Heading to Truk - Any Advice?

sunkmail · 5th November 2009, 12:15

Howdy everyone,

I'm going to be heading over to Truk in January 2010 and was looking to see what advice people have for me.

I'll be staying at the resort, not doing a live-aboard.

This is going to be my first Warm water diving in several years, and the first ever with my CCR - Should be nice to leave the drysuit at home. In fact, I'll have to buy a wetsuit for the trip!

A couple of specific questions that I hope someone that's been there can assist with:

1) I'm thinking of a 3mm full suit. Does this seem like overkill? I'm not sure what our run times will be, but I'm thinking 3 dives/day for 8 days, with some decent BT.

2) Suggestions for shipping Sorb. I know the resort will accept packages for guests, but it seems the shipping I've been looking at is higher than the extra bag fees to bring it on the plane.

I'm in Canada, but can easily ship out of the US. I'm also looking at somewhere to buy from closer to Truk (ie, Guam?) and drop-ship it over to teh resprt from there.

Any other suggestions are very welcome, including any places I should try to see on my SI's.

**diverchris** · 5th November 2009, 15:23

I'll admit I'm envious of you. For thermal protection, most of my diving is in the Great Lakes, that being said my Henderson 3mm suit was more than adequate for dives. The only time I got chilled was during a 3+ hour dive on the San Francisco Maru.

For Sorb, there was a Grace dealer in Guam that shipped our sorb to us. It was waiting for us in Truk. Admittedly this was a group order for 17 people, so I'm not sure how accommodating they would be for a smaller purchase.
Also speak to the dive shop that you are diving with they may have sorb there, and this would avoid the shipping hassle or airport troubles.

If you end up dealing with Grace in Guam, you should get a move on it as everything there is very slow and unreliable.

For packing, take all items that are needed to repair your CCR, o-rings, spare cells, rebuilt kits, batteries, spare deco reg. Redundancy of replacement parts is overkill, but if you have everything you need to repair your CCR nothing will go wrong. Also, bringing a variety of clothing for Truk is unnecessary. You can save weight on clothing for dive gear.

Try to adhere to the weight limitations of the airlines, I assume its Continental that you are flying with. On the topic of flying, its a long-distance trip. I'd suggest taking the most direct route without overnight layovers as possible. This means you will only have to deal with Airport morons once. Where as it may be more enjoyable to have overnight stays along the way, you are now faced with checking in all of your baggage once again, different airport people with different interpretation of the rules. I believe it just causes more hassles.

**Art Greenberg** · 6th November 2009, 00:41

I'm jealous, too.

Exposure protection ... IMO this is a personal preference thing taken from experience. You are the only one who can judge what's right for you. I do suggest taking something warmer than you think you will need. If you're too warm, you can always cool off by tugging on the neckline or opening a zipper. If you're too cold, there's not much you'll be able to do about it.

As for me, in anything above about 75F I wear a Bare 5mm jumpsuit with "seals" just above the ankles and wrists (they're skin-in flaps sewn into the inside of the suit, meant to prevent water movement). I have never been too warm in it, and I've used it quite a bit in 80F water.

Below 75F, I'm in a drysuit.

And I have a pee valve in both.

--
Art

**stuey** · 6th November 2009, 02:37

Hi

Just came back from Truk and had a great time, I aggree with everything diverchris says, take everything you even think you might need, including cash $$$$ for tipping the guides and boat driver. Deeper wrecks are the best, we only done 2 dives per day, you'll struggle to get 3 dives if your doing long run times. 3mm will be perfect plus a hood loads of jelly fish when we were there
Safe diving.
Stuey

Explorer · 6th November 2009, 04:59

Quote: (Originally Posted by Art Greenberg)

I'm jealous, too.

Exposure protection ... IMO this is a personal preference thing taken from experience. You are the only one who can judge what's right for you. I do suggest taking something warmer than you think you will need. If you're too warm, you can always cool off by tugging on the neckline or opening a zipper. If you're too cold, there's not much you'll be able to do about it.

As for me, in anything above about 75F I wear a Bare 5mm jumpsuit with "seals" just above the ankles and wrists (they're skin-in flaps sewn into the inside of the suit, meant to prevent water movement). I have never been too warm in it, and I've used it quite a bit in 80F water.

Below 75F, I'm in a drysuit.

And I have a pee valve in both.

--
Art

Just bring your White's Fusion dry suit as seen below on your avatar. A number of us brought ours to New Zealand and Australia for a month of diving with now issues. Ready for any water temps....

Scott.jpg

scubagrunt · 6th November 2009, 07:08

i would go dry also. but then i never dive wet anymore, and it was truk where i ended my wet suit days. i got cold, yes cold, as we were doing 3 hr dives times two a day. also i hate the amount of air you need in the wing if you are in a wet suit. this makes it hard for trim and to get on my back to take pictures.
if you can take the sorb with you. have fun!!
ps why was i not invited :)~~~~

Lancer4545 · 6th November 2009, 07:40

Quote: (Originally Posted by stuey)

Hi

Just came back from Truk and had a great time, I aggree with everything diverchris says, take everything you even think you might need, including cash $$$$ for tipping the guides and boat driver. Deeper wrecks are the best, we only done 2 dives per day, you'll struggle to get 3 dives if your doing long run times. 3mm will be perfect plus a hood loads of jelly fish when we were there
Safe diving.
Stuey

I totally agree about the protection......I took my drysuit and got a lot of strange looks but then I nearly always do as most places like this never get to see a drysuit. Stuey Knows from first hand experience about the jellyfish....as for me ....No Way the buggers are ever going to get me!!

We had the advantage of previously arranging to have trimix available for us and is not so easy to get at Truk without previously arranging a cylinder of He to be sent out from Guam. So if you want to dive the deeper wrecks you will need to get something sorted long before you arrive.

Sorb is a different matter and I had a couple of 20kg tubs sent out by the Postal Service but it took 3 weeks to arrive and I had a few problems with them accepting it unless it is packaged up in bubble wrap and placed in a box....But it is possible.

Hope that helps...

Regards,

Lance

2009_10_12_0528S.jpg
(Stuey BEFORE he was stung)

Mikel-Deko · 6th November 2009, 08:42

I think Pete Mesley (Dive T.E.C. main home page) is your man....

sunkmail · 6th November 2009, 08:45

Thanks for all the advice so far!

It didn't really occur to me to take the drysuit .... Something about using it in (to me) really warm water seems a little off - but it is somethign to think about.
Depending on how much spare room I have in my bags, maybe I'll take both. :P

I've contacted Grace, trying to get the contact info for the distributor in Guam - no response yet. Does anyone have their contact info for Guam?

Curt - You're welcome to come. I told Greg about it, I'm not sure if he ever heard back about the price flying out of Seattle ...
Here are the package details, if you're interested.

The more the merrier - That goes for anyone on the board - plus it would be nice to actually get a dive in with you (Curt), rather than just seeing you man the boat.

Lancer4545 · 6th November 2009, 10:33

Quote: (Originally Posted by sunkmail)

Here are the package details, if you're interested.

The more the merrier - That goes for anyone on the board - plus it would be nice to actually get a dive in with you (Curt), rather than just seeing you man the boat.

I just checked the package you're going on and to be honest it seems very expensive compared to what Pete Mesley's and my trips cost.

There are more costs involved on top of what you will pay for the package.

Meals
Oxygen
Sorb
Dive Guide & Boat captain

It's going to be a very expensive trip!!

Pete's trips are around June - July and my trip will be in October.....It might be worth postponing it and joining one of these instead.

Regards,

Lance

5th November 2009, 12:15	#1 (permalink)
sunkmail I Make Stuff! KISS Classic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 159	Heading to Truk - Any Advice? Howdy everyone, I'm going to be heading over to Truk in January 2010 and was looking to see what advice people have for me. I'll be staying at the resort, not doing a live-aboard. This is going to be my first Warm water diving in several years, and the first ever with my CCR - Should be nice to leave the drysuit at home. In fact, I'll have to buy a wetsuit for the trip! A couple of specific questions that I hope someone that's been there can assist with: 1) I'm thinking of a 3mm full suit. Does this seem like overkill? I'm not sure what our run times will be, but I'm thinking 3 dives/day for 8 days, with some decent BT. 2) Suggestions for shipping Sorb. I know the resort will accept packages for guests, but it seems the shipping I've been looking at is higher than the extra bag fees to bring it on the plane. I'm in Canada, but can easily ship out of the US. I'm also looking at somewhere to buy from closer to Truk (ie, Guam?) and drop-ship it over to teh resprt from there. Any other suggestions are very welcome, including any places I should try to see on my SI's.
(Offline)

5th November 2009, 15:23	#2 (permalink)
diverchris Supporting Member Inspiration with Vision Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 221	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? I'll admit I'm envious of you. For thermal protection, most of my diving is in the Great Lakes, that being said my Henderson 3mm suit was more than adequate for dives. The only time I got chilled was during a 3+ hour dive on the San Francisco Maru. For Sorb, there was a Grace dealer in Guam that shipped our sorb to us. It was waiting for us in Truk. Admittedly this was a group order for 17 people, so I'm not sure how accommodating they would be for a smaller purchase. Also speak to the dive shop that you are diving with they may have sorb there, and this would avoid the shipping hassle or airport troubles. If you end up dealing with Grace in Guam, you should get a move on it as everything there is very slow and unreliable. For packing, take all items that are needed to repair your CCR, o-rings, spare cells, rebuilt kits, batteries, spare deco reg. Redundancy of replacement parts is overkill, but if you have everything you need to repair your CCR nothing will go wrong. Also, bringing a variety of clothing for Truk is unnecessary. You can save weight on clothing for dive gear. Try to adhere to the weight limitations of the airlines, I assume its Continental that you are flying with. On the topic of flying, its a long-distance trip. I'd suggest taking the most direct route without overnight layovers as possible. This means you will only have to deal with Airport morons once. Where as it may be more enjoyable to have overnight stays along the way, you are now faced with checking in all of your baggage once again, different airport people with different interpretation of the rules. I believe it just causes more hassles.
(Offline)

6th November 2009, 00:41	#3 (permalink)
Art Greenberg Supporting Member Classic KISS Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Gainesville, FL Posts: 266	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? I'm jealous, too. Exposure protection ... IMO this is a personal preference thing taken from experience. You are the only one who can judge what's right for you. I do suggest taking something warmer than you think you will need. If you're too warm, you can always cool off by tugging on the neckline or opening a zipper. If you're too cold, there's not much you'll be able to do about it. As for me, in anything above about 75F I wear a Bare 5mm jumpsuit with "seals" just above the ankles and wrists (they're skin-in flaps sewn into the inside of the suit, meant to prevent water movement). I have never been too warm in it, and I've used it quite a bit in 80F water. Below 75F, I'm in a drysuit. And I have a pee valve in both. -- Art
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6th November 2009, 02:37	#4 (permalink)
stuey Supporting Member Narked @ 90 Deep Pursuit Inspo classic, Evo, Meg, Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Thailand Posts: 200	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? Hi Just came back from Truk and had a great time, I aggree with everything diverchris says, take everything you even think you might need, including cash $$$$ for tipping the guides and boat driver. Deeper wrecks are the best, we only done 2 dives per day, you'll struggle to get 3 dives if your doing long run times. 3mm will be perfect plus a hood loads of jelly fish when we were there Safe diving. Stuey
(Offline)

6th November 2009, 04:59	#5 (permalink)
Explorer Go DEEP!!!! MEGALODON Evolution Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 1,015	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? Quote: (Originally Posted by Art Greenberg) I'm jealous, too. Exposure protection ... IMO this is a personal preference thing taken from experience. You are the only one who can judge what's right for you. I do suggest taking something warmer than you think you will need. If you're too warm, you can always cool off by tugging on the neckline or opening a zipper. If you're too cold, there's not much you'll be able to do about it. As for me, in anything above about 75F I wear a Bare 5mm jumpsuit with "seals" just above the ankles and wrists (they're skin-in flaps sewn into the inside of the suit, meant to prevent water movement). I have never been too warm in it, and I've used it quite a bit in 80F water. Below 75F, I'm in a drysuit. And I have a pee valve in both. -- Art Just bring your White's Fusion dry suit as seen below on your avatar. A number of us brought ours to New Zealand and Australia for a month of diving with now issues. Ready for any water temps.... Scott.jpg Last edited by Explorer; 6th November 2009 at 05:01..
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6th November 2009, 07:08	#6 (permalink)
scubagrunt CCR Diva meg & rEvo inspo, optima, KISS, submatix Join Date: May 2005 Location: Washington Posts: 1,068	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? i would go dry also. but then i never dive wet anymore, and it was truk where i ended my wet suit days. i got cold, yes cold, as we were doing 3 hr dives times two a day. also i hate the amount of air you need in the wing if you are in a wet suit. this makes it hard for trim and to get on my back to take pictures. if you can take the sorb with you. have fun!! ps why was i not invited :)~~~~ __________________ "No good deed goes unpunished!"
(Offline)

6th November 2009, 07:40	#7 (permalink)
Lancer4545 RebreatherWorld Sponsor Megalodon/Shearwater Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cairns QLD Australia Posts: 1,594	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? Quote: (Originally Posted by stuey) Hi Just came back from Truk and had a great time, I aggree with everything diverchris says, take everything you even think you might need, including cash $$$$ for tipping the guides and boat driver. Deeper wrecks are the best, we only done 2 dives per day, you'll struggle to get 3 dives if your doing long run times. 3mm will be perfect plus a hood loads of jelly fish when we were there Safe diving. Stuey I totally agree about the protection......I took my drysuit and got a lot of strange looks but then I nearly always do as most places like this never get to see a drysuit. Stuey Knows from first hand experience about the jellyfish....as for me ....No Way the buggers are ever going to get me!! We had the advantage of previously arranging to have trimix available for us and is not so easy to get at Truk without previously arranging a cylinder of He to be sent out from Guam. So if you want to dive the deeper wrecks you will need to get something sorted long before you arrive. Sorb is a different matter and I had a couple of 20kg tubs sent out by the Postal Service but it took 3 weeks to arrive and I had a few problems with them accepting it unless it is packaged up in bubble wrap and placed in a box....But it is possible. Hope that helps... Regards, Lance 2009_10_12_0528S.jpg (Stuey BEFORE he was stung) __________________ You can run but you can't hide! ISC Appointed Megalodon Dealer for East Australia ISC Trained Megalodon & Pathfinder Trimix Instructor & Service Technician http://www.closedcircuitdivers.com.au info@closedcircuitdivers.com.au
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6th November 2009, 08:42	#8 (permalink)
Mikel-Deko RBW Member HH Inspiration / Joki Dolphin, Megalodon, RGU Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Basque Country -Sp- Posts: 788	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? I think Pete Mesley (Dive T.E.C. main home page) is your man....
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6th November 2009, 08:45	#9 (permalink)
sunkmail I Make Stuff! KISS Classic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 159	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? Thanks for all the advice so far! It didn't really occur to me to take the drysuit .... Something about using it in (to me) really warm water seems a little off - but it is somethign to think about. Depending on how much spare room I have in my bags, maybe I'll take both. :P I've contacted Grace, trying to get the contact info for the distributor in Guam - no response yet. Does anyone have their contact info for Guam? Curt - You're welcome to come. I told Greg about it, I'm not sure if he ever heard back about the price flying out of Seattle ... Here are the package details, if you're interested. The more the merrier - That goes for anyone on the board - plus it would be nice to actually get a dive in with you (Curt), rather than just seeing you man the boat.
(Offline)

6th November 2009, 10:33	#10 (permalink)
Lancer4545 RebreatherWorld Sponsor Megalodon/Shearwater Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cairns QLD Australia Posts: 1,594	Re: Heading to Truk - Any Advice? Quote: (Originally Posted by sunkmail) Here are the package details, if you're interested. The more the merrier - That goes for anyone on the board - plus it would be nice to actually get a dive in with you (Curt), rather than just seeing you man the boat. I just checked the package you're going on and to be honest it seems very expensive compared to what Pete Mesley's and my trips cost. There are more costs involved on top of what you will pay for the package. Meals Oxygen Sorb Dive Guide & Boat captain It's going to be a very expensive trip!! Pete's trips are around June - July and my trip will be in October.....It might be worth postponing it and joining one of these instead. Regards, Lance __________________ You can run but you can't hide! ISC Appointed Megalodon Dealer for East Australia ISC Trained Megalodon & Pathfinder Trimix Instructor & Service Technician http://www.closedcircuitdivers.com.au info@closedcircuitdivers.com.au
(Offline)

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