Ski Area Wreck

Local Name:

Ski Area Wreck

Depth:

Approximately 30' to the top and 50' to the sand.

Anchoring:

At the present time this wreck is only dove (to the best of my knowledge) by swimming out from shore. It is located in the designated ski boat area.

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	12.900	167	44	3.840
8	44.21500	---------	167	44.06400	---------
8.73691	---------	---------	167.73440	---------	---------

Notes:

This wreck is normally dove from the shore. The Kwajalein Scuba Club currently has some stairs built over the rocks at the shoreline to provide scuba divers with a relatively safe access to what is known as the ski area. This wrecks rests in the middle of that area. These steps are pretty obvious. They are on the lagoon side approximately halfway between echo pier and Emon beach. There is a new scuba pavilion across the street from the steps which makes it almost impossible to miss. From the steps you want to swim on a bearing of 270 degrees. When the bottom drops to about 50' you are almost there. When the bottom drops to this depth, there is a bit of debris right at the base of the drop. This includes some live ammo, so be careful what you touch. Depending on visibility, you should be able to see the ship from the base of the drop. It can't be much more than 100' further out.

During the day the wreck is sometimes visible form the surface (again, depending on visibility). If you wish to save air you can swim along 270 on the surface from the steps and try to look for it. For reference I find that you should be about on a line from the ski area steps and the north tip of Carlon Island on the opposite side of the lagoon.

Years ago this ship was resting on its' starboard side and that may account for much of the damage on that side of the ship. There is a good sized hole on the port side in one of the forward cargo holds. I suspect this was probably the reason for sinking.

Photos:

	Here's a sample of some of the LIVE ammunition that is at the base of the dropoff just east of the ship. Treat these with the respect they deserve (In other words: look, don't touch!).
Just more of the ammo pile.
	This view is taken from the starboard side of the ship looking roughly NW. What you can't quite see in the photo is a large anchor just beyond the bow. If you went in the direction the camera is facing you will easily find it. Under average visibility you can see the anchor and the ship at the same time, so it is not far.
Here we see the holds. This ship is very similar to Huff Maru in that it has rectangular hatches down the middle with round hatches on either side of them.
	Another shot where we have something in common with Huff Maru. We have virtually the same shot on that wreck, except this particular shot is taken down the port side of the ship. At one time this ship was resting on its starboard side and most of this framework is destroyed/missing on that side.
This is a pretty common site on ships of this type. This appears to be the galley. You'll typically find a similar setup on ships like Huff Maru, Phantom, Parker/Wallace Maru etc. Seems to typically be in the back of the cabin area on most of these small ships.
	I wonder where the gun went??? There is some debris off the starboard side of the ship. One piece looks like it might be part of the gun, but I haven't examined it all that closely. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
I was rather happy with this shot. This is a prime example of what a strobe can do for your photo. This is not nearly as pretty in person! This shot was taken at night with a strobe. I got real luck and had very minimal backscatter and the sponge lit up nicely.
	Here's the hole in the hull that I mentioned above. It is on the port side in one of the forward holds.