Palau Aggressor II

Palau Aggressor II is a 32-metre Aggressor Fleet yacht working Palau year-round. Nine cabins take up to 18 guests, with a crew of seven. The yacht is moored at the NECO Marine dock in Malakal Harbor, Koror, next door to the COVE Resort and a short ride from the Palau Royal.

There is one programme and it repeats every week: eight days and seven nights, boarding Sunday, disembarking the following Sunday. Diving starts Monday morning and ends Saturday before lunch, when the yacht returns to port. Monday to Friday there are four dives a day plus a night dive on three evenings — 21 to 24 dives over the week. Several times a year the yacht runs an extended ten-night departure, which works out at 30 to 33 dives.

The dive sites: Blue Corner, the best-known site in Micronesia, where an upwelling gathers grey reef sharks and schooling fish along the edge of the wall; Blue Holes, four shafts in the reef top that converge into a single chamber; Ulong Channel with its soft corals and huge patch of lettuce-like plate coral; German Channel with its manta cleaning station; Big Drop-Off and New Drop-Off; Siaes Tunnel at 20–40 metres; Chandelier Caves with their stalactites; Denges Passage and its cuttlefish; the coral gardens of Ngedebus and Ngerchong; the walls of Peleliu; and the wartime freighter Iro Maru. Jellyfish Lake is snorkelling only — scuba diving there is prohibited.

From December to March mantas are in mating season and as many as 20–30 gather at German Channel. February and March bring schools of Moorish idols, unicorn fish and butterflyfish, while bait balls of scad hold at Ulong and German Channel all year. Average water temperature is 27 °C, a 3 mm wetsuit is recommended, and the working depth range is 11–40 metres.

Every dive is made from a 35-foot skiff for 18 people, lowered on a hydraulic cradle. A staff member goes in the water with each group, but buddy pairs run their own dives. Palau’s currents are strong and the diving is drift diving — beginners will find it demanding. A reef hook and an SMB with reel are mandatory; gloves are not allowed.

Air-conditioned saloon, dining area, shaded sun deck with loungers, hammocks, a bar and a grill. The galley turns out American, barbecue and local Pacific cooking: breakfast cooked to order, lunch family style, dinner plated. Beer and wine are included. Every cabin has a private bathroom, individually controlled air conditioning and a hairdryer; onboard there is a safe for documents, a water maker, oxygen and an AED. The crew speaks English.