Shark Week 2008
If
you’re planning your  next
trip to see
us, remember that Shark Week 2008 is on from March 27th to April 3rd
2008. Once again you’ll have the chance to dive fantastic sites like
Blue
Corner and Peleliu Corner at times that mean no other divers
and maximum shark
action! Plus another full evening programme of seminars, talks and
films, all
with a Gala Dinner to finish the week off.
7 Night / 5 Day Diving Packages start from
$1150, based on double occupancy at the West Plaza Hotel (other hotels
available) – just drop us a line at info@fishnfins.com
for more information.
For a review of Shark Week 2007 in the UK’s Diver
Magazine, click here.
Ocean Hunter III
is on her way!
The newest addition to our fleet Ocean
Hunter III left Cairns,
Australia on 29th September
on her way to Cebu for a major refit - and
w e've got the first pictures here! Ocean Hunter
III was formerly the RV Lady  Basten, designed specificially by
the Australian Institute of Maritime Science to “operate in the shallow
waters of the Great Barrier Reef providing
a stable platform to investigate the coastal waters, the reef and
adjacent ocean.” Built to operate
in heavy seas and rough conditions, she is 31m long, displaces
226 tonnes and
has a range of 2,500 nautical miles.
So where are we taking her? Everywhere we can! Once she’s
been refitted to our usual high standards (about a 5 month job) then
we’ll be exploring
all over the Western Pacific Ocean. We’re
planning on taking her to all sorts of exciting and rarely-dived places
– the Southwest Islands
of Palau, the outer islands
of Yap, Northern Papua New Guinea, the Northern Marianas and even north
to the
Southern islands of Japan.
If that sounds as fantastic to you as it does to me then drop us a line
at info@oceanhunter.com
for more info.
(click here for
larger image)
Dive
of the Month
25th
September was a day that got better as it went on for a group of Fish
'n Fins divers, along with dive
guides Vladimir and Alain. The day started out rainy, but
after a brief wait and a
cappuccino the clouds began to clear and the boat headed West towards
Ulong. 
Following two good morning dives at Siaes Tunnel and Siaes
Corner the group stopped for lunch before heading to Ulong Channel for
the third dive. Dive Guide Vladimir takes over the story from there. “We
jumped in about an hour after the tide had turned, so we had a nice
incoming current, not too strong, not too weak. As we drifted along the
wall towards the hooking area there were a few big grey reef sharks
around, and another 10 or 15 just cruising up and down right in front
of us once we were hooked on. Very nice”.
About 25 minutes into the dive the group unhooked and started drifting
down the channel. “The
current was really nice” continues Vladimir. “It
was just running straight down the channel, not pushing to the side at
all. We drifted along, the usual beautiful Ulong dive, past the cabbage
corals and on down the channel at about 8m (27ft). Then
we realized we
weren’t the only ones drifting down the chann el,
as up from
behind us
came 3 mantas!”
Although we regularly see mantas at various dive
sites, including German Channel and Devilfish City, they’re not as
common at Ulong. “They
came cruising
past us, almost close enough to touch, maybe 2 metres (6ft) away, maybe
less. And they were
big too,
the largest maybe 5m (17ft) across! They slowly glided past
us, moving
with just gentle
flicks of the
wingtips. It was a stunning sight”
As the mantas carried
on their way, so did the group, onto the plateau where their safety
stop was accompanied by a view of a baitball of big
eye scad, along
with the sharks and trevallies harassing them. Yet another gorgeous
dive in Ulong Channel!
(Photo by Jeffrey Gay)
Guestbook
Ed and Daniel Banks, pictured here with
guides Shane Kuerten and Ken Tarkong,  could be described as true Palau junkies.
The guys recently returned home to Arizona
following a 6 week dive trip here, their 7th trip to Fish ‘n Fins in
total! Ed and Dan dived nearly every day during their latest trip, and
thoroughly enjoyed both the diving and the general atmosphere of Palau.
“I
love it here” says Ed “Palau
truly is a little bit of
paradise. There is nowhere else in the world where you get such
scenery, such
hospitality and most importantly, such amazing diving!”
During their latest
stay with us not only did the guys enjoy all the usual inhabitants of
the
Palauan Reefs, such as turtles, grey reef sharks and rays of different
shapes
and sizes, but they had a couple of special trips to Peleliu. On the
first,
they saw a Bull Shark, but that was trumped by their next trip, when a
Whale
Shark was kind enough to cruise past!!
For Ed though, nothing can beat Ulong
Channel. “Ahh, Ulong
Channel. I could dive
it every day! It’s just unbeatable – hooking on and watching the reef
sharks
all around us. Then just the fun of unhooking and drifting with the
current
down a stunning coral channel, it’s truly like a dreamworld. And that’s
without
even mentioning the baitball!”. So how did this trip rate
compared to their
previous visits? “I’ve
been diving all
over the world for 40 years, and probably 5 out of my 10 best dives
ever came
on this trip, that’s how good it was. Palau just keeps getting better
and
better!” So, we’ll see you again next year guys!!
Pig of th e Month!
Pictured here is the latest addition to our
diving family, a rare North Palauan AquaPig (porcinius belauisis),
shown finishing his Open Water
course with Fish ‘n Fins. Ok, maybe that’s not quite true. Nonetheless,
a
friendly little fellow who came to visit one of our boats while
lunching on
Airai. We’ll make a diver of him yet!!
Happy Birthday to you...
West
coast diving legend Chuck Nicklin
celebrated his 80th birthday this year, and he and his friends
decided to mark the occasion with a week’s diving with us at Fish 'n
Fins.
Chuck was the owner of San Diego’s
Diving Locker for 42 years and has also shot many documentaries around
the
world. So happy birthday to Chuck, and we look forward to welcoming him
back in
the future.
Staff Change
Mark
Thorpe of Fish n Films has moved on
after more than 3 years with Fish 'n Fins, leaving us to take
up a full-time
post with National Geographic, after meeting with them while National
Geographic were shooting a documentary at our Shark Week. Our best
wishes to
Mark for the future, and we’re looking forward to seeing his footage on
our tv's!!
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