Travel Philippines: Shipwreck diving in Subic Bay

Travel Philippines

Scuba Diving Shipwrecks in Subic Bay

I often dive the Philippines because the water is so warm and friendly compared to the waters in my home in Sydney. Subic Bay is about 6 hours from Manila or 2 hours from Angeles City known for some of its relaxing resorts, diving and nightlife. I've never really spent too much time in this area as in my trips here in my earlier years we have only stopped over on day trips for shopping in the factory outlets.

This time I decided to stay a few nights and give the diving a go as I've heard numerous times aside from Coron in Palawan its got some great shipwreck diving. I was also curious if it would suit some of my underwater model shoots as shipwrecks would be an interesting setting.

I started my trip in the afternoon from Angeles City having visited relatives and friends from my fathers side and caught an FX van from the terminal into Subic Bay town centre. Having arrived at night and having travelled alone here, unfamiliar with the place I took the recommendation of the tricycle driver on where to stay. Its something usually to be careful with as aside from always overcharging travellers there's always the safety concerns. Mine took me to Beloy Beach and after canvasing with a few of the accommodations in the area I ended staying in Kokomos in a room called Caveman Room (php1900 Approx $40AU/night). Interesting styling & theme to the room but was the cheapest and nicest out of the ones I saw along the beach area. I think most of the places here cater to the nightlife - bars that we passed by on the highway which would be a 10min walk away from here. I have a few nights to include exploring all the activities in the area but for this post I'll focus more on the diving.

Next to my accommodation there was the convenience of a well priced dive centre - 'Johan's Beach & Dive Resort' which I decided to book in a double wreck dive in the morning. This place was so chilled and laid back and also offered diver certifications if needed to do one in these parts (I personally would recommend travelling to Palawan or Cebu first or if travelling from Manila head to Batangas - Anilao or Puerto Galera as those offer the best.)

There are about 19 wrecks in Subic Bay with 12 of those open for diving. The ones offered by my dive Centre on the day was the USS New York and the LCU.

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USS New York

Looking up on google briefly it looks like the USS New York is a 110m long armored cruiser built in 1891 that fought in WW1 and a number of conflicts. In 1933 she was sent to Subic to be used for spares/scrap and sunk to the bottom in 1941 to avoid what's left falling into enemy hands.

The water here is more on the lower visbility and green side like what we get back at home in Sydney so its very familar conditions. I'm using a magic filter on my camera which more designed for natural light only so when strobes or flashlights are included the colour balance goes a little on the funnier side. I've been experiment with complimentary filters on the lights to offset this though I prefer to change configuration depending on the dive I didn't know what to expect in these ones at the time.

Travelling down I am at awe at the view and ghostly feel of the ship. There's so much to see and history there along with the marine life that now calls it home. I think this one I'd like to use for a shoot in one of my future trips with an experience diver/model.

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LCU (Landing Craft Utility)

Commonly referred by the dive guides as the LCU the 22m Landing Craft Utility was used to transport personnel and small vehicles onto beaches. It is thought that it sank during a storm or accident but not sure about the whens.

This one though smaller is nice to move around and provides plenty to see

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Random Diver hanging on

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I hope you enjoyed my brief share of my travels & experiences. Let me know if there's anything you would like me to write about and remember to upvote and maybe resteem if you like my post.

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