Shipwreck Dive: St Anthony's Wreck

 Maui is a place that is never short of adventurous options. So this day off I grabbed a tank and headed off to a nearby beach armed with a compass, directions of 240 degrees, and a mind set to find a new shipwreck, the St. Anthony's.
The wreck is 65ft long in 70ft of water. It was sunk in 1997 as an artificial reef. Tires connected to cement blocks were sunk around the wreck to add to the reef and I hear that fish do use them as spawning grounds. You can see the tires lined up beside the wreck which is slightly tilted on its port side. You can penetrate the wrecks cargo hold and helm area although I was surprised to find a lack of invertebrate life which usually inhabits wrecks around the area. Maybe with more time the wreck will acquire more life.

The big find of the dive came at the very end. After checking the outside hull, cargo bay, helm, and decks, I glanced at some exposed beams rising above the roof and saw the biggest frogfish I had ever seen. The fins and tail were unmistakable. It is a fish I look for everywhere but hardly ever find. Wrecks are great places to find them. My first frogfish was on the wreck of the Carthaginian off Lahaina. Masters of camouflage, only the flash of my camera brings out the vibrant orange colors. With a huge mouth and lightening fast reflexes their stationary nature hides their predatory ability. Two large frogfish occupied the St. Anthony's Wreck.

Butterflyfish like these long nose butterflyfish scoured the wreck for food as giant spiky sea cucumbers (picture on the right) scoured the sand around the wreck for detritus and organic material for its sustenance. The long nose butterflyfish gains fame with the longest fish name in Hawaiian, lauwiliwilinukuo'io'i. And I was interested to find out that this spiky sea cucumber, while long known to divers, has yet to be described scientifically. Cucumberus daimaracus, has a certain ring to it....don't you think?

 Finally a few green sea turtles swam over to rest on the wreck. I noticed they were also being cleaned by some of the gold ring surgeonfish in the area. One turtle resting on the ceiling was a little disturbed by another diver and lifted off vertically rubbing its face with its flipper which is a odd sign of annoyance. The act made the turtle look strangely human-like. But nothing is quite like seeing a turtle close to the surface with the sunlight glittering off its beautiful shell.