Palau Aggressor II Captain's Logs

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Palau Aggressor II Captain's Report - May 13 - 20, 2012

Palau Aggressor Trip Report May 13-20, 2012

Water temp: 81º F
Air Temp: 86-90º F
Visibility: 60–110+ feet
Crew: Capt. Marc, Chef Andy, Agnes, Nadia, Ben, Hector & Nick

Sunday
A wonderful week of Palauan diving has dawned upon us. The Palau Aggressor is happy to welcome onboard Robert & Bridget, Tru & Brock, Jean Anne, Chiho, Matt & Amanda, Mitsu & Masako, and Kerry & Ken. After a delightful dinner we followed with the safety orientation and were off to bed for a peaceful nights rest.

Monday
Flat calm conditions inspired us to head out toward the Teshio Maru to set the stage for a wonderful days diving. And that it was. This marvelous check out dive is a favorite wreck dive for many visitors to Palau. Everyone chose their comfortable depth to explore this beautiful wreck with an array of hard and soft corals. Nudibranchs and flat worms came out for a leisurely stroll on the metal bits that are now so encrusted with coral that is their home. A school of spadefish and a turtle, unperturbed by our presence, casually swam by. What a fabulous check out dive.

We returned to the yacht for a snack and a little hammock time and then headed out to the Iro Maru. This larger wreck has much to explore. As we descended we could see the stern gun covered with coral growth. Off to the side of the wreck the glistening of a large school of jacks caught our attention. As we started exploring the deck of the ship we came across some beautiful nudibranchs and stunning soft coral. We then explored the king posts and enjoyed a parade of batfish cruising by. Another great wreck dive!

A little journey south found us around the famous German Channel. Next up was Ngemelis Wall. This great dive was enjoyed with its rich colors scattered along the wall. Soft corals galore and the macro life was abounding. The photographers found it hard to leave. We followed with a dive at Ngedebus Coral Garden. This tranquil and serene site offered a variety of macro critters. Even a cuttlefish hovered above the reef in misbelief that he was not seen as photographers huddled around him. When the strobes fired he must have realized that he was detected and flight was not an option. In an instant a spectacular metamorphic transformation of texture bewildered us. Color patterns also changed like a hologram right before our eyes. We were mesmerized by this magnificent little creature. The remainder of the dive was spent exploring the finger like coral ridges. An eagle ray made a swift but graceful fly by and then dissolved into the blue water beyond the reef. This ended a fine days diving!

Tuesday
A beautiful morning broke and it was time for the famous Blue Corner. With excitement of diving one of the world’s top 5 dive sites we splashed into the azure blue water of the corner. We were greeted by a plethora of fish. Large schools of barracuda, black snapper and a prodigious school of red tooth triggerfish spanning as far as the eye could see. The unusual fluttering of their dorsal and ventral fins looked like flags flapping in a strong breeze. As we reached the top edge of the wall we armed ourselves with our reef hooks and anchored in. As simple as pushing a button on the TV remote we hooked in on the edge of the wall looking out to the blue and the Nat Geo channel appeared in front of us. Grey reef sharks and white tip reef sharks glided toward us with little effort in this moderate current. The shark show continued without interruption. Stealthily out of nowhere a large green fish appeared. Large pucker lips and inquisitive eyes where right behind us. It was our friendly napoleon wrasse. Our affable wrasse made the rounds to everyone in a stubborn endeavor to gain our attention. The remainder of the dive was spent exploring the hustle and bustle of the plateau. Tropical fish went about their business as we streamed on by. The wrasse followed. What an incredible dive!

After some hammock time we returned to the water. Blue Holes was next. Blue Holes provided a unique experience with four holes on top of the reef that all lead into one large chamber. From within the holes we looked up and enjoyed the sunrays breaking through the ceiling. Numerous photos were taken. The mesmerizing pulsating lights of a disco clam caught our eye followed by a helfich’s dartfish bobbing rhythmically above his burrow. We then exited the holes and drifted with the current along a stunning wall toward Blue Corner. Large schools of snapper, barracuda, sharks and giant trevallies were all out and about.

With lunch and some time in the hammocks we took a plunge into German Channel. What an amazing dive that started with a gorgeous pink anemone that gained everyone’s attention. Then we headed to the cleaning station. The activity was frantic. A Manta appeared. This gentle giant swept in from the blue water. Her grace was just jaw dropping as she flew by us and then evanesced into the blue water again. What an amazing spectacle! We continued the dive admiring the large schools of snapper and jacks being pursued by grey reef sharks. None fell victim by the time we enjoyed a leisurely drift down the channel enjoying the sights of the coral garden. The famous German Channel did not disappoint.

Turtle Cove was next. This dive has something for everyone. We started the dive penetrating a chimney that popped us out at 70 foot off the wall. Then we discovered nudibranchs and flatworms along the wall. Further along the wall we found ourselves in a forest of beautiful soft coral exhibiting a kaleidoscope of rich colors. Then as the dive site name suggests the turtles came out to play. Green and hawks bill turtles were swimming off the wall, feeding and some taking their afternoon nap. Back to the yacht for a break and then we returned to Turtle Cove. Our crepuscular dive set the stage for the change of shift. Scorpion fish and octopus made an appearance, as did nudibranchs and hermit crabs. We enjoyed a spectacular days diving yet again.

Wednesday
A beautiful morning broke as the Palau Aggressor made passage over to Peleliu. We started our day exploring Peleliu Corner. Blessed with some more amazing visibility we started the dive with a wall dive filled with soft coral, sea fans, small gardens of lettuce coral and striking sweetlips. We then armed our reef hooks and hooked in for a little while to enjoy a more stationary view of the sharks, which came in extremely close. We gazed fondly at the cruising sharks and the plethora of tropical fish whizzing by. The remaining part of the dive was enjoyed drifting along the plateau.

After lunch we decided to stretch our legs a bit and go on a tour of Peleliu. This exceptionally interesting tour took us back to September 1944 when the US Marines stormed the beaches of Peleliu. Our guide Godwin showed us the US & Japanese memorial, amtracks, guns, Orange Beach and the 1000 man caves. What a touching tour.
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Lunch and a little nap and it was time to visit West Wall. Here the unmistakable yellow soft coral was hard to miss. This stunning wall, which is very sheer, is filled with color and macro critters. We found a large anemone with tomato anemone fish shyly playing with us and in the same anemone, a large porcelain crab snatching morsels of food drifting by. A turtle causally swam by and hardly even noticed the gaggle of divers admiring him. Sharks cruised by us along the wall with pyramid butterfly fish and anthias scattered around us. This was a thoroughly enjoyable dive.
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We then splashed into Barracks Point. This remarkable dive greeted us with gin clear water along a sheer wall with a riotous display of deep sea fans and soft corals. A large school of hump head parrotfish flew by in haphazard formation leaving a contrail of sand behind them. Suddenly the wall turned into a slope. A turtle and school of barracuda came into sight as we drifted leisurely across this amazing coral garden. A night dive followed at Ngedebus Coral Gardens where a rare discovery of an ornate ghost pipefish was made. Another memorable day in Palau come to a close.
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Thursday
Blue Corner was the obvious choice to start the day. Initially a casual swim along the stunning wall as we headed toward the corner. Along the way the hustle and bustle of giant trevally, barracuda, snapper and pyramid butterfly fish made our heads spin. Then the inbound white tip sharks appeared followed by some large grey reef sharks, both making extremely close passes. Our friendly napoleon wrasse also came to greet us like family reuniting from a trip abroad. After some quality shark and wrasse time we decided to explore the plateau with all it’s life. First we came across a large school of blue lined snapper. Then large schools of barracuda circled us followed by a very friendly green turtle. What a fantastic dive at the corner.
Our next dive adventure takes us to New Drop Off. This dive, considered a mini Blue Corner by some, offers fantastic pelagic action. On this occasion it was no different. With crystal clear water we descended into a thick school of pyramid butterfly fish and patrolling reef sharks. We hooked in for a while and watched the sharks cruising by and then enjoyed a casual drift along the plateau. A large school of blue line snapper then gained our attention and hardly even parted as we approached. Then we came across triggerfish vehemently protecting their eggs with rapid charges at anything approaching their nests. These series of attacks left her eggs vulnerable and a napoleon wrasse found the all you can eat buffet. Bitterly the trigger returned to an empty nest. Nature in action.
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Lunch refueled us for an encore dive at German Channel. With similar action as before German Channel produced the goods yet again. Even the manta reappeared as if you bit us adieu. Snack time again and then back to diving. Next up was Ngerchong Inside. This gem of a dive delivered yet again with its insatiable variety of macro critters. A sighting of a few banded messmate pipe fish and 4 cuttle fish hovering above some stag horn coral to name but a few. We then continued down to a coral bommie and found a rather shy octopus peering at us followed by a mantis shrimp with a similar comportment display. The remainder of the dive was spent in the shallow reef with sparkling sun rays lighting up the exquisite blue stag horn coral. Another fine days diving draws to a close.
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Friday
A beautiful day broke over Ulong Island. The dive skiff headed to Siaes Tunnel. This amazing dive offers both a beautiful tunnel formation and incredible wall in one dive. We started off in the tunnel exploring almost every nook and cranny for little critters. We managed to find the elusive pigmy blue back butterfly fish and a few flatworms. Then as we swam out of the tunnel a whole new world opened up. The wall was rich with colors and fish life. Schools of snapper, anthias and barracuda were waiting for us. We all delighted in the action. Then it was time for Siaes Corner. We descended into startling clear water again and the colorful wall with magnificent soft corals and giant sea fans emerged. Anthias by the thousands as well as fusiliers and red tooth triggerfish completely surrounded us. They ushered us all the way to the hook in point where we took a more stationary vantage point to enjoy the patrolling grey reef sharks. It was quite amazing to watch them gliding effortlessly in the mild current and on occasion they made some pretty close passes. The remainder of the dive was spent exploring the plateau and finding a moray eel and turtle.
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After a delectable lunch we splashed into Ulong Channel. The famous channel lived up to its reputation with clear water. Sharks, jacks and bait balls cruising by the mouth of the channel as we anchored ourselves with our reef hooks. The show was busy and once we saw 30 minutes of pelagic action it was time for a ride down the channel. Sleeping white tips in the sand scurried as we approached them. The most prolific coral life in Palau was seen on the magical ride. Groupers darted into their coral homes as we whizzed by and then we came across a massive patch of lettuce coral that was simply impressive. We the came across 2 beautifully set giant clams. This was a thoroughly enjoyable dive.
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Some more hammock time followed and then we jumped into Ulong Coral Gardens. This dive too was met with great visibility and an extensive collection of table top corals stag horn corals, colorful soft corals and large schools of jacks and snappers. It was quite magical having the late afternoon sun rays glistening through the surface and the dive ended with a beautiful sunset. This was a great way to end a wonderful days diving.

Saturday
Another gorgeous morning broke and our adventure starts with the surreal experience of Jellyfish Lake. This stratified marine lake houses the unique non-stinging jellies. They were everywhere you looked and it felt like we were in another world as we snorkeled around these pulsating critters. After getting our jellyfish fix we headed back to Koror and meandered through the rock islands and stopped at the famous archway for a photo shoot. Then back to diving. We decided to enjoy yet another different experience with Chandelier Caves. Only 18 feet deep or so this cave has four chambers that have air spaces where you can pop up and have a chat to your buddy or take some photos before continuing your dive. Exploring these caves was a wonderful way to end an already fantastic weeks diving in Palau.
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So the week comes to a close. Congratulations to Chiho for completing her 700th dive while onboard. All of us here on the Palau Aggressor wish all our new friends a safe trip home and a speedy return to eating, sleeping and diving the Aggressor way!

Capt. Marc
 
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Hi Captain Marc,

We're still dreaming about the great week we had on your boat in January. We had our first experience with photography on your boat, renting one of your cameras, and got some pretty cool pictures. One of them is here. I'm wondering what this stuff is, if you, or anyone out there, knows. Looks like alien eyes. Thanks.

Judy
 
Palau Aggressor II Captain's Report - May 20 - 27, 2012

Palau Aggressor II
May 20-27, 2012

Surface Temperature: 33º C / 86º F
Water Temperature: 28º C / 82º F
Weather: Mostly sunny skies with scattered showers

The Palau Aggressor II seemed to attract all of our guests this week for a celebration of their achievements and special occasions. Michael and Linda celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary on the very first day upon arrival. Although it wasn’t exactly Richard and Doreen’s wedding anniversary on this particular charter, we still called out to the occasion Monday night. Dave became our newest member of the Nitrox club this week. Mike, Linda, Allard and Juliette made their 100th dive during this charter while Rich made his 450th dive. Nearly every night called for a different celebration.
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Our guests were spoiled from day one with all of Palau’s unique sightings. The Helmet Wreck lays home to some of the greatest macro photography you may find. You can turn the wreck into an extensive scavenger hunt for all the various kinds of pipefish you may see. A pair of crocodile fish can also be found nearly every week if you hold the eye to their brilliant camouflage.
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The area of Ulong lays home to much bigger animals like what was seen in “Sandy Paradise”. Marble stingrays, feather tail rays and turtles were lurking over nearly every ridge. Siaes Corner packed more sharks than you could count, while Doreen kept a sharp count on every turtle in every dive site. Katie and Kathryn surfaced within Ulong channel to say, “That was the best dive I have ever done”.
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The east side of Palau is rarely visited in comparison to the west side. The greater majority of dive sites such as German Channel and Blue Corner are found on the west side of Palau. More importantly with the change in winds this week, it allowed us to experience the area of Ngerchong in peaceful serenity. Amongst this tranquility we found an exotic cuttlefish within the staghorn coral. Further down the coral garden were three pipe fish schooling in unison. It was a most unique sight for even our dive masters.
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Each charter generally shares one common trait amongst our guests. Regardless of their diversity and no matter where they are from, they all generally hold a common relation with one another. One week we may see an entire boat of schoolteachers from around the world whom had never met before. The next week may consist of guests with far too similar points of view. As for this week… I’d say it was wedding anniversaries, diving milestones, and rash guards…

2nd Captain Andrew
 
Palau Aggressor II Captain's Report - June 10- 17, 2012

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Our dives this week were just as unique to the crew as they were to our guests. Our first stop along Palau’s archipelago was the area of Ulong. There within a dive site known as “Sandy Paradise” lays home to school of roughly 50 young grey reef shark pups. Being no more than two feet in length, they prowled along the shallows of the reef picking up anything they could find.
Within Ulong channel we found hundreds marble groupers hunting, mating, or just cruising along the sea floor. Literally hundreds of groupers. More than the eye could count as we cruised along this narrow path. Palau is a santuary for one or even several types of marine life to spawn for their given time of the year.
Blue Corner as always had everything our guests were looking for. You don’t just see different kinds of fish at Blue Corner, you interact with them. The local Napoleon Wrasse have grown up with divers roaming through their home from the very beginning. They will dance all around you as if they were waiting for you to give them a hug. Palauan sharks are just as curious as our wrasse. They will come within a mere foot of your proximity. Just like the Napoleon Wrasse of Blue Corner, and the groupers of Ulong Channel; The new born sharks found in Sandy Paradise will be the next generation to our closest and unique encounters.

Captain Andrew
 
Witold climbs aboard Sunday evening to be surprised with a birthday cake in his honor. I’d say the birthday cake gave grace to safe passage this week as the weather quickly cleared and Palau’s marine life were in full force.

Our guests for the charter were Jereon, Mike, Witold, Rod, Tony, Magnus, Hal, Doug, Irma, Monika, Joanna, Heidi, Christina, Karolina and Katherine.





Our crew this week was Captain Ike, Divemaster Andy, Photo Pro John, Video Pro Kris, Instructors Ben & Andrew, Chef Cameron and Stewardess Loly.

Various rays were sighted all throughout our dive sites. From far east at Ngerchong Island, to far west at Turtle Cove were sightings of spotted eagle rays. Thursday morning, just after our Blue Holes dive were two marble stingrays frolicking underneath the Aggressor. There was no telling as to why these rays had such a fascination to our area, but they remained there for the entire day. They were surprisingly calm to our presence as Rod and Tony entered the water for their up close photo shoot. There were no manta rays within German Channel, but at 80 feet and cleverly camouflaged in the sandy bottom was a feather tail stingray.






As always our guests receive their fix of various sharks at Blue Corner. You can indulge on the gorgeous topography of Siaes Tunnel, and finish off the week with the majestic serenity of Chandelier Cave.


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Happy Anniversary to Rod and Heidi, celebrating this past Monday, as well as Tony and Christina this past Friday, and Joanna is congratulated with her achievement in becoming the newest SSI Nitrox Diver. Safe diving everyone.

2nd Captain Andrew
 
Palau Aggressor II Captain’s Report July 1 – 8, 2012

The Teshio Maru is a unique wreck many ways. A once Japanese coal transport vessel is now our most loved wreck dive in Palau. Of all the wrecks in Palau, the Teshio is probably the least visited. The wreck lies far west of Koror and is more distant from the common route taken to get to the outside reef. The Teshio’s spacious cargo holds, and collapsed areas to the structure make the perfect debut for simple wreck penetration.






With the grace of our weather and the ideal tides, the majority of our dives this week held phenomenal visibility. Even our skiff drivers could enjoy the show from the surface with such clarity. Ian quoted Ulong Channel to be, “The best dive so far”. Ian and his son Max shared the experience of grey reef shark cruising less than a meter in front of them.

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Midway through the week, the seas became still, allowing for the most enjoyable experience within Palau’s famous Blue Holes. This magnificent cavern dive holds four large skylights upon the ceiling allowing for exemplary exploration. The current was strong enough to carry us all the way down to the famous Blue Corner. Two superb dive sites for the price of one. One can always count on the common crowd of Napoleon wrasse, schooling barracudas, sharks, and snappers, but a pair of not so common black cheek moray eels was found atop the edge of the plateau.






A special thanks to the Sea Hunt Club for joining us this week, and congratulations to Paul, Carina, Max, John, Jenny, Simon, and Ian for becoming SSI and Padi’s newest Nitrox divers. One might say that Nitrox is an essential for enjoying all that Palau has to offer.

Captain Andrew
 
Palau Aggressor II Captain’s Report July 8 – 15, 2012

Surface Temperature: 33º C / 86º F
Water Temperature: 28º C / 82º F
Weather: Mostly sunny skies with scattered showers

Hello everybody and welcome to our latest edition of the captains log for the Palau Aggressor. For this week’s charter our guests came from Switzerland, Italy, Guam and the United States.

Our diving began on Monday morning and we were happy to wake up to blue skies and sunshine as we departed from Malakal Harbor to our first dive on the wreck of the Teshio which is one of over fifty wrecks here in Palau that were sunk during World War II. Our next dive was on another wreck, this time it was the Iro Maru, which is a 470-foot long tanker. There is a huge school of trevally here, which is always being watched by a massive Barracuda who lives on the wreck. We steamed over to German Channel during lunch and did our first reef dives at Big Drop Off. This beautiful wall is covered in soft corals and sea fans with many small tropical fish in the colorful shallows. Our last dive of the day was Negebus Coral Garden where we had a rare sighting of a Leopard Shark.

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Tuesday morning was another bright sunny affair with very little wind. We took our guests to the world famous Blue Corner where we tried out our new skills with the reef hook. It is always hard to put into words just how special this dive is, but on the boat trip back to the mother ship we heard the words ‘awesome’ spectacular’ ‘mind blowing’ best dive ever’ come from the mouths of our guests. The sharks were in top form making close passes into the hook-in area. We had big schools of barracuda, black snapper and giant trevally, with of course the world’s friendliest Napoleon wrasse in the world. After bacon and eggs we went to German Channel in the hope of seeing some manta rays. We all huddled around the cleaning station but nothing happened. The current switched so we moved away from the cleaning area but then we saw a black shadow lurking in the deep and low and behold a massive manta ray headed straight for us and with only a few minutes of dive time remaining we had finally got what we came for.


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We headed south at first light on Wednesday and it was a really joy to be escorted to Peleliu Island by a small pod of spinner dolphins. Our diving started at Peleliu Express where we saw many grey reef sharks in the beautiful blue water. As we explored the plateau, we came across a lot of bumphead parrotfish and the six banded angel fish. We explored the island of Peleliu during our land tour, taking in the sights of all the remnants from World War II. We did a couple of dives on West Wall and our last dive in Peleliu was at Barracks Point where we saw a few hawksbill turtles and some gigantic giant clams.

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Thursday’s list of dive sites would make anybody’s mouth water with Blue Holes, German Channel, Blue Corner and New Drop on our itinerary. The day went really well with again beautiful calm seas and a bright blue sky made the visibility underwater simply magical. We hit the manta jackpot again with some breathtaking action at the cleaning station. This time we also had many white tip sharks cruising along the sandy bottom and many fish feeding on the incoming current. Blue Corner was kicking off with huge amounts of grey reef sharks flying around in the current.

We headed west on Friday morning to Ulong Island. The diving here was superb with excellent diving at Siaes Tunnel and Siaes Corner. The highlight of the week for many of our guests was the dive in Ulong Channel where the sharks come inches away from your face in the hook-in area. We enjoyed the ride into the channel checking out the amazing formation of lettuce coral and the soft coral encrusted giant clams. We even went onto the paradise island of Ulong where we encountered the famous Ulong squirrel, which is endemic to this part of the world.

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Our final water activities happened on Saturday morning as we swam around with 27 million jellyfish in the famous Jellyfish Lake. Our last dive of the week was at Chandelier Caves and to round off a great week we even saw a mandarin fish in the coral heads.

We would like to thank our guests Ida, Werner, Marco, Daniela, Jason, Daniel, Nancy and Stephen for coming to Palau to see us this week. Congratulations to Ida for completing her 500th dive this week, happy anniversary to Stephen and Nancy and well done to our new Nitrox divers Marco and Daniela.

Best fishes
Kris Mears (Video pro, Palau Aggressor)
 
[FONT=&amp]Palau Aggressor Trip Report July 15-22, 2012[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Water temp: 82º F[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Air Temp: 73-86º F
Visibility: 30–100+ feet[/FONT]


[FONT=&amp]Crew: Capt. Marc, Chef Cameron, Ike, Nadia, Ben, Hector & Agnes[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Sunday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]A fantastic week of Palauan diving has dawned upon us. The Palau Aggressor is happy to welcome onboard Jim, Darren, Jon & Phyllis, Khaled, Nasser, Eric & Andrea, Tony, Jose, Bobby, Stephen & Kelly, Chip & Brittany, Tristan & Carine. We enjoyed a delightful dinner followed by the safety orientation and then we were off to bed for a peaceful night’s rest.

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[FONT=&amp]Monday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]The day started with the Helmet Wreck. This tranquil dive welcomed us with an immense amount of soft and hard coral growth that housed nudibranchs, crabs, 2 varieties of pipefish & shrimp. On the wreck we observed the stern guns, the coral encrusted superstructure, and of course the helmets. What a fantastic checkout dive. [/FONT][FONT=&amp]Then we decided to head over to the wreck of the Iro. [/FONT][FONT=&amp]This larger wreck has much to explore. As we descended we could see the stern gun covered with coral growth. Off to the side of the wreck the glistening of a large school of jacks caught our attention. As we started exploring the deck of the ship we came across some beautiful nudibranchs and stunning soft coral. [/FONT][FONT=&amp] During a delectable lunch the Palau Aggressor made passage to German Channel.

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[FONT=&amp]The dive bell rang and it was time for German Channel. We started the dive with great photo opportunities with the pink anemone and anemone fish and then headed to the manta cleaning station. It was not long until a giant manta flew in. We found ourselves ducking fairly often to avoid touching her. This majestic creature has such amazing disposition and moved in close to us for a better look and completed several passes before disappearing into the blue. After an incredible manta encounter we headed into the channel to enjoy the variety of coral life on a nice little drift. What an amazing dive and [/FONT][FONT=&amp]a great way to start our Palauan adventure.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Tuesday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]A beautiful morning broke as the Palau Aggressor made passage over to Peleliu. We started our day exploring the famous Peleliu Corner. We started the dive by cruising along the wall where we were at the mercy of the current and simply enjoyed the life that passed us by. Turtle and grey reef sharks seemed to be the main attraction with oriental sweetlips sheltering from the current inside lettuce coral. We then armed our reef hooks and hooked in for a little while to enjoy a more stationary view of the sharks. The remaining part of the dive was enjoyed drifting along the plateau. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]We then decided to stretch our legs a bit and go on a land tour of Peleliu. This exceptionally interesting tour took us back to September 1944 when the US Marines stormed the beaches of Peleliu. Our guide Godwin showed us the US & Japanese memorial, amtracks, guns, Orange Beach and the 1000 man caves. Back to the water and time for West Wall. Here the unmistakable yellow soft coral gets everyone’s attention. This stunning wall, which is very sheer, is filled with color and macro critters. A turtle causally swam by and hardly even noticed this gaggle of divers admiring him. Sharks cruised by us along the wall with pyramid butterfly fish and anthias scattered around us in the glistening sunrays. This was a thoroughly enjoyable dive. Snack and a little nap and it was time to visit Barracks Point. This wonderful sloping wall housed numerous nudibranchs and flatworms and we encountered more turtles and large schools of snapper. This was a very relaxing and enjoyable dive. We then enjoyed a night dive at Turtle Cove and this put to a close a fantastic day’s diving!

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[FONT=&amp]Wednesday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]A beautiful morning broke and it was time for the famous Blue Holes. With beautiful visibility, Blue Holes provided a unique experience with four holes on top of the reef that all lead into one large chamber. A disco clam was also spotted inside the chamber. From within the holes we looked up and enjoyed the sunrays breaking through the ceiling. Numerous photos were taken. We then exited the holes through a large exit and drifted with the current along a stunning wall toward Blue Corner. We hooked in at the corner for a while and enjoyed the sharks cruising by. The dive bell then beckoned and Turtle Cove was next. [/FONT][FONT=&amp]This dive has something for everyone. We discovered nudibranchs and flatworms along the wall and then we found ourselves in a forest of beautiful soft coral exhibiting a kaleidoscope of colors. As the dive site name suggests the turtles came out to play. Green and hawks bill turtles were swimming off the wall, feeding and some taking their afternoon nap[/FONT][FONT=&amp]. Back to the yacht for a break.

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[FONT=&amp]After lunch it was time to visit Blue Corner. With beautiful visibility, Blue Corner lived up to its reputation. This is the “Grand Central Station” of fish commuting. The hustle and bustle of giant trevally, barracuda, snapper and pyramid butterfly fish made our heads spin. Then the inbound white tip sharks appeared followed by some large black tip reef sharks, both making extremely close passes. To take full advantage of the beauty of Blue Corner with its famous current we anchored ourselves to the edge of the wall with our reef hooks. This quick and easy set-up allows us to effortlessly enjoy the magic that the current presents. Sharks, barracuda, turtles, trevally and various snapper love the nutrient rich flowing water and we are right in the middle of it. Then suddenly a Napoleon wrasse makes an appearance. Very approachable, this affable wrasse with its puppy dog eyes makes its rounds to every one of us and made some new friends. Outstanding! A quick snack followed and then the dive bell rang. New Drop Off was next. This dive, considered a “mini” Blue Corner by some, offers fantastic pelagic action. On this occasion it was no different. We descended into a thick school of pyramid butterfly fish and patrolling reef sharks. We hooked in for a while and watched some reef sharks cruising by. We then unhooked and explored the plateau and came across a leaf scorpion fish, moray eel, coral crabs and a sleeping green turtle.[/FONT][FONT=&amp] For our night dive we returned to Turtle Cove and enjoyed a relaxing dive with crabs, shrimps and sleepy fish. Another incredible day comes to a close.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&amp]Thursday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]A beautiful morning broke and it was time for the famous Blue Corner beckoned again. Initially a casual swim along the stunning wall as we headed toward the corner. Along the way the hustle and bustle of giant trevally, barracuda, snapper and pyramid butterfly fish made our heads spin again. Then the inbound white tip sharks appeared followed by some large black tip reef sharks, both making extremely close passes. With very little current, we decided to explore the plateau with all its life. First we came across a large school of blue lined snapper that would hardly move as we approached. Then large schools of barracuda circled us followed by a very friendly green turtle. What a fantastic dive at the corner.[/FONT][FONT=&amp] We then splashed into Ngemeli’s Wall. There we discovered nudibranchs, flatworms and a scorpion fish along the wall. Further along the wall we found ourselves in a forest of beautiful soft coral exhibiting a kaleidoscope of colors that amazed us. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]We followed with lunch on the beach and then headed to Ngerchong Outside. The dive here is slightly different with the wall encompassing giant sea fans. We delighted in the amazing size of these fans and also came across a crocodile fish. The pelagic fish were abound and sharks cruised below us. A snack and we returned this time to Ngerchong Inside. This is a gem of a dive site as we discovered banded messmate pipefish, an octopus out and about changing colors as well as texture & leaf scorpion fish. The stunning blue stag horn coral was perfectly lit with the late afternoon sun glistening through the calm surface. This was a delightful dive. The Palau Aggressor made passage to Wonder Channel and for the night dive we visited Clam City. This fantastic dive brought us 4 different nudibranchs, squid, cuttle fish, beautiful sea stars and a lobster. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Friday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Our adventure starts with the surreal experience of Jelly Fish Lake. These non-stinging jellies were everywhere you looked. It felt like we were in another world as we snorkeled around these pulsating critters. This was simply an incredible experience. Time for Ulong and we headed to Siaes Tunnel. This amazing dive offers both a beautiful tunnel formation and incredible wall in one dive. We started off in the tunnel exploring almost every nook and cranny for little critters. We managed to find the elusive pigmy blue back butterfly fish and a Helfich’s dartfish. Then as we swam out of the tunnel a whole new world opened up. The wall was rich with colors and fish life. Schools of snapper, anthias and barracuda were waiting for us. Photographers were delighted to be in the middle of all the action. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Time then for a snack and the dive bell beckoned all the divers for some more of Palau’s under water wonders. Ulong Channel was next. The famous channel lived up to its reputation with plenty sharks cruising by the mouth of the channel as we anchored ourselves with our reef hooks. The show was busy and once we saw 20 minutes of pelagic action it was time for a ride down the channel. Sleeping white tips in the sand scurried as we approached them. The most prolific coral life in Palau was seen on the magical ride. Then we came across a massive patch of lettuce coral that was simply impressive followed by two beautifully set giant clams. This was a thoroughly enjoyable dive. After dinner we all enjoyed watching the great weeks diving through the lens of our video pro, Nadia.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Saturday[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Our first dive took us to Siaes Corner. With gin clear water this dive produced quite a fair amount of marine life. The plethora of fish life found on the corner was bewildering. With a very mild current we could easily position ourselves to where the best action was. Sharks came out in large numbers and made extremely close passes. We then explored the shallow reef and found anthias, eels and a turtle. After this great dive we headed back to Koror and meandered through the rock islands and stopped at the famous archway for a photo shoot.

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[FONT=&amp]Then back to diving. We decided to enjoy a different experience with Chandelier Caves. Only 20 feet deep or so this cave has four chambers that have air spaces where you can pop up and have a chat to your buddy before continuing your dive. Exploring these caves was a wonderful way to end an already fantastic weeks diving in Palau.[/FONT]



[FONT=&amp]We would like to congratulate Chip, Jose and Khaled for completing their Digital Underwater Photography course and Carine, Tristan, Nasser & Darren for completing their Nitrox course! Carine went all out and also completed her Advanced Open Water course. To top it all Carine and Tristan were on their honeymoon. Jon & Phyllis celebrated their anniversary and Phyllis and Eric celebrated their birthdays. Bobby also completed dive number 700 with us. With all these celebrations and great diving there was little time for much else. What a great week! [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]All of us here on the Palau Aggressor wish our friends a safe trip home and a speedy return to eating, sleeping and diving the Aggressor way![/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Capt. Marc[/FONT]
 
Palau Aggressor II Captain’s Report July 22 – 29, 2012

Surface Temperature: 33º C / 86º F
Water Temperature: 28º C / 82º F
Weather: Mostly sunny skies with scattered showers
Wind: 5 knts – 25knts

All aboard for our latest installment of the captain’s log for the Palau Aggressor II. We were fully booked for our latest charter and it was a real pleasure welcoming back some friendly faces from past times. Our group was made up of guests from Poland, USA, Switzerland, Holland and Spain.

The Helmet Wreck was our first dive of the week and once everybody checked their weights we made our descent onto a little bit of history as this wreck is one of fifty Japanese ships that were sunk by the American forces during the Second World War. Our second dive was on the spectacular wreck of the Iro Maru, which is 472 feet long. With huge guns on the bow and the stern covered in sixty plus years of coral growth and amazing king posts encrusted with cascading anemones this wreck really is something that is not to be missed in Palau. With our history lesson over we moved the mother ship southwest to our mooring at Ulong Island. We finished up our first day with dives at Sandy Paradise and Ulong Coral Gardens. The hard corals here are some of the best in Palau with huge table corals big enough to land a helicopter on. We found a stingray sleeping on the sand and a few white tip sharks. There was some nice sized bumphead parrotfish munching down on the coral.



Ulong Channel was first up on Tuesday morning. This signature dive is always a firm favorite with everybody. The mild current bought in some grey reef sharks into the mouth of the channel before we unhooked and drifted inside the playground that is Ulong Channel. There is everything from giant clams, massive groupers, white tip sharks, turtles to a patch of lettuce coral that is big enough to make a million salads! Next up was colossal Siaes Tunnel which is breath taking to say the least, with beautiful blue ambient light shooting inside the tunnel and with rare fish like the pygmy blue back angle fish and the decorated dart fish to be found this is always a great dive. During our lunch break chef Cameron served us generous portions of chicken wings and BBQ beef and we moved the boat south to German Channel. We did a couple of dives along the sheer spectacular wall off Ngemelis Islands where we encountered some great macro subjects like orangutan crabs, long-nose hawkfish, lion fish and many nudibranchs.





There was an air of anticipation as we briefed our guests on our first dive on Wednesday, which was at one of the world’s most famous dives - Blue Corner. With reef hooks at the ready we back rolled off the boat into some of the bluest water you will ever see. With everybody hooked in safely we watched in awe as bunches of grey reef sharks came by checking us out. There were schools of barracuda, black snapper, and striped jacks all around us. Our friendly Napoleon wrasses were of course keen to be part of the action and happily posed for photos with our guests. The big hits kept coming as our second dive was at German Channel. As soon as we hit the water we saw some hawksbill turtles eating on the sloping reef. As we moved across the sand to the first cleaning station we saw a black shadow moving by and on closer inspection it was a nice manta ray. The fun didn’t end there as we saw a rare ornate eagle ray whose tail seemed to go on forever. We found a nice bait ball of scad that were being menaced by some hungry jacks and of course we had the usual mix of grey reef sharks, barracuda and unicorn fish.





German Channel was our first dive on Thursday. No mantas this time, but again we had stingrays, white tips and a couple of green turtles to make it a good start to the day. With the winds picking up we made a few changes to our dive plan which meant us diving in calmer waters. We headed to Ngerchong Island and on our way there we had a real treat as saw a juvenile dugong come to the surface, which was simply amazing. We dived on the Inside of Ngerchong and explored this pristine coral garden that is full of healthy staghorn corals and a patch of cobblestone coral that is unique to this area of Micronesia. We found octopus, leaf scorpion fish and pipefish. We moved the boat inside Wonder Channel to protect us from strengthening winds. Our hunt for Greg’s crocodile fish continued at Wonder Channel without luck, but instead we settled for a great variety of nudibranchs and flat worms.

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We visited the wonderful Jellyfish Lake early on Friday morning to avoid the rush and everyone had a great time swimming with the estimated 27 million jellyfish that call this place home. Fantasy Island was next up and this site was really great for nudibranchs with several species found. An inquisitive grey reef shark buzzed Buck and we found a lot of bullets on the sandy bottom left over from World War II. We then headed back towards Malakal Harbor. We did our next dive at Lighthouse Channel and enjoyed the ride helped by a nice current. We managed to see an old fishing boat on the channel floor that is covered in amazing soft corals. Our dusk dive was at Chandelier Caves and we had a great time checking out all the frisky Mandarin fish that were mating.







Our last morning began with a dive on the Jake Seaplane and finished up checking out the cathedral-like Chandelier Caves.



The crew would like to thank Greg, Jeff, Burch, Bob, Mark and Buck for coming to see us again here on the Palau Aggressor. Thanks also to Amy, Tristan, Pierre, Juan, Arletta, Bob, Holly, Robert, Sylvia and Peter for coming to see us this week. Congratulations to Amy, Tristan and Juan for completing the Nitrox course this week and Arletta also completed the master scuba diver rating, well done to all.

Written by Kris Mears (Palau Aggressor crew)
 
Palau Aggressor Captain’s Report July 29 – Aug 5, 2012

This week began before the break of dawn. With no one holding any interest in wreck diving, we made our break for the outside reef Monday morning. Our debut dive was in the area of Ngerchong. Along the inside of Ngerchong holds a brilliant mixture of sandy bottoms mixed in with sloping coral gardens. Various nudibranchs of all kinds lay hidden in the mixed array of corals here. The corals are so diverse that you can find nearly ten different kinds of coral within a square meter span.

The Napoleon wrasse of Blue Corner performed well under our groups’ photographic spotlight. They practically smile for you as they press their face against your dome port. The greatest attraction was the snappers. Much like the Napoleon wrasse, the black snappers came in for their close ups. Schools estimated in the hundreds slowly glide past our group travelling all the way down the line. Blue lined snappers above all make the greatest show. You could practically position these snappers to any position you wish. Hundreds of them all gathered around within their own little clique just sitting motionless and unthreatened amongst our guests.

The Beasley family has joined us for their second consecutive week on board this charter. For all their time spent on board they’ve seen Palau from every angle, under every tide and through day and night. Congratulations to Brandee and Adam for achieving their Padi Nitrox Certification, and to Tristan Beasley for becoming a Padi Underwater Photographer.

2nd Captain Drew

Crew this week: Captain Marc, Skiff driver Drew, Photo Pro John, Video Pro Nadia, Divemaster Ike, Instructor Kris, Chef Cameron and Stewardess Len





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