Bayliner Boats - Day of Diving on Roi

Hi gang, Rick here from Bayliner Boats with a really interesting article on Typical Day Diving on Roi.

“I swim like a fish in the sea all the time, if that’s what it takes to be free I don’t mind” – Toots Hibbert

Sunday mornings on Roi-Namur for me meant it was time to go diving. The local activity center provides Bayliner boats for fishing, diving, and other water activities. The Roi-Namur Dolphins SCUBA club has several buildings on the Lagoon side of the island near the marina where members can store their equipment. So my Sundays would start early, with a hearty breakfast skillfully prepared in the cafeteria. Next, I would load any equipment I had in my apartment onto the trailer on the back of my bike and ride down to the SCUBA shack as we termed it. There I would gather the rest of my equipment to be loaded onto the boat. You could comfortably fit 4 divers onto a boat and 5 if you needed to in a pinch. Four was optimum as you had 4 ways to split the rental cost but you weren’t too packed. So while the other guys got ready the day’s captain would head over to the marina and sign out the boat then steer it over to the SCUBA dock where the crew could load the boat. Today we would be heading towards Speedball, a favorite site due to the large school of sharks that frequent it. I think the site got its name because it is close to where in ancient times they would launch Speedball missiles from or something like that if my memory serves me well for a change.

To continue on our way, after loading the boat we would head across the lagoon to North Pass. During the “winter” months when the wind was usually up, the water could be quite choppy in the lagoon. With practice you learn to bend the knee slightly as you bounce along. It usually seemed to take an eternity on the way out between the thrashing from the waves and the desire to be underwater. Kwajalien lagoon is the world’s largest, I think it is something like 75 miles from the two extreme ends. It is larger than most lakes and has many unspoiled dive sites but there are some even better sites just outside on the ocean side. The lagoon is ringed by hundreds of islands (I think) that are separated by shallow reefs. It is only at certain locations like North Pass where you can escape into the ocean. One day while going through the pass we spotted what appeared to be a small pod of dolphins. We halted the boat and EriC and I quickly donned a mask, fins, and snorkel and jumped over board to swim with them. In my heart I hoped that they would come up to me and let me pet them like what happens in the movies. But they seemed oblivious to their new friends, their human cousins. But nonetheless it was one of the most serene moments of my life that I will remember until the day I die…what was I talking about? Oh yea, the dolphins. Once I had my head under water I could see many more than what we’d spotted on the surface deep below us. We took a few photos and if I find any I will attach them but the dolphins were far enough away that the photos did not come out so great. Eventually EriC and I surfaced and climbed back onto our boat to continue our progression.

After making it through the pass you take a right and head across towards Speedball. At this point you’ve traded in the chop of the lagoon for deep rollers that your boat would need to climb up then sled down the far side. Finally we’d arrive at our site. To jump in at the optimal location we would line up a few of the radio towers on land with other landmarks. Next you heave the anchors over the side and wait for them to catch. Once the boat is secured it is finally time for the entire crew to abandon ship for about an hour by donning our gear, checking each other’s equipment in what is known as a buddy check, and then make our plunge. If my reader is a diver he/she will be familiar with the usual happenings common to all diving. You make sure you are breathing OK, the dive computer is turned on, and that your buddy is with you. At Speedball there is a shelf at the top of a cliff from which the bottom falls away into the depths of the ocean deep. Often you are greeted by a friendly black tip, white tip, or gray shark curious to know who these intruders are to his kingdom. At Speedball it is not unusual to see 40 or 50 sharks circling around looking for food I imagine (not divers). I would sometimes like to perch on the ledge and watch the drama below me. I could almost visualize myself with picnic lunch sitting on the side of a mountain looking out over a valley. In this case the mountain was Roi-Namur, and the valley was the depths of the Pacific Ocean. There were many other species and since I am not a fish expert I will only mention a few that I can think of.

There are Parrot fish (one of my favorites and what I have before referred to as the Glenn’s of the sea owing to their ability to poop frequently), trigger fish, tuna, butterfly fish, trumpet fish, alto saxophone fish, slide trombone fish, and too many others to mention especially since I don’t know their names. The sharks usually didn’t scare me much but I was scared of the trigger fish. A guy I worked with had a piece of his face taken off by one. I think during certain seasons they are extremely territorial and will attack a diver. I had one dive buddy, a very nice lady from Hawaii who would sometimes place me between her and the sharks when they would approach. Sitting on my patio reflecting on that in the warm Arizona sun as I am doing now, it seems like a very common sense thing to do but at the time I thought it was funny but made me feel like a tough guy protecting a pretty young damsel. On a bad day the visibility would be about 90 to a hundred feet. On a good day it could look and feel like your boat was floating on air and you could see all the way to Davey Jone’s locker. We would generally explore up current first reaching depths at Speedball up to 120’, the maximum depth allowed on the atoll. To experienced divers this is nothing new but for my non-diving friends who are reading this I will explain that there is a condition often experienced by divers at this depth known as getting narked. It is a sort of intoxication due to the build up of certain chemicals in the brain at that depth (I was never good at chemistry so I won’t try to explain the details of that to you). One common teaching example for new divers is to have them work an arithmetic problem on the surface and then have them repeat it at depth. Usually the diver is surprised to find out he has difficulty with the problem at depth. This shows the diver that he really is not functioning as well intellectually. It does not work as well as a teaching aide when the student is an Engineer. It has been suggested they should be given fourier transforms to perform at depth instead. Irregardless, engineer or normal human being you still feel funny at this depth.

Sometimes people will feel nauseous. I remember one time I was narked and was quite enjoying myself looking at all the pretty fish and thinking “I don’t really care if I ever go back to the surface or not.” It wasn’t a suicidal thought it was just I was loving it so much where I was I was content to just never go back despite what that would mean. Fortunately I was trained to recognize this and was able to ignore this lunacy. Gradually we would turn back towards the boat and slowly make our way up to our rest stop depth of about 15 to 20 feet. A favorite recreation for my fellow divers there was to look for sea shells. The most sought after was the golden cowrie which a good one was reputed to be worth up to $800. I never actually found one but my buddy found one for me in a shop on Chuk and sold it to me for $25 (not the highest quality specimen). One day shortly after receiving it I stuck in my BC pocket and pretended to find it under water. I showed it to my buddy Gene who looked quite surprised. I eventually confessed to me subterfuge.

Unfortunately the post office lost my cowrie when I moved back to the States. After our rest stop it would be time to reluctantly return to the surface. After that we’d have another hour to rest on the surface to de-gas (not what you might think although if chili had been served the night before then maybe a little of that too). My absolute favorite dive site near Roi was known as North Pass, the aforementioned pass between the lagoon and the open ocean. It is a feeding station for many species and as such attracts a lot of sharks. I’ve also seen octopus, rays, and eels there plus a host of other species too numerous to mention. I’ve dove in North America and Asia and have never been to a spot that I liked better. Other diving options are the many wrecks that were left over from WWII when my father with the assistance of the rest of the US Navy defeated the brave Japanese fleet. There was a major battle fought by the Marines to free Roi-Namur. About 3 Japanese ships were sunk which provide excellent dive sites in about 80 feet of water if I remember right. Also, after the war the Navy dumped around 12 aircraft, mostly fighters but some cargo planes as well. That is another great site to dive and is in around 100’ of water so it is a little better as a first dive then a second. Divers usually do their deeper dive first for safety reasons. There are also quite a few coral heads to dive at throughout the lagoon. At the right time of year when the winds are favorable west reef is another great site. I always loved going there because it was a change of pace plus the sharks were not as use to human presence so they would come closer to check us out. I guess you can tell that I love sharks.

Typically though, the dive sites just outside of North Pass were our most frequented sites. Once it was time to come back on board after our second dive it was time to remove and stow our gear for the ride back. It was a content feeling to be safely aboard, to feel the wind in my hair as we cruised back (I had my shirt off). Many of times we could spot flying fish escorting us as we made our way back. Once back to the SCUBA shack there was the chore of rinsing our gear and stowing it in our locker for the next day or week. I always enjoyed this time too as I could hear the day’s experiences of other divers and the friendly bantering. Plus for myself I always had a good feeling knowing I had a great dive experience but that I lived to type about it.

Thanks to Glenn at http://www.roiratjournal.com/135 for this. Check out his blog for pictures of the dive and other great info on diving.

Find out more information on Bayliner boat canvas, Do-it-Yourself bayliner cover kits and subscribe to our FREE newsletter.

If you found this interesting, please tell others by clicking on the bookmark icon in top left corner of page and insert a brief remark to let others know were here.

Also we value your comments, if you can add more info in regards to this article please do so. Thank you.
Rick Ostler, Bayliner Boats.