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Tropic Dancer Captains 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 tomorrows 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 Ferns 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 theyre 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
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 tomorrows 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 Ferns 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 theyre 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