Currently under construction in Sulawesi , the SY Palau Siren is set to launch in November 2012 with the first of her 10 night trips. She is being constructed as a the sister ship to the SY Indo and SY Philippine Siren and will be a 40m 7-sailed, gaft-rigged Phinisi, built of ironwood & teak.The SY Palau Siren will host 16 guests in 8 spacious cabins- either double or twin bed; all en-suite and air-conditioned. The lounge will feature the same layout and fittings as the other yachts in our fleet; with comfortable sofas, plasma screen tv, cocktail bar, camera set up stations & individual storage.

The dive deck will be spacious and have individual set up areas & storage drawers, ample space for all your personal diving equipment & every thought for the underwater photographer is taken into account offering large rinse tanks & shelving to keep your cameras secure.

There will be an outside shaded relaxation area and upper level sundeck with loungers. Dining as ever is al fresco, buffet style with Asian and western specialities created by our on board chefs.

As with all the other yachts in the fleet, the SY Palau Siren is being built by divers for divers with your every comfort and need in mind.

Palau Diving

The SY Palau Siren will operate year round in Palau with both 7 or 10 night trips on offer & for charter groups we will be running 8 combination trips in conjunction with the SY Philippine Siren so you may experience two awesome destinations in one 13-night trip.Unlike other operators in the region Worldwide Dive and Sail & Sam’s Tour’s Palau have devised itineraries which ensure the SY Palau Siren will move around the many islands of the archipelago. Diving Palau’s most famed sites – Blue Corner & German Channel – with snorkeling in the unique Jelly Fish Lake, we will also dive as far south as Angaur Island and off the western coast of Babeldaob Island. With numerous marine protected areas, no fishing zones, and no passage zones the Koror State and National Government of Palau have ensured world class fish watching for generations to come. With over 300 limestone islands, 72 salt water lakes, mangrove forest channels, sea grass beds, secluded lagoons, sheltered bays, patch reefs, and vertical drop offs, the number of habitat types approaches absurd. Even after a week long adventure, no two dives will be anything alike.

Manta rays, black tips, grey reef & white tip reef sharks are commonly seen here and lucky divers can also encounter silky, whale, hammerhead and even tiger sharks. Schools of snapper, barracuda, jacks & rainbow runners form in huge numbers, whilst tunas, groupers and other large pelagic species are frequently seen.Beyond Malakal Harbour are several wrecks, many of which were sunk during skirmishes in World War II. Our itineraries include both the Iro Maru and the Teshio Maru- arguably the best wreck dive of the region. Palau is famed for strong currents and many dives can be challenging. Reef hooks are advised for several of the dives where we plan to watch the shark action at the reef’s edge, but there are plenty of gentler options too and the rock islands are wonderful for snorkeling & kayaking. All trips will depart from Koror – the meeting point of which will be Sam’s Tours Dive Centre – at 4pm to meet with current flight schedules.

Tech/Deep Dive Week on Truk Odyssey

Normally these Deep/Technical weeks are booked only by private group charter. It is a rare occurance that we have one of these special weeks that is open to technical divers that are not part of a group.

Many of the dives during this week will be on a small handful of wrecks that are about 62 m for maximum depth with the deck levels at around 45-50 m. This is similar to the depths of the very popular San Francisco Maru. Among the wrecks that are planned to be dived are:

•  San Francisco Maru (45-63m)
• Aikoku Maru  (40-64m)
• Fujisan Maru  (37-61m)
• Nagano Maru (40-65m)
• Shotan Maru (40-53m)
• Amagisan Maru (31-61m)

This is just some of the sites you can visit. They are not generally part of Truk Odysseys standard itinerary. The final itinerary willnot be determined until all guests are onboard and their preferences are known. So if you are interested in a particular wreck, let us know!

About Truk Odyssey

The Odyssey is a 132-foot liveaboard located Chuuk (Truk) in the Federated States of Micronesia. On board the Odyssey, Truk’s finest liveaboard vessel, you’ll find amenities consistent with the world’s top liveaboards. 12 to maximum 16 divers find ample space on this boat.

The Odyssey boasts nine large, luxurious staterooms all fully carpeted with private air conditioning controls, windows or large portholes, and private toilet, shower and sink all in every stateroom. Six of the staterooms are equipped to easily accommodate two single travellers in twin beds or a couple in a spacious king size bed.

Also available are two staterooms for single travellers only – they have all the features of the double staterooms and easily accommodate the single traveller in a twin bed. The ninth stateroom’s sleeping arrangements are a bunk bed with a double bed below and twin above.

During your stay in Truk Lagoon you will find that the majority of your diving will easily be done directly off the Odyssey while they are moored over the dive site.

You’ll find that the spacious dive platform (13′ x 6′) has plenty of room for all divers. There are two 7′ ladders to help you out of the water where you can step up to the convenient freshwater shower to rinse off with. Just 4 steps to the dive deck and you’ll find the camera rinse tanks (one on either side of the boat). Past the camera rinse tanks are the gear rinse tanks.

There’s plenty of space to hang your wetsuit on the bar just in front of the protected fan blowing warm air out of the engine room!

About Tech/Deep week

Truk Odyssey will provide twin tanks with dual valve isolation manifolds. Divers will need to bring the proper gear to work with that tank set-up. However, using double tanks is not required. Divers who prefer a large single tank with a pony bottle may use that set-up instead. Truk Odyssey will also provide 30 cft. pony bottles that are O2 clean. Divers will need to bring their O2 clean regulator to use with deco mixes.

Not all divers will be qualified to join this trip. Only those divers who are trained and experienced with diving those depths should book for this trip.

There is a US$250 per person tech fee for this week which includes the cost of O2. 100% O2 will be surface supplied to the hang bar and pony bottles will be available for other deco mixes. Also, the number of divers will be limited to 12 for this week.

This make the total retail price at US$3,045 per person (~AU$3790), plus the usual US$60 tax/permit fees (~AU$ 75).

Flights

For Australia originating travellers, flights from Cairns to Truk with Continental Micronesia start from AU$ 1050.00 including air taxes and fuel surcharges.

For travellers from Asia, flights on Continental Micronesia from Manila to Truk start at US$ 680 including taxes and surcharges.

For more information contact us at DIVERSION DIVE TRAVEL 1800 607 913 or e-mail:info@diversionOZ.com

The ‘Hard Times Special’ at USD $1,795/week features up to 5 daily air dives for 7 actual dive days/week to 30 or more different dive sites, including regular Group incentives of up to 4 free divers accompanying 18 payees. Oxygen up to EAN 100 is priced at just $.75/cu ft of enrichment, much reduced from former $2.00/cu ft. due newly installed Oxygen generators.

 This limited time plan applies solely to tours within balance of 2009. Payment terms will run at same basis of current dive plans. Please note Thorfinn’s current Saturday to Saturday dive schedules, with option of an extra day by direct boarding on a Friday AM arrival, as space aboard may permit.

Photographers Marty Snyderman and Dave Fleetham Headline Yap’s Manta Fest