Page 378 - Melanesia

STAR OF RUSSIA WRECK: This grand old lady of sailing ship days rests
in Port Vila Harbor. She’s 80 meters long and 13 meters wide and down
33 meters. Divers can swim through the body of the ship, swim up the
three massive masts, around the romantic, shapely bow and check out
the wheel, rudder and anchor machinery. There’s some history here too.
The Star of Russia was built by Harlan and Wolff of Belfast who also built
the Titanic. It was also part of a race between herself and one of the new
steamships in the early 1900’s. The race was from England to Australia.
They took different routes (as ‘Russia’ was subject to the prevailing winds)
and the sailboat took the honors with the steamship three days behind.
The steel hull sits upright on a sandy bottom in 34 meters of water. The
wooden decking has perished allowing divers easy access to the wreck. It’s
not only loved by divers, schools of fish circle inside her and bat fish can be short distance, you’ll find yourself inside the main chamber, which has a
found outside, hanging around the mooring line. Crocodile fish are often
found sitting on the flat beams. This is another wreck in deep water so a
dive for the experienced.
THE ABYSS: Drop down from the dive boat into 6 meters of coral and reef
fish, then swim past the mooring and you are on the edge of the Abyss. A
vertical drop down to 60 meters plus. A deep dive to the Gorgonian fans
at 40 meters or a leisurely dive at 25 meters around the wall. An occasional
shark or moray eel may be seen. The top of this reef is excellent with many
gutters running at all angles, teeming with coral reef fish. Max Depth: 25
meters
THE CATHEDRAL: A dive in a vast cavern off the Pango Peninsula to 26
meters. Shafts of light create unusual effects. You can swim through to
the back and up a ‘chimney’ to a large pool on the surface inside the reef
– then back to the outside and along the wall to explore and look out
into the deep open ocean. The entrance to the cavern is shaped like an
upside down V, and is about 15 meters wide at the bottom. As you head
into the cave, which is beautifully lit, thanks to a huge fissure in its ceiling,
you’ll find your path narrowing to about 5 meters, and to the left, a dog-
leg leads to a darker tunnel. The darkness, though, is short-lived. After a
rounded profile and which is peppered with huge boulders all along its
bottom. While a shaft of sunlight does illuminate the center of the cavern,
darkness reigns along its edges, allowing you to see fire fish and electric
clams, which are phosphorescent. After exiting the cave, you can explore
the reef wall, which is fantastic in its own right, with numerous cracks and
gullies that are bursting with colorful life. Maximum depth along the bot-
tom is 40 meters. As you ascend, check out the reef top, where anemones
host clownfish and shrimp.