Alii (Hello) Everyone!

The PADI Diving Society and TY Sawyer are headed for Palau in September 2010. Yes, PALAU!
 
PADI Travel Network along with hosts Sam's Tours
and Palau Royal Resort are set for this awesome event
September 15-24, 2010. Sam's and Palau Royal are known for their Five Star service and attention to
detail

, you will not be disappointed. 
 
Palau, the eighth marine wonder of the world is known for its world-class diving, including famous sites like Blue Corner, German Channel and Ulong Channel.  Experience drift diving over spectacular walls, explore WWII wrecks and amazing close encounters with exotic marine life. In September 2009 Palau was named the world's first Shark Sanctuary so you'll see plenty of 
these magnificent creatures first-hand. Palau's wonders

are not just limited to the sea - the breathtaking Rock 
Islands are a sight worth traveling for and a snorkeling
trip to famous Jellyfish Lake will show you that not all jellyfish are created equal. 
 
Pricing starts at $2250 US per person for eight nights accommodations, five days of three tank boat dives, three meals daily, free enriched air, and much more.
And with all the Society shenanigans you can handle

(aka, parties, contests, prizes and your loyal staff!)
you wont want to miss this week. I hope you'll
consider joining us in Palau and discover where the rainbow truly ends.
 
If you want more information, Karin Sahm is standing-by to answer all of your travel questions. Email Karin or give her a call at 800 736-7021, ext. 165.
Of course, you can email me or call 800 729 7234 or
+1 949 858 7234, ext. 2322, as well. 
 
Hope to see you all in Palau!
 
 Kind regards,
 
Theresa Kaplan (formerly Gulledge)
Manager, PADI Diving Society 

Join Us. See Life. In Palau.

A PADI Diving Society Event; 15 - 24 September 2010

Photo Courtesy © Gunther Deichmann

Join PADI Diving Society for nine adventurous days and eight magical nights in Palau at the Palau Royal Resort. You'll enjoy five days of three-tank boat diving with PADI Five Star Dive Center Sam's Tours.
When you arrive, you'll be welcomed with traditional leis and a welcome basket from Sam's Tours. Plus, a welcome pak filled with PADI Diving Society goodies. Over the next nine days you'll be treated to some of the world's best diving, an opening night celebration complete with traditional dancers and war canoes, parties, contests, prizes, and special guests, including Sport Diver's Ty Sawyer. Read more @ Join Us. See Life. In Palau.

PALAU KIDS SEA CAMP @ SAM’S TOURS
LET THE FUN BEGIN....


© Gunther Deichmann - discover the magic of Palau

THE PALAU KIDS SEA CAMP has started... just in from Palau; fun and education for Children another first for Palau and Sam’s Tours, locally sponsored by Continental Airlines, Palau Royal Resort and Sea Passion Hotel & of course Sam’s Tours our Partner in the Philippine Micronesia Alliance.

This is another first for Palau the first one being the Shark Sanctuary...not only is Palau a Shark Sanctuary but now contributing to Childrens education... learning about our environment while having real fun.

Special thanks to all the International sponsors: Sport Diver Magazine - PADI Diving Society - PADI Project Aware - SCUBAPRO - Uwatec
UK Underwater Kinetics - Sea Life Camera - DAN Divers Alert Network.

Good luck to all Kids and adults who
have joined this fun trip to Palau...
have lots of fun and be good.

Due to this international event we have provided an additional Photo Gallery just click this LINK.

Further more we try to update you in the coming days on all of the activities from one of Natures best kept secrets...PALAU.
Please Note: all Photos in the Gallery and on this Page are © and courtesy by: Sam’s Tours, Nick Martorano, Margo and please forgive me if I have forgotten some one.

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING - FINAL

Kids Sea Camp – Palau:
November 22 – 28, 2009, Koror, Palau

Local Sponsors:
Sam’s Tours
Palau Royal Resort
Sea Passion Hotel
Continental Airlines

International Sponsors:

Sport Diver Magazine
PADI Diving Society
PADI Project Aware
SCUBAPRO - Uwatec
UK Underwater Kinetics
Sea Life Camera
DAN Divers Alert Network

Click thisLINK & go to the Special created Gallery for more Photos
or Click on the Images.

About Kids Sea Camp: www.kidsseacamp.com

Kids Sea Camp was founded in 2001 by Ms. Margo Peyton, a scuba diver and mother of two children. Kids Sea Camp now visits over 8 countries around the world and is a two time Emmy Award winning prestigious program coveted by top diving destinations. Kids Sea Camps are hosted by PADI 5-Star Dive Centers in exotic destinations that include Bahamas, Bonaire, Belize, Costa Rica, Fiji, Grand Cayman, Galapagos, and now Palau!

Kids Sea Camp is a fun-filled vacation for families who love the ocean and promotes greater awareness of the marine environment with a strong focus on conservation. During Kids Sea Camp, students enjoy multiple educational activities teaching them new and fun things about the oceans in both classroom environment and hands-on programs.

There are approximately twenty families attending Kids Sea Camp Palau, mostly from the United States. All participants will stay at the Palau Royal Resort hotel while educational activities and evening programs will take place at Sea Passion Hotel.

Click thisLINK & go to the Special created Gallery for more Photos
or Click on the Images.

Children will attend daily marine educational programs, based on their age groups, which include learning to snorkel and scuba dive. Dive certified adults and teens will enjoy snorkeling and diving on Palau’s world renowned outer reefs. SEEDS OF PROMISE, a Palau non-profit group, will conduct the educational activities and programs for children. Evenings will be spent together as families with themed entertainment following dinner.

Sam’s Tours is very pleased to have secured this much sought-after event for Palau with over twenty families attending the very first Kids Sea Camp to be held this side of the globe. We are also happy to report that we have secured Kids Sea Camp for Palau again in 2010, and expect more than fifty families to participate in an expanded program.

Kids Sea Camp - Principals & VIPS

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING UPDATED EFFECTIVE 11/22/09 – FINAL

Kids Sea Camp – VIP Attendee List

Margo Peyton: Founder Kids Sea Camp

Margo, who began diving in 1989 and is a PADI Dive Master with thousands of logged dives, founded Kids Sea Camp in 2001. She is also a photographer and an artist who works with local schools providing marine oriented educational presentations. Margo contributes to Oceans for Youth, Ocean Pals, Sea of Tomorrow, Ocean Wishes and many other charities, donating, proceeds, trips and art work for silent Auctions where proceeds go to her favorite charities. She has won two Emmy Awards for her educational programming.

In 2009, Margo was inducted into the prestigious Women Divers Hall of Fame, an international not-for-profit organization established to recognize the elite and outstanding women divers whose achievements have enriched the worldwide scuba diving community. Margo resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida after moving from the Cayman Islands.

Ron G. Steven “Rogest”: Marine Artist

Ron Stevens is a renowned marine artist, dive instructor, and North American Group representative for Mike Ball Expeditions Australia. Ron has worked with Kids Sea Camp since 2003, sharing his interests in painting, poetry, song and dance with kids and adults alike. Ron’s work has been featured in many diving and marine environment magazines.
For more information visit: www.rogest.com

Ms. Carolyn Pascal: Publisher, Bonnier Corp www.sportdiver.com
Sport Diver Magazine
Scuba Diving Magazine

Mr. Jerry Beatty Associate Publisher
Dive Training Magazine

Did You Know...

Apo Reef is the second largest contiguous coral reef in the world and the largest one in the Philippines. The Apo Reef Natural Park consists of the three islands.
Apo Reef is the largest among the three islands. Apo Reef Natural Park (check this link for more info on APO Reef)compared to that of Tubbataha National Marine Park has a unique natural phenomenon. Apo Reef has a high diversity of corals and has an island covered with terrestrial vegetation.

© Gunther Deichmann - Apo Reef Philippines...a Scuba Divers Dream
and a heaven for Underwater Photographers.

The Apo Reef Natural Park, with more than 20 dive sites, will truly fascinate you with its magnificent walls and large fish species. The reef plateau will surely impress divers and snorkeler alike.

Only 3 hours by banca from the Dugong Dive Center and Club Paradise Apo Reef offers very dramatic drop-offs down to about 400m. The steep walls are well covered with corals, sponges, tunicates, nudibranchs and slugs.
The coral formation at the plateau is magnificent. Green and hawksbill turtles, sharks, Eagle Rays and a multitude of fish including damselfish, butterfly fish, batfish, surgeonfish, snappers, fusiliers and trevallies are common.

Congratulation to Nick and his Team, Nick is the
Chief Diver for PT Nautik Recovery Asia !
(in the Photo Nick is the one wearing a black & red wetsuit)

We picked up this report from the German newspaper Bild.de Unfortunately the text is only in German but have a look at some of the Photos.
1.5 tons of Silver Coins, Gold jewelry, Canons, Crystal and Ming Porcelain valued at over 10 million US Dollars.
Photos and more info from the recent discovered wreck in Borneo.

Below excerpts in German from the article:
„Zuerst sieht alles auf dem Meeresboden nur verkrustet und wertlos aus. Aber wenn du dann den Schatz in den Händen hältst, ist das ein unbeschreiblicher Adrenalinstoß. Man wird Zeuge vergangener Zeiten...“

Martin Wenzels (42) Augen leuchten, wenn er in seinem Dresdner Büro der Immobilienfirma WIP von seinem kostspieligen Hobby erzählt. Der Lebemann (Mercedes CL500, 60-qm-Büro mit Billardtisch und weißen Ledersofas) ist im „Zweitberuf“ Schatztaucher.

Und hat jetzt mit seinem Partner Klaus Keppler (71, gebürtig aus Freiburg) den ganz großen Fang gemacht: Sie fanden das Wrack des Piratenschiffes „Forbes“, das 1806 vor Borneo sank.

Darin: 1,5 Tonnen Silbermünzen, Goldschmuck, Kanonen, Kristall, Ming-Porzellan. Wert der Münzen allein: bis zu 10 Mio. Dollar!
More at BILD.de

© Gunther Deichmann - It is never to early...learn how to dive.

We have picked up this post from Sam’s Tours Palau, see below the details.

Monday, May 11, 2009
Late Breaking News! KIDS SEA CAMP coming to Palau!
We’re delighted to report that Sam’s Tours has been selected to host the very first KIDS SEA CAMP (KSC) in Palau slated for this November. Kids Sea Camp is an award-winning educational vacation program for families that love the ocean.
Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009: November 21 – 28, 2009.

Kids Sea Camp is the brain child of Margo Peyton, a scuba diver since 1989. This Scuba mom with husband Tom, two kids of her own, Jen and Robbie, decided it was important for her family to spend time together doing what she loved the most, scuba diving & travel.
Kids Sea Camp is a full week's schedule of events and educational programs that promises great times and learning experiences for families with kids age 4-15. Each week includes 7 nights accommodations, diving, meals, excursions, activities for both adults and kids including, diving, snorkeling and many PADI Specialty courses.
KSC is hosted at PADI 5 Star Dive Resorts around the world which include Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Roatan, Fiji, Curacao, Galapagos and now in PALAU! Sam’s Tours and Palau Royal Resort, a Nikko Hotels International partner http://www.palau-royal-resort.com/ are teamed up to host this exciting event. Space is limited so get in touch with Sam’s Tours right away if you’d like to participate.
Families can spend a week scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, discovering underwater photography, meeting other families and making friends from all around the world. Kids Sea Camp is the perfect family vacation for those that love to scuba!
Sam’s Tours PADI Five Star National Geographic Dive Center is proud to have been selected to host Palau’s very first Kids Sea Camp and we are already in full swing planning an exciting action-packed week of fun in the sun!
For more information on Kids Sea Camp please visit http://kidsseacamp.com/ although details of the Palau Kids Sea may not be posted yet.

For bookings please contact: kids@kidsseacamp.com or e-mail Sam’s Tours Reservations Desk at: reservations@samstours.com
Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009: November 21 – 28, 2009.

“No more Shark City - but Ghost City”


© Gunther Deichmann - Underwater Photographer and Shark,
at the Blue Corner in Palau - but for how much longer?

If you CARE... then NOW is the time to voice your opinion,
because if we don’t... images like the one above will be
a thing of the past!

Excerpts from previous Blog post:Tuesday,April, 2, 2009
There are very active negotiations underway between Palau and The Philippines at this very time to enter in to commercial fishing agreements and clearly there are elements of strong political support for the fishing companies as indicated by SB 8-44 and SB 8-50.
The private industry organizations 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) are urging those around the world opposed to shark fishing, shark finning and unsustainable fishing practices to please express their concerns immediately by e-mail to all of the respective organizations.

International Response:Tuesday, April 7, 2009
International Response to Threat to Palau's Sharks!
Just a quick update to thank all of you who have taken the time to submit your comments regarding the proposed legislations to permit commercial shark fishing and promote purse-seining in Palau's EEZ. There is still time to comment, so if you've not already done so, please take the time now and submit your comments. For more information on the issue at hand, please read the post immediately preceding this one.

All messages sent to the Belau Tourism Association bta@palaunet.com and Palau Chamber of Commerce pcoc@palaunet.com have been submitted to the Senate Committee in charge of reviewing these Bills.

By way of clarification, these Bills were submitted by just two of Palau's thirteen Senators and don't necessarily reflect the position of the Administration or other Senators. The Bills will be reviewed in Committee before further action is taken. It is therefore very important that the review committee hears from as many people as possible on the potential damage to Palau's marine environment and tourism industry that passage of these proposed Bills (SB8-44 and SB8-50) may cause.

A BBC film crew captured some amazing Video footage...
thousands of sharks, dolphins and gannets feast on the sardines.


© Gunther Deichmann - a frisky shark at
Blue Corner in Palau, Micronesia

Fish feast frenzy caught on film
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News

A sardine feeding frenzy has been captured on camera in remarkable detail. A BBC crew filmed thousands of sharks and dolphins, as well as elusive Bryde's whales, feasting on shoals.
The footage also revealed gannets' deft underwater hunting skills as they dived to catch sardines.
Each winter, cool ocean currents drive millions of the small fish northwards along the eastern coast of South Africa.
These immense shoals, squeezed into this narrow cold-water corridor, provide an incredible feeding opportunity for the predators that live in and around these waters, watch the Video and read more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7921119.stm

© Gunther Deichmann - A Painted and Giant Frog fish from Puerto
Galera, Philippnes, but check out the newly discovered
one from Indonesia, he looks so very cool.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7914121.stm

It belongs to the frogfish family, but its looks are unique even among its peers, the journal reported. The question with this new discovery is how it went unnoticed for so long.
The new psychedelica frogfish is completely covered in swirling concentric stripes - white and blue on a peach background - radiating out from its aqua-coloured eyes...read more and check out the cool Photo of this new species at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7914121.stm