Enemonit & its Sunken Treasures

Leave a reply

Enemonit (also known as Anemwanot) motu is a short 5 nautical miles away from the hustle and bustle of the main town of Majuro.  It is located on the east side of the Majuro atoll and has 5 moorings provided by the local yacht club, Meico Beach Yacht Club.

This beautiful motu owned by the Kramer family (who also owns the largest construction business in Majuro, PII: Pacific International Inc.)  They offer tours and day trips to their beautiful island for $25 per visitor booked in advance.  

We happened to pick up the mooring right in front of the community center and main dock.  The good thing about this location is that we get a nice breeze and are located right next to the artificial reef in the Enemonit lagoon.  The bad news is we get a swell (coming from between the islands),  we get all of the boat traffic from the visiting boats, and we get visitors from shore.  But we make due as this is such a beautiful spot.

Artificial Reef

I am not sure who decided to make the lagoon in front of Enemonit an artificial reef but we are sure glad they did.  Snorkelers and divers can find a DC-3 airplane, (2) Huey Helicopters, a large ferry ,and several mechanical parts strewn around the lagoon.  The depths of these artifacts range from 5-60 meters.

These items provide a place for corals, anemones and fish to flourish. 

Most of the artifacts are right next to our mooring (as you can tell from the image below).  The 2nd Huey is behind our boat about 100-150 meters along the ridge.  But you can easily partk your boat in the first mooring and snorkel to all of these sites including (2) Huey Helicopters, (1) DC-3 Airplane, and a large, double decker ferry.

These are shots taken from the boat looking down at both the airplane and the ferry – that is how close we are to them. The bottom photo has our swim ladder in the lower right corner.

The Douglas DC-3 Airplane 

The DC-3 transport aircraft is the world’s first successful commercial airliner.  It was easily adapted to military use during WWII.  The DC-3 first flew in 1935 and was a low wing, twin engine monoplane that could carry between 21-28 passengers or carry 2,724kg (6,000lbs) of cargo.

The sunken DC-3 here in Enemonit was acquired by Sea Star in the early 1980’s (a Marshall Islands company that operated for a few years).  The airline went defunct and the DC-3 sat at the airport for many years.  It had no engines and was finally scrapped and sunk in the Enemonit lagoon (a short distance away from a Huey Helicopter).

The DC-3 is sunk in about 4-5 meters of water which is really shallow considering its size.

As you can see, Matt can easily free dive down to the plane. I am about 3 meters (12′) deep and he is maybe 6-7 meters.  He is pointing out the name “Sea Star” which is partially missing.   There are six windows on this plane but most are missing.  The tail (top right) is completely missing.  Check out our svSugarShack Instagram page for videos.

Huey Helicopter

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, aka “Huey” is a utility military helicopter.  It was the first turbine-powered helicopter in service with the U.S. military.  This helicopter had a single turboshaft engine with two blade main and tail rotors.

The Huey helicopter sits in about 12 meters (40′) of water on Enemonit’s sea bed. Visitors can see the Huey from the water’s surface.  Locals placed this helicopter here on purpose with a missing tail and propeller.  

It provides a place for many corals and fish and sits next to the DC-3 (C-47) and a ferry boat.

Matt was able to swim down to the Huey and took a great video. These photos were from the video (you can see the video on the svSugarShack Instagram page.  Pretty eerie to be honest.

There is a second Huey Helicopter with a little bit different design (you can see it only has one side door) and it was a little more intact.  However it was much further down so the photos are a bit grainy and blurry.  We hope to go back and dive this entire site and maybe we can get better photos.

Ferry Oleanda

The Oleanda Ferry was used as the main source of transportation at the Rongelap atoll (a Northern atoll).  The ferry was decommissioned and moved to Majuro. Oleanda was eventually added to the artificial reef at Enemonit. The ship is about 10 meters deep and was located right under our boat!  My photos (bottom two) are grainy because I could not get down close enough without my dive gear.  However, I was able to snag a photo from Sailing Double Trouble’s YouTube video, top photo.

Future Coral Pieces

We found several pieces of debris around the reef as well.  These are very large and could be used as a mooring.

The Reef

There are lots of vibrant bommies with tons of sea life including several beautiful Feather Duster worms. Feather Duster Worms (Corallimorphs) thrive on a specific amount of elevated iron concentration.  The high number of WW2 wrecks provide the correct percentage.

There are also loads of little fish all around the bommies and small amounts of grouper swimming around.

So many schools of little fish around each coral bommie.

We were here during a King Tide which brings really big tides, about 2 meters (over 6′).  You can see the dock before and after each tide.

Being at the first mooring gave us the best view to watch the beautiful full moon rise over the palm trees.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We visited Enemonit toward the end of October.  Don’t miss our adventures at Eneko which we shared in our last blog post.

Eneko, a Divine Motu in Majuro

Leave a reply

We finally get away from the main anchorage of Majuro and head 6 miles away to the beautiful motu of Eneko (also known as Enigtu).  It is a short one hour motor before we pick up one of the Mieco Beach Yacht Club moorings.  Since we are members, yes, we joined the local yacht club, we get to stay on the moorings for free.

To give you an idea of the difference between the “town of Majuro” and the more elegant motus check out these photos.  Majuro is densely populated with almost every square inch covered in buildings, houses, trash, and facilities (shown in lower left image with white covering the island.  Then you come to the motus where there might be one or two houses (and they are mostly solid green).

The actual photos don’t do it justice, but I think you get the general idea…

Eneko

Eneko is owned by the Reimer family which own several business and a lot of land in the main island of Majuro.  They also own the Robert Reimers Enterprises Hotel (one of two hotels on the island).   The hotel offers its guests “get aways” for a small fee of $30USD return shuttle or a day out.  It is far more beautiful than Majruo.

This little motu is said to have one of the most beautiful beaches in atoll.  Since we can’t go ashore to most of the other motus It is hard to say if we agree with this statement. However, we are the only boat here and enjoy plenty of sunsets to ourselves.

There is a pretty shallow shoal close to the shore so they have rigged the funniest mode of transport.  About 100 yards from shore is a huge mooring.  On this mooring is an upside, small catamaran that they have deemed suitable transport to shore.  When boats come in they tie tup to the catamaran and pull the line attached to shore.  Their guests can transfer to the catamaran or they can use the catamaran to guide their boat to shore.

Exploring the Other Motus

We take the dinghy out to go for a ride and check out the other atolls.  Usually, we are able to go ashore and walk around (in other countries), but here in RMI they don’t allow that since they are all privately owned.

The water is so very beautiful as it shimmers a turquoise blue so clear you can see the tiny feeder fish on the bommies.

There are just some of the motus we found we houses on them.  Some have cement retaining walls, some are hidden amongst the trees and vegetation, and some are screaming for a Texas BBQ party.

This place just puts a smile to my face and literally makes my soul sing!

Getting to Work

We actually came out for a little work.  We had not had a chance to clean our water line or the bottom of the boat since we left Vanuatu (about 6 weeks ago).  There was muck growing and it needed to be gone like yesterday.  However, Matt could not get in the water because he decided he needed to tear off the toenail on his little toe.  It then got infected so he is on antibiotics and has to stay out of the water until it is healed.

So, it is up to me to do the cleaning, ugh!  Normally we do this together.  I clean the water line, the SSB plates, the refrigeration plates, the rudders, and the bulk of the hulls as far down as I can reach while holding my breath.  He then uses the hooka (type of diving apparatus) to clean the belly of the boat.  I really don’t like using the hooka because it is very hard to breathe.  So, I do everything else over the course of two days and over 5 hours.  It was exhausting.  

We had some soft growth (the green beard), some brown muck on the waterline, some small barnacles and a few wormy things.  Known the less, they all had to go. 

The next day I went snorkeling.  I came back to the boat I noticed soft growth had already started to stick to my clean hulls.  The nerve!

Snorkeling

We were told there is a sunken ship behind our mooring, but it’s 20-30 meters of water.  Since we are not diving, we will have to check it out the next time we come back to Eneko!  What did I see? Schools of fish, a school of squid, a dog face puffer, lots of queen angel fish and some worm fans.

We really enjoyed our time in Eneko and did not want to leave.  But I had to go back to Majuro to attend an appointment at the U.S. Embassy to renew my passport.  So, we say goodbye to Eneko for now…we will return.

Out blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We spent our time in Eneko during the first few weeks of October 20024.  Read about Majuro, the “big city” of the Marshall Islands.

Majuro, the “Big City”

Leave a reply

The capital of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) is the big city of Majuro which is located on the Majuro atoll in the Majuro motu.  So, there is no mistaking its name (me smiley face).  We can technically clear into the RMI at either Majuro or Ebeye which is located in Kwajalein (Kwaj).  However, it is far more convenient in Majuro as this is where the majority of the boats handle the formalities.

The anchorage is full of cargo ships, passenger ships and large fishing vessels giving it a very industrial feeling.  There are several private vessels spread across the two anchorages, but of those 3 are derelict, 3 are for sale and 11 permanent residents.

It is definitely a new experience for us.  It is not the ideal picture of paradise, but the water is clear, we are close to town, and we have a few friends in the anchorage.

We are on a mooring because this is a super deep anchorage.  Lucky for us several moorings are owned and maintained. 

Fueling the Boat

How does a super small country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean get fuel?  Twice a month, the fuel barge, Sophia comes for 1-2 days to re-supply the large Mobile fuel tanks with diesel and gasoline.  I am surprised she doesn’t come more frequently as there are a TON of cars on this very tiny atoll.

We used so much diesel to get here that we had to refill our tanks. We have (2) 400 liter tanks and we had used more than half to motor 5.5 days out of the 10 day passage from Vanuatu.  The problem is that there is no place safe to dock the big boat close to shore so we have to do this all by jerry cans.

We have (10) 20 liter jerry cans which means we will have to make multiple runs.  The other problem is that there is no gas station close to the dinghy dock.  Lucky for us, our friends on Uno Mas were able to borrow a truck and they let us tag along on their fuel run.

We go to PII (Pacific International Inc.) to pre-pay for the fuel, then we drive 2 miles down the road to the PII fuel station where they fill our jerry cans.  Any overages are paid in cash.  We then have to haul them back to the dinghy, then transport them up from the dinghy to the boat.  

Matt sets up the filter and pump and he pumps the diesel from each jerry can into the two tanks on the big boat.  Then we take our empty jerry cans and repeat the process.

Provisions

There are several good options for provisioning (shopping to my land-lubber friends).  Payless is the most convenient and closest to the anchorage. Plus the pricing is a little more reasonable.  I say a little more reasonable as prices are similar to Hawaii prices (expensive).  There is K&K Island Pride which offers a great variety, EZ Price Mart offers a lot of American brands and several Chinese stores.  

The problem is you have to watch out for weebles or bugs in your dry goods (flour, sugar, coffee, mixes).  I bought two items, opened the carton to store them and found them infested with weebles.  They both went straight overboard.

You can even find an Office Mart and Copymasters for school and office supplies too.

Around Town

Top left photo is the view from a new restaurant called Tide Table located on the 5th floor of a building.  The top right is a new basketball court built by the Taiwanese, bottom left and right are the public library and museum.

There is a fairly large cemetery, college, and lots of stores along the road. 

Handicrafts

A few of my friends join me for a day of handicraft  admiring and shopping.  There are a lot of woven items including: purses, wallets, floor mats, wall decor, Christmas ornaments, and jewelry.  I am lured toward the hand crafted canoes with woven sails that are simply divine.  However, they were way out of my price range so I just admired them.

In RMI, only Marshallese are allowed to be buried here.  Most locals bury their family members in their front yards.  However, for those who don’t have families or are from the outer atolls they are buried in the cemetery located in the center of town.

The U.S. Embassy

My passport expires in October 2025.  I can try to renew it during the short 2 week period I am in the states, or I can try to renew it from Fiji (but that would force us to go to Suva where the U.S. embassy is located and we don’t like that anchorage), or we can renew it here in the Marshall islands.

I contacted the good folks at the U.S. embassy and they were so responsive and very helpful!  They only have passport appointments two days a month and unfortunately I just missed it.  So, I had to wait almost 3.5 weeks for the next appointment.  But in the meantime, I filled out the application, took my horrible non-smiling passport photo, and got the exact amount of cash.

You cannot go inside the embassy building without an appointment. All very strict and formal.

As you can see, this is not the island paradise we are used to.  However, every country needs the necessities and Majuro provides just that for the many locals who call RMI home.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in early October 2024.  Our last blog post shared a little history on the Republic of the Marshall Islands.