Coral And Marine Life In Truk Lagoon?

What is the one thing that people think about when they hear anything related to Truk Lagoon?

WRECKS!

How can you not? With 50+ known wrecks inside the lagoon, it is easy for that to be the only thing people think and talk about in relation to Truk.

In this article we are going to talk about the squishy things, you know the stuff that grows all over the wrecks, gets in the way of your perfect bow gun photo and makes the deck guns almost unrecognizable. That is right, fish, corals, sharks, turtles, and rays. Truk has it all.

While Truk is best known for wrecks, it also has an abundance of wildlife, which makes it a great place for diving groups with mixed interests. You don’t have to love wrecks to fall in love with Truk.

Because of local laws, there is no fishing allowed on the wrecks, so there are schools of large and small fish in abundance. Coupled with the stunning coral formations, the wrecks are transformed into healthy and beautiful reefs. Some of the most popular wrecks deliver two dives in one, an amazing reef and wildlife experience, followed by a unique and world-class wreck..

The Fujikawa Maru is easily one of the most dived and best-known wrecks in all of Truk. It is famous for the planes in its cargo hold, and R2D2. What is often unsaid though is that it usually has a large school of fish near the bow. It is easy to find large snappers swimming about the wreck and the masts, which used to stick out of the water, are covered in hard and soft corals.

Occasionally, there is a large school of glassfish swimming around this wreck, making it impossible to see past the diver in front of you given the number of fish. If a diver is lucky, they could find a leopard shark, marble ray or a shovelnose ray lying on the sand, commonly off the bow.

The Kensho Maru has a marvelous engine room and is the one wreck where I most often see spotted eagle rays. There is a cleaning station near the bow gun and if you hang around for a bit there is a very high chance that you will see a group swim by.

Divers can spend the entire dive outside the Heian Maru looking at the coral reef that now covers the starboard side of the vessel. The ship is 411.6ft long, or 125.5m, and nearly all of it is covered in hard corals with fish, turtles, eels, and more swimming around.

Down at the screws, you can come across Moorish idols. While swimming the length of the ship, I always tell guests to keep an eye out for octopus, and often we find our celaphapod!

The Shinkoku Maru consistently ranks as one of the lagoon’s best night dives, if not the world. This wreck is overgrown with soft and hard corals, has schools of fish in and outside of the wreck, consistently has sharks and even dolphins patrolling its sides. Off its bow in the sand, divers can routinely find large marble rays.

The map puffer fish is a very common sight, as are multiple kinds of clownfish, eels, and turtles. This wreck makes for an amazing night dive during which divers can find sleeping turtles, vibrant corals, as well as snapper or two as you use your dive light to assist them with finding dinner.

The Fumitsuki is the only destroyer within recreational limits in Truk. On this wreck, it is not uncommon to find nudibranch crawling over the decks, and larger schools of brightly colored fish and sharks swimming around its perimeter.

Off the wreck, you can see shovelnose rays swimming around just within the visible range.

The Sankisan Maru, which was blown in half, is best known for its small multi-coloured glass bottles and a cargo hold full of various gun ammunition. It also has a lot to offer in the way of wildlife.

In the debris field, deck, and cargo holds, it is easy to find various kinds of groupers, parrotfish, and snappers.

Occasionally schools of glassfish will fill the forward area, it is a great deal of fun to slowly swim through the school as they ease out of your way revealing more of the wreckage.

Another enjoyable part about this dive is the safety stop. It is one of the few wrecks where you can enjoy the coral growth while waiting for the time to pass, and if you keep an eye open you can usually find a great barracuda checking you out.

Even the airplanes are covered in coral growth, and therefore, wildlife. The Betty Bomber, is a beautiful small wreck. The inside of it looks like it was painted with a paintball gun, with splotches of reds, oranges, yellows, and some purple sponges growing on the thin aluminium walls. There is a massive school of glassfish in residence, their movement tantalizingly revealing more details as you proceed around the plane.

So, whether you are a diver that prefers the squishy things or the hard things under the water’s surface, Truk has it all - we here at the Dirty Dozen would love to show you.

Join us in January 2022 on our Recreational trip with Andy Torbet or Technical charter with Jill Heinerth, we have a couple of spots left.

Request more information by filling out a form submission at the bottom of this page.

About the Author

I am Tarrant Dunford, I have been swimming before I could walk, and scuba diving for over half my life now. I am a lover of history, which is why wreck diving holds a very special place in my heart.

I spent an amazing 14 months, over 550 dives in Truk taking people through its wrecks. Here, I met Aron Arngrimsson when he was running his first Dirty Dozen trip and later got to see how he did it, while I was working on Truk Master in Bikini Atoll.

My time in Truk just amplified my love for wrecks, and I will talk about them to anyone that wants to listen, and even to those that do not.

Photography by Jill Heinerth, Steve Jones, Marissa Eckert, Martin Cridge, Aron Arngrimsson and Jesper Kjøller

👋 Welcome To The Dirty Dozen Experience

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you healthy and well. In this newsletter, we want to tell you about how we are improving our customer experience at Dirty Dozen Expeditions.

Our biggest improvement in the last 6 months has been our ongoing transition to offer all paperwork and payments in-house for our customers - giving you 1 person of contact from Dirty Dozen to deal with your booking from A-Z. Our customers are thrilled thus far with the change and we expect to complete the transition for all customers by the start of 2022.

Another thing we have always been very proud of in regards to the Dirty Dozen Experience was the build-up before departure. Expedition members were put into facebook messenger groups a year in advance letting a collaborative atmosphere develop before departure with team members being on a first-name basis on Day 1. It was also a great place to ask and share answers about preparation, link to the website for further informations and arrange periodic group zoom calls.

We are now taking this a step further by introducing our new central communications platform called Guestboard. As a modular one-stop platform, our guests will have access to message boards, group chat, shared documents and files, guest list, schedules, checklists, resource databases, group video chats, and more all under the same platform. This service is supported on all major web browsers and has native apps for both Android and iOS.

You can be one step ahead of the game and download the app for your mobile device here:

iOS click HERE
Android click HERE

This will give us the opportunity to give our members what they want, when they want it, in the best possible way while preparing for their trip of a lifetime. We are going to start migrating all our trips 12 months in advance into this new platform starting next week, so expect to hear from us soon if you have a trip booked in the near future.

INSTAGRAM CHANNEL REACHES 5000 FOLLOWERS

We were super excited to reach 5000 followers this week on our Instagram channel. If you are not subscribed yet we highly recommend you give us a “follow” and see our daily content and stories. Reaching this milestone encourages us to keep posting our best content so you can keep dreaming (and realizing) your next adventure of a lifetime.⁠

KNOWLEDGE BASE UPDATE

This week we uploaded a very handy airport security personnel PDF you can download from our Knowledge Base and stack it into your check-in suitcase alongside your rebreather.

An essential document to travel with as we know of several instances where parts have been tampered with/removed from luggage because of security concerns.

That wraps it up for this week. As always we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

⛴5 Underrated Wrecks of Truk Lagoon

When people think of wreck meccas, Chuuk, better known as Truk Lagoon, always makes the list. Now, when people talk about Truk certain wrecks always make that list. I am not going to be talking about those wrecks.

Instead, I am going to spend some time talking about the underrated wrecks, the underdogs if you will. Every guest that arrived, technical or recreational, wanted to dive into the big names like Fujikawa Maru, Shinkoku Maru, Hoki Maru, Nippo Maru, San Fransisco Maru and Rio De Janeiro Maru.

Now, while these are world-class wrecks, they tend to overshadow many of the other gems that are located within the lagoon. This is our topic for this blog so without any further ado, let’s dive into it!

Momokawa Maru

The Momokawa Maru was originally built as a passenger-cargo ship in 1941. Then, in 1943 the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) repurposed the Momokawa to be used as a Naval Auxiliary vessel. During this time it would make regular passages between Japan and Micronesia carrying supplies such as different kinds of fuel, concrete, and landing barges. She took minor damage on the first day of attacks, but succumbed to a 1000lb bomb on the second, and sank off of Tonowas Island in about 43m or 141ft.

Diving on the Momokawa Maru is spectacular with an average depth of 30m or 99ft. She has a very similar layout to the Nippo Maru, as well as many of the same treasures. However, because fewer divers visit this wreck, it is more pristine. It lies hard to the port side. In the forward holds a diver can come across all the parts needed to build an airplane, like fuel tanks, wings, and even radial engines.

Divers can also find trucks, landing gear, and artillery shells within these holds. The bridge still has the telegraph, speaking tubes, and steering binnacle which makes great photos, but the greatest treasures on this wreck are located in the engine room. The engine room is easily accessible through the skylights.

This engine room can easily take up a diver´s entire dive, there is so much to see and look at within it. Gauges, winding staircases, tools, switchboards, and lots more. If engine rooms are your thing, then this is one you will not want to miss. The superstructure offers an incredible amount of exploration, with the galley, bathrooms, and crew accommodations all open and easily accessible. 

Shotan Maru

The Shotan Maru is a steam engine ship built in 1943 and was immediately put into service by the IJN. During her service, she made many trips in and out of Truk Lagoon transporting supplies. During the second day of Operation Hailstone, Shotan Maru was underway when it was attacked by Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers. It took heavy damage during this attack and quickly sunk beneath the waves off of Fanamu Island at a depth of 58m or 190ft.

The Shotan Maru has an average depth of 42m or 132ft and has plenty to offer with as much or as little penetration that a diver could want. This wreck is one of my personal favorites for many reasons. One of which is that I always have a wonderful, peaceful dive on the Shotan Maru. Another reason is all the artifacts that are still in and on the ship. In the front holds you can find bottles covering the floor, concrete bags stacked to the ceiling, a large portable generator, munitions of various kinds, china, and even ink bottles.

You can find the anti-aircraft guns which have fallen one deck below their original placements. The engine room is in great condition but quite silty, as not many venture into it. Many divers quickly breeze through the back holds, taking a few quick glances at the wheelbarrows, munitions scattered about, and check out the bomb damage. For me, however, this is my favorite place on the ship. The back holds have medicine bottles that have floated out of their boxes and are trapped below the deck now. A diver can find all kinds of scientific equipment such as bottles, thick rubber gloves, safety glasses, and utensils if they know where to look.

Unkai Maru

The Unkai Maru is a coal-powered steamship that was originally built in Great Britain in 1905, making her one of the oldest vessels in the lagoon. She was then bought in 1911 and turned into a merchant vessel. It was later requisitioned by the IJN in 1944. The Unkai Maru was attacked on both days of Operation Hailstone. On day one she took hits on one of the early waves, and again later in that same day. As the sunset Unkai Maru was on fire, but still afloat. On the second day, still burning, more bombs were dropped on the ship, and she sank later that day off the coast of Uman Island in 44m or 144ft. 

This old ship is a miraculous dive, with an average depth of 25m or 82ft divers have plenty of time to explore. The 3” bow gun’s maker’s markings are still legible and always worth a minute or two to check out and look at. The front holds are full of a somber reminder that this was an active ship, with people on board. Within this hold, divers can find personal belongings, such as boots, china, flasks, and gasmasks. The engine room can be a bit tight to get into but is a fun place to poke around and see all the steam piping, gauges, and lights. A fun and interesting swim through is the fallen smokestack. Divers can swim from one end to the other, while it is indeed a bit of a gimmick, it is still fun to do. There is also a small galley to look at before passing by the empty rear cargo holds and into the old-styled rear steering quarter. The depth charges can also be found in the rear of the ship.

GOSEI MARU

Gosei Maru was built in 1937 in Japan. It was designed specifically with the intent of maximizing its cargo-carrying capabilities, leaving a minimal amount of room for the crew’s living quarters. On the first day of the attack, the Gosei Maru was struck by torpedoes in the front cargo holds. According to the reports, she sank almost immediately off the coast of Uman. It was later found that the ship was nearly empty during the attack

Gosei Maru offers up a fun dive that can range in depth from 3m or 10ft down to 36m or 120ft. In the cargo holds divers can swim through the large hole from the torpedoes that sank the ship, and can also find some of the ship’s cargo. The cargo consists of long lance torpedoes, lamps, and oil drums. Many photographers love the stern area because it comes up to as shallow as 3m or 10ft, and they can find the single screw and rudder which are very photogenic. Other than the screw and rudder, there is always an abundance of wildlife, and some interesting swim-throughs in the engine room and crew quarters. Many interesting artifacts can be found throughout the entire wreck. This is also one of the few wrecks that a diver can do their safety stop while still on the wreck.

IJN Fumizuki

The IJN Fumizuki is a Japanese destroyer and was one of twelve built of the same class (Mutsuki) in 1926. It is also one of two destroyers within the lagoon, the other being the IJN Oite. The Fumizuki was armed with six torpedo launchers, three in the front and three in the back. She also had four 4.7” 50 cal. Guns, ten 25mm anti-aircraft guns, were able to perform minesweeper duty, and use depth charges. The Fumizuki was very active in the Japanese war effort, helped with the invasion of the Phillipean Islands, evacuation of Japanese troops from Guadalcanal, and had a role in many of Japanese troop transports. During these deployments, the Fumizuki took damage, as would be expected. After one engagement, it was sent to Truk for repairs. On February 17th, four 500lb bombs were dropped on an evading Fumizuki, with two of them scoring direct hits. She was engulfed in flames and sunk off the coast of Udot Island the next day.

Diving the Fumizuki is unlike the other wrecks of Truk. The main reason behind this is the obvious one. It is not a Maru, or merchant vessel. It is covered with guns, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft guns, and depth charges. While it is possible to get inside this destroyer, it is extremely tight with dive gear and is discouraged, as divers have lost their lives doing so. There is enough armaments and wildlife outside the ship, that there is little reason to venture inside of it. Many times the Fumizuki gets overshadowed by other wrecks, like the Shinkoku Maru, which is not too far away from its resting place. 

With close to 50 ships sunk within the lagoon, of course, some will get overshadowed by others, that is expected. But I hope that this article gets you excited for some of the underdogs within the lagoon. So, before your next trip reach out to us here at The Dirty Dozen and read up about all of the available wrecks at your fingertips in Truk. Hopefully, you can join us on one of our available trips and we can get “Dirty” together.

About The Author

I am Tarrant Dunford, I have been swimming before I could walk, and scuba diving for over half my life now. I am a lover of history, which is why wreck diving holds a very special place in my heart.

I spent an amazing 14 months, over 550 dives in Truk taking people through its wrecks. Here, I met Aron Arngrimsson when he was running his first Dirty Dozen trip and later got to see how he did it, while I was working on Truk Master in Bikini Atoll.

My time in Truk just amplified my love for wrecks, and I will talk about them to anyone that wants to listen, and even to those that do not.

Photography by Martin Cridge and Aron Arngrimsson

🎡LIVE From Chernobyl

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you healthy and well. Our weekly newsletter is a bit shorter than usual since we are messaging you live from Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

We are hosting our friend and photographer Michael Biach and his team on their mission to document the exclusion zone in the wintertime. You can read more about Michael HERE.

After extensive background checks, our government permissions to return to Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant have been granted again but this time with the incredible opportunity to visit the control room of Reactor 4, where the accident happened on the fateful evening of 26th of April 1986.

You can see a video of us visiting the Control Room of reactor number 3 in the link below.

We highly encourage you to follow our adventure and LIVE coverage from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the exclusion zone all weekend on our Instagram channel.

Please reply to this email or comment on your social channels if you have any burning questions, requests to cover a subject on our livestream onsite, or a specific blog you want us to write about Chernobyl. Email us here for more information about our upcoming dates in 2021.

As always we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💸We Accept Cryptocurrency Payments

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you healthy and well. After multiple requests from our customers and a lot of research, we are proud to announce you can now secure your trip of a lifetime in a brand new way.

Pay With Cryptocurrency

Our clients now have the option to pay with major cryptocurrencies like USDT, BTC, ETH, ADA, and DOT. This highlights our commitment to being able to offer secure, faster, cheaper, and global payment options to our customers around the planet.

With our early adoption of TransferWise in order to escape expensive bank fees, cryptocurrency simply was a natural progression to expand this service, offering a quick yet less expensive way to accept customer payment in the comparison of traditional payment types like a credit card or SWIFT transfer.

Popularity with the mainstream has soared with major financial institutions like Paypal and Venmo adopting the technology, resulting in 15% of American adults now owning some form of cryptocurrency—a little more than half of whom invested in cryptocurrency for the first time during the first six months of 2020 when BTC was priced at a third of what it is today.

To put it in perspective - the first retail transaction using crypto was by Laszlo Hanyecz purchasing 2 Large Papa John´s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins worth 40USD at the time - today a cool 360 million dollars. In stark contrast, 1 of these coins today would now buy you over 3 trips to Bikini Atoll.

With the introduction of stable coins into the crypto ecosystem and options for instant USDT conversions - Dirty Dozen is now able to accept all major cryptocurrencies as payments for our trips in a safe and secure manner avoiding the pitfalls of market volatility.

We are thrilled to be able to expand our options for you and look forward to trading your 1s and 0s for AAA grade RUST.

New DATE AND Special Guest in 2022!

With scarce availability of seats in Truk Lagoon as a destinaton in 2022 due to the backlog caused by the COVID pandemic, we were very happy to be able to acquire an additional charter for those that could not make our other dates in the schedule. Jason Meany from A Dram Of Diving will be joining us on that trip in March 2022.

A Dram of Diving started when the Covid-19 pandemic hit us all. Originally it was just a few divers spinning ridiculous stories on the internet. Today it has grown to have a huge dedicated audience and high-profile guests.

The show has created 35 episodes and has tackled many serious and some comical topics. Host and special guest Jason Meany has been an Instructor and travel leader for over 10 years and owns Deep Stop Scuba in Syracuse, NY.

Know Jason and want to join him and the Dram of Diving crew in Truk Lagoon next year? Email us for more information.

KNOWLEDGEBASE UPDATE

A fresh update into our expanding Knowledge Base, this time with 2 installments from a History Channel episode named “The Battle for Truk Atoll”. Breaking from showing historical documentaries in the past and now full of top-shelf shows like “Ancient Aliens”, honestly we did not expect much.

Having said that - these 2 parts do show Operation Hailstone in a somewhat accurate light. There is plenty of historical footage which is quite interesting and the highlight is without a doubt the testimonials from actual pilots that were a part of the operation. Worth your time watching this weekend.

That is us for this week. Please reply to this email or comment on your social channels if you have any burning questions or a specific blog you want us to write.

As always we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💳 Certification Requirements for Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you healthy and well. By popular demand, we decided to write about a topic a lot of you have been curious about - what skills are needed to enjoy the two top wreck destinations on the planet to the fullest.

A misconception about diving in Bikini Atoll and Truk Lagoon is that both are deep, technical diving locations. In fact, with 70% of the wrecks in Truk Lagoon resting at depths of 40 meters or shallower, Truk is more than suitable for recreational divers. Is the same true for Bikini Atoll? Let’s dive into it!

TRUK LAGOON

Deep exploration diving in Truk Lagoon is popular, and there are plenty of wrecks past 40 meters. Because there are so many options, we run dedicated trips to Truk Lagoon for our CCR/open-circuit tech, and recreational divers.

With over 50 wrecks in this lagoon - making it the biggest concentration of war wrecks on the planet - there is no shortage of variety and it is impossible to see everything in one trip.

Having said that, we created these dedicated trips to satisfy this gap in the market. A huge part of the guests visiting Truk, nearly 3/4 are recreational. This often meant that the uneven split of skills, experience, and expectations on a liveaboard meant that everybody maybe not got exactly what they wanted. This is where the Dirty Dozen itineraries were born.

The goal of our technical and recreational itineraries is to give each customer regardless of their certification the most out of their trip.

These are the 3 different itineraries for Truk Lagoon which we have to offer:

⬇️REC ONLY - Max 40m/130ft

This itinerary focuses on 70% of the wrecks in Truk Lagoon where depths are above 40m/130ft. NO decompression diving allowed.

Certification prerequisites: PADI ADVANCED OPEN WATER OR EQUIVALENT.

• Nitrox certification is not mandatory but highly recommended for your own safety and to give you maximum dive times.

• A Wreck Diver specialty is also useful and means you can enjoy the wrecks as much as possible.

⬇️MOD 1/DP - Max 45m/147ft

This itinerary is similar to the REC ONLY itinerary but expands into the wreck selection to 45m/147ft. The big difference here is that extended rebreather dives and decompression diving are permitted.

Certification prerequisites:

TDI DECOMPRESSION PROCEDURES/CCR MOD 1 OR EQUIVALENT.

• TDI Advanced Wreck Diver is not mandatory but highly recommended for your own safety and enjoyment.

⬇️MOD 2/NMX TMX - Max 65m/213ft

This itinerary focuses on the best wrecks shallow and deep in Truk Lagoon. About 60% of the itinerary is spent at MOD 1 levels building up and the rest is in MOD 2 territory.

Expect 120-150min runtimes on CCR twice a day. CCR/OC both permitted.

Certification prerequisites: CCR MOD 2 OR EQUIVALENT/OC Extended Range

• TDI Advanced Wreck Diver is not mandatory but highly recommended for your own safety and enjoyment.

• OC TEC divers are limited to the depths of their certification.

See the attached calendar below showing our REC and TEC itineraries for Truk Lagoon and contact us for further information on the trip you wish to go on.

Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is a bit of a start contrast to Truk Lagoon. There are only 9 wrecks instead of 50+ and barely a handful of them can be accessed with a recreational or even decompression procedures certification. Mix in an aircraft carrier with hundreds of rooms and upside-down battleships and a good bit of experience and skills are needed.

Certification prerequisites are MOD 2 or OC Extended Range.

• TDI Advanced Wreck Diver/Full Cave is not mandatory but highly recommended for your own safety and enjoyment. Some of the penetrations are so challenging that either of these certifications is required, and we reserve any right to refuse you access to the route based on our judgment of your skills/attitude.

• TDI Extended Range or an equivalent rating allows you to conduct decompression dives to 55m/164ft or deeper with a twinset and enriched air stage cylinders for decompression. Normoxic Trimix qualification is not required. No trimix can be provided for OC divers due to the extreme scarcity in the Marshall Islands.

We hope this cleared up some confusion regarding what certifications are needed for Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll. More details along with tons of other information can be answered in our Expedition PDFs for Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll which you can download by clicking on the links above. Below you can see our availability for Bikini Atoll until 2025.

TRIP ALERT

We just had a space open with our special guests Marissa Eckert and James Draker for Truk Lagoon in November this year. Our entire year has been sold out for a while, so this is a golden opportunity to get back to Truk Lagoon at the end of this year. Email us for more information.

That is us for this week, we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

We Need YOU 👊

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. We would like to start his week’s blog by asking YOU - our dear team member for assistance!

DIRTY DOZEN EXPEDITIONS NEEDS A SLOGAN

The idea behind The Dirty Dozen was when the Captain of the Truk Master and Aron were sharing a few cold beers after a successful year in Truk Lagoon - watching the WW2 classic “The Dirty Dozen” and dreaming about what kind of a trip they would conduct if they had the boat for 10 days and could do a dream itinerary exploring the lagoon.

The rest is history - and since then there have been hundreds of jokes for a cheeky slogan - but we have never got one to stick, and now we feel the time is right.

So, put on your thinking cap and come up with a slogan that just might give you the bragging rights of coming up with DD’s new slogan, and save you up to 1000USD on your next booking. 💰

To be in it to win it:

☝️ Follow @thedirtydozenexpeditions on Instagram or Facebook

☝️ Comment on this photo in the feeds with your slogan idea

☝️ The winner will be announced on February 12 2021 at 1800 GMT +2 in our weekly newsletter - subscribe if you have not already HERE.

#Teamdd Member Jill heinerth presents at THE Explorers Club

Celebrated cave diver and #teamdd member Jill Heinerth conducted a fascinating #ECLectureSeries presenting "Underwater Ice Age Discoveries Beneath the Yucatan: Exploring La Mina" this week.

Researchers studying the subterranean site La Mina will share their findings on the region’s prehistory, the exploration the discovery and documentation of the site, and the use of the mineral pigment ocher in Pleistocene-Holocene communities.

Join Jill for a fascinating evening learning about underwater caves and prehistoric mining activity of ocher deposits in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Click on the video above to watch.

Have you ever thought about diving with Jill Heinerth? She is joining us again in Truk Lagoon in 2022. Email us for more information.

Aron Joins mentorship program

Aron also was active with the Explorers Club this week as he learned that he has been chosen to take on a mentee in the brand new EC Mentorship Program.

A brilliant idea from the club, especially in these times apart where the committee carefully handpicks a mentor and mentee to connect and share triumphs and failures, knowledge and experience, and any tips that should help along this lifelong rollercoaster that is exploration.

Aron’s mentee is an anthropologist interested in electronic engineering and underwater archaeology that is mounting an expedition to dive a virgin shipwreck in the next year.

The Connection Committee of The Explorers Club will also be launching several additional programs in the coming years designed to create inclusive opportunities for learning, partnership, and camaraderie between members of the Explorers Club.

Have you thought about joining the club? PM Aron about membership - he will gladly coach you with your application.

That is us for this week, we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💣The first special guest announcement of 2021!

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. Team DD has been getting into the first working week of the year and boy, do we have some news to share with you.

DIVESOFT EXPEDITION TO BIKINI ATOLL

As some of you might have noticed, aside from working alongside special guests for our itineraries, we have also started working with training organizations and manufacturers.

This is to further extend our portfolio of services to our clients. Rebreather divers for example love their units in the same way muscle car owners stick to their brand. Diving together as a team also allows for superior unit support.

In short, we figured it would be a really fun experience for divers of the same brand/unit to get together on a themed expedition with the team behind the unit and share the adventure together while learning from each other. We already have an expedition with Nick Hollis from Hollis Rebreathers scheduled for October 2021 to Truk Lagoon and Andy Adams from SF2 Rebreathers in Truk in 2022.

During the 2020 BOOT show in Germany, Jakub from Divesoft and I sat down and started chatting about taking Divesoft to either Truk Lagoon or Bikini Atoll, and as of today, our 3rd manufacturer trip - The Divesoft Expedition to Bikini Atoll is a reality.

This pilot expedition for Divesoft is going to be for Liberty Instructors and Instructor Trainers. Are you a Divesoft Liberty diver and want to join? Not to worry, we are in the planning stages for another great expedition for Divesoft Liberty Divers which we will release the dates of ASAP. Stay tuned on Divesoft and Dirty Dozen socials for more updates and let us know if you want your name put down.

Cannot wait for announcements? Check out the segment we did on Divesoft’s show DIVETALKS about Truk and Bikini - which can be found HERE.

Yearning to go to Bikini Atoll before 2023? Not to worry, we have plenty of dates left in 2022, and if your lucky maybe an open space this year. EMAIL us to find out more.

That pretty much sums it up from us this week. Plenty of announcements, news, and exciting developments coming up, but better to start the year off slowly. Now, if you have not cleaned up after the New Years’ party yet, it’s probably a good idea before it looks like this hold in Truk.

Finally, we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🎯Who is your most wanted in 2021?

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you recovering from a fun New Years’ evening.

First of all, thanks for turning up, reading our emails, joining the conversation, and sharing the love on social throughout 2020.

We have worked hard to ensure that 2021 is going to be bigger and better than ever with our great line up of expeditions and special guest trips we have scheduled. It goes without saying you should stay tuned for more blogs, special guest announcements, and other exclusive DD content coming your way this year. If you are late to the party and missed any of our blogs in 2020 - you can find them here.

Since we have a fair few destinations to pick from in 2021, we thought it would only be fair to give you a full overview of the adventures and availability for The Dirty Dozen in 2021 in our first newsletter of the year.

BIKINI ATOLL

In total, 95 vessels were caught in the crossfire of the Able and Baker bombs dropped on Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads.

Today the nuclear refugees are still without their island home due to increased radiation levels and the only residents habiting Bikini are a handful of caretakers.

From the misery and destruction wrought by the nuclear tests, Bikini’s nuclear ghost fleet became the graveyard for some of the most significant naval ships in war history. The dangers of radioactivity and the remoteness of the area have created an extremely limited exploration of this scuba diving site for many years. The Dirty Dozen expedition to Bikini Atoll covers the best of these wrecks and is made specifically for OC/CCR Normoxic Trimix divers.

Although our 2021 calendar for Bikini Atoll is sold out there is always hope. We have spaces that come open every now and again and it’s really worth sending an inquiry to go on a waitlist for your date of choice.

We currently have 1 space open for 2021 for our 5-18 June 2021 trip and open availability in 2022 onwards. Email us here for more info.

TRUK LAGOON

It’s 05:14 am on the 17th of February, 1944.

35 Task Force 58 planes take off from the American aircraft carrier Essex. The planes are loaded with 500 and 1000-pound armor piercing bombs. The first raid is about to begin. Half an hour before, eleven Hellcats had already reached their target for an initial sweep at the 4th Fleet Anchorage, making the job of the bombers effortless.

At 7 am, a bomb with a delay fuse is dropped on the Nippo Maru, blowing a large hole in the ship, flooding the engine room, and sinking it immediately. Operation Hailstone has begun. The naval task force, armed with over 500 aircraft, attacks the lagoon for 48 hours straight, decimating over 50 vessels and 250 aircraft. The biggest wreck diving ghost fleet in the world is created.

Truk Lagoon is really a paradise playground for all divers, but with our classic customized technical and recreational itineraries, we have designed the most enticing way to explore this site. Putting our money where our mouth is, we launched a series of exclusive expeditions since 2017 with trips scheduled up until 2025.

As with all our expeditions, you can enjoy attractive payment terms and friendly booking conditions because we want you to get down and dirty with some of the most exciting wrecks under the sea.

We currently have 1 space open for 2021 for our Nick Hollis Charter 31 October - 09 November 2021 and open availability in 2022 onwards. Email us here for more info.

GALAPAGOS

Straddling the equator and spread out over 45,000 sq km (17,000 sq miles) the Galapagos Archipelago is home to some of the planet’s most remote dive sites and best big animal diving.

When we think of the Galapagos, the first things to come to mind are probably iguanas, sharks, and Charles Darwin. But the islands have a rich history and there are plenty of interesting tales originating from our earth’s closest approximation to Jurassic Park.

We currently have 1 space open for our 9-19 December 2021 trip and open availability in 2022. Email us here for more info.

CHERNOBYL

During our scouting expedition for this destination, which we explored Pripyat and the surrounding forest in a group of five, camped in the USSR Research base in the woods, and immersed ourselves in the Zone’s stark scenery resulted in an itinerary that will blow you away.  

Let our expert private guide with ten years experience including working with the crew on HBO’s TV mini-series: Chernobyl, take you on a journey into this wild wilderness and out of your comfort zone.

From the Exclusion Zone to inside the newly opened and infamous Control Room Number 4, you are now able to experience Chernobyl in a whole new way with Dirty Dozen Expeditions.  Check out these awesome new three-day itineraries here.

We currently have open availability in 2021. Email us here for more info.

That is us for the first newsletter of this year. I do not think many of us can digest more information today. Not to worry, we will be in touch, as usual, every Friday.

Finally, we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty. Here’s to 2021.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

Lots of ❤️ from the DDE Team

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well.

This holiday season is unlike any other, to cap off a year unlike any other. Throughout this season, and as we move into a new (and hopefully better) year, we wish you moments of peace amid the difficulties, connections with family and friends even if they can’t be in person, the warmth of memories from holidays past, and wonderful glimpses of the joy that still lives under the surface.

We also want to thank you all for your support this year. We truly have the best customers anybody could ask for.

Finally, we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🎁Last Minute Christmas Shopping!

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. With this holiday season already here we thought we'd offer our take on a classic present.

GIFT CARDS

We will be perfectly honest, we only just realised Christmas is a week away with all the hustle and bustle of December. We bet a lot of you feel the same way working a busy month, and you might be stuck for buying last-minute presents.

Not to worry.

With our personalized gift cards you can give the gift of adventure

Spoil your pain in the ass brother, husband to be, your amazing son or your lovely wife. Give the present of excitement knowing there is a adventure of a lifetime waiting for them in the coming year after being inside most of 2020.

The voucher is valid to all our destinations and dates running as far as December 2024 - so there will be something to look forward and plan to as we come closer to a new year and beginnings.

Remember - there is no shame forwarding this to your better half with the subject “HINT HINT”. 😆

Send us an email HERE and we will organize a personalised gift card for you straight away.

TRIP ALERTS

Having said that, we have just wrapped up last minute openings that have come up in our otherwise sold out 2021 season. Email us if you are interested in getting to Bikini Atoll or Galapagos sooner than 2022.

TRIP ALERT: Galapagos 9-19 Dec 2021 - 1 space open

TRIP ALERT: Bikini Atoll 5- 18 June 2021 - 1 space open

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this Christmas but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely until then, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🐪Ever Dreamt Of The Blue Hole?

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. Last week we wrote you from an airport lounge and this Friday is exactly the same, this time in Istanbul. As the world starts to open up, Dirty Dozen visited one of its former headquarters in Egypt. For those of you that know Aron way back, these were years spent in the deep diving mecca of planet earth, Dahab.

This was when Team DD started getting serious about technical diving and exploration, setting up the first operation called Team Blue Immersion with Jonas Samuelsson and Erik Brown. Over 6 years we took countless explorers to the depths of the Sinai peninsula through its famous submerged canyons, blue hole and the breathtaking variety of marine life on the Red Sea’s coast. Today it is run by our team members Andy and Kerstin.

With full CCR support that meets the demands of our most hardcore customers, it’s everything you could possibly need for technical diving regardless whether you dive backmount, sidemount or CCR.

So - while we are waiting patiently for our Bikini Atoll season to start in May, Dahab is open with a negative PCR test.

This gave us an idea.

So many of you have met DD in our wreck diving destinations but we have not had the privilege to show you this spectacular location, so we are considering to do a special team trip to Dahab in March/April 2021.

One of its most famous dive sites in Dahab, the Blue Hole, is a spectacular dive site. In fact, we just surfaced from a 65m dive swimming past the arch yesterday morning at 6am.

This 120m submarine sinkhole with no current and warm water covered in rich marine life and coral. Its most infamous reputation, the “arch” is a spectacular overhang starting at 55m going all the way to the bottom. Its overwhelming nature is a dive that is simply not possible to get tired of doing again and again, especially on rebreather at different depths.

That’s just one of Dahab’s huge variety of breathtaking dive sites. If you ever experienced our seamless rebreather logistics on our vessels, this is replicated from this shore based operation.

The drive to the Blue Hole and the surrounding dive sites takes less than 30 minutes so there is no rush in preparation before the dive and we are able to conduct two normoxic trimix dives per day without stress, just like in Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll.

For those of you that want to learn more about this magical place, check out these videos we produced on site.

Availability for this 10 day exploration trip will be very limited, so inquire sooner than later as these trips will fill with our core team of explorers itching to get out of the house. We are setting up the program as we speak and should be able to send you information and pricing next week.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🏃‍♂️Hitting The Ground Running

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. It’s been a huge week for the world as the United Kingdom becomes the first country to approve a COVID vaccine with vaccinations starting on Tuesday. It is no longer speculation or a waiting game. Things are happening and as per usual Team DD plans to hit the ground running.

With our extensive network we have been receiving intel from all over the planet about upcoming vaccination plans that cover the area of our operations in the world that is most challenging, FSM and the Marshals, the news are encouraging!

The image below describes a plan to cover 80% of the population in Palau by easter, and Chuuk and the Marshall Islands are involved in the same initiative with the US government and COVAX.

Marshalls working to get early Covid-19 vaccine access

rnz.co.nz reports about Marshall Islands vaccination efforts in co-ordination with the US Goverment:

“Marshall Islands officials will meet with US government officials in early December to discuss logistical issues with getting Covid-19 vaccines into islands.

The Health Secretary, Jack Niedenthal, said the US was working with the Marshalls government, as well as governments of the freely associated states of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, to ensure early vaccine access.”

Read the article HERE

Knowledge Base Update

There was a big update done to the Knowledge Base this week. One highlight is a walkthrough we did of Bikini Atoll Divers in 2019, a 5 minute exclusive video walkthrough of the abandoned dive center at Bikini Atoll in 2019 during a DD Expedition.

Bikini Atoll Divers opened in June of 1996 to provide an economic base for possible future resettlement of Bikini Atoll.

In 2008 the Council had to close their operation due to local airline reliability issues, soaring energy costs, and US stock market conditions that impacted the local government budget. It is well worth a watch if you wonder how Bikini Atoll looks on land.

Now that you might be thinking its time to organize your travel, we thought we would also share this excellent chart of the wrecks in Truk Lagoon made by our captain Martin Cridge. The full resolution image and lots of other updates can be found on our knowledge base right now. The password is DDERocks.

Obviously these great news in the world have been positive for us at the office. We have been keeping really busy with new bookings as people see a path to free world travel and we plan to bring you a updated over availability in our next newsletter so you can calm down the FOMO effect.

Its exhilarating to think about all the good times that lie ahead after this hibernation. True to us hitting the ground running - we in fact packed the CCR’s this morning and in the airport when this is written. More about that adventure next Friday.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🛫IATA Travel App and Black Friday Deals!♠️

Dear Team Member,

First and foremost to our American readers, I wish you all had a great thanksgiving, and as always, I hope this message finds you all healthy and well as we all try and wrap up 2020 for good and look forward to a new year ahead.

Richard Wiese, President of The Explorers Club summarized this in a recent newsletter which I could not have said better “One of the hallmarks of a good explorer is the ability to adapt to a changing environment, in essence, to make lemonade from lemons. Whilst COVID-19 has been an impediment to exploration, it has created an opportunity for us to invest in and engage with our members and audience at a level we never have before, airing programs and events from around the globe, which we commit to continuing.”

This has been the case for our members too. It has been fantastic to engage with you all on livestreams, podcasts and the rest, spreading good vibes and stimulating thoughts before we move onwards with our adventures. Having said that, there are some good news coming out other than vaccines being released shortly.

IATA Travel App is launched

One of the big challenges moving ahead into 2021 is the thought of having to vaccinate the entire world before we can start moving again. With a very high efficiency rate of the new vaccines being released imminently, it is fair to assume once a person is vaccinated, they are free to travel. We were really excited to hear IATA addresses this exact problem in a press release this week where they announced the planned launch of their new Travel app. With IATA coordinating with 90% of the worlds airlines, these news are highly encouraging.

IATA said:

“To re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation governments need to be confident that they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19. This means having accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status.

Creating a digital platform for passengers with information on what tests, vaccines and other measures they require prior to travel, details on where they can get tested as well as giving the passengers the ability to share their tests and vaccination results in a verifiable, safe and privacy-protecting manner is the key to giving governments the confidence to open borders. To address this challenge IATA is launching the IATA Travel Pass.”

In essence, once IATA has had this approved from the worlds governments, travel should be able to resume once people have been vaccinated which is great news.

We attached the full press release presentation in our Knowledge Base where it can be downloaded. Remember - the password is DDERocks

MILES OFFER AND GETTING EXTRA LUGGAGE FOR FREE📦

United Airlines, who is the only end destination airline to get to Truk/Bikini is doing a flash sale on miles TODAY where you get double for your money.

This means you can get for example 100.000 miles for 1750 USD. To put that into context, from most major cities in the USA a ticket to Truk Lagoon is 35.000 miles each way. The United hub from Frankfurt is offering each way to Kwajalein at 50.000 miles.

It is also worth mentioning, the airline is making it a lot easier for new and existing members to climb their loyalty ladder as travel restarts, giving you the chance to work your way up within their system. About luggage, already on Silver level you are getting a free upgrade to 70lb/32kg, on gold its 2 bags of that size and platinum gives you whopping 3x 70lb/32kg bags for free on check-in. These rates work also while booking your itinerary mixed with another star alliance airline, but always make sure to confirm with your partner airline when booking.

You are not required to only fly United to do this as mentioned above. Simply register as a United frequent flyer, and then when you book any flight with Star Alliance, you put your United member number in on the booking, which will then reward you points into the United Account.

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS♠️

We have a whopping 25% off all our merch in the store TODAY. Grab the Black Friday chance and get your DD merch at a great price, just in time for the holidays.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🤝Big Changes Ahead

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

As always we hope this message finds you happy and well. With 2021 on the horizon and 2020 almost behind us, a year most of us will be happy to forget about, forever, the team at DD HQ is starting to see the light through the storm.

While reflecting on the year, we would like to take the chance to say a HUGE thank you to all our guests that have had to reschedule your trip in 2020. We honestly cannot believe how understanding you have all been and we appreciate your kindness and loyalty. We really have the best team and we love you all!

With a 100% rescheduling success rate no further than 12 months from the original date of departure with every single customer, our trips are going ahead full steam with the same special guests and custom itineraries as were before postponement. Check out the calendars below!

Having said that, there are some really big changes ahead behind the closed door, and the brevity of this newsletter reflects that. We are working really hard to bring some big changes into the new year and we are so excited to be able to tell you all about it in due course.

This does not mean you will not hear from us next Friday with a lot more updates on what else is new, but for now we have to get back to it!

It goes without saying we hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are always here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💺WORLDWIDE AVAILABILITY UPDATE

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

With waves of progress signaled from vaccine manufacturers this week and scientists calling the progress the biggest medical breakthrough in a century, we feel a sense of hope and optimism that free movement across the globe will be kicking off sooner rather than later.

The big news from DDE HQ this week is that between reshuffling our customers who have been impacted by changes to our charter schedules this year, and our excited team members snapping up the chance to experience more adventures with FOMO in full force, we are on track to have an unforgettable year of expeditions in 2021.

To summarize - we are currently sold out in all our destinations: Truk Lagoon/Bikini Atoll and Galapagos for the calendar year of 2021.

NOT TO WORRY - THE PLANNING FOR FUTURE ADVENTURES STARTS NOW

LET’S CHECK OUR WORLDWIDE AVAILABILITY UPDATE

GALAPAGOS AVAILABILITY

Our exclusive 2020 Galapagos recreational end of year itineraries have had the ante upped from our head office now with 50% off on the LAST remaining departures to Galapagos in 2020. Bananas! The response has been wild, of course and we have had DD Members on this boat for every week the last month now.

Here are the dates and prices available:

7 Day Cruise 2975USD from 5950USD 

14 - 21 December 2020 

21 - 28 December 2020

10 Day Cruise 3800USD from 7600USD 

23 November - 03 December 2020

03 - 13 December 2020 

This truly is a once in a lifetime offer as Galapagos is always fully booked and always at full price. So if your schedule is flexible at the end of this year, get in touch! *This offer applies to standard Galapagos Master itineraries - no CCR support. The travel is seamless, with our crew showing up at the hotel and doing your pre-boarding PCR test on site in Quito before the trip starts.

Should you fancy DDE´s own rare CCR ONLY itineraries as well as a mixed CCR/OC expedition in 2022, we still have some spots left!

TRUK LAGOON AVAILABILITY

Not the first time that Jill has featured as a Special Guest on a trip to Truk for us, and we could not be more excited to get back there and dive with her again in 2022 on this awesome technical CCR adventure. We have not advertised this trip much and there STILL is availability but it won’t last long.

Some of the highlights of Jill’s experience during her first trip to Truk Lagoon with DDE this year included:
🗺️ The itinerary and very carefully curated expedition was fantastic ⁠
🧜 Small group⁠
🛥️ Comfy boat⁠
☀️ Lots of staff⁠
🏝️ Dived wrecks off beaten path⁠
🔭 Dives that were exploratory⁠
💠 There was an equal level of experience⁠
💪 Jill certainly recommends⁠!

We are NOT your average dive trip organiser.

BIKINI ATOLL AVAILABILITY

Although our 2021 calendar for Bikini Atoll is sold out there is always hope. We have spaces come open every now and again and its really worth sending an inquiry to go on a waitlist. There are also still plenty opportunities to discover Bikini in 2022.

Check out our updated expedition calendar below that runs until 2025. We hold over 40% of all the carters from 2023 onwards.

CONTACT US NOW TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

We can offer small deposits, flexible payment terms, and friendly booking conditions on all our trips to get you down and dirty with some of the most infamous wrecks on the planet.

COMPETITION RESULTS

The entries into the #MyDDEAdventure competition took us from stunning deep dark mines to Bikini’s best bar, so without further ado, let’s get down to business! 

Firstly we would like to say we have been overwhelmed by the support, as usual, and are so grateful to all our members for their lively participation.  

It has certainly been a tricky task picking a winner, all your adventures are so important to us, especially at a time when many of us are unable to travel.  

DDE HQ and all the team here are super pleased to announce our winner of the competition. 

We asked you to show us what your DDE adventure was, and we were not disappointed.  

Put your hands together for a great big dirty dozen rounds of applause for Perry B’s DDE Adventure!  

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PERRY SAYS

“Diving for pleasure is a young sport. Mass participation in the joy of swimming freely underwater, for no other reason than to be in the liquid world, has only been possible for fifty years. It is easier, cheaper, and safer to learn to dive than ever before. And yet, the prospect of immersion continues to inspire fear...

To go underwater is simply not a natural activity. We enter a hostile element where the most basic life fuel, air, is unattainable. To survive, we must take it with us. To confront the liquid world, to enter the element and return to the air world, reinforces our will to live. It provokes joy and contentment in a world where people find less and less time to experience their personal space.”

Follow Perry’s adventures here: @perrybrandes

This sweater is on its way to you now!

SPECIAL MENTION:

We are also loving this sweet little Galapagos Lobster entry, from @decodivershawaii who was diving on Darwin’s Arch with us last week!

Thank you, everyone, we had a blast and a half! 

That pretty much wraps it from us this week, and should you still be holding onto going somewhere in 2021 keep an eye out for these newsletters. Whenever space opens up we announce a trip alert on here and you are the first to know.

As usual, we hope you have a lovely weekend ahead but remember, if you feel lonely, we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

⏳Last Chance To Win Some DD Merch!

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

As always we hope you have had a great week. It has been the usual whirlwind of activity this week at DDE HQ catching up with new and old members alike about all the upcoming adventures on the horizon.

Having said that, check this amazing entry we have had for our competition. This shot includes DD members and Divers of the Dark, Antti Apunen, and Laura Tuominen. They were doing a 140m dive in Montala mine this week, can you spot the 2 DD stickers? Fantastic shot Patrik!

One of the many entries we had during the last few weeks

ICYMI, This is the last chance to get your pics into us for your entry into our competition, so get posting now!

⁠To be in it to win it:⁠⁠

🔴 Follow @thedirtydozenexpeditions on Instagram.⁠

🔴 Post a photo or video on your (public) Instagram with the hashtag #myDDEadventure & mention @thedirtydozenexpeditions⁠

⁠🔴 The two lucky winners will receive a prize— there are a tee-shirt and a hoody up for grabs. 🏔🎒⁠

⁠🔴 If you already own some DD merch then include it in the pic and you can win the hoody. ⁠

⁠🔴 If you are yet to acquire some DD merch, you could win the tee shirt.⁠

🔴 Tag your best dive buddies!⠀⁠

🔴 Winners will be announced on November 13 2020 at 1800 Ukraine time⠀⠀⁠

#CCDD

If social media is not your thing - there is another way to win.

We are offering you the chance to tell us what you would like to see more of, less of, who, whom, why, when, and everything in between for our upcoming season 2 of CCDD by taking two minutes of your time to fill in our survey by clicking the button below.

It would be really appreciated.

As a token of our appreciation, those entering will have a chance of winning in our swag competition.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Knowledge Base Update - 60 Minutes Covers Bikini Atoll

For forty years, 60 Minutes have been telling Australians the world’s greatest stories. Tales that changed history, our nation and our lives. Reporters Liz Hayes, Allison Langdon, Tara Brown, Charles Wooley, Liam Bartlett and Sarah Abo look past the headlines because there is always a bigger picture - this time about Bikini Atoll.

FISH ARE FRIENDS

As much as we love wrecks at DDE, we are still partial to a bit of marine life and there is no shortage of vibrant coral growth and cool fish to see at both Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll! We don’t talk about it much as often we are too focused on the wrecks, but check out the picture below depicting the likelihood of seeing all these awesome species in in our wreck meccas. We thought the illustration below was quite funny as all of the species are literally to be seen year-round.

There really is nothing like exiting a penetration on the USS Saratoga and ending your decompression with a nuclear tiger shark, and its not uncommon!

Drop us a line now to find out all about our trips, schedules and super friendly payment terms now.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

✨💣 Getting Wrecked Seems Like A Thing Of The Future

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We hope you have been staying positive and testing negative. We have had a busy week at DDE HQ, with new customers taking advantage of our superior service and awesome booking conditions for trips to Bikini and Truk, a cool competition, and a bit of a “customer shuffle” but more on that later. If you are keen to get some adventure scheduled in and have something super sweet awaiting you on the horizon then contact us now to find out what all the buzz is about! 

COMPETITION TIME

Last week we announced the return of our retro merch and this week we are celebrating! 

Now is your chance to be a part of our competition to celebrate the relaunch of our signature retro-style merch. 

Show us YOUR Dirty Dozen adventure, or your vision of our rad adventures that you have been dreaming of!⠀⠀

1. Follow @thedirtydozenexpeditions on Instagram.

2. Post a photo or video on your (public) Instagram with the hashtag #myDDEadventure & mention @thedirtydozenexpeditions

3. The two lucky winners will receive a prize— there are a tee-shirt and a hoody up for grabs. 🏔🎒If you already own some DD merch then include it in the pic and you can win the hoody. If you are yet to acquire some DD merch, you could win the tee shirt.

4. Tag your best dive buddies!⠀

5. Winners will be chosen on 6th November 2020 at 1800 Ukraine time⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Good luck! 🍀⠀⠀

THE UGLY

It comes with great sadness, but not so much surprise, a decision has been made to cancel the Truk Lagoon Expedition that was scheduled to depart 9-19 December 2020. Despite a great effort from our team to work out new plans and logistics to see our divers set sail into the magical lagoon, we were regrettably unsuccessful given the world situation. As of this email, operations in Truk Lagoon are slated to resume on the 27th of December 2020.

The DDE Team has let all our affected guests know that there will be no charter. Along with our partners, we held out as long as possible within the margin for logistics and safety but in the end, rescheduling everyone has been the best option. 

But guess what?! All our guests have been contacted and rebooked onto charters leaving within twelve months so thankfully, no one will be left at home, and we can continue to rest assured that we standby the best service. In fact, most of our guests have been rebooked on to Nick Hollis’ rescheduled charter that is now departing 31st October 2021. 

Check out our updated calendar, and if you fancy getting down in Truk Lagoon, contact us now for more info. 

YOUTUBE BINGE AHOY

Have you checked out our YouTube channel? With videos featuring testimonials from our Special guests, antics from our expeditions, and crucial safety info there is plenty of cool content to keep you occupied on your surface interval.

Not that you need it but check out our highlights video from Truk to whet your adventure appetite, click the image below now to watch the video.

#CCDD

You can also learn more about Nick Hollis now in Episode 8. Nick Hollis: Born Into Diving from Season 1 of Coming Clean with the Dirty Dozen.

“If we can make someone’s diving experience with a good product that is what excites us.” Nick Hollis on #CCDD

IN OTHER NEWS

The Royal Oak

In a new film that chronicles the extensive visual survey efforts of a small international team of volunteer civilian divers as they explore the iconic wreck of the Royal Oak, the dive team uses pioneering underwater survey and visualization techniques to document the wreck as it rests on the seabed today. The wreck of Royal Oak is a designated war grave and lies almost upside down in 30m/100 ft of water. The hull is only 4.9m/16 ft beneath the surface. 

"On 14th October 1939, the HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by German U-Boat 47 while she sat at anchor in Scapa Bay, Orkney. Of the 1259 men on board, 835 were killed. Over 100 of them were boy sailors between 15-17 years old. The event still resonates with the relatives of those lost and the people of Orkney, a painful loss for an island community witness to such tragedy at what was believed to be a safe anchorage."

Knowledge Base Update

Have you dropped by our Knowledge Base recently? We caught up on the wrecks under the sea that are creating a great cause for concern.

Accompanying scientists on their journey while they investigate the severity of the situation as places continue their contamination of the seabed from leaking oil, increasing toxicity, and developing dangerous circumstances. It is possible to remove leaking oil from wrecks, possible but expensive.

“Time bombs are ticking on the world’s sea beds. During World War II, 6,300 vessels were sent to the bottom. For years, they have been rusting beneath the waves and leaking toxic oil into the oceans. The biggest oil spill in history is imminent.

Experts estimate that the wrecks could hold up to 15 million tons of fuel, posing a threat to both holidaymakers and wildlife. This documentary takes viewers to Poland’s Baltic coast, to Norway, the USA, and the Pacific Ocean.”

Check out this awesome film, and all our other resources in the DDE KB now and remember - our password to the Knowledge Base is sent out when you sign up to our NL.

That’s it from us this week, time to get off your keister and start planning an epic expedition, and as always we hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

👍🛩Plane Changer

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member, 

How has your week been? All is noisy on the western front as new research shines a hopeful light on air travel, communications from one of our members underwater in Galapagos and we take it back to the old school with the return of our retro merch!

PLANE and simple

New insight into the safety of air travel amid the pandemic reveals the risk of COVID-19 exposure onboard United Airlines aircraft is "virtually non-existent".

The new study finds that when masks are worn there is only a 0.003% chance particles from a passenger can enter the passenger's breathing space who is sitting beside them.

Per these results, it would take a minimum of 54 hours of sitting next to someone with Covid-19 to be exposed to an infectious dose.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to questions regarding the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure that may lead to transmission amongst passengers on an aircraft. This brand-new landmark study from the Department of Defense and United Airlines conducted 300 tests in over six months with dummies in-flight to examine the possible spread of droplets.

Overcoming the difficulties of human tracking in real-life transmission scenarios by using the aerosol expelling dummies, fluorescent aerosol tracers between 1-3 µm, and real-time optical sensors coupled with DNA-tagged tracers to measure aerosol deposition means that the test team completed the largest aircraft aerosol experimental validation testing to date, with eight days of testing involving both inflight and ground tests on Boeing 777-200 and 767-300 airframes. 

The results concluded that passengers wearing masks are at very low risk of contracting Covid-19 on planes, even during packed flights. The results state that the aggressive air filtration and circulation systems on planes lead to the near-immediate dispersal of particles carrying the infection. With United as our airline of choice for Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll we are very happy to find out about this great study with DOD.

Read the full article here and download the full PDF report in our updated Knowledge Base.

DD IN GALAPAGOS

We have had some good news from the Galapagos Islands! One of our DD team members, DJ Meacham has been having a wild time taking advantage of one of the great end of year deals we had to the Galapagos.

DD STYLE ALL THE WAY

Deloye was welcomed by Aron remotely with a bottle of wine even though we could not be there to join onboard for his paradise adventure.

We received this update once he was back in the signal range:

"F'in amazing!!!  It was amazing! I loved Darwin and Wolfe Islands, they were the real showstoppers but the other dive sites were good too. 

The crew and the boat were both outstanding.

The water was really cold so I would recommend bringing a drysuit.  Darwin and Wolfe not too bad temperature-wise but the other dives- yikes!  I brought an 8mm Hollis NeoTek suit with me and wished for my drysuit!

We went to visit the Mola Mola but they did not appear.  We only had whale sharks instead!!! I got some amazing footage of that dive, it was sensational.  The sharks were incredible too.

When we arrived we had to be tested for COVID within 72 hours of arriving in San Cristobal arranged by the staff.  You also have the option to do a test when you arrive in Quito, either way, no big deal.

Internet sucks!  I'll send more pics when we hit land!"

We have also received news of a marine life update from the Galapagos Cruise Director's Report dated: 5th-12th October 2020

"We greeted our 10 guests at San Cristobal with perfect conditions and 16°C water temperatures - ideal for sightings.  Our cruise commenced the next day with a visit to the Island of Seymour where we saw the first of many sea lions and plenty of birds, including blue-footed boobies!  The guests loved this. This visit was followed by diving off the Island of Baltra, with 19°C water temperatures - for a check dive. 

We then sailed to Darwin to the north of the islands, where we did seven dives.  Amazingly, we had 19 encounters with whale sharks!  Perhaps a record.  Not only that, but we saw a humpback whale and many many hammerheads and Galapagos sharks.  It was a real treat.
 
On Wolf Island, we lost count of the hammerhead sharks we saw.  We also saw a fantastic school of tuna and one of the eagle rays.  We moved on to Isabela where we dived at Vicente Roca Point.  There we were treated to a great variety - seahorses, turtles and bullhead sharks.  Cape Douglas on Fernandina Island came next.  The guests loved the marine iguanas - in a very calm sea.
 
Finally, in Cousin's Rock, we did two dives.  We were spoilt again with sea lions and eagle rays, mobulas and white fin sharks. 

We ended our trip with a visit to the tortoise breeding center in Santa Cruz.  Everyone had a fantastic time.  It is GREAT to be back!"

We are so happy to hear DJ had a good time and this is a great indicator for the many DD members that have taken us up on the 40% off Galapagos offers that are valid until end of 2020.

Contact us now if you would like more information.

Here are some of DJ’s photos from the trip:

NEW MERCHANDISE

Due to popular demand, we have been taking it back to the old times this week and designing some classic DD merch! Our original logo back/front designs are now back in our shop!

Now featuring the original DD signature style logo, it is time to shop ‘til you drop the new range of hoodys, tees, smart polos and freshen up that style as we head into fall.

Click on the pictures to visit our shop where you may check our out the retro vibes, and all our exclusive DDE merch out.

Aron even brought back our Retro pin-up design for his own wardrobe.

We have made this design available for one week only! Get it while you can!

Well, that’s about it from us guys this week. Back to dreaming about all the unearthly underwater adventures ahoy. Drop us a line now to find out all about our trips, schedules and super friendly payment terms now.

As always, we hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team