Ocean ruins draw divers

On 11/09/2008
In Parks & Protected Sites
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By Jeffrey Groberman

Decompression dive of an intact Second World War wreck isn't for beginners or the faint of heart.

I'm floating inside a sunken ocean liner. It's darker than the inside of a cow. My small dive light barely makes a dent in the darkness.

The last time I could see my depth gauge, it read 48 metres, which is a bit troublesome since the waterproof case on my digital camera is only guaranteed to 37.5 metres.

My dive computer is beeping, signaling that I've exceeded my depth time and I'm now into decompression mode and I've never done a decompression dive before.

Did I mention that ocean liner is lying on its side ? So here's the burning question: Am I having fun yet ???

I'm on Espiritu Santo, part of the island republic of Vanuatu. Vanuatu is in the South Pacific about 1,700 kilometres east of Northern Australia and west of Fiji.

It was a French colony, but English is the main language, along with Bislama -- a type of Pidgin English spoken on several South Pacific Islands.

WW II wreck South Pacific Diving

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