Dive· Tahiti· French Polynesia — Society Islands
Faa'a Wrecks – Catalina Seaplane, Cessna & Schooner (Aquarium dive site)
17° 32.6′ S · 149° 36.5′ W
Tahiti's signature lagoon dive, nicknamed the Aquarium: three wrecks on a sand bottom off the end of the Faa'a runway: a Catalina flying boat, a small Cessna, and a wooden inter-island schooner scuttled in 1976.
Practical
Coordinates are the Catalina (Tahiti Heritage); the schooner lies nearby (-17.54421, -149.60830) on its side along the slope at about 25 m. Its deck has gone, leaving the frame as a shelter for schools of perch and goatfish (Tahiti Heritage). The site is next to the airport regulated zone and the Faa'a channel, so go with a local dive operator rather than by yacht tender, and get Vigie VHF 12 permission before moving through the runway-end zone. Anchoring is banned throughout the area. Eleuthera Tahiti Diving Center lists this as the 'Hydravion et Goélette' site (-17.54352, -149.60883) and treats the 'Aquarium' (with the Cessna) as a separate shallower site further south: the Catalina PBY-5A was given to RAI (Air Tahiti's forerunner) by the US Navy, damaged landing at Raiatea in 1960 and sunk here in November 1962 at 20 m; the schooner is the Orohena, a 45 m wooden vessel built in 1944. The 1990s Diving in Tahiti guide notes visibility rarely beyond about 15 m and warns not to enter the schooner hull.
Best for
Easy wreck diving close to Papeete
Nearby
- Faa'a / Punaauia Authorized Mooring Zones P3–P5 (Motu Tahiri)0.8 NM away
- Faa'a International Airport (PPT)0.8 NM away
- Papeete Port of Entry – Border Police (STPAF, Faa'a Airport)0.8 NM away
- Vallée Blanche Shark Dive (Faa'a)0.8 NM away
- Biosecurity Inspection – Papeete (pre-arrival questionnaire)1.3 NM away
- Papeete Port Control 'Vigie' (VHF 12)1.3 NM away
- Tahiti Sails (Faa'a)1.3 NM away
- Aquarium Coral Garden & Cessna Wreck (Faa'a lagoon)1.7 NM away