Another snorkeling trip.

Tulamben. USAT Liberty shipwreck.

I was very much looking forward to going snorkeling in Tulamben again, the trip last October was total fun. Plunged in, swam toward the shipwreck, only caught a glimpse of some colorful fish. Water was somewhat unclear, the dive master said the past few days it’s been raining so blah blah, can’t see very far. Ugh!

Slightly envious watching the divers go all the way down to the shipwreck, wonder if it’s clearer down there. Can’t be right?

Had lunch with dive masters, it was just fascinating listening to their diving experiences. Of course at the end they tried to sell a lesson. Well, for that I need to visit my ENT doc and if he give me the green light I would sign up for a lesson first chance I get! BUT if not, I just have to be content watching videos as this one.

History:
The 120m long wreck rests on a 90 degree angle with the deck facing the open sea and used to be an American supply ship.Anchored off the coast of Lombok, the ship was hit by a Japanese torpedo during World War II. Miraculously nobody got hurt, but the damage turned the ship into a non-functioning and useless hull. The American Navy's plan to tow the ship to Singaraja harbour (north Bali) failed as the harbour was completely occupied, so the ship was intentionally stranded on the rocky beach of Tulamben, where it was unloaded.

In 1963 Mount Agung (the volcano which towers over Tulamben) erupted and the magma flow pressed the ship back into the sea where it presently rests at a depth of 3 to 29 metres. Since then, coral has coated the wreckage turning it into a new home for an extraordinary number of fish, coral and invertebrates. bump-head parrotfish, napoleon wrasse and barracuda are regularly spotted around the wreck.