Barracuda2
Contributor
Now that the jet lag has quit lagging, I'm ready to post some comments about my Palau/Yap trip.
First Palau: It just doesn't get any better than this! I feel like I've climbed the Mt. Everest of diving. The Big Blue Explorer and crew was the best live-aboard I've ever been on, and I've been on a few; well organized, great crew, excellent food, and good accommodations. The diving?---I never thought I would see the day when I would get picky as to which shark I was going to video. We hooked in to Blue Corner 3 times during the week and each one was spectacular---a real shark-fest with large schools of jacks, barracudas, and sundry other species plying the currents. When we hooked in on Peleliu Express, I swear I got high feeling the power of the water rushing against and past me, and again a real shark-fest of white tips, black tips, and grays---not just one or two at a time, but 5 and six and more. Riding the currents through German Channal and dropping through the Virgin Blue Hole and exploring Chandelier Cavern was awesome. The wall diving was the bets. They were full of all kinds of soft corals, turtles, and enormous Napoleon Wrass, schooling fish of all kinds both big and small. There is much more I could say, but to wrap it up,---Don't die without diving Palau
Second, Yap: Manta Bay Resort is a great place to dive from. Bill really has his act together there; fast boats, well organized, great facilities. However, I was a little disappointed in the diving. I honestly thought that when I backrolled off the boat, I would see manta after manta, not knowing which way to point the cam. Not the case. Either this dive is overhyped, or I just ran into a couple of bad days. We dove Middle Channel twice on the first day and my only sighting was a distant shadow. The viz was disappointing and only got worse on the second dive as the tide turned---it was almost like diving an Ohio quarry. Any manta would have had to be about 20 ft. from me to see. The first dive on the second day was better; the viz was better and I acutally saw either 4 mantas or the same manta 4 times. One time he came so close, I could have reached out an touched him. great video shot. The second dive was like the second dive on the first day---bad viz and no mantas.
One day left---We all thought this was going to be the day. The seas calmed down, and when we got on sight, you could tell the viz was really good. We started gearing up when our boat driver got a message from another Yap Divers boat telling us to check our air. We did. All the tanks were contaminated. That was the end of Yap diving for me. Three Yap Divers boats made their way back through the mangrove to the resort with a lot of disappointed divers. The rest of that morning, all you could hear was the hissing of about 200 tanks emptying themselves.
Now I know "stuff happens", but I was disappointed and a little upset because of what happened to me on the third dive of the previous day. I rolled off the skiff and started my descent. I could taste something in the air, sort of a burned rubber or model airplane glue tast. I should have aborted the dive right there, but I didn't. Fortunately, I was in shallow water, not deeper than about 25 ft. After about 10 min. I started feeling a real dryness and slight burning in my throat. I found Gordon, our DM and signaled him to come with me to the surface. When we got there I told him what I was experiencing and he took my reg, placed it to his nose and smelled the air. His immediate words were "bad air" and signaled the boat to come to us. We drove over to another Yap Diver boat that had a spare tank. I opened the valve and smelled the air and it was ok. I finished the dive on that tank. I feel the next day's disappointment could have been avoided if Gordon and the boat driver reported the incident of what happened to me. They never told anyone; not Jon, Bill, or anybody in authority. Logically, you would think that the chances of having more bad tanks would exists if there was one found in the batch. Maybe too much beetlenut or something. (I did find out later that there were about 3 or 4 other divers who did experience the bad air situation, but did not abort the dive) So, that night they filled about 200 tanks with contaminated air. Bummer!
Pilot fish and I were taking a walk that afternoon, and when we came back from the internet cafe, we took a shortcut through the backside of the resort where the compressors are located. I came around the corner and was hit by a familiar ordor. Some guys were making some kind of fiberglass forms using epoxy glue; I almost had a flashback when I smelled the ordor. Jon happened to be close by so I infomed him of this. I asked him where the compressor's intake was located and he pointed in the direction that the wind was blowing for the last two days and immediately shut down the operation. I did not dive any more because I was afraid that maybe some residue may have coated the tanks, and I didn't want to be breathing that stuff and 80 ft. where the mantas hang out. Thus I packed my gear, had beer or two and prepared for the "hell" of a 25 hr. jet ride back to Ohio.
Oh, by the way, I finally met the famous Mike V. and actually got to dive with him. Not only that, but he let me handle his video housing and cam while under. Now I'm ready to spend 13k and go HD. Thanks Mike for the experience and the clips.
I'll share more stories with you at the M & G. Oh by the way, my son is going to join us that weekend, and as you will see, he doesn't take after me in looks, so you single girls will have to remember that he's married
First Palau: It just doesn't get any better than this! I feel like I've climbed the Mt. Everest of diving. The Big Blue Explorer and crew was the best live-aboard I've ever been on, and I've been on a few; well organized, great crew, excellent food, and good accommodations. The diving?---I never thought I would see the day when I would get picky as to which shark I was going to video. We hooked in to Blue Corner 3 times during the week and each one was spectacular---a real shark-fest with large schools of jacks, barracudas, and sundry other species plying the currents. When we hooked in on Peleliu Express, I swear I got high feeling the power of the water rushing against and past me, and again a real shark-fest of white tips, black tips, and grays---not just one or two at a time, but 5 and six and more. Riding the currents through German Channal and dropping through the Virgin Blue Hole and exploring Chandelier Cavern was awesome. The wall diving was the bets. They were full of all kinds of soft corals, turtles, and enormous Napoleon Wrass, schooling fish of all kinds both big and small. There is much more I could say, but to wrap it up,---Don't die without diving Palau
Second, Yap: Manta Bay Resort is a great place to dive from. Bill really has his act together there; fast boats, well organized, great facilities. However, I was a little disappointed in the diving. I honestly thought that when I backrolled off the boat, I would see manta after manta, not knowing which way to point the cam. Not the case. Either this dive is overhyped, or I just ran into a couple of bad days. We dove Middle Channel twice on the first day and my only sighting was a distant shadow. The viz was disappointing and only got worse on the second dive as the tide turned---it was almost like diving an Ohio quarry. Any manta would have had to be about 20 ft. from me to see. The first dive on the second day was better; the viz was better and I acutally saw either 4 mantas or the same manta 4 times. One time he came so close, I could have reached out an touched him. great video shot. The second dive was like the second dive on the first day---bad viz and no mantas.
One day left---We all thought this was going to be the day. The seas calmed down, and when we got on sight, you could tell the viz was really good. We started gearing up when our boat driver got a message from another Yap Divers boat telling us to check our air. We did. All the tanks were contaminated. That was the end of Yap diving for me. Three Yap Divers boats made their way back through the mangrove to the resort with a lot of disappointed divers. The rest of that morning, all you could hear was the hissing of about 200 tanks emptying themselves.
Now I know "stuff happens", but I was disappointed and a little upset because of what happened to me on the third dive of the previous day. I rolled off the skiff and started my descent. I could taste something in the air, sort of a burned rubber or model airplane glue tast. I should have aborted the dive right there, but I didn't. Fortunately, I was in shallow water, not deeper than about 25 ft. After about 10 min. I started feeling a real dryness and slight burning in my throat. I found Gordon, our DM and signaled him to come with me to the surface. When we got there I told him what I was experiencing and he took my reg, placed it to his nose and smelled the air. His immediate words were "bad air" and signaled the boat to come to us. We drove over to another Yap Diver boat that had a spare tank. I opened the valve and smelled the air and it was ok. I finished the dive on that tank. I feel the next day's disappointment could have been avoided if Gordon and the boat driver reported the incident of what happened to me. They never told anyone; not Jon, Bill, or anybody in authority. Logically, you would think that the chances of having more bad tanks would exists if there was one found in the batch. Maybe too much beetlenut or something. (I did find out later that there were about 3 or 4 other divers who did experience the bad air situation, but did not abort the dive) So, that night they filled about 200 tanks with contaminated air. Bummer!
Pilot fish and I were taking a walk that afternoon, and when we came back from the internet cafe, we took a shortcut through the backside of the resort where the compressors are located. I came around the corner and was hit by a familiar ordor. Some guys were making some kind of fiberglass forms using epoxy glue; I almost had a flashback when I smelled the ordor. Jon happened to be close by so I infomed him of this. I asked him where the compressor's intake was located and he pointed in the direction that the wind was blowing for the last two days and immediately shut down the operation. I did not dive any more because I was afraid that maybe some residue may have coated the tanks, and I didn't want to be breathing that stuff and 80 ft. where the mantas hang out. Thus I packed my gear, had beer or two and prepared for the "hell" of a 25 hr. jet ride back to Ohio.
Oh, by the way, I finally met the famous Mike V. and actually got to dive with him. Not only that, but he let me handle his video housing and cam while under. Now I'm ready to spend 13k and go HD. Thanks Mike for the experience and the clips.
I'll share more stories with you at the M & G. Oh by the way, my son is going to join us that weekend, and as you will see, he doesn't take after me in looks, so you single girls will have to remember that he's married
