HOLD ONE (Maximum depth 30m)

On your first three dives on the SS President Coolidge you are generally taken to dive the front holds, the promenade/bridge area and the medical supplies hold. Normally the very first dive for most divers is to Holds One and Two. Normally you would first enter and explore Hold Two and then come into Hold One, either via one of the many rust holes between the two holds or by entering from the main hatch. You can also do this dive as part of another dive or on its own as a shallower second dive of the day.

Hold One is the first hold in the ship and is located right at the bow. From the shore, you swim down to the bow and between the upper and lower bow guns. The entrance to Hold One is immediately after the guns. As you enter you will see that there is a lot of equipment in this hold.

The entrance to Hold One	A typewriter at the entrance to Hold One

It is crammed with equipment vital for the war effort, the loss of which must have severely affected the Americans' push into the Solomons. Today you can see the goods, six wheel drive trucks (10 wheels all up), jeeps and an upside-down tracked vehicle (a dozer?). These are just some of the things to see.

On the right at the back of the hold there are seven jeeps stacked in twos. There is one by itself and the other six are stacked on top of each other (at least now). The wheels are not on the jeeps, they are stored inside the body.

A medium sized trailer in Hold One	The way through from Hold One to Hold Two

In the second last level you can turn left and go into the Chain Locker. From the second, third and fourth levels on the right you can now go through to Hold Two.

At the top front right of the hold there is a room where there are stored at least 22 spare porthole glasses. These make a great photo/video when someone puts a bright torch at one end of the pile. There are also some spare porthole parts as well as other sections of glass for use elsewhere in the ship. At the front left middle there is the stewards washroom. This has 10 hand basins in two back to back rows, with a shower opposite each basin and a light above each shower. Above this and back towards the entrance there is a tight squeeze into an area which was the "White Boys" living area. There are some beds here and a very tight exit through a vent to the outside. There is a bit of china and other stuff on the edge of the hold.

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