Credit River - Princess Ashika Traditional Cache

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nickjonh: Archiving to open up some room for a new series

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Hidden : 6/21/2014
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
4.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


Credit River - Shipwreck Series

Princess Ashika
 August 5, 2009



There are many shipwrecks around the world. Some very famous and others not so. Each however has it’s own story to tell. As you travel along the Credit River doing this series of caches, we have highlighted a number of these shipwrecks. During low water levels on these parts of the Credit River, you need to be careful in a canoe or kayak so as you don’t wind up in your own shipwreck. Besides the many large rocks along the way, there are also some other obstacles such as dams which should be avoided. All of the geocaches in this series have been placed by tubing, inflatable boat or on foot by walking in the water along the Credit River. Whichever way you choose to search for these caches, use caution and common sense.
More information about this series can be found here: Credit River - Shipwreck Series

Princess Ashika
The MV Princess Ashika was an inter-island ferry which operated in the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga. This motorized vessel (MV) was built in 1972, and began sailing the Tongan route on 7 July 2009 only to sink less than a month later on 5 August. Official figures released by Operation Ashika on August 19, 2009, confirmed that 54 men were rescued, and 74 persons were lost at sea. These include two bodies recovered and 72 missing (68 passengers and 4 crew), including five foreign nationals. Two of the missing passengers remain unidentified. Tonga's transportation minister, Paul Karalus, resigned six days after the tragedy.

The ferry was travelling from the capital of Tonga, Nukuʻalofa, to Ha'afeva when it sent out a mayday call just before 2300 hours on 5 August 2009, followed by a distress beacon. The distress beacon was sent five minutes after the mayday call. One survivor described a "big wave" and "much water", claiming that it had happened very quickly. When it sank, the ferry had only made five voyages in its new role. A P-3 Orion plane from the Royal New Zealand Air Force located a trail of wreckage 86 kilometres (53 mi) northeast of Nukuʻalofa. When darkness fell, search boats ceased searching for fear of sailing over survivors in the water. Due to the possibility that stowaways may have been onboard it is impossible to confirm a precise number of passengers. One 48-year-old British national was killed, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He was resident in New Zealand at the time of his death. There were said to be around ten Europeans on board the ferry.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ghor unatvat va ebbgf orybj evire onax.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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