Dive Tourism: Equipment & Skills
In August of 2008 the Bikini local government decided not to open Bikini Atoll in 2009.
This tourism portion of the web site will remain for the time being...
We will continue to sell dive program T-shirts at the Bikini Online Store
for as long as we have the items in stock.
From Our Head Divemaster:
Quick find:
BIKINI dive equipment list
Acceptable Dive Insurance Plans for Bikini Atoll
If you are planning to dive on Bikini Atoll, the following information will help you have a more enjoyable experience:
TRAVEL ISSUES
Bikini is a remote site and serviced once a week via a new Dash 8 commuter flight or a smaller Dornier turbo prop plane depending on the amount of tourists for any particular week: [you are allowed 40 pounds of check-in luggage free of charge, for every pound over that the charge is US$1.50 a pound ROUNDTRIP (at this time there is no weight limit for excess baggage)]. Please note: If you are traveling to Bikini Atoll please bring travelers checks [preferrably] or cash as we cannot accept credit cards. Also, Air Marshall Islands no longer accepts credit cards for excess baggage.
MAJURO ATOLL DEPARTURE FEES: It should be noted that when you fly from Majuro Atoll to Bikini Atoll there is a US$2.00 departure fee, and when you depart from Majuro Atoll to Honolulu, Hawaii or Guam there is a US$20.00 departure fee.
On Bikini we do have a laundry service. This means that you don't need to bring much in the way of clothing: T-shirts, shorts and trunks will do fine. The power on Bikini Atoll is U.S. Standard 110 Volt/60 Hertz.
Iridium and Imarsat sat-phones do work on Bikini Atoll if you want to bring them.
Note: ALL divers who dive with us on Bikini Atoll MUST have proper dive/medical evacuation insurance. A comprehensive list of acceptable dive insurance for Bikini Atoll can be found at the bottom of this page.
|
DIVING EQUIPMENT FOR THE BIKINI DIVING PROGRAM:
Although it is not required to dive at Bikini Atoll some of the classes your local retailer offers will greatly enhance your experience at Bikini. TDI- Deco procedures & Erd, IANTD- Tech Nitrox, Naui- Tech Nitrox & Deco Techniques, ANDI- Technical Nitrox. These classes will address decompression procedures, dive planning, emergency procedures and appropriate equipment configurations. Whatever level of training you have either the minimum required for Bikini or higher we prefer you dive in the configuration you are most comfortable with. If you have no experience with double tanks or are more comfortable in a single tank, we feel you will enjoy your diving more if you dive the configuration you are comfortable with.
I would like to stress the point that the equipment you bring to Bikini should be properly inspected and tested. Most equipment manufacturers require a minimum of an annual service. I recommend, even if your equipment is within its service period you have at least a “bench” test performed by a qualified service technician. Full service dive retail facilities provide the services necessary to ensure that your equipment will work properly. This is important to have done before you come to Bikini; we do not have the ability to provide maintenance on customer’s equipment.
Note: We now have either DOUBLE 100 cubic feet(13 litre) high pressure steel tanks or SINGLE 119 cubic feet (15 litre) high pressure steel tanks.
I recommend you bring the following items [Note: Bring all your dive gear because we do NOT have rental equipment on Bikini (with the exception of dive computers, see below)]:
Single Tank Divers:
We provide single steel 119’s (15ltr) tanks with H valves. The valves will accommodate both DIN and Yoke style regulators, though yoke / A-clamp regulators need to be rated for high pressure valves, minimum of 3500 psi / 232 bar. You will need to bring the following items:
1. High performance regulator with spg, alternate second stage (Octopus), BC low pressure Inflator hoses.
2. You may choose to bring a redundant first and second stage for use on the H valve. If you use this configuration you will not need an alternate second stage on your primary regulator.
3. BC, my only recommendation is your BC have adequate lift for large volume tanks. Recommend minimum 30lbs of lift.
4. Primary light, recommend a minimum size of 4 C cell battery type. If you will need spare batteries for lights or cameras, bring them along as we do not sell these on Bikini.
5. Back up light, recommend a minimum size of 4 AA cell battery type.
6. Reel & lift bag/SMB, reel needs a minimum of 150ft of line. Reel & lift bags are for use in the case of an emergency free ascent.
7. 3mm-5mm full wet suit with hood, boots and light weight gloves.
8. Mask & fins. Snorkel optional not used on dives.
9. Cutting tool, knife or shears
10. Small save a dive kit
11. Computer, see recommended computers below.
Dual Tank Divers:
We provide dual steel 85cf (13 ltr) tanks or high pressure steel
100cu/ft, (13 ltr) with isolation manifold. The manifold will accommodate both DIN and Yoke style regulators, though yoke / A-clamp regulators need to be rated for high pressure valves, minimum of 3500 psi / 232 bar. The tanks have bands and bolts with “industry standard” 11 inch center to center bolt spacing. You will need to bring the following items:
1. Two high performance regulator sets. (first and second stages) recommend 5-7 foot hose on one second stage, spg, BC low pressure inflator hose.
2. BC’s- The most recommended system is a back plate with web harness and “wing” type bladder with a minimum of 45lbs of lift. I personally use the Dive Rite Dual Rec wings. The Dive Rite Transpac II with Rec wings or larger, Zeagle Ranger & Tech BC’s, Scuba Pro S-Tek with Rec Tek wing or larger and the OMS IQ pac all work well here on Bikini. Some of these BC’s require additional hardware to accommodate doubles, please refer to your owners manual to make sure you have all the parts you need.
3. European guests, please take note, some European manufacturers back plates and harnesses do not accommodate the “industry standard” 11 inch center to center bolt configuration and may require complete reconfiguration of our tank bands and bolts. We are not equipped to handle the problems these products cause.
4. Primary light- recommend a canister type light with minimum of 30 mins burn time, or minimum 4 C cell battery type light.
5. Back up light- recommend 4 C cell battery type or minimum 4 AA cell battery type.
If you will need spare batteries for lights or cameras, bring them along as we do not sell these on Bikini.
6. Reel & lift bag/ SMB- reel needs a minimum of 150 feet of line. Reel and lift bags are for emergency free ascents.
7. 3mm-5mm full wet suit with hood, boots and lightweight gloves.
8. Mask and fins, snorkel optional not used on dives.
9. Cutting tool, knifes or shear type.
10. Small save a dive kit
11. Computer, see recommended list below.
Special note: If you have never used double tanks before, Bikini is not the place to learn. Come dive a single tank and have a great time.
DIVE COMPUTERS FOR THE BIKINI DIVE PROGRAM:
Pay close attention to the computer you are bringing to Bikini Atoll for the Bikini dive program. Most dive computers on the market are not designed for staged decompression diving and will lock-up on you or go out of range. This is because the manufacturers are afraid of the potential liability that can arise from divers performing staged decompression dives without supervision or training.
I have arranged computers into three categories. #1 Recommended multi gas computers with proven performance history on Bikini. #2 Minimum single gas computers with proven performance history on Bikini. #3 Do not bring, proven non-performance history.
 Dive Rite Nitek He |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
*We highly recommend the NiTek He series of computers from Dive Rite as the best computers available for doing the decompression dives on Bikini. WE NOW HAVE FIVE DIVE RITE NITEK He DIVE COMPUTERS FOR RENTAL ON BIKINI FOR US$65.00 PER WEEK. TO MAKE SURE ONE IS AVAILABLE FOR YOUR TRIP, PLEASE RESERVE ONE WITH OUR CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE (please bring cash or travelers checks as credit cards are not accepted on Bikini): E-mail: saratoga@ntamar.net
|
|
**** All divers for Bikini must have a redundant computer equal to their primary computer or be skilled in the usage of decompression tables and digital depth and bottom timers. You “must” have one of these redundant instrument options. Some of the “Not recommended” computers have a gauge option to function as digital depth and bottom timer. You may want to refer to your owner’s manual.
**** Divers using a recommended multi gas computer with a minimum single gas computer as a redundant instrument, will stay in the water until all decompression is completed on the single gas computer. We “Do Not” leave computers in the water and then get out. You do the time you do the ride.
**** We have not had enough exposure to the Abyss Explorer to make a performance-based decision. If you have not used this products for repetitive multi day deco dives, I would defer to one of the recommended or minimum computer options.
If you will need spare batteries for lights or cameras, bring them along as we do not sell these on Bikini.
If you have any DVDs that you are tired of watching, please bring them to donate to the staff on Bikini!
The diving environment at Bikini is certainly unique and as such requires special procedures:
Contrary to what most people believe, Bikini is actually a very benign environment for deep diving as we have a clear, warm water lagoon with no discernible current. The maximum depth attained on any of our dives is 175 feet. We are set up to deal with the risks of staged decompression diving in a way that divers with no previous experience are allowed to gain some new skills and at the same time have an incredible week of diving. While you don't need to be a "Super Tech Diver" to do the week of dives on Bikini, because of the deterioration of the ships we require that divers have an absolute minimum of 75 dives (we prefer more), and that divers be very comfortable in, around and under the water. Buoyancy and ascent rate skills are an absolute necessity. If you don't have 75 dives or if basic diving skills are still a problem for you--such as clearing a flooded mask or recovering a regulator that has fallen out of your mouth--you should consider diving Bikini after you have acquired more experience. We do not offer training courses on Bikini at this time: We advise our customers to take the various training classes that might interest you before you get to Bikini. Please note: While Advanced Open Water divers without any previous knowledge of technical diving or decompression diving have dove with us with success and without any problem, their success was based on their previous attainment of a high degree of diving skills. The higher your skill level and the more experience you have, the more you will enjoy the diving on Bikini.
PENETRATION DIVING ON BIKINI ATOLL [April 2007]:
This is a special note for those who would want to spend a lot of time penetrating the wrecks on Bikini Atoll. As a result of being hit by two atomic weapons blasts and being beneath the sea for over 60 years, in October of 2006 the towering, massive bridge structure of the USS Saratoga finally began to collapse inward toward the forward hanger elevator shaft. It now appears that the demise of the bridge area is going to be a slow, ongoing process and may take many months before the bridge is finally at rest and not a potential threat to divers. Due to this unstable condition of the USS Saratoga, penetration diving and swims through the hanger deck of the vessel will be limited, and in the worst cases cancelled, until we are convinced that it is safe to explore the areas we normally visit. Because of this phenomenon, for the 2007 season the typical dive schedule on Bikini may be revised from time to time.
We apologize to our new and returning guests for any inconvenience, but as always the safety of our customers is our number one priority on Bikini. The evaluation of the current situation has taken many dives and several months of careful consideration for us to arrive at this conclusion. However, the majestic, awe-inspiring and astounding beauty of the USS Saratoga can still be experienced by the dives we arrange on her if conditions don't allow for penetration diving.
When the USS Saratoga's forward hanger deck and the aft section of the hanger deck permit exploration, there is a lot of ordnance scattered on the floor. These dives are within view of light and exit at all times ("cavern") and the possibility of a "silt out" (when the silt gets disturbed by improper fin kicking and the visibility is completely lost) is very low due to the size of the hanger deck.
The USS Saratoga offers many other possibilities for penetration, but these areas are very tight and restricted with there always being a chance of one getting lost in a maze of corridors. Proper knowledge of line protocols and techniques is required to allow you to visit some of the permanent lines that our team has installed. Laying and following a line properly is much more complicated than it seems at first. Again, there are times when the USS Saratoga cannot be explored in this fashion--even by the most experienced divers--due to the current instability of the vessel's massive bridge structure.
As part of our normal diving schedule we still penetrate the HIJMS Nagato on two different dives, and with smaller groups we occasionally explore a small portion of the USS Arkansas.
If you really want to learn a lot about diving and improve your diving skills, we recommend that you get cave certified, even if you will never dive caves in your life. Most of the skills learned in this course can be applied to general diving and especially penetration wreck diving. Of course, a wreck is different than a cave and as such offers its own set of risks (like falling structures and the possibility of entanglement). In our opinion, a diver who has an Open Water card and is fully cave certified possesses more appropriate skills for diving Bikini than a "Course Director" who has no specialized training.
The Saratoga is a unique vessel when it comes to penetration diving. There is no other vessel anywhere in the world where you can prepare yourself for a penetration dive on this great ship. The Full Cave diver courses offered by numerous training agencies will prepare you with the skills and disciplines needed to safely carry out penetration dives within the Saratoga. Please contact us if you are a certified and experienced cave diver and you are interested in these types of dives as part of your trip to Bikini.
Everyone who visits Bikini goes through a check-out dive on the first dive day regardless of the level of your certification. It is important that you show us underwater that your skills match your credentials so as to enable us to do everything we can to accommodate your needs: Our mission is always to give you the best experience possible based on your skill level.
Since 1996 we have performed thousands of staged decompression dives (counting all dives done by our team and customers). As an operation, we have amassed an excellent safety record for this form of diving. Be that as it may, accidents do occur even if a diver has done nothing wrong on the dive. In case of an accident, there is a recompression chamber available within a couple hours flight of Bikini Atoll.
Note: Because of the repetitive decompression diving we do on Bikini, we do not recommend that diabetics dive Bikini unless there has been careful consideration and clearance by a physician. If you are a diabetic and have been cleared by a doctor for diving on Bikini Atoll, you should have a full understanding of the consequences and dietary needs of doing this kind of diving.
At this time we do not provide helium for trimix on Bikini.
We hope the above information has been helpful and we hope to see you on Bikini soon.
Please feel free to e-mail us if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.
REBREATHER INFORMATION
Planning on bringing a rebreather to Bikini? Want to know how someone else has done it in the past? Read the above link to find out how this is best done.
BIKINI ATOLL DIVERS DEPOSIT AND CANCELLATION POLICIES FOR INDIVIDUALS
|
ALL divers who dive with us on Bikini Atoll MUST have proper dive/medical evacuation insurance or they will not be able to dive with us, no exceptions will be made. We generally look for three main characteristics in a dive insurance plan: 1) Ability to evacuate an injured diver anywhere in the world. 2) Ability to pay for medical treatment of an evacuated diver anywhere in the world. 3) Ability for the diver to dive below 130 feet anywhere in the world and still be covered by the insurance plan. BIKINI ATOLL DIVERS highly recommends the following dive insurance plans [the links take you to their websites]: DAN Preferred Plan or DAN Master Plan but NOT the DAN Standard Plan PADI Dive Insurance Platinum or Gold plans but NOT the PADI Silver Plan NAUI dive insurance plan Deluxe Dive and Travel Plan or Deluxe Dive and Travel Family Plan but NOT the NAUI Standard Plan Diveassure Gold, Platinum or Diamond programs DAN EUROPE Basic, Master or Super Plans If you do not see your dive insurance plan on this list, please email us with either a website or other direct contact information for your insurance company so we can check their policies. NOTE FOR DIVERS FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM: Some insurance companies from the UK will not cover divers on Bikini unless you have a qualification to carry out 2 decompression dives a day. Please read the small print of your policy as sometimes it states that the insurance company will only pay for injury related expenses if divers are diving within their qualification level. Not many training agencies allow 2 decompression dives a day, so please make sure of this with your insurance company before coming to Bikini Atoll. Most of our dives go beyond the 130 foot/40 meter limit of many dive insurance programs. |
Bikini Atoll Divers
c/o Kili/Bikini/Ejit
Local Government Council
PO Box 1096
Majuro, Marshall Islands 96960
Tel. 692-625-3177
Fax 692-625-3330
For Customer Service:
E-mail: saratoga@ntamar.net
For technical dive info/Operations Manager:
Email: bikinijack@gmail.com
Read a letter from the manager.
Our dive program is reviewed in the December 1998 Skin Diver Magazine article by Jim Church.
From Amazon.com:
USS Saratoga Cv-3 : An Illustrated History of the Legendary Aircraft Carrier 1927-1946 by John Fry [If you want a beautiful book on the Saratoga, buy this. It is a treasure for those who have served and who have dove on this magnificent ship].
  To purchase Bikini Atoll historical books, award winning documentary videos, dive program high quality polo shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, patches, and music from our U.S. based Secure Server. |
Go to the Dive Tourism Page of the Bikini Atoll web site.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The Final Resting Places of all ships used at Bikini Atoll for Nuclear Testing.
Go to the Bikini Atoll Online Store to purchase Bikini dive program T-shirts, historical videos, and music from our U.S. based secure server.
View pictures of our dive, dining and recreational facilities.