Snorkeling a Shipwreck in Lana'i, Hawaii

A school of goatfish glide next to the sunken hull of the shipwreck off the coast of Lana'i.

Today was a blustery day in the Hawaiian Islands. All of the snorkel and whale watching boats canceled for the day, but not us. We are an expedition ship, so we can operate in conditions that others deem undoable. We spent the morning cruising under 3,000ft sea cliffs on the North side of Molokai. These cliffs are some of the tallest in the world, and there are numerous waterfalls tumbling off of them into the ocean.

Snorkeling at a shipwreck off the coast of Lana'i. This is a rare adventure, as this coastline is usually pounded by surf and high winds.

The wildlife was out in abundance. It is the time of year when humpback whales migrate here, so we had plenty of encounters throughout the day. We had several brown footed boobies flying by, as well as a mom and baby bottlenose dolphin swim over for a visit. But the big adventure of the day, was snorkeling at a huge shipwreck off the North coast of Lana'i.

Stuck on the shallow reef of Lana'i's North shore, a huge WWII, ferrocement fuel barge has been delapidating in the waves and sun for decades. It is one of the last remaining examples of the hundreds of ships built out of cement during WWII, when steel was becoming scarce. The cement displaces water, allowing the barge to float. It is the same physics as a boat made out of steel. Most of these concrete WWII vessels were scrapped, or in this case, intentionally grounded after the war, when they became obsolete.

This wreck is usually pounded by big waves and wind, but today the winds had shifted. We took advantage of this and went for a snorkel at the shipwreck. This was the first time I've done this in years. A true expedition adventure. The reef in front of the ship is almost nonexistent, thanks to the continuous pounding surf. However, behind the wreck is a protected area where corals thrive. I found sea urchins, lobster molts, and huge opihi shells. Schools of goatfish hovered over the sandy patches, and lots of squirrelfish hung out under the hull of the ship. I wasn't able to penetrate the wreck, but there are gaping holes in the hull that allow waves to crash into them. I peeked inside and saw an aquarium, about 10ft deep, had been created in the hold of the wreck.

These are the kinds of unique adventures that we can do with this style of expedition cruising. It really is a fun and exciting way to experience a place.

Plunging in for our snorkel at Lanai's famous shipwreck.

Exploratory snorkel at Lanai's shipwreck. We took advantage of a shift in the winds to explore this site, which is usually pounding by surf.

Somehow this beautiful coral head survives the pounding surf near the shipwreck.

One of the cool features that only snorkeling reveals, the anchor of the shipwreck, now lying about eight feet down near the stern of the wreck.

Different view of the anchor near the hull of the wreck.

Sea cucumbers like this were plentiful on and around the wreck.

Tucked in the shallow, protected water behind the wreck, this tower of coral is able to thrive.

I'm always amazed that this side of the wreck, facing away from the pounding waves, is much more worn. That is because it faces south, towards the relentless sun.

More shallow coral.

The sun was shining through the shallow reef onto this beautiful coral.

Like I said, lots of sea cucumbers. These are great creatures to see on any reef.

Not many people hunt the goatfish here on Lana'i. There is an old legend that the god of nightmares escaped into the body of a goatfish, and eating one will give you wild nightmares.

There isn't much coral growing directly on the shipwreck, thanks to some pretty serious anti-fouling paint, but for some reason this cluster has persevered.

Swimming close to the bow now.

Not a great picture, but you can see the aquarium that has formed inside the wreck.

So many great adventures out there, so little time to do them all!
Keep traveling and keep posting!

• Dai Mar