Page 115 - Micronesia
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elmet Wreck - Sunk on March the 30th, 1944, the Helmet to fire damage as a result of the bombing. The crew quarters are
under the bridge; do not attempt to go through unless you are
H wreck was an unidentified Japanese cargo ship, and was only fully prepared to penetrate the ship. Further down the deck you
will reach the engine room; it is large and open. The boiler can be
discovered in 1990. Her stern lies at 15m / 50ft, whilst her bow easily identified along with the catwalks and railings. As you near
drops to 35m/116ft. She only measures a modest 58m/191ft, but the stern another big loading tower can be seen. Past the loading
don’t let that put you off, for she’s simply filled with fascinating tower is the aft gun. This gun is identical to the bow gun.
artifacts. Sake bottles, ammunition shells and explosive charges
litter the deck. Machine guns, rifles, old boots, boxes of shells and J ellyfish Lake - There are five lakes that contain a jellyfish “vary-
even a frying pan can be found near the stern. Gas masks stare ing from its neighbors and their common ancestor in a dra-
back at you. Down in the holds, boxes of depth charges, helmet matic example of the origin of species. An estimated 12,000 years
stacks, webbing and 3 large aircraft engines can be found. ago, sea levels rose following the end of the last ice age, and jel-
lyfish became trapped in the lake. The trapped jellyfish diverged
I ro - The Iro and her sister ship, the Sata, sank during Opera- from the spotted jellyfish, their common ancestor. Their sting
tion DESECRATE ONE within 300 yards from each other in the is barely felt by humans, The lake jellyfish do have stingers, and
Urukthapel anchorage. Ever since their discovery, numerous they do use them to prey on zooplankton. The jellyfish survive in
efforts have being made to identify which ship is which. Under- large part on algae-like organisms which live in their tissues. The
water it is easy to tell one ship from the other, one sits upright golden jellyfish engage in a daily migration which follows the arc
and the other has capsized. The Iro was a fleet oiler and supply of the sun.
ship. On March 22, 1944, on her way from Philippines to Palau,
a torpedo launched from the submarine USS Tunny hit her bow N gemelis Coral Garden - A mellow dive with very little current,
forward of the bulkheads. On March 30, 1944 she came under fire Ngemblis has a gently sloping wall that is simply covered
and was bombed during Operation DESECRATE ONE. A massive with coral of all varieties. White Tip Reef Sharks and Black Tip Reef
explosion in the engine room sent her to the bottom. Diving the Sharks cruise by, as well as Batfish and Sea Turtles. Nudibranchs,
Iro is easy and enjoyable. Follow the mooring line to the forward Fire Dart Gobys and Octopus can be found in and around the the
tower and onto the huge and wide deck. Starting at 80 feet the coral.
torpedo damage becomes visible; the hole is now covered with
black coral growth. The bridge is open and easily accessible due
