Announcing: SY Palau Siren

diversiondivetravel — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 06:33:57 +0000

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.

Palau has been a favorite dive tourist destination for many years because of its wonderful reefs and bountiful fishlife. And the island has, in the past, taken active steps to protect its shark populations with aggressive action against illegal shark finning operations. All of these efforts have contributed to the island’s tourist economy and sound conservation policy.

To permit and encourage the killing of sharks in Palau’s waters
To promote shark finning
To promote fishing methods that according to Monterey Bay Aquarium “result in large amounts of unintended catch” including sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays and juveniles:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_gear.aspx
To exempt fishing companies from any export taxes on fish taken from Palau’s waters
To make it practically impossible for Palau’s law enforcement personnel to successfully prosecute alleged violators in the courts
To risk destroying Palau’s sustainable tourism industry
To risk destroying Palau’s marine resources through unsustainable practices
To gamble on all of the above for no apparent gain to Palau or Palauans.

This issue has made the rounds of several shark blogs recently, but opinions from everyone – from divers to land-bound ocean advocates – are needed to remind the Palau government that the negative impact on tourism and the island’s marine ecology will ultimately outweigh the short-term gains in a working relationship with Philippine commercial fisheries.

As dive travel agency with a strong committment to conserving our marine ecosystems I ask you to write personally to the Palau Parliament. Please send your letter to the following organisations who are opposing the legisalation and need your help:

Email the Palau Chamber of Commerce (pcoc@palaunet.com) and Belau Tourism Association (bta@palaunet.com) and the government tourism office Palau Visitors Authority (pva@visit-palau.com) .

But that all could potentially be undone with recent legislation that was introduced to both allow for commercial shark fishing and allow for the use of purse seining – a method that brings in a large amount of by-catch. Palau commercial fishing interests have been working with Philippine fishing groups and the combined influence on Palau legislators has produced SB8-44 (which drops the ban on shark fishing) and SB8-50 (which drops an export tax on fish caught by purse seining).

DIVErsion Dive (B)LOG » Palau

Announcing: SY Palau Siren

Dive Palau: 1week, flight, 10 dives from AU$ 2089

Palau's Shark/Fishing Legislation: a reputation for conservation at risk