1999 Chapbook

Micronesia

After years of radiation monitoring and long months of negotiation, the historic shipwrecks of Bikini Atoll were finally opened up to recreational divers. Monitoring was done and is still being done by the U.S. Department of Energy to ensure that radiation levels in the lagoon are low enough to permit safe diving. This is a wreck diver's paradise, but be prepared: most of them are deep. . . . For full reviews of Marshall Island destinations, see: Bikini Atoll/Marshall Islands Dive, In Depth- January 1997 Marshall Island Dive, November 1997, Harry L. Cure, Jr., Fort Worth, TX. Bikini Atoll is like Truk on steroids. Historic warship in great conditions. Cave certified divers allowed to penetrate, our group laid virgin line on the Saratoga. Very professional and excellent divemaster. Experienced deep air divers only! Vis: 100-120 ft. Water: 82-90 degrees. Dive restrictions: two hour maximum bottom time including deco. (Ph: 714-440-3717 or 800-846-3483, Fax: 714-851-3111, e-mail: cpde@aol.com) Marshall Island Dive, July 1998, Gill Cruz, Pleasanton, CA. Fabio Amaral is the consummate dive professional; technically competent and a people person. Insists on diving safely and enforces it. Bikini is Truk on steroids. Where else can you dive a carrier and battle ships? Vis: 80-150 feet, water: 80-82 degrees. Facility was comfortable, clean and the food was plentiful and good. Video room layed out like a theater for 15 and a long, isolated, beautiful beach. (PO Box 1 Majvri, 96960, Marshall Island, 011-62-2-625-3250, Fax: 011-69-2-625-3505) Midway Atoll, 1998, Jeff Chandler. Open to the public; access to the Atoll is a joint venture of the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Midway Phoenix, a subsidiary of Phoenix Air [defense contractor]. Lodging is refitted Navy barracks. Meals are in the Navy galley or the Clipper restaurant. Pay up and take the Clipper plan, you won't regret it, especially if you are nonmeat/nonpoultry person. Dive concession is owned by the same guy who owns the sportfishing concession and it shows. The dive boat captains are pleasant and helpful but have minimal experience with divers. The guy running the dive operation, Kent Backman, is capable and enthusiastic but needs a bigger staff. He is a marine biologist and chamber technician, reassuring in a remote place like Midway. Dives are led by a divemaster and the profiles are conservative: usually 45 minutes in the 50-80 fsw range with a 5 minute stop. One wreck is a 115 fsw square wave profile, perfect for Nitrox, which is available. Anyone who likes diving Hawaii should like Midway. Find Randall's "Shore Fishes of Hawaii" and look up the rare and hard to find species and see them at Midway: Pyle's Sand Lance, Sunrise Wrasse, Rhinopias Xenops, Japanese Angelfish, Dragon Moray, trevally, Galapagos sharks (mostly smaller), turtles, psychedelic wrasse, bandit angelfish, banded angelfish (male and female). Hawaiian monk seals basking at water's edge on restricted beaches, thousands of albatross, terns, frigate birds. Dived 3 wrecks including the airplane. More waiting to be discovered. We dived 8 days over an 11-night visit: 20 dives including one night dive. If you book the dive package, you'll pay $50/dive. 40' dive boat has a dip tank, towels, beverages, snacks, O2 and comfortable with 8 or less. Lots of fresh ahi sashimi. Flights are twice a week: Wednesday it's a 737 so weight restrictions are somewhat relaxed. Sunday, it's a turbo prop and the weight restriction is tight (55 lb/person) but you can carry extra if the flight is not full. (Web site: http://www.midway-atoll.com). Kosrae This small, unspoiled island didn't get jet service until 1987, and it still hasn't changed much.... Its high volcanic peaks are lush and green, and a close, fringing reef makes the diving easily accessible, but it's not high-voltage diving on a par with Palau. Nautilus Divers/Kosrae Nautilus, November 1997, Doug Hook, Toronto, ON. A good setup for divers. Shared boat with one other on one day, had it to ourselves rest of time. Simple room, lots of camera work space. No rinse tank on boat. Twenty minute ride to boat via resort truck. Huge hard corals in perfect condition. Arrived on tail end of typhoon, so vis and weather not the best. Vis: 60-80 ft. water: 80-83 degrees. . . . Island is quiet, very picturesque. No nightlife, limited restaurants. Resort dining room reasonable, with great banana pancakes. Locals very welcoming, but shy. We were invited back to a home following Sunday church service. No diving Sunday, whole island closes Sunday. Blue Hole Beach dive in front of resort. (Ph: 691-370-3567, Fax 691-370-3568) Palau Long day-boat rides to the best diving weave through calm water and past magnificent rock islands, but there's the potential for rough seas on the outer edges of islands.... Serious divers who want more dives prefer live-aboards due to the length of the daily commute from Koror.... Marine biodiversity here is among the greatest in the world.... Visibility can exceed 200', while currents range from nil to dangerously strong, with four Japanese divers carried away in 1994.... Water temperatures are in the low- to mid-80s.... Favorite dives include Great Wall at Ngemelis, Blue Corner, and any of the walls around the tip of Peleliu.... The capital city of Koror, well along the way to being Caymanized by massive tourism, has excellent ethnic restaurants.... Check out the DW Motel or Sunrise Villa Hotel for low-priced lodging options.... The best handicrafts are prisoners' carved wooden story boards for sale at the jail in town; hand-pressed coconut oil from street vendors is a good gift for your personal massage practitioner.... The College of Micronesia's bookstore offers printed signs that are useful back home ("No Chewing Betelnut" and "No Smoking Drinks").... See Gen. Douglas MacArthur's old yacht, which is gradually sinking into the water at the dock in Peleliu.... For full reviews of the following Palau live-aboards, see: Palau Aggressor II,In Depth- March 1996 Sun Dancer,In Depth- February 1995 Fish 'n Fins/Palau Marina Resort, November 1997, K.L., El Segundo, CA. Diving superb, everything we had hoped. Blue Holes, Blue Corner, Peleliu Wall, New Drop Off and Chandelier Caves top notch. Weather perfect. Sunny 85%, occasional afternoon shower. Off-peak season, no big crowds at most sites, except Blue Holes & Blue Corner. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 75-85 degrees. . . . Fish 'n Fins a disappointment; first day they ran out of gas, second day we got 7 divers and 5 snorkelers on the boat. We complained but Francis, the owner, told us that it would be too costly for him if he split the group into two boats! Whatever happened to no more than 8 divers per boat? Third day we almost ran out of gas. Our dive guide, Sixtus, saved the trip. He took us to all the sites we requested and imposed little restriction on depth and psi, once we showed him that we are conservative divers. . . . Palau Marina Hotel like Motel 6. Situated by a dump and the ocean view faces the marina. Unfortunately, Palau either has very upscale hotels $200/night or budget hotels at $80/night. Overall the trip was great and worth the money. We did take advantage of Continental special 50% airfare. (Ph: 011-680-488-2637) Fish 'n Fins/Palau Pacific Resort, March 1998, Jim Perez, Selah, WA. Resort food poor quality, most expensive on island, restaurant service nonexistent with mandatory 10% gratuity. Ate in town nearly every night. Didn't use most services. Fish N Fins: Small English speaking groups (1 to 6 divers, average 3-4) very helpful and friendly. Poor environmental concern (anchoring on coral, handling coral, chasing turtles.) Vis: 60-100 ft. water: 80-82 degrees. No diving restrictions enforced. Fish 'n Fins/Palau Marina Hotel, April 1998, Aldo Alvarez, Cabo Rojo, PR. Superb fish and coral life. Outstanding diversity. Did 14 dives in six days, and saw sharks on every dive except one in Chandelier cave. Huge amount of fish at Blue Corner and the walls off Peleliu. The 45-minute boat ride through the rock islands to the dive sights enjoyable. Went to beautiful and secluded beaches during the two-hour surface interval. . . . Fish 'n Fins is an excellent operation run by the legendary Francis Tarobiong. He took our group to Peleliu and dived its corner. He mentioned that the error committed by the four Japanese who were lost around Peleliu in 1994, was that they had dived deeper than the rest of the group for an extended period and decided to make a long deco stop in very strong currents. When they eventually surfaced, the currents had carried them away. Even after looking for them for many hours, they were never seen again. . . . Palau Marina Hotel is excellent and located next to the dive shop. Due to an extended drought, there was water service only two hours in the morning, and two hours at night. I saved more than a thousand dollars by flying directly to Manila on Northwest Airlines instead of taking the more time consuming route via Guam with Continental Micronesia. Neco Marine/Sunrise Villa, March 1998, Richard Connell, London, England. Take the remotest Maldive atoll and multiply by 5 to 10 for the Blue Corner. Peleliu Corner ranks with the most character building in warm waters. Beginners stay home but young Japanese ignore this so NECO does its best to segregate them into safer waters. NECO Marine competent & professional; Japanese divemaster struggled well with his schoolboy English and adjusted his style to the high level of competence of customers. World class diving but better and more enjoyable for the experienced. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 70-80 degrees. Use depth hooks in strong currents and good common sense. Sunrise Villa Hotel: good modest hotel with decent food and helpful, friendly staff. Palau Pacific Resort open to outsiders for dinner; $25/day/person to use the facilities; well organized to accommodate outsiders taking a day off. Ex Marines will find tour of Peleliu terrifying. (Ph: 800-348-0842 or 011-680-488-2206, Fax: 011-680-488-3014) Sam's Dive Tours/Palau Marina, December 1997, R. Moore, Vista, CA. Best diving and dive operator I've had. Divemaster on every dive but left experienced divers alone. Not a place for new divers or weak swimmers. Friendly competent staff, picked me up at hotel on time every day. Lunch on boat so-so, but with this kind of diving who cares. Locked gear storage-you don't have to carry equipment when doing multiple day dives. I would request dive sites and was always accommodated. Vis: 100-200 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. No restrictions for experienced divers. Hotel was clean and dark when I turned off the lights. My only requirement. (Ph: 680-488-1062 Fax: 680-488- 5003, e-mail: samstour@palaunet.com, Website: www.samstours.com) Sam's Dive Tours, January 1998, Arlen & Steve Yaconelli, Gatt, CA. Dive operation was bustling, well organized. They had extra boats (total 8) because of Chinese New Year crowd. Wish we had known about this holiday ahead of time, would have gone another week. . . . Because of strong currents, group (6-8) had to stay at level and area of guide to be swept same way. Ripping currents in places-exhilarating, but entry and exit sometimes too exciting, the waves were so big. Vis: 50-60 ft. All the diving is outside the reef, which is miles away, long, choppy boat rides. Good picnics on tropical beaches (some were filled with Asian tourists-families for Chinese New Year). Lots of sharks. Guides are really good (they have to be); plenty of wrecks inside the reefs. Sam's Tours offers other adventures, with good naturalists who tour fascinating places untouched by many other tourists (Japanese pill boxes, from WWII, drowned Zero's, jellyfish lake) they are done by Kayak with new Kayaks, great boats! Wrecks and caverns too deep for Nitrox. Sam's Dive Tours, March 1998, Ray Simon, Oceanside, CA. Wonderful vacation spot. Dive operator empathic to customer special circumstances. Went beyond our expectations. Shop manager, Hans, and all staff very outgoing. Tailored dives to group desires. Diving like diver heaven. Wrecks, corals, pelagics, walls, drifts, big fish, little fish, turtles. Vis: 100-200 ft. Water: 80-81 degrees. Computer limits were restrictions enforced for diving. Gave a WW II battle tour on Peleliu island and one dive after tour. These folks put the customers first! Sam's Dive Tours/Palau Pacific, March 1998, Dr. Debra Levine, Brooklyn, NY. Sam's was excellent. They accommodated us based on experience. They should have picked us up with our gear at the hotel-they wasted time going back to shop. Vis: 100-200 ft, water: 78-82 degrees. Sam's Dive Tours/Palau Pacific, May 1998, Gerald Bertekap, Clark, NJ. Divemaster did not wait for everyone to come out of the blue holebefore swimming off and away. Divemaster did not surface when other divers did. Owner of Sam s was not available to speak to on several occasions. Meals were not what requested. Rudely treated for lunch. Dropped off and told will be back. Splash/Palau Pacific, November 1997, John W. Foster, M.D., Waterford, CT. World-class resort with a first rate dive operation. Drift diving electrifying and makes Cozumel's gentle currents child's play by comparison. Dive operation initially mixed English-speaking divers of all abilities together, which sometimes limited the dive times of more experienced divers but when requested, we were reorganized with a divemaster for the small group of advanced divers. Dive operator took us where we requested, but not to more distant dives such as Peleliu Corner. Difficult to arrange a third dive each day. Vis: 50-150 ft. Water: 84-86 degrees. Dive restrictions were safe dive limits, start up with 500 psi, not strictly enforced. Photo shop was great! . . . . In Guam my tickets, passport and other documents were stolen during the required layover. Continental Micronesia personnel came to the rescue by replacing the tickets and obtaining permission for me to continue to Palau. (Ph: 800-247-3483 or 011-680-488-2600, e-mail splash@divepalau.com) Splash/Palau Pacific Resort, February 1998, Harold & Jan Bedoukian, Montreal, Canada. Splash staff at the Palau Pacific was friendly and tried to accommodate requests, however no grouping of divers according to experience or skill. Long boat rides (1.5 hours) through beautiful vistas. Diving exceptional. Corals are spectacular but are damaged by the hundreds of divers, who stand, bump and break it. Sharks on every dive, sometimes as many as 20. Vis: 40-60 ft. Water: 80 degrees. Dive restrictions: depth 130 ft. The Blue Corner was a fiasco, somewhat like Grand Central Station at rush hour, when all the dive boats dump their divers at the same time. Divers without reef hooks clawed at anything to hold on in the current. A safety sausage is a must in case you surface away from the boat. Splash/Palau Pacific Resort, July 1998, Mitch and Penny Kennedy, San Ramon, CA. Resort was perfect. Beach (and snorkling off beach) make it worth the extra $$. Lovely, secluded grounds, excellent service, wonderful restaurant (though expensive). Vis: 40-80 ft, water: 82-86 degrees. Beautiful sunsets, convenient dive/tour operations. $5 cab ride to town and great restaurants. Pohnpei Village Hotel, July 1997, Larry & Terry Roth, Orange Park, FL. Abundant pelagics, hard and soft corals, anemones and great schools of tropicals make diving the channels in Pohnpei a joy. Easy, enjoyable, drift dives. Coral pristine. At Nan Madol Reef there were stands of staghorn coral as far as you could see in the 200+ visibility. Lots of tropicals. Sharks every dive. The guide was very low key; gave a briefing and let us set the pace. While the boats are small, we were the only two divers. . . . Village Hotel unique. Built on one of Pohnpei's hills, every cabin has a spectacular view of the water. Each cabin is screened and the breezes and ceiling fan keep you cool. Mosquito netting above each of the two queen size beds; beds and netting are prepared for guests every evening. Towels changed twice a day, all the staff friendly and solicitous. Food is some of the best around! Be sure to visit the ruins of Nan Madol and the Woodcarver's Village. Island's waterfalls during Nan Madol tour are worth a look! Pohnpei is one of the most beautiful islands around, with great diving as well! (Ph: 011-691-3202797) IET EHU/Village Inn, October 1997, Dwayne Miller, Neosho, MO.Village Inn was very good to get away from it all. Food and service excellent. Bungalows comfortable and unique. View unmatched. . . . Pohnpei in desperate need to control litter and conditions of island. Very depressing to see a beautiful isle destroyed by Western excess. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Diving restriction enforced was diving limit of 130 ft. Truk Lagoon This is the world's most diverse wreck diving on hundreds of Japanese ships sunk during a battle in WWII, with lionfish on the bridge, giant clams on the deck, and bottles of ink and erasers for students of the vanished Japanese Empire still visible in the hold.... Most wreck dives other than on superstructure are deeper, in the 80'+ range, but there's fine diving even without wreck penetration.... Expect calm water, occasional poor visibility, little or no current, and temperatures that can hit the high 80s.... Given the scuzzy town and mediocre hotels, consider the Truk Aggressoror the Thorfinn.... Blue Lagoon/Truk Continental, July 1997, Larry & Terry Roth, Orange Park, FL. Blue Lagoon provides excellent guides to fabulous wrecks. Our third trip to Truk and we have enjoyed each. Visibility averaged 70 ft. Spent more time on the deeper wrecks San Francisco, Nippo, Aikoku and Oite Destroyer. We brought our own doubles rigs, which increased our safety margin. Blue Lagoon staff allows you to dive at your own level of expertise. We shared our boat with one other diver on two days; remaining days we were the only two divers. Blue Lagoon provided an extra dive guide on the three days we dove the deeper wrecks. Both guides always carried an extra tank, in addition to two tanks hanging from the boat. While their boats might lead you to think this is a third world operation, they provide the most outstanding service I've encountered. With some of the world's best wrecks to dive on, this combination is unbeatable. . . . Truk Continental on a beautiful part of Moen Island, a former coconut plantation. Fabulous sunsets. While the hotel is showing its age, its location and convenience make it the only place on Truk to stay. Shallower wrecks (Fuji Kaua Maru, Sanhisa Maru, Yanagiri Maru) have spectacular soft coral growth. Virtually no currents; water 85 degrees. Military artifacts, obvious battle damage and excellent conditions make these dives spectacular. (Ph: 011-691-330-2796) Blue Lagoon/Truk Stop Hotel, March 1998, Ray Simon, Oceanside, CA. Chuuk is not for the meek. Very basic diving. Wreck divers paradise. Accommodations basic but clean and adequate. Third world island. Much gang style graffiti on walls. Getting through the airport an experience in itself. Dive boat picked us up at Truk Stop Hotel. Boat as basic as they get. Motor started each time, but sometimes took some coaxing. Not a dive destination for the beginner. Vis: 100-150 ft. Water: 80-81 degrees. Computer limits diving restrictions enforced. Recommend this trip for the adventurous and experienced. Yap Yap is a very traditional island group: bare-breasted women, men in loincloths (thu), and huge wheels of stone money quarried in Palau and hauled to Yap in open boats. The people are extraordinary sailors, having navigated the Pacific for thousands of years.... Reputedly the best betel nut in the South Pacific, useful for trading or gifts for locals on other islands.... Inexpensive restaurants and hotels.... Guaranteed mantas with Yap Divers.... There are steep coral-covered walls and dropoffs and plenty of fish.... Expect clear water except in the entrance of the lagoon where mantas pass.... Water temperatures are in the low- to mid-80s.... Yap is a good two- to three-day add-on to a Palau trip. Yap Divers/Manta Ray Bay Hotel, November 1997, Dwayne Miller, Neosito, MO. Mantas and more mantas. Aftermath of typhoon prevented us from going to the good walls for diving. Dive crews gave us variances in sites but it was mostly go to 45-50 ft. and watch mantas at cleaning station. Vis: 40-90 ft. Water: 79-83 degrees. Depth and time restrictions enforced. Hotel first rate. People in Yap are one of the best. Take tour by Theo. He was great. Guido the videophotographer good. (Ph: 011-691-350-2300, Fax: 011-691-350-4100, e-mail yapdivers@mantaraycom) Yap Divers/Manta Ray Bay Hotel, November 1997, Doug Hook, Toronto, ON. Mantas are great, but don't miss the outer reef. Visibility 200' at Lionfish Wall. Manta dives at Mil Channel best on incoming tides. Divemasters accommodating with site requests. Vis: 40-200 ft. Water: 81-83°. Dive restrictions: 60min/130'. Very service oriented. First class dining at hotel, but pricey. Rooms are beautiful, free morning coffee delivered to the room. Photo Pro Guido helpful with tips on shooting the mantas. Cultural Tour and Land Tour are not to be missed. People are proud of their culture, and eager to talk about it. Visit before tourists find this treasure. Yap Divers, February 1998, Matt Brandt, Los Angeles, CA. Accommodations excellent and comfortable with waterfront view. Meal plan was good. Dive operation is good but their big boat was out of service making it impossible to go outside the reef to Lionfish wall, Yap caverns. Vis: 25-40 ft. Wtr 77-79 degrees. Luckily, mantas keep your interest entirely for 3-4 days. Not much else to do on the island. Yap Divers, Manta Ray Bay Hotel, March 1998, Ray Simon, Oceanside, CA. Pleasant experience. Helpful staff. Clean accommodations. Food at hotel expensive. Cheaper to eat in town. Local market 2 blocks from resort. Dive operation on site. Laid back, relaxed attitude. Personable boat drivers and guides. Mantas everywhere. Vis: 100-150 ft. Water: 80-81 degrees. A few sharks. Yap Divers, March 1998, Dr. Debra Levine, Brooklyn, NY. Very disappointing. Lots of dead coral, Yap divers not accommodating-waste of time. Mantas were OK. Yap Divers/Manta Ray Bay Hotel, April 1998, Carole Stinchfield, New York, NY. Rooms nice. Restaurant exceptional. Staff professional and nice. Diving good. Mantas very predictable, you definitely and dependably see them up close and personal. Saw them in the channel while drifting to a cleaning station where we could sit and watch them. Mornings were manta dives and the afternoon was for great macro, lots of lionfish, nudibranchs of all shapes and sizes, flatworms, shrimp, sea slugs. Vis: 60-80 ft. water: 80-84 degrees. Very nice. Yap Divers/Manta Ray Bay Hotel, April 1998, Dave Lake and Linda Wright, Savannah, GA. Mantas are wonderful. Great hard coral reefs. Few fish big or small. Great macro dives right in Colmia harbor. 4 nudibranch with two laying egg ribbons on the same coral head. Vis: 80-100 ft., water: 82-84 degrees. Great chef at hotel. Recommend a week stay to have several dives with the mantas and still dive the reefs and macro dives. Yap Divers, April 1998, Simone Di Tomasso, Montreal, Quebec. Dive that begins at mouth of channel and drifts into Manta Ridge is awesome. Soft corals look like bouquets of lilacs. Dive operator well organized. Food by chef Bell is outstanding. Owner Bill Acker forwarded forgotten item left in room to next stop. No charges. Yap an interesting and friendly destination. Vis: 50-70 ft, water: 81-83 degrees. Yap Divers/Manta Ray Bay Hotel, September 1998, Scott Campbell, Seattle, WA. Corals inside lagoon were mostly good except for a macro dive to a site called Small Willie's. This site was in terrible condition, broken corals, dead/dying corals, beer and soda cans strewn about, etc. This dive was an insult to the customers. Bill Acker was off island during the week, which may explain this. Hotel room was musty, with old/stained curtains. Otherwise, room was good. Food was super! 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