Tropic Dancer Captain's Logs

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report June 17 – 23, 2013

Air/Water Temp: 86 – 90F/ 84 – 86F
Visibility: Good
Topside Conditions: Partly Cloudy – Sunny
Sea Surface: Calm, Small Swell, Choppy, and Calm again

Crew: Captain Ike, Engineer Hector, Photo pro Ben, Video pro Adam, Divemaster Jim, Stewardess Len and Chef Cameron

Welcome on board the Tropic Dancer for another great week in beautiful Palau. All our guests are already on the island and we pick them up from their hotels after 4pm. We welcome Brian & Suzanne, Mike, Phil & Katherine, Rafael Sr. & Rafael Jr., Waleed & Kathy, and David. Everyone set up their diving equipment and headed up to the salon for a great dinner prepared by our Chef Cameron. After dinner we went over the safety briefing and showed our Palau documentary. Some guests finished setting up their cameras and then they were all off to bed.

Early Monday morning we left the pier and made the short trip into Malakal Harbor. Our check out dive was the Helmet Wreck. We found the resident crocodile fish along with a couple of pipefish and signal gobies on the bow of the wreck. After the dive we started moving the big boat out of Malakal Harbor and into the rock islands. Next dive was the Iro Maru and everyone loved exploring this massive wreck. We returned to the big boat for lunch and then set out for Big Drop Off for our next dive. We drifted steadily with a mild current, exploring the beautiful wall and its inhabitants. Here we saw many beautiful reef fish but greatly enjoyed spending time with a juvenile midnight snapper on a feather star. For our last dive of the day we went to the Ngedebus Coral Garden where we explored the unique topography of this dive site and we were thrilled to find a thin ghost pipefish. After this dive we returned to the big boat for a wonderful dinner and afterwards we presented our briefing on reef hooks in order to prepare our guests for tomorrow’s adventures.

On Tuesday morning we took our first dive at Blue Corner. We had a slack current that allowed us to explore the top of the plateau and spend some quality time with the napoleon wrasses. For our second dive we went to Turtle Cove and the dive started with a bang as we came across a manta cruising along the wall as soon as we entered. We continued along after soaking in the beauty of this wonderful wall covered in soft corals. After lunch we went for our next dive at New Drop Off. On this dive we started along the wall and as we entered the hook in area we encountered several grey reef sharks, schools of barracuda and scads. Above on the plateau, we found several turtles and a wonderful specimen of chromodoris coi. For our fourth dive of the day we dove at Fern’s Wall. On this beautiful dive we saw a large grey reef shark in the shallows and spent time looking in the shallows for nudibranchs and scorpion fish. When we returned to the big boat, dinner was ready and the night divers were ready soon after. For the night dive we headed to German Coral Garden where the divers watched some big lionfish as they hunted above a large coral head.

We started up the big boat early on Wednesday and headed to Peleliu. Our first dive was the famous Peleliu Corner. The current was in coming and it was mild. The divers did their giant strides and drifted to the hook-in area. We hooked in on the plateau and watched as the sharks did a couple of passes. We unhooked from the 60 foot area and drifted towards the 70 foot hook-in area. The sharks were really spread out so we did not hook-in again and just let the current take us down to the corner. After the dive six of the guests went off to the Peleliu land tour, and the rest ventured to West Wall. After lunch we all headed out to Orange Beach Coral Garden. This is a beautiful hard coral garden that is scattered with WWII artifacts such as bombs and bullets, anchors, and pieces of a landing craft. For the marine life we spotted turtles and a large school of jacks. After the dive we had to leave the south dock of Peleliu as all week long they’re doing demolition of any ordinances removed by the teams cleaning up Peleliu. Our last dive in Peleliu was at Barracks Point. Again a very beautiful coral garden, but this dive has more soft coral mixed in and around. As the divers drifted along, with shallows on the left, we saw giant clams, turtles, anemones, scorpion fish and more. During the dive a big storm came in from the south and we moved the Tropic Dancer all the way back inside German Channel. Unfortunately the storm never let up, so we had to skip the night dive.

We woke up Thursday morning and the storm was gone. There was still some southwest swell, but it was not bad. Our first dive was Blue Holes. We descended into the cavern and though the visibility was not the best, we still enjoyed the beautiful cavern filled with ambient light from above. Once out of the holes we drifted to Blue Corner and before we arrived at the hook-in area we were greeted by the napoleon wrasse. We hooked in and the sharks cruised by the group. After the hook-in we drifted through a large school of great barracuda. For our next dive we did used our reef hooks once again at Blue Corner. Again the current was out-going and the sharks came close to the group. After lunch we went to German Channel. While we encountered no mantas this dive, Divemaster Jim did find a baby pipefish. Once back on the big boat we moved into the rock islands for our next excursion at Jellyfish Lake. This was a snorkel with over a couple million golden jellyfish. The sun was setting over the rock islands and was great for photos and video. After a fine dinner prepared by Chef Cameron, the divers set out to Clam City for the night dive. Clam City is a macro muck dive and is great for nudibranchs. A total of 10 different nudibranchs were found during the dive. Back at the big boat the divers warmed up quick with hot chocolate.

Early in the morning on Friday we moved the Tropic Dancer out of the rock islands and towards Ulong and after breakfast we dove at Siaes Tunnel. We entered the tunnel and observed schools of jacks circling at the bottom and we explored the roof of the tunnel. We descended to the sandy bottom and observed many decorated dart fish watching us from just outside their holes. After we exited the tunnel we drifted along the wall in mild current and observed schooling fish and a lone grey reef shark passing nearby. For our next dive we returned to the area and dove at Siaes Corner. As we descended along the wall we were immediately greeted by schooling fish and a juvenile spotted eagle ray that stayed with our group for ten minutes or so before finally departing. As we moved across the beautiful coral garden we also encountered four grey reef sharks swimming across the plateau and in the blue. After lunch we went to Ulong Channel where we hooked in at the mouth of the channel and observed the inquisitive grey reef sharks there. We then unhooked and flew down the channel observing the plentiful grouper and soft corals there. To end the dive we spent time at the two giant clams located at the back of the channel for photo opportunities. We also spotted a feather tail ray on this dive. Our last dive of the day was at Ulong Coral Gardens. Here we had an eagle ray and we observed schooling jacks above the corals as we looked for long nose filefish among the corals themselves. After this dive we returned to the big boat for a wonderful dinner of prime rib and shrimp cocktail and watched the weekly video prepared by the crew.

Saturday morning we headed out to dive at Shark City while the Tropic Dancer pulled up anchor and slowly began the trek back to Koror. On our dive we saw a couple of white tip sharks, schooling barracuda and bumphead parrotfish, as well as a large green sea turtle. We returned to the big boat to let our guests shower before Jim and Ben took them on a tour of the rock islands while the big boat continued on to Koror. The last event for our guests this week was a dive at Chandelier Caves with salt-crusted stalactite structures and multiple air chambers inside. Then outside the caves, we found mandarin fish, razor fish, signal gobies and more nudibranchs. All in all it was a great week, and after the guests came back from dinner we said our goodbyes to our guests departing for the airport.

We would like to thank our group once again for coming with us for a wonderful week in and on the beautiful Palauan waters. Until we see you again, we wish you safe diving and good times.

Tropic Dancer Crew

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report June 23 – 30, 2013

Air/Water Temp: 86-88/85-86F
Visibility: Good
Topside Conditions: Partly Cloudy with Rain – Sunny
Sea Surface: Calm, Choppy, Calm again

Crew: Captain Marc, 2^nd Captain Steve, Photo pro Ben, Engineer Hector, Dive Master Andy, Stewardess Agnes and Chef Cameron

Welcome on board the Tropic Dancer for another great week in beautiful Palau. It is 1600hrs and Steve sets out to find Peter, Emma, Brain, Patty, Carl and Jane from the Plantation Resort and Peter from the Cliffside Hotel. Doug and Kyle had made their own way to the boat from an earlier trip to Peleliu. Once everyone was on board, Captain Marc gives the introduction to our guests and they are shown to their cabins. Dive gear is next set up in preparation for the week of diving. The excitement vertebrates around the boat. Not only for the diving, but also in anticipation for the first meal prepared by Chef Cameron. After dinner, Captain Marc entertains the crowd with the crew introductions and safety brief, followed by the Living Eden documentary on Palau to get everybody in the mood. Some had some after dinner wine and enjoyed the rest of the evening, but most went quickly to bed after a long day.

Monday
The crew is up early for the short trip to the Helmut Wreck. This is our check out dive and a nice and easy way to acclimatize us all back into the water and give everybody a chance to check their weights and enjoy the warm waters of Malakal Harbor. Keeping on the wreck theme the second dive was the Iro Maru. This massive cargo freighter has plenty of hidden delights with Dive Master Andy finding several nudibranchs and also a moray eel. While everybody was enjoying the dive, Captain Marc was relocating the mother ship towards German Channel as after lunch dive three was at Ngemelis Wall. This sheer wall is a favorite wall drift dive with large sea fans adorning the sheer drop. Grey reef sharks mingle in the current with the resident black tips. German Channel and the incoming current called us over for the next afternoon dive site as we went searching in vain for a manta ray or two. Not to disappoint our guests, a solitary leopard shark cut right through the group and was the talk all though dinner!

Tuesday
The day began slightly overcast, but with the sun threatening to shine, Blue Holes is up first. With four entrances to choose from on top of the plateau that all lead to the main chamber there is plenty space for everybody. Inside Dive Master Hector lights up the disco clams and finds some unusual shaped gobies. Hector actually has a goby named after him. Anyway, back to the diving, with the current helping everyone along once we exited the chamber, we were able to hook in before the plateau changed into deep blue sea. Next lunch was served up and afterwards we make the short journey to Turtle Cove. With the tide too low to enter the chimney chamber we dropped in over the wall instead. Along the way we spotted some nudibranchs, a reef shark and a turtle. The late afternoon dive was Big Drop Off and one feature of this dive is a huge ball and chain left behind by the Germans when they were mining phosphate and trenching the channel. With nobody keen on night diving, we all gathered round to watch a documentary on sharks.

Wednesday
With a front approaching, the weather looks very gray and the size of the swell getting larger from the west. We seize the chance to dive the other side of Blue Corner before we are forced to seek shelter. The current is medium to strong with plentiful sharks, jacks, snapper, and barracuda. We hook in for 20 minutes to enjoy the show. As the waves are still getting bigger, Captain Marc tries to find us some calmer water. The second dive is Ngerchong Inside followed by Ngerchong Outside, which was a splendid wall dive with lots of small creatures to find. Moving to the shelter of the rock islands for the afternoon and evening allowed us to then dive Clam City. With some locals farming clams this site allows us to find bunches of calms big and small along with other macro life; quite a unique experience.

Thursday
Peeking out of the rock islands early to check the conditions, the Tropic Dancer is able to get back to the German Channel area and the Channel is the first dive on offer. Hoping again to see some manta ray action, but again to no avail. However not to be out done by the previous leopard shark, Captain Steve finds a frogfish delicately balanced under a rock. Dive two of the day took us back to Blue Corner with Doug and Kyle choosing to go back to see the holes, with the rest of the group hooking into the plateau to watch the sharks cut through the current as if it wasn’t even there. Barnum’s Wall seemed to be the hiding place for turtles in the afternoon with Photo pro Ben getting some great shots of the divers for his slide show at the end of the week. With thoughts of seeing the frogfish again on the last dive of the day takes us back to German Channel, but alas it had moved on. After the dive we begin the crossing to Ulong Island.

Friday
The sun is back with a spectacular rise over the rock islands. The current is incoming, which means it is perfect for a Ulong Channel dive. It begins with a drift along one of the prettiest walls, and then we hook in the mouth of the channel and watch the sharks watching us. Then we unhook and get swept along the channel, trying to count the grouper on the way is almost impossible. There are also some white tips tracking us and at least two turtles manage to get into Captain Marc’s video. Siaes Tunnel and that area is not possible with the sea state, as waves are crashing over the entrance, but Sandy Paradise is much calmer so we choose that site instead. With a selection of soft corals and hard corals mixed with a selection of tropical fish makes this a fabulous dive. After another luncheon feast provide by Chef Cameron, Ben takes the group on an exploratory type dive on the other side of Sandy Paradise where the variety of coral is a real treasure, and also Emma finds a crocodile fish. Before viewing Captain Marc’s video this evening we dive Ulong Coral Garden. Although the visibility wasn’t the best, Brain and Patty saw their first cuttlefish, which was a special way to end the day.

Saturday
We left Ulong around six in the morning and head over towards the rock islands and at quarter past seven the tour departs for Jellyfish Lake. These unique natural phenomena should be on everybody’s bucket list and words really can’t describe the experience loaded with millions of harmless jellyfish migrating from one side of the lake to the other, and all following the sun. Afterwards Hector’s famous Rock Island Tour reunites the skiff with the Tropic Dancer, which has now returned to dock. A quick turn around and the last dive is Chandelier Caves and gives us another chance to experience a unique Palauan experience. There are four chambers to discover with stalactites covered in salt crystals making for a spectacular visual experience. Outside the chamber there is mandarin fish and signal gobies, along with other macro life to find. What a great way to end the week and what a great week it was. Thanks to our guests for joining us and we hope to see you all again very soon.

Diving and good times.
Tropic Dancer Crew

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report June 30 – July 7, 2013

Welcome on board the Tropic Dancer for another great week in beautiful Palau. Our guests join us at around 16:00 hrs and after a cabin briefing they all set up their dive gear in preparation for the week of diving ahead. Afterwards everyone enjoyed a superb sampling of Chef Andy’s cuisine and then Steve delivered the captain’s briefing to further familiarize our guests with the vessel. Afterwards some enjoyed the hot tub, while others turned in for the night, excited to start a full day in the morning.

On Monday morning we started the day with a fine breakfast of pancakes and eggs made-to-order and then we delivered the general dive briefing to our guests followed by our first dive at the Helmut Wreck. Here our guests observed artifacts such as depth charges and a rifle. Also we found crocodile fish, signal gobies and small shrimp. Our next dive was at the Iro Maru where we moved along the deck and found juvenile sweetlips, along with nudibranchs and observed a large school of horse eye jacks. After a wonderful lunch of grilled sandwiches and chicken gumbo we went for our next dive at Big Drop Off. Here we saw a reef shark and a large barracuda, along with many wonderful schools of butterfly fish. For our last dive of the day we explored the Ngedebus Coral Garden where our guests were treated to many wonderful species such as a large marble ray, eagle ray, stingray and even a leopard shark resting on the sandy bottom for some nice photos. After the dive we returned to the big boat for an exquisite dinner of flank steak and tuna and for evening entertainment we gave a briefing on how to use dive hooks in order to prepare for another wonderful day of diving tomorrow.

Tuesday and there is excitement as Jim briefs the world famous Blue Corner dive. With a mild incoming current, we begin the dive drift along the sheer wall and heading out to the blue to avoid the eddy currents caused by the indents in the wall. We hook in around forty-five feet on the plateau surrounded by all sorts. The reef sharks are out front, there is a huge school of Jacks to our left, and moving along and behind us are the barracuda. Not to be out done the Napoleon wrasse trio gets in on the act too. After that experience we head over the short distance to German Channel, with a dual propose of finding the out of season manta rays or the frog fish from last week. Alas, neither was to be found, but an excellent dive nonetheless. The afternoon brings out the best in Turtle Cove and then New Drop Off. Nearly everybody is keen for the night dive, so Adam and Jim gear up and lead Turtle Cove finding several lobsters, crabs, and nudibranchs.

Wednesday and Captain Ike starts the engines around 0530 for the trip south to Peleliu. This historically significant Island hosted a horrific battle during the Second World War between the entrenched Imperial forces of Japan and the US Marines. Now it hosts some tremendous dive sites. The Corner is our first dive where the North Pacific collides with the Philippine Sea giving chance to some unpredictable currents. Not today though with Jim leading us down “The Express” with a mild to medium current, but with almost endless visibility the turtles and sharks were a marvelous sight. Most guests elected to go on the Peleliu Land Tour next with a poignant visit around the landmarks and war memorabilia. Quite an experience and highly recommended. Orange Beach was available for those not on the land tour with a mild current drifting the group past some of the marine landing craft and some ordnance, as a barrage of tropical fish do their thing. We reunite the group for lunch with Chef Andy serving another stunning masterpiece and straight after West Wall provides the backdrop for an amazing dive with beautiful clear water filled with sharks. Leaving the anchorage after the dive, Captain Ike takes the boat back towards the German Channel area and we stop along the way for a dive at Barrack’s Point. This is Jamie’s 100th dive, and to celebrate a pod of dolphins show up to play in the bow wake on the skiff ride back. After dinner nearly everybody goes to bed, but a handful still has the energy for Ngemelis Wall night dive.

With the boat back in the German Channel area, we return to Blue Corner area hoping to have an outgoing current so we can experience the best of the Blue Hole dive site. However the current is still incoming and stronger than Tuesday, so we are able to swoop along the wall, hook in and enjoy the show once again. The second dive and predicting a current change, Hector leads the group to the Blue Holes. This magnificent dive site starts on the plateau and four holes lead down to a huge chamber where Hector highlights the “disco clams” and Adam gets some terrific shots of the group with the light of the holes transcending down. With the current now incoming we head back to German Channel, as the dive site is worth doing twice, and this time a giant manta comes cruising past. Luckily Heather turns her head just in time to see it swim right over her head. The fourth dive is a nice easy drift along Fern’s Wall where Adam finds all manner of small creatures and a leaf scorpion fish. After another splendid dinner with an early birthday cake for Heather, Jim sets up to dive German Coral Garden for the night dive.

With a beautiful sunrise over the Rock Islands, Captain Ike takes the boat to Ulong and what a great way for Jamie and Chad to celebrate their wedding anniversary. We begin our last full day of diving with Siaes Tunnel where eagle-eyed Lynda finds yet another new fish for her collection, the pygmy blue back angelfish. Siaes Corner is next with the unpredictable current making this a continuous wall dive, which everybody enjoyed. Homemade pizza for lunch, then Ulong Channel. Another of Palau’s famous dives, it once again lived up to its reputation. Entering the water there was a ray way down the wall, then a show of sharks and schooling Jacks entertained the crowd, before the current propelled us down the channel where we encountered grouper, white tip reef sharks, turtles and everything but the kitchen sink. For the last dive in Ulong we went out to inspect the current conditions to make our dive plan. As the current was now slack and outgoing, we did the dive in reverse of the last time. This time we had more time to explore Ulong Channel, but were still unable to count all the groupers and trigger fish along the way. Once we reached the wall, a green turtle decided he was part of our group and Kevin was able to get some great shots. Another feast served by Chef Andy and then we all settled down to watch the video of the week also prepared by Chef Andy. How he had the time to prepare every meal, and shot and edit the video, one can only guess.

On Saturday we left Ulong around six in the morning and head over towards the Rock Islands and at quarter past seven the tour departs for Jellyfish Lake. These unique, natural phenomena should be on every bodies ‘Bucket List’ and words really can’t describe the experience of snorkeling with millions of harmless jellyfish migrating from one side of the lake to the other following the sun. Hector’s ‘World Famous Rock Island Tour’ reunites the skiff with the Tropic Dancer, which has now returned to dock. A quick turn around and the last dive is Chandelier Caves and another chance to experience a unique Palauan experience as there are four chambers to discover with stalactites covered in salt crystals making for a spectacular visual experience. Outside the chamber there are mandarin fish and signal gobies, along with other macro life to find. What a great way to end the week and what a great week it was. Thanks to our guests for joining us and we hope to see you all again very soon.

Diving and good times.
Tropic Dancer Crew

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report July 7 – 17, 2013
“Special 10 Night Charter”

Air/Water Temps: 87-90F / 84-86F
Visibility: Good – Great
Topside Conditions: Cloudy with light rain – Sunny
Sea Surface: Small swell - Calm

Welcome on board the Tropic Dancer for an exciting 10 day charter in beautiful Palau. All our guests were already arrived in Palau and we picked them up from their hotels after 4pm. We welcomed on board Hok Hoh, Sok Yin, Wai Yeng and Khay Sam, also Mark and Julie, Erika, Emile and Daniele, Terry and Linda. Everyone set up their diving equipment and headed up to the salon for great dinner prepared by our Chef Mani. After dinner we went over the safety briefing and showed a documentary on Palau. Afterwards some guests finished setting up their cameras and then they were off to bed.

Early Monday morning we left the pier and made the short trip into Malakal Harbor. Our check out dive was on the Helmet Wreck. We found the resident crocodile fish towards the stern and a couple of pipefish and signal gobies on the bow of the wreck. After the dive we moved the big boat out of pinchers and into the rock islands. The second dive was the Iro Maru and the visibility was quite good for being inside the lagoon. There was a large school of jacks swimming around the king posts and everyone loved the red anemones at the top of another king post. We returned to the big boat for lunch and then set out to the world famous Ulong Channel for our next dive. We drifted towards the mouth of the channel and hooked in where the sharks come in very close in the strong incoming current. Before surfacing we passed the lettuce coral formation and stop at the two giant clams. For our last dive of the day we went to Sandy Paradise where we explored the unique topography of this dive site. We saw many beautiful reef fish and greatly enjoyed spending time with a juvenile midnight snapper on a feather star. We also found one leaf scorpion fish in the same coral head along with hundreds of glassy sweepers. For dinner this evening Chef Mani served a choice of flank steak or fresh tuna. The fresh tuna is always a favorite.

On Tuesday morning our first dive was Siaes Tunnel. We dropped into the water and descended to the entrance of the tunnel at 90 feet deep. Down below us the jacks were circling around and a couple of grey reef sharks were there too. While in the tunnel we found the decorated dart fish and the blue backed pygmy angelfish. We then exited the tunnel and saw a couple grey reef sharks along the wall. Our second dive at Shark City had the longest skiff ride of the whole charter. It took us about 15 minutes to get out to the site. We planned on hooking in, but when we arrived at the hook in area there was no need, the current was mild. The plateau was covered with tropical fish and the corner has large patches of lettuce coral where they like to hide. Our third dive was Siaes Corner. Here we had a nice outgoing current and we hooked in most of the dive. We could see a lot of sharks, but they did not come close to any of the divers. We then drifted across the corner and spotted a couple of turtles along the way. Since everyone loved the dive at Ulong Channel yesterday, we went back for our fourth dive today. The current was incoming and the sharks put on another great show in the mouth of the channel. Shortly after we returned to the big boat, the sun was setting and we said good bye to the Ulong area as during dinner the big boat moved to the inside of German Channel to get ready for our next day of diving.

Wednesday morning we picked up the anchor and went through German Channel. Once inside the reef we tied up the big boat and after breakfast we headed out to the famous Blue Corner. It was a slack current so we didn’t need to use our reef hooks. We spent the dive on top of the plateau with the three resident napoleon wrasse. Dive two was at the “mini Blue Corner”, also known as New Drop Off. The current was outgoing and we hooked in for a while until the current went slack. On the plateau we found one of the resident green sea turtles sleeping and everyone got great photos of this big female turtle. After lunch dive three was at a section of wall off Ngemelis Island known as Big Drop Off. This was a relaxing drift dive with plenty of macro life to photograph. Dive four was German Channel. Before the dive we all did the manta dance and set out on the skiff. We entered the water on the Koror side of the channel and stopped at the red anemone for photos, then on to the cleaning station. It seemed the manta dance did not work this time, as we did not see any. The school of black snapper and fusiliers were in the middle of the channel and looked as if they were going to start feeding, but no mantas. After dinner only two guests went for the night dive at German Coral Garden. Dive Master Andy was very lucky to find a frogfish and a cuttle fish. Once back at the big boat the divers warmed up with some hot chocolate and then were quickly off to bed.

On Thursday the guests entered the salon for breakfast where the smell of blueberry pancakes filled the air. Our first dive was Virgin Blue Hole where we descended straight down the chimney and then swam out the tunnel to the wall. In the exit of the tunnel Dive Master Jim found a thin ghost pipefish. Everyone enjoyed the landscape of the dive, as the wall turned into canyons with a beautiful archway to swim through. We decided to keep the ‘holes’ theme going and our next dive was Blue Holes. We descended into the cavern and the entire chamber was filled with ambient light from above. Once out of the holes we drifted to Blue Corner and along the wall we were greeted by the napoleon wrasse. We arrived at the hook in area and it was a nice outgoing current. We had all three wrasse swimming in and out of the divers, and the sharks cruised by in the blue. For our next dive we went to Ngedebus Corner where the beautiful wall is covered with soft corals and sea fans. We found several types of nudibranchs and a couple of turtles. Dive four and the night dive were at a dive site close to where the big boat was moored, Turtle Cove. During the late afternoon dive we dropped into the chimney and drifted with the wall on the right. Again, it has a beautiful wall covered with soft coral, and when we reached the corner we drifted on top of the plateau and found a devil scorpion fish and leaf scorpion fish. On the night dive some turtles passed by the divers and the basket stars were out filter feeding. Also at night, all the cup corals come out to feed.

Early in the morning on Friday we headed to Peleliu. Our first dive was the famous Peleliu Corner. The current was incoming and it was mild. The divers did their giant strides off the side of the skiff and drifted towards the hook in area. Due to the mild current we didn’t hook in, we just drifted across the plateau. Back at the big boat some guests left for the Peleliu land tour, while others stayed for dive two at Orange Beach. This area has a beautiful hard coral garden that is scattered with WWII artifacts: bombs and bullets, anchors, and pieces of a landing craft. For the marine life, we also saw turtles and a large school of jacks. Before lunch the guests from the land tour returned and dive three was once again at Peleliu Corner. The current was again incoming and it was moving. The divers realized why this site is also called “The Express”. The group did hook in for a short time and then they glided across the plateau. Our next dive was West Wall. All the guests enjoyed the swim through archway and the tomato anemone loaded with porcelain crabs. We planned on going back to West Wall for the night dive, but the guests decided to skip the night dive and everyone instead sat down to another great meal prepared by our Chef Mani.

We stayed the night in Peleliu and on Saturday morning we went out to Barracks Point for our first dive. The divers were able to photograph several giant clams that were nestled in the coral. Once back at the big boat, it was full high tide and we moved the big boat out of south dock and headed back towards German Channel. Along the way, we did one more dive in Peleliu at Ship Wreck Corner. Before we reached the corner the current switched, and we spent the rest of the dive in the shallow coral garden. During lunch the big boat continued moving to German Channel, and the next dive was Dexter’s Wall. This wall is very close to Blue Corner and the marine life is great. During the dive we spotted a total of 9 turtles, both green sea and hawksbill, along with some colorful nudibranchs. For dive four we went looking for the cuttlefish at Ngedebus Coral Garden. We were not fortunate to find any cuttlefish, but we did see a leopard shark and an eagle ray. Again no one wanted to do a night dive, so after dinner we put on some movies and everyone was soon off to bed.

We woke up Sunday morning and the weather had picked up. We moved the big boat back inside German Channel due to the southwest swell on the outer reef. Our first dive was Blue Corner. The current, at the start of the dive was incoming, but at the hook in area it had changed to an outgoing current so we made our way to the other side of the corner. For the entire dive, the three resident napoleon wrasse were following the group. Then when we got to the other side, the current changed back to incoming so we went back to the other side and finally hooked in where some sharks were cruising by the group. After the hook in we drifted through a large school of great barracuda. For our next dive we did used our reef hooks once again at New Drop Off. This time the current was outgoing and stayed that way and the sharks came close to the group. After lunch we went back to Turtle Cove again because after the first time we dove here, the guests had really liked it and asked to return. When we first descended, there were two leopard sharks on the sloping bottom at 70 feet, and the rest of the dive was just as good as the last time. The next dive was at Barnum’s Wall. This dive is like Barracks Point in that it has a sloping coral garden in between the wall. We found a couple of nudibranchs and turtles during the dive. For the last night dive of the day the group wanted to go to a coral garden, so Alexis Coral Garden was the site. This coral garden is very pristine and has a lot of places for crabs and shrimp to hide. Also some lionfish were found feeding.

Monday morning started off to be a beautiful sunny day. The water was smooth as glass, and after breakfast we went back to German Channel to see if the mantas would show up today. On the sandy bottom was a feather tail ray, but the cleaning station was only being used by sharks this morning. After the dive, a number of the guests stated they wanted to try German Channel again, so a vote was taken and we went back to German Channel for more diving. Again no mantas; they must be on vacation somewhere else. The feather tail ray was found again in the sandy bottom. During lunch we moved the big boat into Wonder Channel and the next two dives were inside the lagoon where the visibility is not the best, but we are only looking for macro critters. The third dive was Wonder Channel where the wall is simply covered with nudibranchs and pipefish. This was a nice change from the outside reefs, and all the photographers got some great photos of the many macro creatures. For the last dive of the day we went to Clam City. This was another great dive for nudibranchs, and several different types were found. We also got to see all the giant clams and the many different colors of their mantels. Dinner that night was one of everyone’s favorites of the charter with prime rib, garlic shrimp, and more because for dessert we celebrated Hok Hoh’s birthday with a cake. Afterwards we all sat down and watched Andy’s “video of the week”.

Tuesday morning came early on the boat, with the rain breaking over the picturesque rock islands and the birds chirping their cheerful songs. Our first location of the day was Jellyfish Lake. With over an estimated 13 million resident jellyfish, everyone was impressed by this incredible snorkel. The sun was out and it provided a great background for the photographers. Once everyone had hiked back over the hill to the awaiting skiff, Jim began his famous Rock Island tour, whizzing in and amongst the islands, stopping for a photo opportunity at Palau’s famous archway, and then some WWII sites, as we made our way back to the big boat. The last dive for our guests this charter was Chandelier Caves with its multiple air chambers to surface in and view the stalactites. Then once outside the caves, we found mandarin fish, razor fish, signal gobies and more nudibranchs.

All in all, it was a great 10 days in Palau, and we sadly said our goodbyes to the guests as they went on their way. We again would like to thank everyone for joining us on this 10 day charter and hope to see you all soon. Until then, we wish you safe diving and good times.

The Tropic Dancer Crew: Captain Ike, Dive Master Jim, Photo Pro Ben, Video Pro Andy, Chef Mani and Stewardess Loly

 

[deeper thoughts]

Really nice

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report August 4 – 11, 2013

Air Temp: 87 – 90F
Water Temp: 85 – 86F
Visibility: Good – Great
Topside Conditions: Partly Cloudy, Rain, Sunny
Sea Surface: Swell, Slightly Rough, Calm

Crew: Captain Ike, 2^nd Captain Steve, Photo pro Ben, Video pro Andy, Instructor Adam, Chef Cameron and Stewardess Loly.

Sunday afternoon Captain Ike and his crew welcomed this week’s guests on board the Tropic Dancer. There was a truly international flair with Asia, Europe and North American being represented. Our guests were shown to their staterooms then assisted in assembling their dive gear. Dinner provided by Chef Cameron was a feast of succulent chicken breast or pork tenderloin. As everybody enjoyed dessert, Ben provided his own flair to the safety briefing. Once that was out of the way then most retired to bed to get some well-deserved rest.

Early Monday morning we left the pier and made the short trip into Malakal Harbor. Our check out dive was on the Helmet Wreck. We found the resident crocodile fish towards the stern and a couple of pipefish and signal gobies on the bow of the wreck. After the dive we moved the big boat out of pinchers and into the rock islands. The second dive was the Iro Maru and today the visibility was good for being inside the lagoon with the large school of jacks swimming around the king posts. Everyone loved the red anemones at the top of another king post. We returned to the big boat for lunch and then set out to the world famous Ulong Channel for our next dive. We drifted towards the mouth of the channel and hooked in. The sharks came so close in this strong in-coming current. Before surfacing we passed the lettuce coral formation and stopped at the two giant clams. For our last dive of the day we returned to Ulong Channel. The current had slackened with the changing tide so there was no need for the hooks on this dive and it did give a chance to explore the channel and its many hidden treasures. There were resting white tip sharks, a large lemon shark, and a barramundi amongst the collection of grouper. Dinner was a feast served up by Chef Cameron and enjoyed by all.

On Tuesday morning our first dive was Siaes Tunnel. We dropped into the water and descended to the entrance of the tunnel at 90 feet deep. Down below us the jacks were circling around and a couple of grey reef sharks were there too. In the tunnel we found the decorated dart fish and the blue backed pygmy angelfish. We exited the tunnel and saw a couple grey reef sharks along the wall. Our second dive was Siaes Corner. Here we had a nice out-going current and we hooked in most of the dive. There was a grey reef shark, which swam past to check us out and a small green turtle in the background, which Rados managed to get some great video of. There was also a lionfish hiding under a ledge and a golden eel too. During lunch Captain Ike began the relocation of the vessel to German Channel for the afternoon dives. The third dive was Big Drop Off, a sheer wall adjourned with huge sea fans and wire coral. Adam was able to find and to point out a scorpion fish completely camouflaged with its surrounding. The last dive of the day was Turtle Cove, another beautiful wall dive that begins with a chimney tunnel leading out to the wall. Along the way, with the current pushing us right to left, there was the opportunity for the photographers in the group to get some spectacular shots of each other along the wall with the sea fans as the backdrop. For the night dive the brave few and Ben went to German Coral Garden.

Wednesday and we start the day with one of Palau’s most famous dive sites, Blue Corner. The current was of a medium rate and we rushed past the wall towards the hook in area. Once hooked in the view was spectacular. The reef sharks danced as if unaffected by the current, the school of jacks must have numbered three hundred, and the school of barracuda seemed to behave in unison. Once we unhooked the current had dropped enough for us to explore the corner in detail. For the second dive Ben drove the skiff to New Drop Off where the surface current was a little strong, but once we all got over the wall we could relax and enjoy the swim. Along the way we passed several grey sharks and a pair of black tips too. We hooked in here too with a large school of barracuda stealing the show. There were also three other groups of divers passing behind us to hook in further down the reef. Lunch was pasta and meatballs with some homemade garlic bread. A real treat. After filling up we had a slightly longer skiff ride to Blue Holes. With Captain Ike keeping the skiff above the hole, the group was able to enjoy entering the chamber from the top of the plateau. Inside the chamber the hue of light from the exits made for some spectacular views. Steve also found a rare nudibranch and pointed out the electric scallops to the group. The last dive today was German Channel, another of Palau’s signature dive sites, and again this did not disappoint. Two manta rays came in, one eagle ray, and some sharks getting cleaned certainly got the group buzzing over dinner. The night dive was Ngemelis Wall where shrimp of all descriptions were spotted hiding under ledges and dancing around. There was also a pufferfish and a nudibranchs or two that were found.

Early in the morning on Thursday we headed to Peleliu. Our first dive was the famous Peleliu Corner. The current was out-coming and it was mild. The divers did their giant strides and drifted towards the hook-in area. We hooked in and admired the sharks for a while, and then a pod of dolphins joined the show too. As the current got less we unhooked and explored the plateau and found palette surgeonfish and two leaf scorpion fish. Orange Beach Coral Garden was dive two. This is a beautiful hard coral garden that is scattered with WWII artifacts such as bombs and bullets, anchors, and pieces of a landing craft. For the marine life we saw turtles and a large school of jacks. There was also an octopus right out of its house, which is always nice to see. Before lunch the guests from the land tour returned and the group was reunited once more. Dive three was West Wall. Everyone enjoyed the swim through archway and the tomato anemone with the porcelain crabs. Our next dive was Barracks Point where the divers were able to photograph several giant clams that were nestled in the coral, and out in the blue a large eagle ray circled. On the plateau Steve spotted a devil scorpion fish, which provided some excellent photographs. After the dive we made our way back to German Channel and the night dive was just a short trip to Alexi’s Coral Garden.

Friday with the tide high we took the short cut to Blue Corner where we found the current to be mild and switchable, which allowed us time to migrate across the plateau with the schools of jacks and barracuda. There were also a couple of moray eel and a green turtle. The next dive was Fern’s Wall with a mild current pushing us along to enjoy the magnificent sea fans while spotting a grey reef shark and two lionfish. Lunch was a treat of chicken wings and short wings. We followed this with a dive at Ngemelis Wall. The last dive today was German Channel and once again a manta put on a show to excite the group.

Saturday, with the sun rising over the rock islands, Captain Ike moved the Tropic Dancer closer to Jellyfish Lake where everybody was able to appreciate this wonder of Mother Nature as the lake contains millions of stingless jellyfish and everybody enjoyed the experience. The last excursion of the week took us to Chandelier Caves where we found the best way to end a week of spectacular diving was with four air chambers to explore and mandarin fish to find once outside.

Thank you to our guests for another great week aboard the Tropic Dancer.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report August 11 – 18, 2013

Air Temp: 82-85F (28-30C)
Water Temp: 83-84F (28-29C)
Visibility: Good
Topside Conditions: Sunny then turning partly cloudy, rain
Sea Surface: Calm, ending with choppy seas

Crew: Captain Ike, Photo pro Ben, Video Pro Andy, Dive Master Jim, Chef Mani and Stewardess Loly

Guests: Marcel, Matthias, Oscar, Maria, Patrick & Jennifer, Martin, Heather, Lesa & James, Michael, Joseph, Drew & Kandie, Oranan, Linda, Oraem & Chitrapong.

Sunday afternoon Captain Ike and his crew welcomed this week’s guests on board the Tropic Dancer. We welcomed a group of divers from Planet Scuba in Tuscan Arizona, along with a couple of people from various European countries and a family from Thailand. Our guests were shown to their staterooms then assisted in assembling their dive gear. Dinner, provided by Chef Mani, was a feast of succulent chicken breast or stir-fried shrimp. Soon after everybody enjoyed dessert of chocolate brownie ice cream sundae. After their bellies were full we sat down and covered the safety briefing and once that was out of the way, most of the guests were off to sleep, getting well rested before our adventure starts in the morning.

Early Monday morning we left the pier and made the short trip into Malakal Harbor. Our check out dive was on the Helmet Wreck. We found the resident crocodile fish towards the stern and a couple of pipefish and signal gobies on the bow of the wreck. After the dive we moved the big boat out of pinchers and into the rock islands. The second dive was the Iro Maru. The visibility was okay for being inside the lagoon and we spotted a large school of jacks swimming around the king posts and everyone loved the red anemones found at the top of another king post. We returned to the big boat for lunch and then set out to Turtle Cove, which stood up to its name this week and we were treated with both hawksbill and green sea turtles. Then there was the large schooling of snappers towards the edge of the plateau where we spotted a leaf scorpion fish and an orangutan crab. Dinner was a feast served up by Chef Mani and enjoyed by all. After dinner Andy covered our reef hook briefing as we plan to use them first thing tomorrow.

On Tuesday morning we started the day with one of Palau’s most famous dive sites, Blue Corner. The current was in coming so we entered the water and immediately headed towards the hook-in area. Below the group at 90 feet deep was a leopard shark, and even with all the photographers we have this week the shark let us get close to it and it didn’t mind. Everyone got some great photos. At the hook-in area the current was weak and at first we didn’t hook in. The napoleon wrasse met the group and showed us its good side for photos. The current then started to pick up and we hooked in. Once hooked in the view was spectacular. The reef sharks passed by as if unaffected by the current and the school of jacks must have numbered three hundred. Some of the group unhooked and descended to the deeper hook-in area. Once we finally un-hooked, we drifted across the plateau and found turtles and anemones. For our second dive we went back to the Blue Corner area, but we started at Blue Holes. The group descended through the holes on top of the reef and once in the cavern the ambient light from above filled the cavern. We then exited the cavern and drifted to the corner. When we arrived at the corner there was no need to hook in and we just explored the plateau. After lunch and a rest we went to Ngedebus Corner and enjoyed all the different nudibranchs. Our fourth dive today was in the same area, but this time it was Ngedebus Coral Garden. We were hoping to find a cuttlefish for Kandie because she said she loved them. Though we didn’t find one, the crocodile fish and nurse shark spotted made up for it. After Chef Mani filled our bellies with dinner we went to Turtle Cove for our first night dive of the week. Our flashlights found us a couple of turtles and a spotted eagle ray that swam right through the group.

Early in the morning on Wednesday we headed to Peleliu. Our first dive was the famous Peleliu Corner. The current was outgoing and it was very light so we just passed right by the hook-in area and explored the plateau. We did find some palette surgeonfish, also known as “Dory.” When we arrived back at the big boat, eight guests headed ashore for the Peleliu WWII land tour. For those opting for the second dive, we headed out to Orange Beach Coral Garden and this time the current was moving. We drifted across the coral garden and saw some sharks and turtles. After filling up we had a short skiff ride to West Wall. This is always a great macro dive and several different nudibranchs were found. The last day dive was at Barracks Point and everyone enjoyed this nice drift over a beautiful coral garden where three giant clams were pointed out, and a total of seven turtles were spotted. The night dive was Ngemelis Wall and the shrimp of all descriptions were spotted hiding under ledges and dancing around. There was also a pufferfish and several more nudibranchs found.

Thursday morning the weather was nice and the seas had not much swell, so we started the day with a repeat dive at Blue Corner. There is always some much to say about this dive. This time the current was outgoing, and it was a nice current. The sharks were there and the napoleon wrasse is always a photographer’s best friend. For dive two we went back to German Channel. The moon is now in the half moon phase and we hope to see some mantas. There were some day boats on the Koror side, so we dropped in on the Peleliu side where we swam across the mouth of the channel and sat down in the sand at the cleaning station. Finally about 40 minutes into the dive, one manta came in to be cleaned. It stayed there for the rest of the dive and the photographers got some really good photos. After lunch we went to Dexter’s Wall where we saw three turtles. Also, there was a hole located in the reef and two lobsters were found in there. New Drop Off was the site of our next dive. It was an out-going current and we hooked in for a short while. Once the group un-hooked it was a nice slow drift across the plateau and the two large resident green sea turtles were spotted in their regular spot. After dinner the night dive was at German Coral Garden. Dive master Jim found some great macro life on the dive. He also found a twin spot lionfish, and a devil scorpion fish that was not larger than 2 inches.

We woke up on Friday and picked up the anchor and moved to Ulong. Our first dive of the day was also our deepest at Siaes Tunnel where we entered the tunnel at 90 feet and swam through. A couple of rare fish were found and the photographers took some nice photos of the sea fans that cover the exits of the tunnel. Our next dive was the famous Ulong Channel. We drifted to the mouth of the channel and hooked-in. The current was mild but switched half way through the dive and we spotted some grey reef sharks in the mouth of the channel. The next dive was Siaes Corner with a nice out-going current pushing us along to enjoy the magnificent sea fans. We hooked-in to watch the grey reef sharks pass by. Our last dive on Friday was at Ulong Coral Gardens. This dive site is covered in beautiful tabletop corals and other hard corals. Among the corals there are some rubble and sandy areas where some white tip sharks were seen sleeping on the bottom. Back at the big boat Chef Mani put out an excellent dinner and soon after video pro Andy showed his video of the week and the guests were off to bed.

Saturday, with the sun starting to show through the clouds and the weather letting up some, we started moving the big boat closer to Jellyfish Lake. We jumped on the skiff excited to see millions of golden jellyfish. It was a 15-minute skiff ride and a short hike over the hill to where everybody enjoyed the wonder of these magical creatures. After the lake we were taken on a tour of the rock islands that make up Palau. We stopped at the natural archway for photos and then headed back to the big boat. The last excursion of the week took us to Chandelier Caves and this was the best way to end a week of spectacular diving with four air chambers to explore and a nice muck dive outside the cave looking for mandarin fish, signal gobies and other macro life.

It was another great week aboard the Tropic Dancer and we hope to see everyone again. Thanks for joining us this week.

Tropic Dancer Crew

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report August 18 – 25, 2013

Air temp: 87-90F
Water temp: 85-86F
Visibility: Good
Topside conditions: Sunny, Partly cloudy, Rain
Sea Surface: Calm, Slightly rough

Crew: Captain Ike, 2^nd Captain Steve, Instructor Adam, Photo pro Ben, Video pro Andy, Chef Mani and Stewardess Agness

Sunday afternoon Captain Ike and his crew welcomed this week’s guests on board the Tropic Dancer. We welcomed a contingent from Belgium, France, Germany, Australia, and the United States. With everybody onboard we assemble our dive gear for the coming week, then enjoy Chef Mani’s first feast followed with the brownie desert which is always a favorite. After dinner was devoured, Ben got everybody excited as he explained the itinerary for the coming week.

First thing Monday morning Captain Ike starts up the engines at 6 am and we make the short trip across the harbor to the Helmet Wreck for our check out dive. This relic from the last war has yet to be officially identified, but as there is a selection of helmets still on the deck it derives its name from that. With a selection of shrimp around the bow, signal gobies, and other minute creatures this is a macro-enthusiasts dream. The second dive keeps the wreck theme and is the massive Iro Maru. Sunk during WWII this tanker lies upright on the bottom at over one hundred feet deep. A large school of jacks has made this wreck their home and is a real sight going round the huge masts, but here is also a selection of smaller things to find. A family of squid is found near the surface too. As we were all enjoying the dive, Captain Ike begins the relocation of the Tropic Dancer to the island of Ulong. After lunch Adam explains the use of reef hooks to the group, as the next dive is Ulong Channel where we will “hook in”. One of the famous dives here and one of the crew favorites. We begin with a beautiful wall dive helped along by the incoming current. As we approach the mouth of the channel we encounter several reef sharks and hook in to the reef to enjoy the show. After we unhook, the current propels us down the channel where we pass some beautiful soft and hard corals, and a spectacular mound of lettuce coral. The dive ends besides two giant clams with a green turtle keeping us company during the safety stop. The last dive of the day is Sandy Paradise, one of Andy’s favorites as he is well acquainted with the marine life on this site. With a full day planned for tomorrow, most guests retire early to bed after dinner, but not before celebrating Debbie’s birthday and enjoying the specially prepared tiramisu for dessert.

On Tuesday morning our first dive was Siaes Tunnel. We dropped into the water and descended to the entrance of the tunnel found at 90 feet. Down below us the jacks were circling around and a couple of grey reef sharks were there too. In the tunnel we found the decorated dart fish and the blue backed pygmy angelfish. We exited the tunnel and saw a couple grey reef sharks along the wall. Our second dive was Siaes Corner. With no current, we were able to meander along the wall watching for the sharks and being kept company by a green turtle. Then we had the chance to explore the plateau with its beautiful corals. During lunch Captain Ike began the relocation of the vessel to German Channel for the afternoon dives. The third dive was Ngemelis Wall, a sheer wall adjourned with huge sea fans and wire coral. Steve was able to point out a scorpionfish completely camouflaged with its surrounding. Captain Ike also points out an eagle ray cruising past. The last dive of the day was Turtle Cove, another beautiful wall dive, which begins with a chimney tunnel leading out to the wall. Along the way, with the current pushing us right to left, there was the opportunity for the photographers in the group to get some spectacular shots of each other along the wall with the sea fans as the backdrop. For the night dive the brave few and Adam went back to explore Turtle Cove, while nearly everybody else got an early night.

Wednesday and we start the day with Blue Holes, with four natural breaks in the plateau leading to a massive chamber where electric scalps can be found. Ben took this opportunity to get some great shots of the group with the natural sunlight beaming down through the water. Outside the current pushed us along nicely and as we approached the hook in area the napoleon wrasse came by to ‘speak’ to Ben. The sharks and green turtles also wanted in on the act. New Drop Off was the second dive of an auction-packed day of diving. The current was mild, but the fish life was not. Schools of barracuda, blue line snapper and jacks caught the attention of the group. There were also the resident turtles adorned with remoras. A truly splendid lunch served up by Chef Mani was enjoyed by everybody before heading to one of Palau’s most famous dive sites, Blue Corner. What a day of diving indeed. With the current now going from right to left, we were able to enjoy the other side of the corner from this morning. The sharks once again passed us by as if unaffected by either our presence or the current. How could we end this day of diving? Well, Captain Ike took us to German Channel, and although it’s out of ‘manta season’ we hope the pull of the full moon tonight will entice them to visit us. Alas, it was not to be, although the red anemone was there, as were the schools of jacks, barracuda, and trevally. After dinner everyone went quickly to bed and all lights were out by nine o’clock.

Thursday, and by popular demand, we get back to Blue Corner. This time the current is mild and switches during the dive, which allows the group to migrate along the reef with the schools of tropical fish to the other side of the corner. This is a fantastic chance to spend time on the reef with its residents. For the second dive Captain Ike chooses German Drop Off. With Debbie desperate to find a crocodile fish, this site should suit our needs perfectly. With an extended coral garden sloping down to around ninety feet this is also a great site to find sea slugs and flat worms. Burgers for lunch was the next stop and afterwards Fern’s Wall was our choice, or ‘Turtle Wall’ as it should be called now. A medium current meant there was no need for swimming and at least 5 green turtles and hawksbills thought they were part of the group! For the last dive of the day we continued the hunt for crocodile fish for Debbie and German Coral Garden was chosen. Once again, they were to prove elusive but there were still plenty of other things for Adam to point out. Chef Mani’s curry, using his eastern influence, was enjoyed by all and once again the group passed on the night dive and retired early.

Friday with the tide high we took the short cut to Blue Corner. Today the current is mild and switchable, which allowed us time to migrate across the plateau with the schools of jacks and barracuda. There were also a couple of moray eels and a green turtle. The next dive was Fern’s Wall with a mild current pushing us along to enjoy the magnificent sea fans, along with a grey reef shark and two lionfish. Lunch was a treat and afterwards we headed inside the Rock Islands for our afternoon dives. The first one being Wonder Channel, which is a narrow break between two rock islands that can have some strong currents at times. The highlight being the number of pipefish that can be found, the last count being six. The late afternoon dive was at City of Clams. Originally a clam farm, there is still a crop of about 10 giant clams in isolated pockets. There are also nudibranchs, and some other small critters to be found. After dinner we all enjoyed watching Andy’s video of the week.

Saturday, with the sun almost rising over the Rock Islands, we headed to Jellyfish Lake where everybody was able to appreciate this wonder of Mother Nature. The lake contains millions of stingless jellyfish and everybody enjoyed the experience. The last excursion of the week takes us to Chandelier Caves as the best way to end a week of spectacular diving is with four air chambers to explore and mandarin fish to find once outside.

Thanks to our guests for another great week aboard the Tropic Dancer.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report Sept 8 - 15, 2013

Air Temp: 86 – 90 F
Visibility: Good
Topside Conditions: Sunny, with Tuesday being overcast with rain
Sea Surface: Calm – Small swell

Crew: Captain Ike, Engineer Hector, Chef Mani, Photo pro Ben, Dive Master Jim and Stewardess Loly

Guests: John, Glenn, Franciscus & Gerarda, Robert & Robin, John & Leah, David, Alexander, Boyd, Robert, Kristof, Franco & Roberta, Brad and Leonid

Sunday Afternoon we welcomed on-board this week’s guests on the Tropic Dancer. Most we picked up with our bus and some walked over. We welcome a mixture of guests from Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. With everybody onboard they set up their dive gear then enjoyed Chef Mani’s first feast. The dessert was an option of ice cream brownie or birthday cake. After dinner Ben got everybody excited as he explained the itinerary for the coming week. Then some watched the documentary on Palau and others finished setting up their cameras and then off to bed.

Captain Ike starts up the engines at 0600 and we make out of Malakal Harbor, the weather is nice so our check out dive was at the wreck of the Teshio Maru. The relic from the last world war has set the stage for the week. With a selection of shrimp around the bow, signal gobies and the wreck is beautiful with all the coral and the king posts and the cargo holds to swim in and around. The second dive was located in the rock islands, the wreck of the Iro Maru. This tanker lies upright on the bottom at one hundred feet deep. A large school of jacks has made this wreck their home and is a real sight going round the huge masts. There is also a selection of smaller things to find also. A small family of squid was found near the surface on accent. After the dive we made a short drive through the rock islands to catch back up with the big as it moved closer to Ulong. After lunch we covered how to use reef hooks because our fourth dive is the famous Ulong Channel. For dive three Sandy Paradise was exactly that, paradise. This beautiful coral garden has lots of marine life to see. Leaf scorpion, barracuda, sharks, turtles and much more. Now to use our reef hooks at Ulong Channel. We begin with a beautiful wall dive helped along by the incoming current. As we approach the mouth of the channel we encountered several reef sharks and hooked in to the reef to enjoy the show. After we unhooked the current propels us down the channel where we pass some beautiful soft and hard corals and a large formation of lettuce coral. The dive ends besides two giant clams and a green turtle keeps us company during the safety stop. With a full day planned for tomorrow most guests retire early to bed after dinner.

On Tuesday morning we did a repeat dive at Ulong Channel. The current was not as strong, but the sharks were still at the mouth of the channel. The second dive was Siaes Tunnel. We dropped into the water and descended to the entrance of the tunnel at 90 feet deep. Down below us the jacks were circling around and a couple of grey reef sharks were there too. In the tunnel we found the decorated dart fish and the blue backed pygmy angelfish. We exited the tunnel and saw a couple grey reef sharks along the wall. After the dive we played catch up in the skiff as Captain Ike was moving the big boat towards German Channel and after lunch the third dive was Ngemelis Wall, a sheer wall with huge sea fans and black coral bushes along the way. Tucked away in the black coral, several long nose hawk fish were spotted. New Drop Off was the fourth dive. The current was mild but the fish life was not. Schools of barracuda, blue line snapper and jacks caught the attention of the group. The resident green sea turtles with remoras as traveling buddies were found in their usual spots on top the plateau. For the night dive, the large group of divers set out to Ngemelis Wall. A lot of macro life was found and also a large octopus was out and about, most of the guests took some great photos, as he was not scared of the divers. Once back at the big boat we warmed up with hot chocolate and then off to bed.

Wednesday and we started the day with German Channel, but our luck was not good today as we didn’t see any mantas. There was still a lot of other marine life to watch, sharks, bait ball, barracuda, and more. The next dive was the famous Blue Corner. The current was in coming and it was medium. We hooked in at the 45ft. hook in area and enjoyed the show. Sharks passed by in front of us and the napoleon wrasse swam in and out of the group. Back at the big boat we sat down to a great lunch prepared by our chef Mani and after a short rest headed out to Dexter’s Wall. Hector found a nice crocodile fish, which made for great photos. During the rest of the dive 8 turtles were found, hawksbill and green sea. Ngedebus Corner was the fourth dive. The current switched during the dive but we still had a great dive with plenty of macro critters to check out. After dinner Turtle Cove was the site for the night dive. This wall is beautiful especially at night. The entire wall is covered with cup coral that comes out to feed and a scorpion fish was found on the wall. Everyone was soon off to bed to get some sleep, for the next day of diving.

Thursday morning and the weather is good, we started up the big boat and made the run to Peleliu. Once we were secured in south dock we headed out to Peleliu Corner for the first dive. The current was incoming and not very strong; we dropped in the water and drifted along the wall. There was no need to hook in and we slowly came up on top of the plateau. As we drifted across the plateau the marine life was nice and we found some turtles. After the dive 9 guests went ashore for the Peleliu WWII land tour. The next dive was Orange Beach Coral Garden. This was a nice drift along the coral garden; we saw barracuda, jacks, and a large school of black snapper. When the guests came back from the land tour everyone sat down to a nice lunch and shortly after we set out to West Wall for dive three. Another beautiful wall dive with scorpion fish nudi’s, and schools of anthias with lionfish around them. For our last dive in Peleliu we went out to Barrack’s Point. The current was nice and it slowly pushed us along the coral garden. We drifted by turtles, giant clams, jacks, barracuda, and Jim found the cuttle fish that was in the same area as last week. During dinner the big boat moved back north into the German Channel area and the night dive was at German Coral Garden. Another great macro dive with lionfish, crabs, shrimp, nudi’s, and flatworms.

Friday with the current incoming, headed back to German Channel, yet again no mantas, but we did see three feather tail rays. For dive two we went back to Turtle Cove, which we did earlier for a night dive and now during the day the guests could experience the beauty of this wall. Several turtles showed up and some great macro life to photograph. After lunch we went to Blue Holes, with four natural breaks in the plateau leading to a massive chamber where electric scalps can be found. Ben took this opportunity to get some great shots of the group with the natural sunlight beaming down through the water. Outside the current pushed us along nicely and as we approached the hook in area of Blue Corner, the napoleon wrasse came by to say hello to the photographers. The sharks and green turtles also wanted in on the action. For the last dive of the day, we again went back to Blue Corner. The current is out going this time and was mild and switched at the end of the dive, which allowed us time to migrate across the plateau with the schools of jacks and barracuda. There were also a couple of moray eels and a green turtle. During dinner we moved the big boat into the rock islands, so we could be closer to Jellyfish Lake for Saturday morning.

Saturday with the sun rising over the rock islands we headed to Jellyfish Lake where everybody was able to appreciate the wonder millions of golden jellyfish migrating across the lake towards the sun. Once back on the skiff we went on a Rock Island tour and stopped at the famous archway. The last excursion of the week takes us to Chandelier Caves. The best way to end a week of spectacular diving with four air chambers to explore and mandarin fish to find once outside.

Thanks to our guests for another great week aboard the Tropic Dancer

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Tropic Dancer Captain’s Report Sept 15 – 22, 2013

Air Temp: 88 – 89F
Visibility: Great – Good
Topside Conditions: Sunny, Windy, Overcast
Sea Surface: Small Chop, SW Swell, Calm

Crew: Captain Marc, 2^nd Captain Steve, Chef Mani, Photo pro Ben, Dive Masters Jim & Andy, Stewardess Len and Steward Jay

Guests: John, Alekseev, Daniel, Staci, Dianora, John & Regina, Charles & Nancy, Min & Kyung, Chris & Jennifer, Shiori, Madoka, Peter & Lee and Scott.

On Sunday, Captain Marc and his crew welcomedon board our guests for the upcoming week of diving. A truly international contingent this week with South Korea, Japan, Germany, South America, New Zealand and the United States being represented. Dive gear was quickly set and a room orientation given before Chef Mani serves up the first of his scrumptious dinners. After desert Marc gets the excitement rolling with his safety briefing. After a long day for some most retire to bed eager for the week to really begin.

Monday begins with a short trip across the harbor at six o’clock to the Helmet wreck. This is a perfect check out dive giving everybody a chance to check their dive equipment and adjust their weights. The wreck is still not officially identified, but gets its name from the number of artifacts still able to found on its decks. The second dive takes us around the corner to the much larger and deeper wreck known as the Iro Maru. The visibility was very good putting this wreck alongside some of the best around. There are three huge kingposts along the deck, which are home to lots of small creatures. There is also a resident school of jacks, which like to swim around and through them. Being down since the end of the WWII, this vessel is completely encrusted in coral and is a photographer’s delight. During this dive and through lunch Marc relocates the vessel to German Channel for the afternoon dives. The first being Ngemelis Wall, a sheer drop from Ngemelis Island and adjourned with sea fans and soft corals. We also find several nudibranchs, a moray eel, and perched over the edge there was a crocodile fish. For the last dive we made the short journey to Turtle Cove starting the dive down the chimney and then drifting along the wall. With the hue of the setting sunlight highlighting the colors of the wall. As the name suggests we also found several turtles, some green and some hawksbill. After the dive it was back to the boat for more of Chef Mani’s fabulous food, then Ben explained why everybody was given a reef hook yesterday.

On Tuesday morning we started the day at Blue Holes, with four natural breaks in the plateau leading to a massive chamber where electric scalps can be found. Jim showed everyone the hermit crabs that will play tug-a-war with sea grass, while the Ben took some great photos of the guests with the natural sunlight coming down from the holes behind the divers. Outside the current pushed us along nicely and as we hooked in at the outgoing side of Blue Corner. The napoleon wrasse came by to say hello and swam in and around the divers. The sharks and green turtles also wanted in on the action. We went for another hook in dive for dive two. This time it was New Drop Off and the current was in coming. We hooked in and the sharks were in the blue in front of us. The current died off and we un-hooked and explored the plateau. Soon after the current switched and pushed us back along the top of the reef before we surfaced. After lunch we went out to Blue Corner. It was a nice incoming current and Blue Corner always lives up to its reputation. For the fourth dive we went to a section of wall we call Canyons. This is a beautiful wall with a swim through and cuts in and out to swim along. With some beautiful anemones and sharks in the blue, it was a great dive.

Wednesday morning we started up the big boat and made the run to Peleliu. Once we were secured in south dock we headed out to Peleliu Corner for the first dive. The current was out going and it was medium; we dropped in the water and drifted along with the wall on our left. Captain Marc led us to the hook in area on top the plateau. There was a very large school of snapper in front of the group and a couple of sharks cruised by the group. After we unhooked we drifted across the plateau the marine life was nice and we found some turtles. After the dive 9 guests went ashore for the Peleliu WWII land tour. The next dive was Barrack’s Point. This was a nice drift along the coral garden; we saw barracuda, jacks, and a large school of black snapper. Jim also pointed out a crocodile fish. When the guests came back from the land tour everyone sat down to a nice lunch and shortly after we set out to Barrack’s Point again so that the guests that went on the tour could see this beautiful coral garden. This time the current was going the opposite way and that made it a whole new dive. When we first dropped in we found a giant clam, then a short way down we spotted a marble ray tucked in under a ledge. Then a further way down Ben found the cuttle fish that has been in the same area for three weeks. For our fourth dive we went out to Orange Beach Coral Garden. We drifted along and found some WWII artifacts and several nudibranchs. Due to the swell we stayed the night in Peleliu and headed out to Orange Beach CG again for the night dive. With a nice slow drift we found shrimps and a couple of large crabs.

Thursday morning we planned one more dive in Peleliu. The swells were large and as the divers went out to Yellow Wall Captain Marc moved the big boat out of south dock and up the east side of Palau. The swells were coming from the southwest and the east side was calmer. Yellow Wall gets its name because the wall is covered with small yellow soft coral. In the depths there was a marble ray sitting on the bottom, and total we saw 10 turtles. Once we surfaced we caught up with the big boat in Ngerchong. We were making our way to inside German Channel and stopped here for one dive at Ngerchong Outside. This dive site was hit hard by the typhoon in December and the coral life is not the best, but the marine life is still there. During lunch we continued moving the boat to the inside of German Channel. We planned on doing the next three dives on the outside of German Channel. When we traveled by skiff through the channel, the swells were large and we ended up doing the two afternoon dives at German Channel itself. On the two dives though we did not see any mantas, the sharks put on a great show chasing after the bait ball of scad. For the last night dive we went out of the channel a little further to German Coral Garden. We found a couple of marina nudi’s in the soft coral and some lionfish. Back at the big boat the hot chocolate was ready and it warmed up the divers and they were soon off to bed.

Friday we headed to Ulong. The current was out going in the morning and we started at Ulong Coral Garden. The hard coral in Ulong is very beautiful. Huge tabletop corals, soft coral mixed in and around the hard coral. We found several anemones and some gray reef sharks swimming past in the blue water. Dive two was at Sandy Paradise, the tide was too low to take the short cut and with the large swell, getting from inside the lagoon to the outer reef was to say the least, exciting. The visibility was not the best, but the beautiful coral garden still has a lot of marine life to see. Leaf scorpionfish, barracuda, sharks, turtles and much more. The current has now switched to incoming and after lunch we planned the next two dives at Ulong Channel. For the first afternoon dive the tide was still low and the skiff ride going to the outer reef was a nail bitter. We dropped in and made our way to the mouth of the channel to hook-in. With the large swell, the hook-in area had a lot of surge. That’s probably why the sharks did not come as close as they have in the past. So we unhooked and had a nice drift into the channel. We made it all the way to the giant clams and surfaced. For the fourth dive the current was not as strong as dive three but we still had the surge. So we just headed down the channel and the current switched, but we still enjoyed the dive. After dinner Captain Marc showed his video of the week and we had some good laughs as we saw how the week went through his camera.

Saturday morning was overcast and we made our way into the rock islands to Jellyfish Lake where everybody was able to appreciate the wonder millions of golden jellyfish. With the sun behind the clouds the jellyfish were just hanging out in the middle of the lake at the surface. Once back on the skiff we went on a Rock Island tour and stopped at Palau’s famous archway. We stopped at a couple of other sites as we made our way back to Malakal Harbor where we turned around and the last excursion of the week took us to Chandelier Caves. The best way to end a week of spectacular diving with four air chambers to explore and the mandarin fish outside the cave were very active because it was overcast.

Thanks to our guests for joining us for another great week aboard the Tropic Dancer.