Visibility in Yap/Palau in the rain

[markmaloof]

I know this seem like a silly question to more experienced divers, but how bad is the visibility/light during the rain in Micronesia? My wife and I leave for Yap this tuesday, arrive thursday night for 7 full days until we go to Palau for 13 days. So far weather sites predict rain up through next wed (the 19th) in Yap, though I know weather can change and predictions are just that (and maybe at least it will be clear when we go the Palau on the 20th.) The only diving we have ever experienced in the rain was a cool day in August in Vancouver (super murky and not fun, confirmed that we pretty much like tropical/warm diving!) Anyways, while we wanted to explore the land of Yap as well (we like breaks from diving, have interest in exploring native culture, jungle nature walks, etc), we are not adverse to diving in the rain as it will be warm. Just wondering if the visibility in such a case there will make the dives a drag.

 

[Damselfish]

rain (as opposed to storms) mucks up the viz when it causes runoff from land. When you don't have much land, rivers, etc. it's not such a problem. Obviously if you've got clouds and less light that's not quite as nice as sun.

When we were in Yap it wasn't raining and viz was lousy at the Manta sites. It was great on the wall dives we did. I think it's much more related to location/tides/flows in the channels.

 

[almitywife]

we were there in april 2006 and found vis very good...... just a pity nothing else to see while waiting around in the channels for the mantas (no fish life) but the mantas were well it (our first mantas). and yes, the wall dives were much more interesting.

vis will be down if it rains - but so what.. you are in paradise so enjoy!

oh, and if you havent seen mandarin fish already make sure you do at least 2 of the mandarin dives. first one to figure out what to look for and the 2nd one to get the pics

enjoy!!!!

 

[SharkLover]

I know this seem like a silly question to more experienced divers, but how bad is the visibility/light during the rain in Micronesia? My wife and I leave for Yap this Tuesday, arrive Thursday night for 7 full days until we go to Palau for 13 days.

I have been to Palau and Yap on two occasions. It is smart to go to Yap first that way you will appreciate the diving and culture before you go to Palau. When in Yap a great place to eat is Jhuns which is across the street from the Internet café. Good food with sizable portions and it is easy on the wallet. Cheap specials before 4. When in Palau make sure you eat at Kramer's, excellent fish, Tuesday is spaghetti night, they are closed on Sundays Are you diving with Sam's?

So far weather sites predict rain up through next wed (the 19th) in Yap, though I know weather can change and predictions are just that (and maybe at least it will be clear when we go the Palau on the 20th.)

Expect a cloud with a shower or perhaps a day of light rain. The days that it is cloudy and Mi'll channel isn't clear avoid it and head to the walls and reef. They are very good, places like Vertigo, Yap Corner and my favorite Magic Kingdom are just great diving. Are you diving with BTR or Manta Ray? Dave and the boys at BTR are my personal fav. Check Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground for the weather, type in Yap in the upper left hand corner. Enjoy you trip, Palau will spoil you

 

[robint]

in the TROPICS it rains alot, every couple of days at the very least you will see rain! So don't even worry about it, its going to happen some no matter what time of year you go.

As Damselfish said, Palau is the Rock Islands, so no run-off to cloud the waters. I didn't see any difference in vis when we were diving there and it rained off and on all day one day and then overnight one night. Rainclouds are present all the time and you can look one direction or another and see it raining somewhere.

Don't sweat it. Palau is freakin' amazing!

robin

 

[mjh]

Just got back 2wks ago from Yap. It was raining and windy the whole time. Viz was limited. I would say in Mil Channel it averaged 15-20ft. It was not till our last day we were able to dive outside the reef and the viz was great out there. We had 5-9 mantas show up on all the morning dives. There is a gallery at our website. Still working on the video and trip report. AQUABLUE DREAMS

 

[kt1140]

Just back from Palau & Yap last week. Best trip of my life!

Mil'l Channel had terrible viz but I guess that's the norm. Giant Mantas were about 5 feet away before we could see them well! All the sites outside the reef had exceptional viz. as in the best I have ever encountered. If you get a chance to dive Lion fish Wall/Yap Caverns on the southern tip of Yap..do it! It was almost as good as Blue Corner in Palau. Also Vertigo was an exceptional dive with many sharks. The only site in Palau that had low vis was the wreck of the Iro, but still an excellent dive with a diverse fish population.

And yes we had rain most days with no problems.

Have a great trip!

Cheers,
Kent