to Dale (dive leader) for local dive site knowledge, and his unquestionable dive skills and for making this another fantastic trip.
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