Hilma Hooker (GC2W056) — Geocache of the Week

By Janelle
Traditional
GC2W056
by Hud4
Difficulty:
2
Terrain:
5
Location:
Bonaire
N 12° 05.974 W 068° 17.213

Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056 – photo courtesy of ~M&M~Ahoy, geocachers! When most geocachers think of T5 geocaches, they usually think of climbing to the top of a steep mountain. But some intrepid geocachers know that diving down, deep down, like, 29 meters (100 feet) down, is what T5s are really all about.
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056 – photo courtesy of LichtchefThe Hilma Hooker is a shipwreck in the Caribbean Netherlands, and is well known as a popular wreck diving site. The ship was built during the 1950’s in the Netherlands and eventually ended up as a vessel used by a Colombian shipping company.
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056 photo courtesy of De PrinniesIn the summer of 1984, after several months of surveillance for suspicious activities, the ship was detained in Bonaire. It was neglected for an extended period of time and took on a considerable amount of water. On September 7th, the ship was towed to anchorage, and then at 9:08 am, September 12th, the Hilma Hooker sank in just two minutes. That’s right—all 71.78 meters (235.5 feet) of this ship sank in less time than it takes to cook an egg.
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056The coordinates will take you to the shipwreck buoys; however, the actual geocache is 29 meters (100 feet) underwater at the shipwreck itself. The log is in the sand under the yardarm of the ship’s main mast. Here are some logs from those who’ve made the dive:
“Very nice location to visit! The wreck is easy to dive around also for less experienced divers. Just watch out the depth and current. The wreck is guarded by a couple of big tarpons (fish) and has a funny history. TFTC!” –Exploring bear
“A few days ago I have only my Open Water Diver certification get. And now even followed my first underwater cache. When we discovered the ship I was impressed. After we had found the Madonna we could create the Logproof photos. I’m still fascinated by this cache.” –moestaverne77
“As I was by myself I did a guided dive on this great wreck. Thanks a lot for all the information provided – the ship really has an interesting history and appears to have (been) sunk in a perfect location… Visibility was pretty good and there were no other divers apart from us. Using nitrox we could spent enough time to explore the wreck and of course to ‘stoop down and with the finger write on the ground‘ my cachername ‘kinderarzt’… Although, by now it has probably turned into dust and ashes. Great idea – worth a blue ribbon just as blue as the surrounding water. TFTC” –kinderarzt
“Thanks for placing a cache at this famous dive spot. In this way we could log our first “terrain 5” cache without having to do major climbing .” –Woffi

Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056
Geocache Hilma Hooker GC2W056

Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog.
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Hilma Hooker (GC2W056) — Geocache of the Week