Wrecks and Sea Caves of Mindoro An Eight Day Diving Trip on the Liveaboard RAGS II – Visit some of the most pristine caves, caverns and shipwrecks of the waters of the Tablas

Straits, Mindoro and North Palawan…

May 20th – 29th 2016 - US$2,280 per person

Trip Overview

The trip will leave Puerto Galera late evening Friday 20th of May and head for the fantastic

wreck of the M/V Mactan at Maestre de Campo Island, with night dives on the Japanese wrecks

in Concepcion Harbour that evening. Next day would be Tablas Islands beautiful Blue Hole, the

Lighthouse Cave, and wreck of the large Japanese Army supply vessel Dogo Maru on Romblon.

Carabao Islands Cathedral Cave and dives at Yapak II and the Camia wreck off Boracay would

finish the Tablas traits section of the trip before heading to North Palawan for three days on the

WWII wrecks of Coron Bay, North Busuanga and the second Cathedral Cave of the voyage. The

last sector will be west of Mindoro, at the rarely dived Colocoto Cave and finally, the spectacular

waters around Apo Reef. Return home to Puerto is in the small hours of Sunday, June 7th.

The diving is aimed at, but not restricted to, technical divers. Experienced recreational divers

will find all of these dive sites within their safe realm with the exception of Colocoto Cave, where

a reef dive would be their alternative. Full support in terms of gases and double and deco tanks,

and for rebreathers if needed, is available through Tech Asia and on Rags II. Guiding on board

will be available for both levels or people may elect to dive as buddy pairs and plan their own

dives where conditions are suitable.

Costs and Inclusions

The price of $2,280 includes eight diving days with tanks and weights on Rags II in twin shared

cabins. All meals aboard, soft drinks, coffee, tea and beer are included. The first five oxygen

tanks used for nitrox are included, thereafter they cost $40 per tank divided amongst all divers.

Expect this to amount to $60-80 per person for the trip at most. Other additional costs would be

:

• Personal diving equipment rental if required. Please inquire.

• Helium, at US 6 cents per liter if needed.

• Tanks and consumables for rebreathers if required. Contact us.

• Apo Reef Park Fees. These were US$47 per person in 2015.

• Fuel surcharge $25 per person if oil price stays above $75 per barrel, $50 if above $100

per barrel etc. Final surcharges determined $30 days before departure.

Our route will run clockwise around Mindoro from our Puerto Galera start point just south of

Batangas

The Dive Sites in Detail

The Wreck of the M/V Mactan

Reached overnight from Puerto Galera this is probably one of the most beautiful wreck dives

in the Philippines. She sank in July 1973 during a typhoon whilst en route from Nasipit to

Manila. Becoming swamped in heavy seas her Master beached her near a lighthouse on

Maestre de Campo Island allowing almost all of the 680 on board to get ashore to safety before

she sank. The ship now lies between 20m at the bow and 48m at the stern on a clean and clear

reef slope. Her forward holds and open superstructure make great recreational dives and tech

divers can make advanced penetrations the entire length of the ship. A classic dive site.

Treasure Cave

An option near the Mactan is this beautiful sea cave near the entrance to the small harbor of

Maestre de Campo.The entrance is at a depth of 14 m. Entering the cave through a relatively

small but easy to pass through hole in the reef wall the divers enter a big chamber with a little

side room. Usually there are lots of small fish around and the highlight is looking back to the

entrance into blue water. Going further into the narrowing tunnel which slopes down to 19 m

definitely requires the laying of a line. Total distance to the entrance is about 60m. The sides

are narrow but the ceiling is high above and it pays to look at this carefully for the creatures

hiding in it’s cracks. Outside the cave, divers can explore the reef and wall nearby.

Japanese Wrecks at Maestre de Campo

Making a good night dive to finish the first day, in the harbour of Maestre de Campo are two

wrecks perpendicular to each other at a depth of 30 m. The bigger is a cargo vessel with most

part of the stern destroyed by

aerial bombs in WWII. Big

winches are still visible at the

rear of the cargo hold and the

chain locker can be penetrated.

The entire length is about 60 m.

Next to this wreck are the

remains of a smaller wooden

vessel which most likely was

moored next to the bigger ship

when they were attacked.

What is left is basically the keel

and parts of the hull with

engine parts, bottles etc. still lying scattered around the wreck.

Some of their history has been researched by Neil Krumbeck of Puerto Galera :

These two boats were called Sea Trucks by the Japanese or Kaijo Torraku. The steel one would most likely

have been built in Japan but the wooden one would have been built here in the Philippines. In early 1943

the Japanese implemented a mass production program to build wooden coastal freighters to offset their

tremendous loss of steel shipping. Ranging in size from 100 to 500 tons, they were built in Burma,

Thailand and the Philippines where good timber was plentiful and planned on producing a million gross

tons of these vessels per year by the end of 1944. They didn't actually get near this target, but

nevertheless built hundreds of them in boatyards on all the major islands here. Steel ones of this size

were referred to by the Americans as "Sugar Charlie Sugar" and the wooden ones as " Sugar Dogs".

Wooden vessels under 100 ft in length were called Luggers, so this one could also be one of these as it's

difficult to determine its length.

The Lighthouse Cave and Blue Hole – Tablas

Island

As the name suggests the cave is situated right

underneath the lighthouse of Northern Tablas Island. The

large entrance is at 23 m and the cavern itself splits in two

sections with a narrow chimney going up to shallower

depths. The view from inside looking towards the

gorgonian framed cave mouth with schools of fish passing

by is outstanding. In front of the cave is a large pile of

boulders which go down to a depth of 50 m. You can start

the dive there then enter the cave and finish with a drift

dive along Punta Gorda wall towards the west. If the

current is strong enough and you have enough gas, or a

scooter… you might be able to get all the way to the Blue

Hole and ascend through it to the reef top. A

truly spectacular dive!

The famous Blue Hole is best dived around

midday when the sun shines right into the hole

through the opening in the reef top at 6 m,

illuminating it beautifully. Descending into the

hole there is a cavern to explore before

reaching the huge opening in the wall leading

out to open water. Watching divers free falling

into the hole and emerging back into open

water at depth is breathaking… Slack water is

nice to have here, but if current is present

there is the Punta Gorda wall to drift, possibly

all the way back towards the Lighthouse Cave. Great diving….

Dogo Maru

This Japanese Army Supply Vessel was sunk during an aerial attack by U.S. Navy carrier-based

planes from Task Group 38.2 on October 21, 1944. At this stage of the war the Japanese

Imperial Navy was in disarray and chased through the Tablas Strait by the U.S. Navy Air Forces.

Countless wrecks in the area are evidence of this but most lie in great depths unfortunately.

Not so the Dogo Maru which rests at a convenient depth of 30 m to 39 m just opposite of

picturesque Romblon

Harbour. There were some

salvage operations going on a

few years ago, but due to the

intervention of local dive

shops the wreck was saved

and makes for an interesting

dive. It is about 85 m long and

the big boiler still sits near the

stern of the wreck. Swimming

along and over the remains of the wide hull of the ship you can still find many old artifacts, like

dozens of rubber shoe soles and even old Japanese coins. The company that produced the

shoes is still in existence, and also the history of the coins has been researched by our good

friend and PG dive pioneer Snake. We include this interesting side story in detail in our briefings

about the wreck of course.

Cathedral Cave on Carabao Island

On the northern end of Carabao Island we

have Cathedral Cavern. Maximum depth here

is 40m but the visibility is usually very good

and the cavern open and safe for recreational

dives. The rocks in the back of the cavern are

full of cracks and fissures which are great to

explore for sleeping or resting bigger fish, reef

sharks included. As ever, these nooks and

crannies can be crowded with sheltering

crustaceans and fish that prefer to live in this

semi dark world.

A smaller but even more picturesque cave lies within a few meters of the main cavern, although

being narrower and with some side passages this one warrants laying proper line to be safe.

Yapak, the Camia II and the Tupolev

Boracay’s big dive is Yapak II,

where all the Divemasters

head when they have a strong

enough group. Good visibility,

good current, and a

spectacular wall rising from

the depths up to 30m. What

would you expect to see here?

Just about everything. Not to

be missed... We’ll also visit

Boracay’s house wreck, the

intentionally sunk Camia II,

lying at depth of 30m and very

much akin to a slightly bigger

version of Puerto Galera’s own

Alma Jane and more intact, with engines still present. Nearby is another neat little dive, an

upside down Russian Tupolev airplane wreck, again in good shape with instruments still in the

cockpit. Late afternoon and early evening can be had on Boracay’s White Beach before the boat

moves on.

Coron Bay – The Japanese Fleet and Cathedral Cave

The second half of the trip will bring us into Coron Bay, with ( another! ) Cathedral Cave and the

impressive fleet of Japanese WWII wrecks that rest here.

On Coron Island and in front of an

unbelievably dramatic backdrop of some

of the steepest cliffs you might ever see is

the Cathedral Cave. A hole in the ocean

floor leads into this beautiful cavern, via a

short swim through a 10m deep entrance

tunnel. You soon see daylight shimmering

through the crystal clear water above.

Further ahead you find a submerged tree,

if you choose to ascend here you can see

the source of the light, a large opening in the top of the cave. There are fantastic formations all

around and it is a great spot to take some unforgettable pictures! Descend again and explore

the rest of the big cavern, but be wary of the smaller second chamber behind the first one, it’s

restricted and silty and without proper technical overhead environment training it’s not the

place to be.

In terms of wrecks, the Coron area was the scene of a USS Lexington lead carrier strike on a

Japanese Fleet spotted sheltering at anchor. Six major shipwrecks ( and several small ones) lie

close together in the Bay. We will be visiting the IJN Akitsushima, Irako, Ekkai Maru, Okikawa

Maru, Kogyo Maru and Olympia Maru, and likely the Kyokuzan Maru out on the North Coast of

Busuanga Island on our return journey.

Good information on all of the individual wrecks is found on the Rags II website here :

http://www.apo-reef-coron-wrecks-liveaboard.com/philippine-wartime-wrecks/coron-

wrecks.html . Briefly though, depth range is from around 18m to 42m at the deeper points of

the Irako, the bay is generally sheltered, but can have reasonable currents at wrecks like the

tanker Okikawa Maru. In scope the ships range from 90m, to more than 150m in length and

around 10,000 tonnes for the Irako and Okikawa , very large ships to explore….

Workshop on the Irako, Akitsushima machinery, and holds on Kyokuzan Maru

Their stories vary. Some are documented well, for example the unique and very recognisable

sea plane tender Akitsushima, which escaped Operation Hailstone in Truk Lagoon only to be

finally caught and sunk here. The Okikawa Maru was

misidentified for years as the Taiei Maru before noted

WWII Historian Peter Heimstaedt confirmed her true

identity. Likewise the Ekkai Maru was variously known as

Olympia or another Taiei Maru, However Peter’s research,

and our own diving experiences on a trip in 2007 finally

cleared her identity. This part of the trip finishes with a

move up to North Busuanga and the wreck of the Kyokuzan

Maru, a 135m long supply ship sunk upright in 24-40m of

clear water. Cargo holds still have the remains of trucks and

cars still to be seen. Regarded by some as the best of all the Coron area shipwrecks.

The 10,000 tonne Irako

Colocoto Cave and Apo Reef

From here, in good sea conditions, we can visit Colocoto Cave. This is a collection of exposed

rocks with a crack in the reef top leading to a large shaft dropping vertically to 60m. A depth of

30-40m in here has remarkable formations formed when the cave was dry. The cave is big

enough inside for a three person dive team to easily operate but the entrance is restricted, one

person at a time is all you can get and it would be problematic if a lot of decompression needed

to be done. Almost nobody else is diving this cave however and it’s more than worth the effort.

Finally a day can be spent at Apo Reef on the way

home from Coron. This marine reserve has

undergone spectacular recovery since being regularly

fished fifteen or so years back. In recent years, every

charter that has been there has come back with wide

eyed divers and greater accounts of the best reef and

wall diving they have seen. Famed for it’s visibility,

sometimes approaching 50m, the Apo Reef complex

and nearby Hunters and Merope Rocks give us

topography from the gullied shallow plateau of South

Apo, to the steep and overhung walls of Apo East and

North. Currents can pick up, and the drifts will bring

out the absolute best of the shark action and all the other hunters of the sea. Recreational

nitrox, or full technical dives here are equally viable.

Minimum Diving Requirements

This trip has technical divers in mind and those with Technical Wreck certifications and

experience are going to be able to make some challenging dives on the wrecks, but nothing

need be below 40m and capable recreational divers, ideally Nitrox certified, will fit in and have

a great trip. Though not required, dive accident insurance, for example through DAN or Dive

Assure , is highly encouraged.

The Dive Boat

Rags II is a 27 m long and 4.5 m wide, outrigger

style boat which makes for a very stable and

spacious platform to dive from. She has eight air

conditioned berths in four twin share cabins, two

shower/bathrooms, and a large lounge and

dining area with TV and DVD entertainment

systems. Great Asian and Western style food is

prepared, with coffee, water, soft drinks and beer being complimentary.

Rags II is fully equipped with state of the art navigation equipment. Radar, GPS, Depth

finders, VHF Radio, Digital charts, Satellite Phone etc. Dive set up - She has twin tanks and

decos, and continuous and partial pressure blending of nitrox and trimix is done on board.

Reservations

A 50% deposit is required to book a place on the trip

All inquiries as to availability of places, further details or questions, please email

Dave dave@techasia.ph

Phone +63 915 379 1530 or +63 917 793 4227