Truk, Yap, Palau trip in October

jstovall

Hey guys,

Looking to see if anyone knows if there is rebreather support at these locations. Tanks, scrubber, O2.

Staying at The Truk Stop in truk.
Neco Marine in Palau.
Manta Ray Bay on Yap.

I know i can get O2 in Truk, but have no idea about the other sites. I have e-mailed them, but haven't heard back. Any info would help. Thanks.

James

aleksi

Hi James,

I am not diving Rebreather and this is my first post on this forum but here goes...

I did the exact same trip in March-April this year doing OC tech diving.

In Truk I was on the Thorfinn. They have O2 and He (on order), a Haskell and a blending panel, AP valves 3 liter Rebreather tanks (maybe other sizes), sofnolime and 40's and 80's for stages/bailout (bring your own riggings). Gilles was there as well, ask him for more Rebreather related details if he does not chime in soon. Throfinn was a very good operation but not cheap and had to blend 3mix myself.

Blue Lagoon hotel and diveshop are also recommended by Rebreather divers here (drMike & Ron Benson at least.) Truk Stop looked kinda ascetic to me while walking by, might be good anyway.

In Palau Sam's Dive tours was a very nice operation. It is quite big, 15 boats or so but everything runs smoothly. They have the photo guy Kevin Davidson who dives a frog(?) scr and thus they can support Rebreather diving. Sam's have at least sorb, O2 and a membrane eanx system and some Rebreather tanks. Don't know about He. They also have good support for photography needs. I'd assume they will cater for any need if requested. Email straight to Kevin. Sam's was generally the most recommended dive operator on Palau.

On Yap we stayed and dived at Traders ridge resort that is a really nice hotel and very good diving operation at least for rec. They are much smaller so generally you'll have a boat for yourself and get to decide the sites and schedules. They have a membrane nitrox systems and loads of 80's but no official Rebreather support. However, the manager Mike Kuiper is a ray instructor and was talking about maybe getting rays there. So he might have tanks and sorb and will at least understand your needs might be able to arrange the stuff for you, I recommend you email him too.

On Yap there is also Mantaray bay diving that is a big operation that seems ok and Beoynd the Reef, a very small but friendly dive operator. Neither of them support Rebreather divers any better than traders ridge afaik but it's worth asking at least Mantaray. Btw, the Manta mating season in Yap is in January-February, that's the best time to go there.

I hope this helps with your plans. We had an awsome trip! Book enough time, we were there for a month and it did not get boring even once And pack your own buddy because the guides may not follow you or allow solo.

-Aleksi

Gilles

Some day soon Aleksi, you will be converted..

All said is true about Thorfinn.

Very good operation with competent crew and guides, good food along with some hula dancers and pretty hostesses.

You'll probably need to buy pail fulls of 4-8 mesh soda-sorb (~190$), each fill of 15-35 in a 20cf was about 70$, and you get pure O2 for about 35$

I will be coming back sometime, dunno when.

__________________
Gilles
http://www.dirrebreather.com

jradomski

The thorfinn has 3 sets of 3l cylinders and 3 sets of 2l cylinders.. They are equipped with inspiration valves.. If you want to use a different valve you will have to bring your own.. They are m25x2 valves.. I know this for sure since I procurred the tanks and valves for Lance..

The Thorfinn's oxygen is usually delievered from Guam so its not made from a PSA system and shoud be ~100%.. When you get oxygen thats produced on the island its usally around 92%.. The drawback is that it is more expensive...

Most people that I know that have done palau recently were very disappointed (at least by land based operations), they said the boats rides were long and the reefs were quite beat up.. One of my friends even told me that he would go to florida if given the choice between florida or palau.. He went on a travel agent junket, and said he would never suggest palau to his customers..

__________________
Joe Radomski
CCR Trimix Instructor Trainer
ANDI Instructor Trainer Director #10

All posts are personal opinions and DO NOT reflect any affiliated agency unless specifically stated.

silent running

Thanks for all the info Joe. That sucks about the reefs being beat up, and it's not cheap to get there either...

what2be

Ill agree about the competent guides, but I was on that floating turd last year and I wouldnt go back if you offered me the trip for free. Worst experience ever and if you think I hated it, you should talk to the guy that spent 2 days with our group before he hightailed it back to the island and got on the first plane outta there. Lets see, where do I start...hmm.. how about capt. lance? Not a bad guy to talk to, very knowledgeable about the area and the history of the lagoon, but something is not right when you are 60 so years old and have a 18 year old (okay, maybe she was 19) wife/gf whatever she was, on the boat with a 2 year old son. To me, thats one step above child molester.
Second, that boat is one of the most un-eco friendly things ive ever seen. Lance (or his crew) will burn anything in that boiler and not give it a second thought. Not exaclty your green model for the enviorement.
3rd, Id rather suck crap out my septic tank with a straw than have to eat that food again. i dont know how many times I told them I DID NOT LIKE ONIONS, yet again and again, onions every meal. And hey, forget about variety. If you didnt like the meal, tough shit, its that or starve. I chose to starve. Of course, unlike my friends that ate every meal (not because they like it though, they just got too hungry) I wont die from clogged arteries from all the fried food they had each night. My favorite part of all though, had to be when you got the chance first thing in the morning to get out on the port side of the boat and watch while everyone flushed the toilets and you got to see everything in the toilet bowl fly out the side of the ship and into the water. I guess the fishing must be really good off the port side.

Also,Would it be too much to ask to have something besides lime water to drink on the boat? How about just plain water? Or maybe even kool-aid? I dunno, maybe that is too much to ask.

Lastly, I shouldnt have to ask about getting the hot tub filled up every few days, or even the first day im there. Its salt water from the engines, how hard can it be to fill the hot tub?

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, first night im there I go to get in my bunk and its all scratchy, so I turn on the light and look at the sheets and find dirt and some pubic hair. That was a bonus I didnt even have to pay extra for. After I brought it to the crews attention they did change the sheets, so I have to give them credit for that.

Oh yeah, Im not sure where you saw all the cute girls in skirts. I think I saw one that was *maybe* cute, and the others looked like their face caught on fire and got put out with a chainsaw. I dont judge anyone by how they look, but I would hate to think someone saw your post and thought they were going on the love boat.

Id love to go back to truk again, but with another liveaboard, like the odysee. It cant be nearly as bad as the thorfinn.

__________________
"If I die with any money at all in my bank account I know I miscalculated"

what2be

I did 2 weeks in palau before my truk trip last year, and I have to say, the one week i spent on a aggressor liveaboard was a heck of alot better diving than the week I spent on land. I did some OC tech diving with a guy out of sams and had some great wreck dives in the lagoon there, but unfortunatly, he got a case of the skin bends after my third day of diving with him and couldnt dive the rest of the week. Must have been the 1.7po2 lol..its a long story. Im not sure where to get o2 there but I know you shouldnt look for it on the ambulance. 5 minutes into the ride to the hospital, we ran out of o2! Anyways, land diving if you can do some 150-200ft dives on wrecks is great, but anything on the recreation boat out of sams is a long boat ride and so-so diving (from what i heard). I had the best of both worlds, got the wreck diving on land, and got all the fish on the liveaboard. Id go back to Palau in a second, not just for the diving. Good restraunts (mexican place in town is really really good and fun place to eat) and the thai massage at the north end of town is amazing. Went there everyday , but no rub'n tug. (although you do get naked and she turns you into a pretzel for a hour)
Last month I went to cozumel(week), maui(week), and Turks & caicos (2 weeks) and Id do Palau/truk again (plus yap, gotta check that place out) before I went back to the other three. Guam is fun too if you get a day just to dink around. Just stay off that frickin thorfin if you go to truk lagoon.

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"If I die with any money at all in my bank account I know I miscalculated"

wedivebc

Why don't you quit beating around the bush and tell us what you really thought of it

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Cheers,

Dave....

Man is the only animal burdened with the knowledge he will eventually die

jstovall

Thanks for the info guys. I will be land based at the Truk Stop, so no Thorfin for me.

Last time I was there i was on the Odysee, had a great time, but they don't support rebreathers.

Got a line on sorb-Truk Stop has sodasorb, but i have to take my tanks-O2 there as well. Yap-no luck I was told no O2- best they can do is 40%-- no sorb either, Palau has O2 but no Sorb. Looks like its back to OC for the last two weeks of the trip, what a drag. But hey, I could be diving the gulf or a lake somewhere. Will let you know how it goes.

what2be

Hmm..so does that mean if you brought a baby booster and yoiur own sorb the odysee would be ok with the Rebreather or are you saying they dont have o2? Or do they just not allow rebreathers like the aggressor fleet? Im curious, because Id love to go back to truk on my RB and the odysee is my only real choice for a liveaboard that I know of.

As far as your trip, I personally take 2 tubs of sorb and my tanks with a few clothes in one suitcase, (and yes, $25 each way for the over 50lb limit) and my Rebreather in a plastic tub as my second piece of luggage.(my Evo comes in at 46.5 lbs with the tub) I can then carry on either my video rig (or even a booster in a pelican) and still have a backpack as carry on when I step on the plane. With this config, all I really have to worry about is where to find the O2 when I get there. (don't forget a o2 bottle adapter for your fill whip if you just trans-fill.) The only downside is that with a pelican as my briefcase and a big backpack on my back, I sometimes feel like the same people I make fun of that don't believe in checking luggage. I'm sure you've seen those types, the ones that have to wheel on their carry on and then proceed to beat on it like a punching bag until it fits in the overhead bin.

If I were you, id take my tanks, find some o2 on truk and buy their sorb.
On guam, i cant help you. There has to be someone with some o2 right?
Palau, try sams for some o2 and use the sorb you brought in the suitcase.
Worst case scenario you dive OC in yap. Would this work?

__________________
"If I die with any money at all in my bank account I know I miscalculated"