shallower, finishing by
swimming over the hull
back towards the bow.
A pile of
ammunition lay
scattered, and my
guide stopped at a
large cooking-pot
sitting next to guns laid
out for divers to see.
He removed the lid of
the pot, and inside was a
treasure-trove of artefacts.
A gas-mask, Coke bottle, ceramic
dishes, shoes and other bits and bobs
were piled inside.
Feeling fantastic after the first dive we
swam back to shore and walked the rest of
the way out. But I was ready for more.
T
HE NEXT MORNINGwe headed
down the same pot-holed road and,
after my tech cert cards had been
checked, I added more tanks to my kit to
visit the engine-room and, I hoped, “The
Lady,” both beyond recreational-diving
depth-limits.
“The Lady” originally hung in the first-
class smoking lounge, but it wasn’t found
in the wreck for many years.
Allan Power, a bit of a Vanuatu/
Coolidgelegend, was inside it one day and
caught a glimpse of something he’d never
seen before. Probably covered for
protection, the wood must have rotted
away just enough to make it stand out.
At one point she was salvaged from the
wreck, but was later returned and now19 divErVANUATU DIVER
Opposite page: Diver on
the President Coolidge.Left: A pot full of treasure.Above, clockwise from
top left: Diver on the bow;
pitcher, serving trays and
flares; one of the trucks;
steering wheels in the cargo
hold; shells beside one of
the bow guns.hangs at around 42m.
For this dive we did a much longer
surface-swim to start closer to the stern,
and hauling extra tanks and my camera
made for slow going. But we finally got to
our descent point and headed down.
A large opening had been cut into the
hull to give easy access to the engine-
room, and we dropped to 40m, almost
directly on top of the boilers and the
massive gauge panel.
My guide Tom twisted and turned
through the engine-room, pointing out
wrenches and machinery and taking me
through other hallways in the ship.
There was a row of toilets, and in one
passage he slowly brushed the silt off an
object to reveal an etched-glass light-
fitting. I was so excited that I was smiling
through my regulator (and maybe just
a little narked) and had completely
forgotten what we were looking for.
Tom stopped in front of me, and I
thought: “Why are we stopping? Keep
going, show me more!” He motioned for
me to turn. There she was in all her glory,
still beautiful and paint bright after ☛divErNEt.com