Intro The lyrics from the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower -- made famous by Jimi Hendrix -- echoed through my brain as I sat motionless and breathing slowly in between two other divers in a small, cramped, claustrophobic, dark, and completely silted out space deep within the IJN Sata wreck. "There must be [...]
Tag: Palau
DEMA 2023 Presentation | The Darkest Hours
I've been pretty busy and haven't posted much lately but I have a ton of updates I'll be working on getting posted. The first is a quick announcement that I will be co-presenting at the annual Dive Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) show this year in New Orleans. This presentation should be quite interesting.... The [...]
2022 Top 10 Dives & Projects
Snapper Spawning (Palau — 95 fsw)
As they say, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." We had reserved a 2-3 day window to dive the USS Perry which is the pinnacle of wreck diving in Palau. Unfortunately, the wind and weather were not cooperating so we considered a few other options (BTW, the team eventually was able to dive the [...]
Showa Maru No 5 (Palau — 155 fsw)
Amatsu Maru (Palau — 130 fsw)
The Amatsu is the longest wreck in Micronesia (502 feet) which is saying a lot given all the cargo ships and oil tankers that sank in that area during WW II. Ship type similar to the Amatsu Maru She was obviously a highly prized and prioritized target during Operation Desecrate 1 since she was large [...]
Trip Report : Palau Wrecks with The Dirty Dozen Expeditions (Aug 2022)
Intro I had already booked and paid for my March 2022 to trip to Palau when Aron Arngrimsson from The Dirty Dozen Expeditions reached out to me and said that they were organizing an inaugural expedition to Palau and asked if I wanted to go. I was having troubles getting wreck dives scheduled for my [...]
IJN Iro (Palau — 120 fsw)
Palau Reefs & Walls
Palau has some fantastic reefs and walls. Below are some of the sites I visited during my Mar/Apr 2022 trip to Palau. One of the great aspects of Palau diving is that there is something for everyone, including wrecks, caves, shallow reefs, steep walls and a wide variety of sea life. This is a long [...]
Teshio Maru (Palau — 80 fsw)
The Teshio is another converted Japanese merchant marine ship that sank during Operation Desecrate One. She is 321 feet long with a beam of 45 feet and offers ample opportunity for penetration and exploration. There are two large holds towards the bow from the superstructure which is slightly aft of amidships and two holds near [...]