Shoei Maru

Local Name:

O-Buoy

Depth:

The bottom here is right at 130 feet.

Length and Orientation info:

The approximate length and approximate orientation of the ship are deteremined based on the lat and lon of the bow and stern. Typically, the lat/lon information was obtained by attaching a line with a float to the wreck and marking the position of the float with a handheld GPS receiver. We try to get the line as near vertical as possible, but there is bound to be some error. Also, the GPS position will have a certain error in it as well. So, this information will be reasonable, but not 100 percent accurate.

Stern Position:
Latitude : 8 deg 44.420 min 0 sec
Longitude: 167 deg 43.412 min 0 sec

Bow Position:
Latitude : 8 deg 44.459 min 0 sec
Longitude: 167 deg 43.424 min 0 sec

Approximate length: feet

Approximate orientation: deg mag

Anchoring:

At the present time there is a sub-surface buoy with a large caribiner on it. We typically send down a snorkeler/diver with a rope and pass it through the 'biner. With both ends on the boat you can simply untie one end when you are done and turn loose of the buoy. I would be sure to use some form of second anchor just in case.

Location:

Latitude			Longitude
Degrees	Minutes	Seconds	Degrees	Minutes	Seconds
8	44	25.200	167	43	24.720
8	44.42000	---------	167	43.41200	---------
8.74033	---------	---------	167.72353	---------	---------

Notes:

It seems that everything of interest on this wreck is DEEP! Since the ship is inverted, that puts everything on the bottom! Follow the hull along to the north. At the present time there is a sub-surface (I am told not to anchor on it) located maybe a bit more than half way up the hull. If you go off the left (starboard side or roughly west) you should find the fuselage of a biplane maybe 50 feet from the ship. If you had gone right at the buoy you can drop down along the hull and peer under the ship. There is a car here sitting upright on the bottom. The semi-sphere shaped objects on the hood and in the car are reported to be mines. I'll accept that and I just leave them alone! There is a fair sized debris field in this area. If you follow the hull back towards the south you'll find the stern sitting beside the main wreck. It was completely blown off!

Note on length measurement: The bow position used for the length/orientation calculation is pretty accurate. For the stern position I simply used the position of the buoy. The buoy is near the back of the ship, but since the actual stern is blown off and laying beside the wreck, it is impossible to get a good or meaningful measurement. Maybe someone will measure the length of the stern section and we can make a better guess at the length! The orientation should be fairly good however.

Photos:

	This item is found in the stern section of the ship which lies beside the main wreckage. I'm not quite sure what this is, but it looks like it could be the back end of a torpedo to me!
This object lies in the sand not far from the car. It looks like a bomb to me.
	Here's a shot looking in the car from the back end. They say that the hemispherical object is a mine of some sort. That's good enough for me! It's a "hands off" item for sure! You can clearly see the "mine" inside the car. There's also one sitting on the hood that you can just barely see in this shot.
A little closer view of the dash and the mine on the hood.
	External view of the car from the front left. You can see the wheel well, mine, windshield, etc.
I'm thinking a little bondo, spray paint and some new rubber...
	Here's a shot of the plane taken form the nose and looking back along what would be the top of the plane. The section of the top wing for this biplane is clearly visible. What appear to be a flap can also be seen missing its fabric covering.
Bob Hamel checks out the cockpit of the plane.
	Bob Burt (left) and Bob Hamel (right) check out the cockpits (is the second seat still referred to as a cockpit???).
Here's a shot of the cockpit of the plane. The last time I checked the joystick still moved!
	This is an overview of the plane. On a day with good visibility this is the view hat you'll see as you swim up from the mooring buoy. The ship is just out of the frame to the right.
This shot shows the damage to the stern. The photo is taken from just south of the wreck. You are seeing where the stern should be attached to the rest of the ship. The main part of the ship is just out of the frame to the left.