KIHEI, Maui, Hawaii (10 Nov 2006) -- A retired San Diego police officer has reported the Oct. 15 earthquakes severely damaged another Maui landmark, although green sea turtles that use the landmark as a cleaning station probably noticed the damage most. The damage was to a military landing vehicle that sank off the South Maui coast in about 60 feet of water, said Jim Spears of Kihei. "I've been diving on it for years. The earthquake caused it to collapse," he said. He said he confirmed his observations with Pauline Severns, another scuba diver who frequents the site. The vehicle, a Mark 4 military landing vehicle dating to World War II, appeared to be relatively intact before the magnitude-6.7 and -6.0 earthquakes shook the islands. A few days later, Spears said he went for a dive to the site and found the front end of the vehicle had broken off. "There was a tank near it too, but it had collapsed a long time ago. I don't know what happened to it. "This landing vehicle was an armored version; its nickname was water buffalo. It held a jeep and a squad of men and could run up on the beach to discharge," he said. In its offshore burial ground, it had served as a turtle-cleaning station, Spears said. | | Before (above) and after (below) photos of Maui's 'Water Buffalo' wreck diving site. "The turtles hang out there and there are fish that clean the algae off their shells," he said. "The turtles are gone, but maybe they'll come back." SOURCE - The Maui News |
