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| Day One |
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| The expedition leader gathers the crew and begins a series of
briefings to tell us about the Oleanda and its operation,
safety procedures, dive policies and then what we have all
been waiting for ... the first dive! The dive deck is well
organized and we are all assigned labeled bins & net bags for
our gear. Hangers hold BCD's, wetsuits & dive skins and there
are rinse tanks for gear and cameras as well as a fresh water
shower for a quick rinse when we return from the dive. Some
dives will take place from the huge swim platform of the
Oleanda and others will be done from the spacious launch that
can get closer to the reefs and bommies for our convenience.
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 We're doing a
familiarization dive on one of the inner lagoon "Bommies"
(we're told that is Australian for a large coral head). The
water is crystal clear and we are in the water in a flash. We
recognize the spot because we dove it a year ago on our first
trip and our own name for the site was "Shark Valley".
Apparently the sharks are currently on holiday or just not
interested in us because we aren't spotting any.
This bommie is a huge football field of Staghorn coral that
spreads high and wide as far as you can see ... and in
Rongelap waters, that is indeed a very long way. The
coral is clean and healthy and we must be very careful not to
bump the fragile tips that point in every direction.
Tiny fish live deep in the nooks and crannies of the coral
formation. Giant clams appear in the coral, colorful live
specimens and vacated shells that might hold a large fish or
in some cases a small diver. |
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 The Oleanda anchors for
the night in a protected area near Eniaetok Island where we
enjoy gourmet snacks and tropical drinks along with a
breathtaking tropical sunset.
A gourmet dinner, one of many, is served before we all
tumble into our cabins to recover from exercise and jet lag. |
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Photo Credits
Top right by Cherri Wood
Middle left by Gary Wood
Bottom right by Gary Wood |
