Good Dives & Good Company - Day 3

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Woke up this morning quite early. I was hoping i would get a good nights sleep but apparently had some stuff on my mind so looking forward to a good sleep tonight. It was a cooler, rainy morning so pretty much guessed it would be overcast all day. We are getting wet anyways so what does it matter. I met up with everyone for breakfast at our regular spot then went back to our rooms to get ready for the day. Even though it was raining we decided to just walk to Sam's, a good thing i brought a light raincoat this year. We checked out the schedule and we were on a different boat this time, the SilverTip with Siksei, J5 (becoming a Dive Master for Sam's who was in training for boat captain last year) Arson the boat captain, and Dave was along for the day. It was nice to have a small group and made for a nice day despite the rain. We were scheduled for three dives without coming back to Sam's inbetween so we each had our three tanks. First dive was the Iro Maru Wreck.

The Iro Maru is a vessel over 400 ft long with a large gun on the stern and bow. Since I am working towards getting my Wreck Specialty, Joe checked with Siksei about penetrating the wreck. There were a few nice spots to penetrate so i got my dive light and gloves ready. We anchored right off the stern of the wreck and dropped down to about 65 feet. It was a bit murky but there was lots to see. Our first penetration was a long narrow hallway between the stern and the deck. I followed Joe who followed Siksei. We also had J5 with us who was actually with us last year in training to be a boat captain and dive master. We had to be very careful not to fin too much or else we would kick up a lot of silt inside the wreck making it very difficult to see. All in all it was a neat experience. I checked out a bunch of coral along the dock and enjoyed seeing some of the larger polyped stony corals that we don't see out on the reef walls due to the current. Lots of Heliofungia or Long Tentacle Plates, Plegrogyra or Bubble, Goniopora of Flower Pot coral, a few Euphyllia ancora or Hammer coral, lots of razor oysters, small Gobies, curious Batfish and Spadefish, and even an old Sake bottle. I was hoping to see some Lionfish so cross your fingers for me (along with seeing a Tiger or Zebra Shark, Whale Shark, more Manta's etc.). We made our way along the wreck to where we were about 85 feet down. Went through another long hallway and Siksei pulled me into a side room where there was a bathtub and a toilet. Very neat to see. Joe was behind me and pointed out a Banded Coral Shrimp! Didn't get the best of pictures, but that's OK. Wrecks don't get a lot of current through them so the tend to build up with silt, kinda like if you don't dust your furniture for a long time. Kicked up silt makes it hard to get good pictures because the flash magnifies the silt particles and blurs the pictures, plus we were in a dark, enclosed area. We swam around for a bit then Joe and I did a deepstop before heading back up the length of the boat then making our mandatory safety stop along the line. It was a fun, comfortable dive and now I am one more wreck penetration away from getting my specialty.

Bundled up on a rainy morning

Free boat anyone?

Iro Maru

yum, Sake

the Coral Banded Shrimp Joe found in the Iro Maru bathrooma huge Hammer Coral

We took about an hour surface interval while headed to our next dive spot, Siaes Tunnel. I did this dive site last year but it was still a great dive. I got to see some clownfish, Pyramid Butterflys, Clams, huge Acropora corals and other small polyped stonys, sharks, Angels, Tangs and all sorts of other cool fish and coral. It was a nice calm drift along the wall after coming out through the tunnel. I tried to stay somewhat shallow as we did a deep dive before and I went a bit deeper while going through the tunnel so was just being on the safe side. Plus, the shallower you are, the colors are more vibrant so made for some nice pictures. We drifted along the wall a bit and I noticed we passed our boat above. Pretty much all the dives in Palau are drift dives so the boat just comes and picks you up because you could be a good distance away. This dive we were able to drift with the current and then it changed so we drifted back in the direction of the boat just in time for our safety stop and right onto the boat. We weren't far at all from Ulong Island so we drove there, anchored out, had lunch, Chicken Bento for me, and took almost a 2 hour surface interval. I was on the lookout for some landlife but would really have to go hiking through the islands which I didn't have enough time for. So took a dip off shore and did some snorkeling. Not as nice as last year but the tide was out a bit and there had been some heavy storms. Still fun and got to see lots of coral and baby tangs, damsels, angels, triggers, wrasse, hermit crabs and even a small jellyfish, and not the stingless kind. I got a bit scared when i came across the jelly because it was only about the size of a quarter, very clear and usually where there is one, there are more. I quickly glanced around to make sure i wasn't getting myself into trouble, but that was the only one i saw. So kept my distance yet still got some OK shots and admired it's beauty. It was time to head out to our final dive site, Ulong Channel again.

Pyramid Butterfly's along the Sais Tunnel Wall

a Hawksbill Turtle coming to check out Dave

Clarkii Clownfish

Lunch

Ulong Channel is easily becoming my favorite Palau dive. It is a favorite among many of the Sam's Tours crew and I totally understand why. When you dive during incoming current, you get an awesome ride! We went along the wall for a good bit, I stayed towards the end of the group as i wanted to take my time and get some good pictures without holding anyone up or causing a "traffic jam". I was able to see lots of Carpet Anemones with Clownfish, even some extremely tiny babies, Nudibranchs, Tilefish, Scissortail Gobies, Starfish and all sorts of amazing stuff. We came to the opening of the channel where we were going to hook in like last time. Before i got ready to hook in i spotted a large Ritteri Anemone with some Pink Skunk Clowns. Got a few shots of them then went to hook in. I ended up hooking in on the same exact spot as the first day of the week. Siksei came up to me and motioned that he was going to move me closer to the edge so I could get a better view and be closer to the sharks! It was great! The current wasn't as storng but I had a great view of the anemone and saw dozens of sharks which came quite close. We stayed hooked in for a little bit then unhooked and drifted along through the channel. Oh so much fun! I was even able to get a nice shot of a Green Moray Eel.

Pink Skunks in a Ritteri Anemone

Blue Linkia Starfish

School of Scuds

a Nudibranch species

more Pink Skunks

Andy hooked on Ulong Channel watching the Gray Reef Sharks

Melanie, Jim and Joe hooked on Ulong Channel

Andy floating along Ulong Channel, great drift dive!

We made our way back to Sam's and on the way, Dave and I tried more betel nut, this time wiht some tobacco. Other than the not so great taste and constant spitting it's not that bad. Some people have different reactions to it but it just made my gums a bit numb for a little while. This is definitely not a habit i am picking up, but it's something cultural I wanted to try. I will leave the rest of the betel nut with Siksei. We got back to Sam's and decided to catch a ride back to the hotel to shower and clean up. It was a good decision and after about half an hour we met back in the lobby to walk back and have dinner and drinks. Joe, Andy and I brought our laptops with us in hopes of getting an internet connection which was successful, very slow, but successful nonetheless. I was able to update this blog online but the pictures would have taken forever so sorry, but you have to be patient. Soon enough, just keep those fingers crossed the hotel gets a network available that i can access. But for now, it is bedtime! Peleliu land tour and dives tomorrow so need a good nights sleep!