Guam to Chile - Blog Post 4

September 12, 2024 – Oroluk Lagoon

Overnight the ship travelled to Oroluk Lagoon.  There were still some residual effects of the low pressure zone the ship passed through on the voyage from Guam.  The ship motions were not as extreme, but still there were shudders as particularly large swells brought the bulbous bow out of the water.  The ship’s clocks will also be set forward one hour tonight as we continue eastward towards our destination, so we lose an hour of sleep. 

Oroluk Lagoon

Oroluk Lagoon is a marine sanctuary and part of Pohnpei State in the Federated States of Micronesia.  The lagoon is a nesting site for Green Turtles and a breeding colony for Black Noddies and other seabirds.  There is only one island left on the atoll, which measures 12 by 20 miles.  The rest have been washed away by tropical cyclones over the years.  There are bananas and Taro plantations on the island, with just a few semi-permanent residents from the Kapinga district of Pohnpei, who are supplied twice a year by ship.  The atoll was “discovered” by Spanish explorers in 1565, but was probably known to the Micronesian people in the area.

Tomorrow the captain will position the ship off the northwest corner of the fringing barrier reef.  The ship will not enter the lagoon itself, nor will anyone go ashore.  Our activities will consist of submersible dives alongside a 800 foot deep wall and snorkeling in a different area, also alongside a wall where the fringing reef begins.  This will be a more strenuous snorkel experience, only for strong swimmers, due to both water depth and tidal currents in and out of the lagoon through a few passes.  Patrick, Miriam and Julie decided to let others partake of this experience.

The ship plans to arrive at 0800 and depart at 1630.  Patrick is currently scheduled for Dive #1 at 0900.  This dive will be a new dive for Seabourn Pursuit, going down the wall to a depth of about 200 meters, or 660 feet.  It should be dark at that depth, so the submersible will be using lights to illuminate the wall and allow passengers to see the variety and different life forms as the submersible moves down the wall and loses the surface light.

For those guests not going on the submersibles or snorkeling there will a variety of lectures and activities, very similar to a day at sea.

OK, what really happened.

The weather cooperated as we approached Oroluk Island at the NE corner of the atoll, the only island remaining on the atoll.  Seabourn Pursuit arrived about 0800 and positioned in a small lee about 1500 feet from the fringing reef and held position with dynamic positioning.  

Oroluk Island at the NE corner of the lagoon

The submersibles and zodiacs were launched and promptly at 0900 operations commenced. Patrick was fortunate to be on the first dive, along with the ship videographer.  The plan was to reach 200 meters in depth and then approach the wall of the fringing reef.  At 50 meters from the wall and 200 meters depth the visibility was so good that we could see the wall clearly without lights.  There was not much life here, but at 150 meters depth we saw oceanic sharks.  Slowly ascending to the surface the life increased until at 50 meters there was an abundance of sea life and coral.

50 meters from the wall at 200 meters depth

Sharks at 150 meters

Just before lunch Patrick headed out for a short snorkeling session on the reef wall, despite originally planning to avoid.  There were a lot of different types of fish, including a small reef shark, but the coral near the surface was largely dead even though at deeper depths we saw some massive coral formations.

Seabourn Pursuit continued to hold position throughout the afternoon while everyone who wanted to snorkel had a chance and at 1530 we headed around the east side of the atoll and set a course west for Pohnpei, some 200 NM away, our next stop and the location of Nan Madol, a World Heritage Site threatened by climate change.

The rain squalls held off so we experienced the Seabourn Signature “Caviar in the Pool” event at 1700, followed by a expedition recap at 1800.