You can see an SB2 Helldiver at about 3:15 in the video.

 

After about 1 month, Brad from B&B Scuba was able to get me out on the Helldiver dive bomber for another underwather photo session. I have been working with the Warbird Information Exchange forum to identify the airplane model. We thought initially the plane was a Dougless Dauntless Dive Bomber. I am now convinced by the ID of the forum experts and the details of the wreck that the wreck is a  Curtiss SB2C-1C Helldiver. The C model switched to 2 20mm cannons in the wings from 4 machine guns and the plane has 3 blades on the propeller. The cockpit is totally encrusted with coral and the aluminum tag is nowhere to be found. The tail fin of the plane is lying just behind the wreck. It's covered with sand and is pretty hard to dig up (it would take a whole dive to dig it out). I dusted it off but didn't find any markings but I think it merits another attempt. I have purchased some Magic Filters for my camera and am going to try to get some ambient light shots of the wreck on my next dive. During this dive, Stan took my video camera so I have a whole dive of HD footage on the wreck from Stan. He did a great job with the video so I'll post that when I can get it processed... Perhaps a few weeks there...

Here are my photos of the wreck... I converted many to Black and White for something different... I think they came out ok but I'd like to see the shots with the Magic Filters! Here are my previous photos in case you want to see more.

 

I was diving with Brad Varney who owns B & B Scuba and we found a SBD-5 Dauntless Dougless Dive Bomber. Brad was giving the #'s by a local fisherman who gets his fills at the shop.

I was the first one on the wreck and it was really cool being the first to photography this WWII legandary plane. The cockpit has been taken over by a large Moray Eel which made exploration difficult. The plan is missing the tail fin and the rear gun. The wreck looks like it's in really good shape. The wreck location remains a secret pending actions by NOAA or other agencies. Brad would like to keep the wreck protected but wants people to be able to dive the bomber. I think this will be the best wreck dive on Maui. It's good news in light of the recent reef destruction by the state government.

The propeller was the home for a Sponge Crab and a large group of Ulua were resting below one of the wings. The plane also had lots of nudibranchs and different sponges.

Here are a few links about this wreck:

Aviation Archaeology
Pacific Wrecks
Maui News Story about this discovery
Star Bulletin Article

This seems to be a popular story since the AP has picked it up and it's going to be on tv tonight with my photos!

I'll update the blog with any news.

Sean

 

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John and I left the Padang Bai area with a driver for 20 dollars each. We headed up north through Amlapura and over the hills to get to Tulamben. We were staying at the Paradise Resort which was the first hotel in Tulamben (long ago). The rooms have been updated a little, but they put the electrical jack right above the bed's headboard which made it difficult to charge anything. The staff provided us with some power boxes we could use so that problem was solved. The hotel lies on the ocean side of the street and runs all the way down to the ocean. The restaurant is at the end and provides a great place to have beers or eat dinner with some spectacular views and cooling breezes. The staff was friendly and each day we were provided with a free breakfast with out 30 dollar per day room (it has AC too). The staff did a good job of doing our laundry but wouldn't do our undewear for religious reasons.

We were diving with Ocean Sun (Blue Water) dive shop with Ricardo, Katut, Kanji, and Yeoman. During our stay in Tulamben, we hit every dive site except Soraya. We dove Alamanda, Batu Kilibit, and the drop-off several times from shore and Jukung. During one night dive I saw a 4 foot White Tip Reef shark and a 3 foot Black Tip on our way back from the dropoff just at the edge of the sand. On another night we saw two massive lobster which were as long as my forearm. They had to be quite large since we saw some for sale down in Kuta that looked like babies in comparison. I'd estimate at least 10 lbs. They were so massive I think I would have been hurt trying to catch them with my bare hands. We just admired them for a while then sent them down the slope.

On another dive at Paradise Reef I saw a large Grouper bite a small moray and pull him out of his hole. A Barracuda and Bluefin Trevally both were circling around hoping for some scraps. The Moray ended up surviving! :)

On the Liberty Wreck we saw several Ghost Pipefish and the Pygmy Seahorse a few times. We also made a point of seeing the gun on our last dive on the wreck. It's covered in corals and lying on it's side (the whole front is on it's starboard side) but very recognizable if you are looking for it. We saw the large Barracuda on several ocassions. One time I got so close to him I was scared he was going to bite me (a few inches away) but he just swam on. He's the largest Barracuda I have ever seen. We also saw the resident grouper on several ocassions and he was always very kind letting us get a good look at him. I think John got a good photo of him. We also saw a few bumpheads on the wreck and the whole school when we were doing our deco at Batu Kelebit.

While diving Batu Kelebit we decended down below the PADI Advanced diver limit. While I was at Max Depth, I looked down and saw a large White Tip Reef Shark below me and just on the edge of visibility I could see one above me. The vis was quite good but it was patchy sort of like thermoclines... but no real temp change... 

We also dove Kubu 4 times which lies about 15 minutes down the road to the north. Kubu has some nice reef on both sides with lots of Garden Eels, thousands of small fish and some sharks living down there. Sadly the reef has a lot of fishing line and some rope on it but John, Katut and I helped out and cut off some line and took out some trash. It really hurts me to see such amazing beauty so neglected. I'd like to go back just to clean up some of the reefs. I think I will!

Anyway, Tulamben is a great place to dive, but I think if you go you really need to make an effort to dive Amed, Kubu, Gili Biaha and Gili Selang if you can. You won't regret it! I'll add more photos to this album soon!

Safe diving,

Sean