Our boatman said that the second wreck was of a ship that developed engine trouble and sank in late 1960s. Diving in Kalmune, located in the Eastern coast, can be done during the time of South West monsoons mainly May to September. No local dive centers are available, hence all equipment needs to be taken. A local fishing boat can be hired. One needs to keep an eye on the strong currents. 

We did a drift dive along the reef afterwards, with the help of the current. The highlight of the day, was a shoal of over 10 dolphins that kept circling around our boat.

17th April 2005

We could dive in the famous “coin ship” where Arthur C.Clarke & Mike Wilson found bundles of silver coins in 1960’s. Located on the south of the light house, the site lies hidden, hence can be accessed only by diving between the openings of the reef. The currents are quite strong and one has to cling on to the rocks to prevent himself being tossed up and about. A canon and the anchor of the ship can be identified among the other debris.

Great Basses Reef, located in the South East of the island, off the coast of Kirinda, is famous for it’s shipwrecks. It’s about half an hour boat ride from Kirinda fisheries harbour. Due to strong currents and rough sea conditions, diving can be done only in the month of April, when the North East monsoons end and South West monsoons are about to start. 

It was highlighted by Somey that, further cleanup programs need to be carried out, as when the monsoon starts and sea becomes rough, the debris buried in the sand will not be noticeable. Hence it was decided to carry out further beach and reef cleanup in near future.

29th January 2005

We started back our operations today. The hotel is re-building the diving center, so we were given a room to operate for the time being. Filling the tanks is done at Somey’s home. Not having sufficient diving gear is the problem, but we can manage. Some of our guests were kind enough to donate some used equipment, and some left their own diving gear for us to use for the time being. Not many divers, but we need to keep things going.

We’d like to thank every one who helped us during these days. So sorry if we could not write to any of you individually, or respond to your e-mails, but we will always remember how our dear customers and friends were with us during the worst disaster our country had experienced.

We appreciate the help and assistance given to the people in Sri Lanka in the time of need.<

05th January 2005

We dived in Godagala, Coral Garden Cave and Hikkaduwa Gala. The tsunami has not caused any damage to any of the dive sites.

02nd January 2005

Today, Somey snorkeled around the coral reef. No damage done to the corals, except a lot of debris scattered in the area. Fishing nets were entangled in corals, so they need to be removed carefully.

30th December 2004

We started to salvage whatever was there at the diving center, though not much was left.

28th December 2004

Today Somey managed to get down some diesel for his van through a friend, and took the remaining foreigners who stayed at his house to the airport. Additional flights had been deployed to evacuate foreign tourists out of the country.

Purchased food and vegetables from Colombo. We were sick of eating rice and dhal for 3 days, as nothing was available in Hikkaduwa.

27th December 2004

People are still in a state of a shock. Our phones are not working and there is no electricity. Worse than that, there is no place where we can purchase food and vegetables. Guests staying at Somey’s house are getting impatient, as they have to get back to their countries. Some left for Colombo. The main road from the south to the capital Colombo, along the coast is not motorable, so in land routes have to be used. Pumping fuel to vehicles, is yet another problem.

When the sea receded, the diving center crew and a few guests who dared, returned to the scene. Luckily, no one among us was missing, except for a few who were injured in the rush. The diving center was in shambles, its roof collapsed in, and pieces scattered everywhere, most equipment washed away and some buried underneath the debris.

What was most astonishing, was the sea. It had retreated further away from the shore about half a kilometer, a sight no Sri Lankan had experienced earlier. The reef, which was about 30 meters away from the beach, was now fully visible. One could see a white smoke rising from the coral reef. Akim, one of our German guests, sensed that something was wrong, and climbed up the hotel balcony and gave us a warning, it might come back. His prediction was correct. In about a half an hour, we could see a thirty foot high, massive black wave rolling towards the shore. Again, everybody bolted.

Once the waves receded after causing a bigger damage, the boats which were inside the Hikkaduwa fishing harbour were seen on top of the reef, in front of the hotel. By now, no one knew what to do exactly, except to flee at the sight of the next wave. The third and the final wave hit Hikkaduwa by around 11.30 a.m. causing the biggest damage. It took the fishing boats which were on the reef, further inside and most ended up in front of the hotels, some on the road, and a few were carried past the railway track, which is located some 50 meters away from the main road.

As the day passed, both foreign tourists and residents in the area who lost their homes, still not recovered from the shock, gathered in the village temple or nearby houses to spend the night. Villagers brought food and clothing to the stranded people. Somay gave shelter to about 30 guests in his house. It is unlikely that anyone in Hikkaduwa had any sleep that night, as most were expecting another tsunami. Thus ended the day, which Sri Lanka faced her biggest natural disaster, that claimed more than 30,000 lives throughout the country, and left over a million homeless.