My work has been threatening to send me to Kwaj to
support a flight test since about last September. I
had hoped I could work it out to add in a
side trip to Bikini, but the flight test got delayed
until January and Bikini only operates from March to
November. And since I was scheduled to be
gone 3 weeks, I couldn't work things out to stay
longer and go to Truk. D'oh!

I left Huntsville with 3 co-workers (no other divers,
though) on January the 6th. Getting there is a bit of
an adventure, as I documented in my trip
reports from 1997:

http://diver.net/seahunt/f_bik2.htm
http://diver.net/seahunt/f_bik1.htm

Airport security of course is much tighter. I almost
made a clean getaway from Huntsville, except for the 5
inch wrench in my dive kit. No problem
with the regs or computers in my carry-on, but the
rules allow no tools of any kind. Had to run the
wrench back out front, and Continental promised
they would get it into my checked baggage. Contrary to
my expectations, they actually did.

We overnighted in Honolulu, then caught the crack of
dawn Continental "Island Hopper" flight to Kwaj. Two
changes are that the plane is now a
737-800 instead of the former 727. The other change is
that the flight no longer stops at Johnston Island, as
the chemical weapons incinerator there
has completed its job, and the island is being turned
into a wildlife preserve.  So the Island Hopper has
one less island to hop on its trips between
Honolulu and Guam and back.

The plane still stops in Majuro, and we spent about 45
minutes on the ground. After takeoff, the pilot slowly
circled Majuro Atoll at a low altitude,
pointing out some sights, and banking the plane as we
went. I was extremely puzzled and was almost convinced
we were going back to land, when
we banked one last time, started climbing, and headed
on towards Kwaj. I was later told that the flight
probably got issued a "hold" from Kwaj
after takeoff, and had to kill some time until they
were cleared to proceed.

We got to Kwaj around lunch time and the military dogs
sniffed our carry-on luggage (that hasn't changed).
After that, we got fed, checked into our
housing, and went to work.

As it turned out, we were rather busy when we got
there and it took nearly two weeks for me to get in
touch with a member of the scuba club's
safety council. You are required to sign up as a club
member and do an orientation dive with a member of the
safety council before doing any other
dives on the island. All safety council members are
instructors. So I got in touch with "Mac" Kipp-McGuire
to first do the paperwork and write a
check to the club.

We spent a good while going over the rules and regs.
Kwajalein is a military reservation, so all
recreational activities are controlled by the U.S.
Army. The list of rules is rather lengthy. No shore
diving on the ocean side, no solo diving, no diving
below 130', no diving below 60' without an
advanced cert, no wreck penetration, no
decompression-required diving, no touching of
submerged armaments, no alcohol within 12 or 24 hours
(I forget which) before diving, no alcohol within 4
hours after diving, and on and on. Lots of signatures
and initialing required. Had to write a check
for $100 which covered several fees and temporary
membership for my trip. But once I did the
orientation, I'd be good to dive and use their
cylinders without further charges. We planned to do
the orientation dive the next day. Mac loaned me a
weight belt with 8 pounds, as I didn't bring
one and the club doesn't have any and the stores on
island don't sell weights. I figured 4 pounds would be
enough (WRONG), and headed back to
my quarters and left the other 4 pounds behind.

(In all fairness, $100 isn't bad. The club has to buy
and maintain cylinders and compressors at a remote
location. The environment at Kwaj is warm
and salty, and it eventually ruins just about anything
that can rust. The outside units for air conditioners
might last 3 years if you take really good care
of them.)

The next day, we met at the dive site. Kwajalein is an
atoll, and Kwajalein Island is the largest island and
is at the South end of the atoll. The island
is shaped a bit like a U. We were going to dive at the
North point on the east end of the island. This would
be just inside the reef that goes north to
the next island. (All beach diving has to be on the
lagoon side of the island.)

Did I mention the transportation system? Bicycles.
There are a few golf carts for the project, and I got
to use them occasionally, but normally had to
do most activities from my bicycle. So for the first
time in 27 years of diving, I used a bicycle to
transport my dive gear. Mac was bringing the tanks
(he had a cart behind his bike), so all I had to do
was lay my gear bag across the rack on the back of my
bike. (Sadly I have no pictures of me and
my gear on the bike.)

We discussed the dive plan, and then geared up. I had
brought a wetsuit, but did not bring it to the dive
site as the water temperature would be
around 84. I gear up with my heavy rubber fins (IDI,
not Scubapro), Scubapro jacket bc, Atomics regs, and a
couple of Dive Rite computers. The
plan is to just dive along the reef, max depth of 40,
and have a good time. The club's tanks are Catalina
80s. When I dove Kwaj and Bikini in 97, I
used Scubapro 95s at Kwaj and twin Faber 85s at
Bikini. (Yes, I dove steel tanks with a wetsuit and
didn't die!) I would quickly find out that the
Catalina 80s have very different buoyance
characteristics. (Can you say life jacket?)

So we enter and submerge, and it is quickly apparent
that 4 pounds ain't gonna cut it. I do the thumbs up
and tell Mac the problem. I degear, climb
on the bike, and go back to Mac's quarters to get the
other 4 pounds. When I get back, I gear up and we try
again. Even 8 pounds isn't really
enough, but it is at least enough that I have a
fighting chance to stay down.

So we go diving, and have a pretty nice little 43
minute dive with a max depth of 39 feet. We cruise
along the reef, checking out pipefish, clown fish,
and whatever. The water is clear and warm, what more
could you want? But after about 25 minutes, the
Catalina life jacket, er cylinder, is really
starting to float me, so I signal a turn. Then on the
way back, a rather large manta ray gets curious and
comes by to check us out. It spends at least
7 minutes cruising around, though it is careful never
to swim directly in front of us. It was a great
encounter, which I really enjoyed. The ray finally
heads on off, and we complete our dive.

Mac was pretty mad that he had almost brought a
camera, then decided not to. He said it was somewhat
common to see rays, but they rarely came that close or

lingered that long. He said it was about a 6-7 foot
ray. Pretty cool dive for the 21st day of January.

Mac also explains that you need more weight that you
normally would figure, as the water at that latitude
is very warm, very salty, and thus very buoyant.
Plus the Catalina life jackets, sorry, cylinders.

Being a nice guy, he suggests we rent a boat the next
day and go to a small wreck in about 90 feet of water.
The wreck is about a mile or so from
the boat dock. Sounds like a plan to me. Plus in
further good news, we find another 4 pounds of weight.
(He has lots of soft weights, but the old
scubapro jacket bc predates such newfangled
contraptions.)

Up until that afternoon the weather had basically been
gorgeous for two weeks, with hardly any rain during
the day. Of course that day brought in a
change of weather, with high winds, some rain, and
some rough looking water. Okay, maybe not that rough
by gulf standards. The plan was to dive
later in the day after work. So we got our tanks and
loaded the boat as the winds seemed to pick up. Then I
cast off the ropes, and Mac revved up
the engines and headed out. After we cleared the slow
wake zone, he cranked the throttles wide open and we
were rocking through 4-5 foot seas
as fast as that little boat would go in the heavy
seas. But in a period of time that I'm sure was
shorter than it seemed, he spotted the buoy, circled
around, and I prepared to throw a lasso so we could
tie in. We were about 10 feet away from doing that
when the harbor raised the small craft
advisory flag. That means all the rented boats must
come in right now, so we turned and headed back in.
Mac said sorry it didn't work out. I said it
happens all the time in the gulf, that's the risk you
run with ocean diving.

He has another orientation dive to do in a couple of
days, and suggests I come along on that. I said sure.
Only problem was he had to transport
cylinders for the two new divers, so I had to
transport my own.

The dive for the 24th was planned to be a wreck dive
to a small Japanese ship in the water ski area. Since
my bike (provided by the program)
didn't have a cart, I just put the cylinder in the bc,
and wore the bc and tank while riding the bike. It was
awkward to say the least, but I got there.
When I got to the site, the other guys were preparing
their gear. Mac kind of smiled, and I just said "this
isn't as easy as it looks." He said
that it actually didn't look all that easy, and I said
"I know".

So we geared up, and walked down some steps into the
water. We end up doing a 27 minute dive with a max
depth of 51 feet. The boat is an easy
swim, and it turns out to be a Japanese schooner like
some that I dove in 97. We circle the wreck, look into
the holds, and enjoy the sea life that is
growing all over it. It sure is an improvement being
properly weighted. But the new folks run through their
gas pretty quickly, so we head on back
after a dive that is shorter than I would like. Of
course most dives are that way. I found this web page
about the wreck:

http://fortin.cncfamily.com/Ski_Area_Wreck.html

That ends up being my last chance to dive, as we start
to get busy as the time for the flight test
approaches. The flight test is a success, and my
flight out is the next day. Of course everybody (who
had been expecting the test to be delayed) is trying
to get out on the same flight, and the airport scene
resembles a madhouse, though a madhouse patrolled by
MPs.  The flight test we supported is described here:

http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.mhtml?d=51508

So we get to Hono at 3:00 a.m. and by the time I get
my luggage, all the cabs are gone. My coworkers have a
rental car, but it is an Olds Alero and
won't hold all 4 of us with luggage. So they take off
and I go in search of a rental car for me. I finally
find a Hertz guy, and I tell him I'll take anything
with 4
wheels. I get to the hotel at 4:00 and my coworkers
are still in the check-in line. The driver got a
ticket for running a red light, so we all got to the
hotel at the same time anyway.

The next morning, I got up and drove over to the
Arizona memorial while my coworkers sleep in. I first
bought a ticket to see the Missouri, which
was not there in 1997. You take a bus to Ford Island,
where the Missouri is moored. Thanks to 9/11, you are
not allowed to carry a camcorder
bag to either the Missouri or the Arizona, only a very
small camera bag is allowed. Much of the Missouri is
open to walking or guided tours, and it
was a great experience. The Missouri is moored in
place, unlike the good old USS Alabama in Mobile which
was essentially scuttled in place and is
now requiring expensive repairs. Visiting the Arizona
is a sobering experience, and it is an intentional
irony that the centerpiece of the start of World
War II is very close (few hundred yards) to the
Missouri which is where the war ended. I also had time
to visit the Bowfin, which is a US WW II
submarine. I guess they preferred to enlist short
sailors for sub duty.

Then back to good old Huntsville on the 29th.

Hope you enjoyed the report. I have tons of digital
photos (surface only) that I will try to edit and
upload sometime soon. There is a sampling at

http://www.davidspage.com/

Click on photo albums (upper left), then either Kwaj
album. It's a free bellsouth web page, so I don't know
how many visits per day are allowed.

If I get sent back, I'll work harder to get to Bikini
or Truk. It was great to dive, but a lot of work to
lug around some gear for just two dives. There
are folks who know how to travel light, but those
words just don't seem to be in my vocabulary.

Cheers,
David Hale

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