Triton Explorers

40 metres underwater, inside this iconic shipwreck, there is a very famous Lady — and divers have been kissing her for good luck for decades.

This is episode 9 of our Top 10 Treasures on the SS President Coolidge — and she might just be the most legendary thing on the wreck.

Before the Coolidge was a troop ship she was a luxury cruise liner. One of her fittings was a stunning porcelain statue of an Elizabethan woman riding a unicorn, sitting in the first class smoking room. When the ship was converted for military service she was boarded over and forgotten.

Then the ship sank. And for years — nothing. Until slowly, as the panels rotted away in the darkness, the Lady began to reveal herself to divers. A shining white light emerging from the black.

She survived a war, a sinking, and an earthquake that dislodged her and required careful recovery and repair. She was placed back on the wreck in the first class dining room, just within recreational dive limits.

She is still down there waiting. You'll need at least a Deep or Decompression Procedures certification to visit her. She doesn't come easy — but she is absolutely worth it.
Save this to your South Pacific bucket list. 1 more treasure still to come.

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Plan your trip to Espiritu Santo with Triton Explorers
book@tritonexplorers | +678 7199918

Wetsuit by
Filmed on the air x4

In the darkest depths of the SS President Coolidge, on her lowest deck, there are large alien-like egg-shaped structures that don't look like they belong there.

Episode 7 of our Top 10 Treasures on the Coolidge — and this one stops you in your tracks.

During the war, military planes carried external drop tanks for extra fuel — jettisoned before combat to improve speed and agility. Espiritu Santo was home to four wartime airfields, which meant a constant need for replacements. And where better to store a fresh shipment than the lowest deck of the Coolidge.

On their own they look unremarkable. Large oval shapes, slightly eerie, faintly familiar. But together — rows of them disappearing into the blackness, the sheer scale, the silence — it's closer to a scene from another world than a cargo hold.

You'll need your Advanced certification to reach this section. It sits deep. And it is worth every meter of the descent.

Save this to your South Pacific bucket list. 3 more treasures still to come.

— — — — — —

— — — — — —

Plan your trip to Espiritu Santo with Triton Explorers
book@tritonexplorers | +678 7199918

Wetsuit by
Filmed on the air x4

In the darkest depths of the SS President Coolidge, on her lowest deck, there are large alien-like egg-shaped structures that don't look like they belong there.

Episode 7 of our Top 10 Treasures on the Coolidge — and this one stops you in your tracks.

During the war, military planes carried external drop tanks for extra fuel — jettisoned before combat to improve speed and agility. Espiritu Santo was home to four wartime airfields, which meant a constant need for replacements. And where better to store a fresh shipment than the lowest deck of the Coolidge.

On their own they look unremarkable. Large oval shapes, slightly eerie, faintly familiar. But together — rows of them disappearing into the blackness, the sheer scale, the silence — it's closer to a scene from another world than a cargo hold.

You'll need your Advanced certification to reach this section. It sits deep. And it is worth every metre of the descent.

Save this to your South Pacific bucket list. 3 more treasures still to come.

— — — — — —

— — — — — —

Plan your trip to Espiritu Santo with Triton Explorers
book@tritonexplorers | +678 7199918

Wetsuit by
Filmed on the air x4