Truk Lagoon with Deptherapy
So the time had finally come: after two years of planning by the Deptherapy team, the money from the Chancellor of the Exchequer was ready to take 22 members of the Deptherapy dive team to Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon.
For those who don’t know, Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon is classed as one of the best - if not the number one - wreck diving site in the world. It came about as the retaliation of the American Pearl Harbour bombing (you’ve all seen the film). The Americans code-named the attack on the Japanese fleet as Operation Hailstone.
TRAVELLING TO TRUK
The Deptherapy team travelled from all over the UK to meet at Heathrow; there were new and old faces, but all friendly faces. The travel to Truk started on Friday and ended on Sunday as we made our way through the Philippines, Guam and finally onto Truk. It was an arduous journey, with a jetlagged dive team at the end. The team didn’t seem to mind the jetlag much, as they knew after two years of planning we were finally here.
DROPS IN THE WATER
After a day of snoozing, eating and a bit more snoozing, both the troops and staff were itching to get in the water. We got all the kit set up and onto the small, wooden rickshaw like boats, headed off and completed our first three dives. The end of the end of the day finished with some great food made by the resort, along with debriefs and briefs.
Over the next few days the diving was excellent. We chatted to other divers at the Blue Lagoon Dive Resort about our mission in Truk (I’ll come on that later) and the divers told us all about the spectacular wrecks that are far beyond the recreational dive limits (40+ metres). These conversations have planted a seed in some of the troops and inspired them to want to investigate Tec courses (that allow 40+ metres).
As we moved through the week, the dive team who completed the coral key conservation course started pulling together all of the resources that they had worked on for four months with Coral Cay's Head of Science, Tom Dallison. The team briefed both staff and troops of the objectives and skills needed to complete the survey - to gather data for Deptherapy’s report on the aquatic ecosystem in Truk Lagoon. This is all part of Deptherapy’s goal to Protect Our Ocean. The conducted survey was completed successfully and we started to pull together information so that the report could be collated at a later date.
As the team moved through the week, we continued to dive up to three wrecks a day. All of the wrecks are drenched in history, so when you dive them it’s like a window into history, especially when you see the beds that Japanese troops slept on that are still in the wrecks.
MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE LOCALS
Prior to travelling to Truk, one of the Deptherapy ambassadors (Ben Lee) came up with the idea of giving something to the kids on a local island. Ben collected funding from the guys and external donations; he then bought all of the items that we were going to give to the kids, which ranged from games and sports balls, all the way to spelling books. Richard Cullen helped by collecting cheap reading glasses, and the team at PADI sent loads of gouchy kit (gouchy is soldier for awesome). We took the stuff over to the island and gave it to children gathered at the local church; it was so well received and we all hope that it will provide some happiness and help going forward with their lives.
COMING TO A CLOSE
The diving during this week in Truk has been something that I am never going to forget. I think the whole of the Deptherapy expedition would agree. As we left Truk Lagoon, maybe for the last time in our lives for most of us, to say it has been great would be an understatement, but from a guy (me) who was worried about the trip because of sharks, it has been a fear conquering adventure of a lifetime. I have dived with sharks on the Shinkoku Maru (by far my favourite wreck), seen turtles, Japanese fighter planes and much, much more, as well as finishing my Dive Master knowledge reviews (phew).
Deptherapy provides life changing experience to everyone it touches. This expedition is a culmination of all of the training and ongoing effort the pro's team put into us.
Find out more about the incredible work that Deptherapy undertakes at http://deptherapy.co.uk. To plan your own dive adventure to Truk Lagoon, take a look at our trips ideas or contact the dive team.
