MARCH 8, 2013 ESPIRITU SANTO, VANUATU

March 8, 2013 - ESPIRITU SANTO, WWII Tour and Wreck of the SS President COOLIDGE

Right on time the anchor (which is right in front of our heads since we are in the most forward stateroom next to the bow) was dropped at 7am. We'd been reading and chatting for awhile, and had even enjoyed our early morning Latte and cookie made by Teddy in the Galaxy Lounge and brought back to our stateroom.

The weather was pretty overcast and as we ate a light breakfast on the back Delphinus Cafe deck we remarked on how much cooler and comfortable it felt - we were assured by the staff that it was not likely to remain that way! This morning we had the choice of scuba diving the SS President Coolidge wreck, Riri Riri River Canoe Tour, or a WWII history tour (all optional extras to be purchased). The whole day was also available for swimming and snorkelling on Paradise Island in the lagoon here just off Espiritu Santo still in Vanuatu. We have decided that we're not going to dive on this cruise and so have opted for the WWII History Tour, but first I must tell you about the SS President Coolidge.

The Coolidge was launched in 1931 as a luxury cruise liner (654 feet long, over 21,000 tons) and was considered to be the most luxurious cruise ship every built in USA before it was commissioned by the US Army to be a troop carrier during WWII. After several South Pacific runs during 1942, on october 6th she departed San Francisco for New Caledonia and Espiritu Santo carrying 5,092 troops who were reinforcements for the battle of Guadalcanal. The Coolidge approached Espiritu Santo on October 26th by the Eastern side of the Segond Channel - however, the US Navy neglected to radio the Coolidge of the "special instructions" which would have advised them of the "friendly" mine field that littered the entrance to Luganville - you guessed it, the warnings came too late and the Coolidge struck several mines. The Captain knew that the Coolidge was lost so he sent the Coolidge full throttle and ran it aground. Only 2 people were killed in the shipwreck - 1 man killed in the explosion, and an Army Captain who went back to look for other troops, but there was a massive loss of supplies and military equipment. In just 1 hour 36 minutes the ship slowly slipped backwards down the slope and rolled over on to her side now sitting with her bow in about 90 feet of water and her prop in about 250 feet of water. All in all, over 100,000 US troops were stationed in Espiritu Santo during WWII at 3 bomber air fields and 2 fighter plane strips.

I think that 8 folks left the ORION for the scuba tour of the Coolidge this morning, one older gentleman telling us that he had dived it several times before and it is fascinating because so much is still in the ship from when it was sunk including medicines. I'm not comfortable penetrating wrecks when scuba diving but he did tell us that it is a large ship and quite open when you get inside it. We were to depart at 830am for our WWII History Tour and after breakfast on the Delphinius back deck the showers started!

As our zodiac landed on shore - a group of Islanders dressed in their traditional costumes of banana leaves with paintings on their skin, and armed with spears and clubs came running down the beach yelling and shouting at us - repelling the "invaders: - it was a lot of fun and I especially loved the 2 small young boys who were really into this and ensured that every single arrival was appropriately repelled! We were welcomed by a string band - the local music group here with strings and guitars, they were huddled under a tarp while singing and playing since we arrived during a shower.

We climbed into 3 vans (Bennett was our driver) and spent the morning learning about what happened during WWII with the 100,000 USA soldiers based in these islands and the massive complexes built to support them including hospitals, 5 air fields (3 bomber and 2 for fighter planes), cooking 7,000 loaves of bread each day, the helicopter pad and even the 9 hole golf course - the only facility still in use on Espiritu Santo today. We went to Million Dollar Point where a million $ worth of equipment was sunk when the war ended because the USA didn't want to ship the stuff back to USA and refused to donate it to Vanuatu who had no money to pay for it - such a waste! Then there was the SS Coolidge dive site, and even the memorial stone for Captain Elwood J Euart from the 103rd Artillery Battalion who died aboard the SS President Coolidge. One of our tour van drivers has dived the SS Coolidge more than 1,000 times and told us that last January they found the skull of the Captain but have left it hidden down in the sunken wreck and are keeping the spot a secret.

The island is beautiful and again, the growth here is amazing. At the huge hospital site (where two of our guests fell over as they got out of the vans because the ground is so mossy and slick) we saw a banyan tree that was massive - and it has only grown since the hospital site was cleared after the war so less than 70 years old. Looking at it you would expect it to be over 200 years old it is so big. The name given to the vines here is "mile a minute" vines as in they grow a mile a minute!

We also visited a WWII B17 Bomber plane wreck in the forest - about 500 yards short of the runway during the war - the pilot ran out of fuel and crashed in the jungle. Unbelievably one of our guests found a live bullet in the foliage and put this between his teeth for a photo. Our last stop was the seaplane base right next to town. You certainly get the sense of just how big this operation was during WWII and the ferrying of soldiers requiring assistance in from other islands including Guadalcanal and Solomon Islands.

Back at the beach 8 at a time we piled back into the zodiacs and were back on board by 1pm in time for lunch on the back deck Delphinius Cafe - the salads and cheeses as good ever, one of the bonuses of having German / Australian Chef Lothar onboard - even Captain Vincent loves the cheeses and said he would be happy to eat nothing but cheese - in his words "c'est problematique!". We watched the tide dropping by Paradise Island where we were to spend the afternoon swimming and snorkelling - the water over the reef became shallower and when we went out after lunch they set up a snorkel platform, which was a zodiac with a step ladder for access on the side.

As we landed on the island we had a group of islanders from the BANlS islands who were dressed in their banana eaves and markings all over their bodies, again including two small boys who were having so much fun. They sang their songs for the entire afternoon and it was a special way to enjoy the afternoon. The islanders were telling us they have to come in to Espirito Santo for work to pay the school fees for their children, which they find expensive, and education is not free in Vanuatu. As well as snorkel gear there were at least 6 kayaks which many folks took advantage of. The water was warm, although close to shore there was lots of coral to get over before the bottom was really sandy and there were also lots of leaves in the water. It was a fun afternoon and when we went back to the Orion for a welcome shower and cleanup, we felt like we'd had another amazing day!

We were all called to the Leda Lounge at 530pm as the ship pulled away - and that's when Mick put up slides showing the weather system and that Cyclone Sandra had been officially declared at 10am that morning and was heading straight for us, and in addition there is another tropical low depression to the East of us which might also turn into a cyclone. (In the Southern oceans they are called cyclones, and called hurricanes in the northern hemisphere). So tomorrow the itinerary had included a day at sea on our way to the island of Utupua in the Solomon Islands but unfortunately Utupoa is just a coral atoll with no protection and nowhere to hide - so we were going to have to miss Utupua and head straight North West towards Santa Ana in the Solomon Islands. This would be discouraging for us but essential for safety. In addition we have 4 Solomon Island officials on board (customs, immigration) who are also very disappointed since they never get to Utupua and were very much looking forward to getting to the island. Last, but most definitely not least, Utupua is considered the poorest and most deserving of all the islands we are scheduled to visit - so any donations from the guests on board are scheduled to go to Utupua and in addition, the islanders will be extremely disappointed since they have items for sale and have ben looking forward to have us come ashore.

Communications in this part of the world are very poor so they won't even know until we don't arrive. In addition, we hope to arrive at Santa Ana half a day early on Sunday afternoon and there is no way to let these villagers know that we will be arriving early. Expedition cruising is fun , and at times a challenge, especially for the Captain and Expedition staff. Mick warned us that the conditions would be getting worse overnight increasing from a 2 1/2 to 3 metre seas to 3 to 4 metre seas - being at the very front of the Orion we are definitely going to feel the weather!

We had a lovely dinner - it was the Captain's cocktail party and dinner, and we sat with Joy and Dixon from Perth (he was 90 and she was 80 and had been married just 1 week!) along with Expedition Team member Richard who was very interesting. Richard has been on all the Lindblad National Geographic ships so he was very interesting to talk to as we discussed the ORION being taken into the Lindblad fleet of ships effective March 2014. The Australians on board are very disturbed at losing "their ship" to a USA based cruiseline - they very much consider it to be "their national ship" and are quite upset about the change.

After copious amounts of wine we enjoyed Terry & Cathy in the Leda Lounge, where they sing and play every night. Tonight it was an Andrew Lloyd Webber evening - and as well playing all the well know tunes of Andrew Lloyd Webber - they also told us a lot of stories about him and the pieces he had written. We wandered off to bed around 11pm, rocking and rolling as went down the corridors, to our stateroom #419 at the very front but the same floor as the Leda Lounge, so no stairs to negotiate!





Cheers ..... Jan Umbach
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