Dave Fortin's Kwajalein Dive Sites

Click on one of the site markers (red dots) on the map to see more details about the site.

Name:

Marita Shoals

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	52	53.580	167	38	31.620
8	52.89300	---------	167	38.52700	---------
8.88155	---------	---------	167.64211	---------	---------

Notes:

I have several times. Great spot! Several giant clams. This fallS within the range of the new extended B-Boat area!

Name:

K-9 Deep

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	43	57.900	167	43	33.720
8	43.96500	---------	167	43.56200	---------
8.73275	---------	---------	167.72603	---------	---------

Notes:

This coral head is not far from the larger K-9 coral head. It is smaller and a little deeper (about 20-25 feet) to the top which makes it slightly harder to see. There is some small arms ammo on the top of the coral head and numerous artillery shells can easily be found in the area around this coral head. This coral head is a great place to anchor when diving G-Buoy wreck. The wreck is only about 3 minutes away!

Nearby Attractions:

A few words of caution are due here!

While I believe that this data is fairly accurate, one must apply some common sense when using this data. If the point of origin is a coral head, you may have anchored at a slightly different spot than I did and your bearing to the next attraction could be slightly different than mine. I suggest checking with your own GPS before rolling in!

Also, know roughly how fast you swim so that you know approximately how long it should take to reach the next attraction. You can (and likely will) miss things from time-to-time and you should know when to abort and turn around before you are too far from your boat.

I strongly urge you to try the shorter swims first and build your navigation skills. I have set the cutoff distance for this table to 750 feet, but that is a considerable challenge even for the best navigators. An error of more than a few degrees in poor visibility and you can easily miss your destination at the extreme ranges!

From: K-9 Deep
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
K-9 Coral Head	503	272
Fluke's Folly #1	632	229
G-Buoy Wreck	291	88

Name:

K-9 West Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	0	167	43	23.280
8	44.00000	---------	167	43.38800	---------
8.73333	---------	---------	167.72313	---------	---------

Notes:

This is a small coral head, but it is worth your while to check this one out. I'd suggest anchoring on K-9 Coral head and swimming over here. We easily did this in about a 4 or 5 minute swim.

Nearby Attractions:

From: K-9 West Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
K-9 Coral Head	565	94
Funky Barge	701	236

Name:

North Loi Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	48	44.460	167	43	48.180
8	48.74100	---------	167	43.80300	---------
8.81235	---------	---------	167.73005	---------	---------

Notes:

This is a pleasant dive. This is a pretty good sized coral head just off the northern tip of North Loi island.

Name:

N-Buoy

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	18.840	167	43	45.840
8	44.31400	---------	167	43.76400	---------
8.73856	---------	---------	167.72940	---------	---------

Notes:

This little coral head is marked with a pole and a flashing green light and is located almost directly out from the ski platform in the ski area. The top can be a little smooth and tricky to anchor on, so make sure your boat is secure before leaving it! There's a nice anemone to the SW (roughly) right near the top of the coral head. To the east there is the "N-East" wreck and that general area to the east (there's another deeper coral head out there) is known for an abundance of coke bottles. Be careful diving off the east side of this coral head as there is a lot of boat traffic. These a small coral head to the south (roughly) that is only a minute or two away. That is a nice little side trip.

Nearby Attractions:

From: N-Buoy
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Junkpile-1	738	192
N-Buoy LCM	654	8
N-East	648	69

Name:

R-Buoy Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	47	.240	167	42	29.280
8	47.00400	---------	167	42.48800	---------
8.78340	---------	---------	167.70813	---------	---------

Notes:

This coral head is out a little ways in the lagoon from Ebeye. It is a nice little dive. Plenty to see.

Name:

S-Buoy Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	48	25.500	167	42	3.900
8	48.42500	---------	167	42.06500	---------
8.80708	---------	---------	167.70108	---------	---------

Notes:

This is one coral head that I always enjoy. There is a pole marking it. It is roughly straight out form North Loi. I prefer this one in calmer weather.

Name:

T-Buoy Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	49	13.740	167	42	31.920
8	49.22900	---------	167	42.53200	---------
8.82048	---------	---------	167.70886	---------	---------

Notes:

This is an excellent dive site! It's roughly between North Loi and Shell. Currently there is a green buoy nearby with a "5" on it. The buoy isn't directly on the coral head. The top of the coral head is a little deep (maybe 25 feet), but this is one coral head that is well worth your time! Plenty to see!

Name:

Troys Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	46	20.100	167	40	2.580
8	46.33500	---------	167	40.04300	---------
8.77225	---------	---------	167.66738	---------	---------

Notes:

This is a very popular dive site here at Kwajalein. It is known for it's sharks. If sharks make you uneasy, this is not the place for you! Schools of fish swarm around the coral head and the sharks continually patrol through the school looking for a meal. There is a nice anemone on the southern side of the coral head near the top and some very nice coral on the nothern side, so try to be a little careful anchoring. If you dive it once you'll see the area that is beaten by the anchors. I think everyone tries their best to limit the damage and anchor here if they can.

Name:

Twin Peaks

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	49	3.600	167	40	41.460
8	49.06000	---------	167	40.69100	---------
8.81766	---------	---------	167.67818	---------	---------

Notes:

This is one of my favorite dives! This is one to save for the calm weather, but well worth your time! Anemones are everywhere! As the name implies, there are two coral heads here. You'll probably see the shallower one and anchor on it. You should find a concrete block on the top on the west side of the coral head. Going to the west (270) off the coral head (this should be more-or-less right being the concrete block) you can follow a little "saddle" to the coral head just to the west. Many more anemones there! If you like anemones, this is one of the best spots that I know of to find them!

Name:

Victor Buoy Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	52	19.020	167	43	54.0
8	52.31700	---------	167	43.90000	---------
8.87195	---------	---------	167.73166	---------	---------

Notes:

This coral head is just inside Bigej Pass. These is a buoy (maybe a pole?) right next to it. This is always a nice dive. Being near the pass I have felt some fairly strong currents at times, so be alert if you are out there during a big tide swing.

Name:

MAR Fill Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	43	42.840	167	43	22.500
8	43.71400	---------	167	43.37500	---------
8.72856	---------	---------	167.72291	---------	---------

Notes:

Another favorite coral head in the heart of the "Junk Area". LCMs, Anchors, bottles, ammo, etc litter this area. It seems that the bottles are more abundant to the East and harder to wind toward the island (S-W). Depth in this general area is about 50 feet, so it's a great place for open water divers to explore.

Nearby Attractions:

From: MAR Fill Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Fischer Rubble Wreck #1	657	26
Bishop Upright	614	337
GBR Rubble Wreck #1	659	72
Hamel/Bishop Inverted	442	308
Bishop Inverted	608	333

Name:

Bravo Buoy

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	45	27.540	167	42	47.100
8	45.45900	---------	167	42.78500	---------
8.75765	---------	---------	167.71308	---------	---------

Notes:

This is an interesting coral head that is not too far from the marina. Thee isn't a whole lot of stuff on top for your anchors to grab onto, so be a little careful anchoring on this coral head. I'd suggest doing this on fairly calm days. There are 6 or 8 (I forget now) anemones on the west edge of the coral head, so please be careful that you keep your anchors away from that area.

Name:

Gugeegue Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	50	52.080	167	44	22.320
8	50.86800	---------	167	44.37200	---------
8.84780	---------	---------	167.73953	---------	---------

Notes:

This coral head puts you very close to Taiyo Maru rubble wreck, but it is really almost just as easy to anchor up closer to the island and swim out to see the wreck and/or coral head. It is a very small coral head and getting a solid anchor on the windward side can be tricky. I really only list this in case you have noticed the coral head and have been tempted to anchor on it. Play it safe and just anchor near shore if you want to see this coral head.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Gugeegue Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Taiyo Maru No. 2	295	194
Gugeegue Pier Wreck	515	58

Name:

Ski Area Steps

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	11.640	167	44	8.220
8	44.19400	---------	167	44.13700	---------
8.73656	---------	---------	167.73561	---------	---------

Notes:

For local residents, you really don't need lat/lon to the ski area steps, but by adding them we can get some distance and bearing information to nearby attractions.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Ski Area Steps
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Ski Area Rubble #1	727	219
Ski Area LCM	622	169
Ski Area Wreck	455	278

Name:

Kwaj-1

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	45	.060	167	40	37.140
8	45.00100	---------	167	40.61900	---------
8.75001	---------	---------	167.67698	---------	---------

Notes:

This buoy was put in place by the environemntal folks here at Kwajalein in hopes to protect the reef from being damaged by anchors from the rental/private boats. I believe that the theory is to tie off on the tagline provided, but you should always drop a second anchor just to be safe!

Name:

Kwaj-2

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	45	16.020	167	40	17.820
8	45.26700	---------	167	40.29700	---------
8.75445	---------	---------	167.67161	---------	---------

Notes:

Similar to Kwaj-1.

Name:

Kwaj-3

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	48	42.780	167	36	4.440
8	48.71300	---------	167	36.07400	---------
8.81188	---------	---------	167.60123	---------	---------

Notes:

Similar to Kwaj-1 & Kwaj-2.

Name:

SAR Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	32.160	167	42	6.060
8	44.53600	---------	167	42.10100	---------
8.74226	---------	---------	167.70168	---------	---------

Notes:

This small coral head is located not too far inside of SAR pass. I have not dove it yet. Any reports are welcome!

Name:

Barracuda Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	20.160	167	42	33.420
8	44.33600	---------	167	42.55700	---------
8.73893	---------	---------	167.70928	---------	---------

Notes:

Just a small coral head located not too far behind Barracuda Junction. This is another one that that I haven't dove, so any reports are welcome!

Name:

Junkpile-1

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	12.000	167	43	43.320
8	44.20000	---------	167	43.72200	---------
8.73666	---------	---------	167.72870	---------	---------

Notes:

Hal Parker and I came across this based on information from Kent and Karen Degroff. We found it while exploring from "M-Buoy Coral Head" on scooters. We came across this fairly quickly, so you could probably anchor on N-buoy, swim to M-buoy and then head out. Another method is simply to anchor right on this site. Just be warned that it is deep. Depth here is about 100-110 feet. Be sure to have plenty of scope in the anchor lines if you anchor here!

The area is loaded with all sorts of junk and it can be a fun place to explore! There are tires, batteries, bottles, plates, glasses, etc, etc.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Junkpile-1
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Junkpile-3	526	141
N-Buoy	738	12
Junkpile-2	402	161

Name:

Junkpile-2

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	8.100	167	43	44.100
8	44.13500	---------	167	43.73500	---------
8.73558	---------	---------	167.72891	---------	---------

Notes:

Another large area with all sorts of junk! It appears to be all US junk that I suspect was just dumped years ago! Maybe tires, 55 gal drums, bottles, propellers (I've seen two), etc, etc.

Depth is about 100-110 feet here. I don't know of a good place that is nearby to anchor, so you'd have to anchor deep. Make sure your anchor lines have plenty of scope if you try this!

I have listed Junkpile-3 separtely, but it is fairly close. These junk fields may in fact be all part of the same junkpile.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Junkpile-2
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Junkpile-3	206	97
Junkpile-1	402	341

Name:

Junkpile-3

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	7.560	167	43	46.080
8	44.12600	---------	167	43.76800	---------
8.73543	---------	---------	167.72946	---------	---------

Notes:

Another pile of junk that appears to be US and dumped here many years ago. I've seen bottles, sinks, tires, a toilet and all sorts of other junk.

Depth here is about 100 feet. There's not really a good shallow place to anchor nearby, so you probably need to anchor deep. Be sure to use plenty of scope on the anchor lines if you do!

This is fairly close to Junkpile-2. While I believe that they are two separate piles of trash, they could actually run together.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Junkpile-3
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Junkpile-1	526	321
Junkpile-2	206	277

Name:

ER-2 Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	45	25.20	167	43	55.800
8	45.42000	---------	167	43.93000	---------
8.75700	---------	---------	167.73216	---------	---------

Notes:

I know the buoy near this coral head has changed it's name, but I think the coral head will continue to be called ER-2 for those of us that have been on Kwajalein for a while. This coral head is between Little Bustard and Big Bustard. Right near the top (maybe 30 feet) on the southern edge of the coral head there is a little "shark nursery". You'll find a little area with small caves where the sharks hang out. Once you find this little nursery, it is usually pretty easy to find the sharks if you are patient and watch near one of the many openings.

Nearby Attractions:

From: ER-2 Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Little Bustard LCC	739	176

Name:

Emon Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	27.60	167	44	2.7720
8	44.46000	---------	167	44.04620	---------
8.74100	---------	---------	167.73410	---------	---------

Notes:

This little coral head/mound is just out beyond the roped area at Emon right that the drop from 15 feet to 30 feet. It is roughly in line with the E-W rope of the roped area that is roughly in front of what is now the Kayak Shack. For years there was always a float right next to this coral head. Now (May 2006) there are three floats out in that general area. iThis particaular little "coral head" is not far from the southern most buoy at htis time. This coral head is a great landmark for heading out to the toilet bowl and points beyond!

Nearby Attractions:

From: Emon Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Toilet Bowl	594	244
Emon Scuba Shack	537	69
Emon Buoy Thing	335	359
Concrete Wreck	716	298

Name:

Emon Scuba Shack

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	28.80	167	44	7.980
8	44.48000	---------	167	44.13300	---------
8.74133	---------	---------	167.73555	---------	---------

Notes:

While technically not a dive site, I have provided this to use as a landmark for finding hte "Emon Buoy Thing" and "Emon Coral Head". While snorkeling out you can check the bearing from the scuba shack to see if you are in the right area.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Emon Scuba Shack
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Emon Coral Head	537	249
Emon Buoy Thing	525	286

Name:

Emon Buoy Thing

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	30.8820	167	44	3.2040
8	44.51470	---------	167	44.05340	---------
8.74191	---------	---------	167.73422	---------	---------

Notes:

Okay, so I'm not too great with names, but what else do you call this? This debris is right at the top of the slope off of Emon at about 15 feet. I use this as my landmark for heading out to the Concrete Wreck.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Emon Buoy Thing
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Emon Coral Head	335	179
Emon Scuba Shack	525	106
Concrete Wreck	628	270

Name:

Vertical Wall

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	46	19.140	167	39	7.800
8	46.31900	---------	167	39.13000	---------
8.77198	---------	---------	167.65216	---------	---------

Notes:

This waypoint is slightly north of a nice vertical wall. Be careful as the vertical section drops well below 130 feet, but there is plenty to see at at 130 and shallower. We typically anchor somewhere near the waypoint and swim south along the wall until we see the vertical section. There's actially two little vertical sections with a small gap between them. You'll know the second section for sure by the sharp 90 turn that the wall makes. Right in this corner is all sorts of nice coral to see.

Now as we pass the wall and are heading south we like to head shallow and look for the next surge channel. If you follow that up, it will turn to the right a bit. Look right in the corner (north side) of that corner and, if you are in the right place, you'll find a nice little swim through into the next surge channel. As you go from one surge channel to the other there are a few anemones if you know where to look. Hopefully one of these days I'll add some sketches to try to point some things out!

Name:

Toilet Bowl

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	25.860	167	43	57.120
8	44.43100	---------	167	43.95200	---------
8.74051	---------	---------	167.73253	---------	---------

Notes:

This site is indeed a toilet bowl tht is siting on top of a large concrete block. There are several of these large blocks between here and just north of N-Buoy coral head.

The toilet bowl itself was just set on top of the block. The depth to the toilet is right around 75 feet.

Nearby Attractions:

From: Toilet Bowl
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Emon Coral Head	594	64
Concrete Wreck	603	351
Emon LCM	230	228

Name:

GBR Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	43	50.280	167	43	13.140
8	43.83800	---------	167	43.21900	---------
8.73063	---------	---------	167.72031	---------	---------

Notes:

Okay, someone needs to start a naming convention for some of these coral heads, so I'll call this one "GBR Coral Head" since it is directly out from GBR. This area is a lot of fun! There are at least 9 little wrecks that I can think of that are within easy swimming distance from this coral head. There's probably more if you are a little adventurous and search in this area! It is generally a little murky in this area. To the east I noticed a fair abundance of bottles. It was on this coral head that I found a Saki bottle, so this can be a great spot for a bottle collector!

Nearby Attractions:

From: GBR Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Parker/Wallace Maru	532	288
Britain Upright	472	208
Phu Maru	385	157
Parker/Wallace LCM	435	257
GBR Rubble Wreck #2	434	101
Curry/Zurick LCM	484	30
Burt Side	525	192
Parker/Wallace Barge	455	264

Name:

GBR North Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	43	59.40	167	43	5.520
8	43.99000	---------	167	43.09200	---------
8.73316	---------	---------	167.71820	---------	---------

Notes:

I have just started poking around over here. It seems like a nice little area to explore.

Nearby Attractions:

From: GBR North Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
Parker/Wallace Maru	749	150
Parker/Fortin LCM #2	582	356

Name:

G-Buoy Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	43	48.720	167	43	36.360
8	43.81200	---------	167	43.60600	---------
8.73020	---------	---------	167.72676	---------	---------

Notes:

This coral head is right outside the harbor. This is one that I haven't dove a lot, so I can't provide too much info on this. There is a nice field of "planted" artillery shells at bearing 315 (mag) about 3 minutes from the coral head. I'm note sure if they are live shells or not, but I'd treat ALL ammo in the lagoon as live!

Name:

K-10 Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	11.400	167	43	35.280
8	44.19000	---------	167	43.58800	---------
8.73650	---------	---------	167.72646	---------	---------

Notes:

I just recently marked this. I haven't dove on it yet, so a report will have to wait until I can get out there.

Name:

K-7 Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	13.860	167	43	9.00
8	44.23100	---------	167	43.15000	---------
8.73718	---------	---------	167.71916	---------	---------

Notes:

I have dove this a couple times. It is a fair sized coral head and, if I remember correctly, there are a couple nice anemones to see. Nice area. Hard to miss the coral head as it is fair sized and pretty close to the surface.

Name:

K-9 Coral Head

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	43	58.800	167	43	28.80
8	43.98000	---------	167	43.48000	---------
8.73300	---------	---------	167.72466	---------	---------

Notes:

This is a big coral head that is easy to find. I'm afraid that I don't have too many dives here, so I don't have much to say about it. It does work as a good place to anchor if you want to run over to K-9 West for a little bit and then come back and spend your remaining dive on this larger coral head.

Nearby Attractions:

From: K-9 Coral Head
Attraction	Distance (feet)	Bearing (deg mag)
K-9 West Coral Head	565	274
K-9 Deep	503	92
Fluke's Folly #1	436	177

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Created by Dave Fortin
Fri Jan 11 06:08:11 UTC 2008