Amazing trip to Palau & Yap -- February 2012

[debersole]

Carol and I just returned from a fabulous two week vacation to Palau and Yap -- a week on the luxury liveaboard Ocean Hunter III (www.oceanhunter.com (http://www.oceanhunter.com)) in Palau and then a week at Manta Ray Bay and Yap Divers (www.mantaray.com (http://www.mantaray.com)) in Yap. My business sponsored the trip so our group of 16 friends had the whole liveaboard to ourselves and two of our own boats in Yap. Truly a trip of a lifetime. Here are a few photos:

PALAU

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-HNSQMVk/0/M/IMG1161-M.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-p9JPCjm/0/L/IMG1099-L.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-pDjgPBg/0/L/IMG1196-L.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-JCNPVMS/0/M/IMG1292-M.jpg

Jellyfish Lake
http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-cRm9MT6/0/M/IMG1852-M.jpg

Chandelier Cave
http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-mhcncPw/0/M/IMG1963-M.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Palau-February-2012/i-fNshnpN/0/M/IMG1992-M.jpg

Yap -- Of mantas and mandarin fish!

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-k3Z722F/0/M/IMG2104-M.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-4mgp6CN/0/M/IMG2184-M.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-5rQHMZv/0/M/IMG2162-M.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-HmztVKS/0/S/IMG2386-S.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-jfdvvBv/0/M/IMG2440-M.jpg

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-vJkBXjZ/0/M/IMG2464-M.jpg

And, finally, one for this year's Christmas card ............

http://debersole.smugmug.com/Underwater/Yap-February-2012/i-JpwNfqs/0/L/IMG2482-L.jpg

Lots more images at debersole's Photos | SmugMug (http://www.debersole.com)

[Gilligan]

Outstanding photos to match the experience.

[Sully3]

that shot with the surgeonfish around the shark is spectacular!

[jdandvalerie]

Great shooting doc, We're envious Looking forward to seeing you on the Deep O in the near future.

[debersole]

Thanks, Dan. I was thinking about West Palm this weekend but it looks like the winds and seas are picking up. Maybe next weekend. Hope to see you and Valerie then!

Jim & Matt -- thanks for the kind words!

Doug

[victor]

Looks like a great trip.

[dhaas]

Doug,

Great stuff, especially the Mantas!

David Haas

www.haasimages.com

[debersole]

Thanks, David. And thanks for the Philippines info.

Doug

[cardzard]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

[Broct]

Very nice!

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

[irishtn]

Shark photo is one of the best underwater photos I have ever seen. Just outstanding.

[TSandM]

What on earth is the second picture? It's fascinating.

Love the surgeonfish and the shark -- that's a framer, for sure.

[debersole]

Thanks, everyone. And, Lynn, the second photo is inside a giant clam. I was trying to get an "artistic" image.

Doug