Dive site: Anchor Wreck - Nusa Menjangan
Time to destination: 45min
Difficulty: 2 to 3
Current: little to medium
Tips: Wreck Dive, big fish
Anchor Wreck; Named after the anchor sitting in 5mtrs of water at the
top of the reef, this is the starting point for three dives depending on
which way the current is running or if you want to look at the wreck
itself.
The back of Menjangan from here till Post III is all very similar.
Looking out towards Java and the tip of Bali it offers a beautiful
variety of steep slope and wall. All dropping into the blue and backed
by open Ocean. Excellent coral cover, many fish, turtle, shark and
critters. Everything you'd expect of a coral reef in a tropical
paradise. Currents generally run along the back here in one direction or
the over, the dive always takes the easy route getting picked up at the
end. Currents can run strong here and like most drift dives you should
stay close to the reef and watch your depths. In the summer the back of
the island is also the best place to get out of the winds that come up
from the south and make for choppy/rough conditions in the afternoons.
This is common July through August.
Anchor wreck itself seems to be an unknown 19th century trading vessel,
possibly a slaver that ran into trouble and anchored at Menjangan for
protection and promptly sank. Following the anchor chain down brings you
to a mast at about the 30mtr mark and continues bows to stern out to
sea. The far end lies in 46mtrs of water, not for the faint hearted or
ill experienced. It is never the less an interesting one off, sharks
inhabit the lower reaches and are often seen. The contents of the wreck
were copper sheeting and bottles of Arak by the look of it. Most of the
bottles are gone now, taken by guides or guests. This is unfortunately
the problem at many wreck sites throughout the world. Better to take
only pictures and leave only bubbles, as the saying goes. So the rest of
us can enjoy diving here in the future.