Big Fish Diving, Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia

September 2010
A short boat ride from the South East coast of Bali is a group of three small islands; Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan. These islands are in the middle of the channel of water separating Bali and Lombok .

Secret Gardens Bungalows and Big Fish Diving on Nusa Lembongan hosted Simon Deane for a week of diving and filming. This was the third visit to Reece and Tim Birkett, for their un-rivalled hospitality and exceptionally relaxed diving ‘on-the-doorstep’.

This location generates very health hard coral reefs and amazing assortment of visiting marine life thriving and feeding on the food continually flowing through these deep channels.

This channel of water is a significant connection between the Pacific and Indian Oceans so the currents in this region are strong, moving vast quantities of food for larger fish and proving sometimes unpredictable and hard-work for SCUBA divers.

Though for divers it’s worth the effort; the reefs are thriving, both the coral colonies and the attendant reef fish. Also turtles, larger trevallies and manta rays call this area home and there are annual visits by one of the ocean’s most unusual fish, the Mola Mola or Ocean Sun Fish. These fish congregate around these islands annually between July and October, it is thought for cleaning but little is known about this species as they are pelagic for most of their lives. See a short movie of Mola Mola here.

Big Fish Diving on Nusa Lembongan provide diving tuition and highly knowledgeable dive guides for this spectacular diving location.

See a show reel filmed on these reefs click here…

Filming the wreck of the SS President Coolidge

June 2010

The wreck of the SS President Coolidge

Assisted by Allan Power Dive Tours in Vanuatu; Simon Deane films a tour of this amazing Second World War shipwreck on the Pacific island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

The SS President Coolidge was once a premiere luxury cruise liner built in 1932.

Later she was converted to a troop carrier and used to transport US troops across the Pacific in the Second World War.

Due to an unfortunate mis-communication she ran aground and sank in Vanuatu.

The orders to abandon ship required a quick evacuation but since the ship was aground the Officers expected to organise a return to collect most personal items and supplies. However the sea had other intentions and the ship slid deeper into the channel soon after the personnel had evacuated. Two lives were lost.

Now it’s an amazing dive site.

Most dives to this wreck start from the shore, the ship rests on her starboard side with the bow the shallowest point, 23 metres deep; the starboard propeller is the deepest point at almost 70 metres.

Since very little was removed from the ship during the evacuation so much remained to be discovered by divers. The ship was also carrying a compete cargo of military supplies, field guns, trucks, jeeps, shells, aircraft parts, rifles, ammunition etc.

Since the 1970′s a number of expeditions were conducted to salvage as much value as possible from the ship. Nonetheless there’s still plenty to discover on this enormous wreck. Not much of the heavy machinery was removed and small items like ships cutlery and crockery, bottles of cola and medical supplies remain. Within the ship is The Lady and the Unicorn now the un-official figurehead and emblem of this ship wreck.

Here you can see the interior of the ship in this wreck diving showreel.Filming Million $ Point

Also see the exterior of the ship in another video tour of this enormous ex-cruise liner and the nearby dive site; ‘Million Dollar Point’, an amazing underwater wrecker’s yard.

filmReelIconSee other videos…