That is how they celebrate in Chuuk at the Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center, it is 2009 in Chuuk NOW…
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Our first report is from Chuuk due to the time difference then Palau and of course the Philippines. If for some reason we don’t get anything live from some of our partners I have only one explanation…the Alcohol has taken its toll… they all having a great and fantastic time at the Dive Centers and Resorts, but I try my very best to connect with them all. Please stay tuned and if you missed it tonight then check it tomorrow afternoon, I don’t think morning is a good Idea in particular for our divers, after all we should NOT go diving after a heavy night. So, sit back and have a relaxing day at the Beach, go snorkeling or sleep all day, it is after all your well deserved vacation.
Remember Safety First!
Happy New Year from the virtual office of the Philippine–Micronesia Alliance and all the partners. The Divers Choice.
GD

Just arrived direct from Chuuk or better know as Truk Lagoon
the ultimate destination in Wreck Diving.

New Years Eve in Chuuk – Truk Lagoon

Here is a photo of our guests with some of our staff competing with the locals for loudest group in a flatbed truck.

Those who have spent New Year’s Eve in Chuuk, or Truk Lagoon, all say the same thing about the experience –
IT’S LOUD…
We don’t have fire crackers or fire works but what we have thousands of young men and women walking and riding around in trucks beating and banging on anything that will make noise. There is a beat, and sometimes chanting, that goes along with this activity but one thing is consistent – IT’S LOUD, IT’S VERY, VERY LOUD.

The Truk Stop Hotel & Dive Center has 10 divers in the hotel over the Christmas Season and they were guests at the hotel Christmas Party and now have experienced New Years Eve in Chuuk. Our Guests are:

From Germany: Werner and Carola Behrens

From Finland:Ismo Visa
Pekka Kemppairen
Jari Nurmi
Teppo Ilmanen
Sanna Elden-Pehrsson
Harri Pehrsson

From America:Mitchell Hall
Howard Gaiser

Truk Stop Hotel & Dive Center Wins Best Float in Christmas Parade
December 20 (Saturday), 2008

The Rotary Club of Chuuk organized a Christmas Parade with floats from various local businesses and organizations.

Besides the float from Truk Stop Hotel & Dive Center, the Rotary Club, Xavier High School Alumnae Association, Health Services, a local youth group, and a missionary radio station entered floats in this Christmas Parade held on Saturday, December 20, 2008.

All the floats meet at the Tunnuk Church and drove about 3 miles to Neauo Village in South Field. Along the way the occupants of each float waved and threw candies to those who lined the road to watch the parade.

There were three (3) judging stations along the parade route and when the event was over and the judges had conferred, the Truk Stop Hotel & Dive Center was chosen as the best float and awarded a $60.00 cash prize.

One of the hotel flat bed trucks was the base for the Truk Stop float and decorated with palm fronds, paper & ribbons, plus a small Santa on the roof. A boom box played Christmas music as the float moved slowly along.

Rowana, a massage therapist from the Philippines and employed at the Truk Stop dressed up as Santa and waved the whole 3 miles to Neauo Village. Melba Stinnett Aisek, hotel manager, and 2 of her children rode in the back with “Santa” and did all the candy throwing along the parade route. Will Stinnett, attending college in the Philippines and home for Christmas rode in the back with other staffs and assisted in the candy throwing.

The Truk Stop Hotel is well decorated for the holiday season and its Restaurant and Hard Wreck Café’ & Bar will be open New Years Eve to ring in the new year.

© Gunther Deichmann - A very frisky Reef-shark. Could this be Truk Lagoon? This shot was taken on a different location in Palau, but according to this report Truk has got now some great action too.

…OK, so every scuba diver knows that Truk Lagoon is the worlds premiere wreck diving destination. And yes, more than 60 WWII wrecks were sunk during the 1944 Operation Hailstone and all are accessible to the scuba diver. Most people familiar with Truk Lagoon also know that we have more than 100 miles of surrounding outer reef which has gone basically untouched because the big draw in Truk Lagoon are the wrecks.

Well, the folks at the Truk Lagoon Dive Center are changing this mind set that Truk is only for wreck diving. They have been exploring the reefs off the wrecks and learned these areas are BIG FISH territory, with the bluest water imaginable and visibility that is often 60m/200-ft.

Students of history may recall rumors that the Japanese Navy would lay anti-submarine nets across the openings in the lagoon reef to dissuade allied forces from sneaking inside the lagoon. The Truk Lagoon Dive Center staff found one of these recently and it just happened to be anchored to a most magnificent seamount.

Currently going by the imaginative name of “Seamount No. 1”, this special place is just a 35 minute boat ride from the Truk Stop Hotel dock. Seamount No 1 is a circular plateau several hundred feet across and rising from the bottom of the lagoon at 60m/200ft all the way up to about 6m/20ft.

While a mixture of graduated steps, steep walls, and deep fissures make the site topographically interesting, what really makes this site special is the sea life it attracts. We dove this site about 4 times now and we always see huge schools of surgeonfish fighting for space with dark clouds of midnight snappers. Skipjack and large yellow fin tuna hunt side by side while swarms of big eye trivially engulf the passing diver.

Solitary bump head parrotfish and Napoleon wrasse graze the reef while man-sized dogtooth tuna cruise casually by, but it’s the sharks that keep bringing us back to this site time after time. White tip, black tip and grey reef sharks abound in the shallow waters while big 3m/10ft silvertip’s swim below 20m/60ft. These are big fish, not your typical reef shark, but rather heavyweights of the ocean and you can certainly feel their presence.

Inquisitive by nature, silver tips will repetitively pass very close to you (making the casual diver quite nervous but thrills the underwater photographer) and are found here in unusually large numbers with the occasional leopard shark basking on a sandy ledge.

But the real thrill is the Tiger shark, huge Tiger sharks that have been seen here on several occasions. Tiger sharks are perhaps the most graceful and magnificent of the apex predators in the ocean and move in such a relaxed manner, without a care in world and oblivious to everything that is not consider food to them – turtles are food to them and there is a lot of food around.

So, if you’re in Truk Lagoon and your “lust for rust” has been quelled or you just want a mid-week break, get out and see what very few people have every seen – some of the worlds best reef and walling diving and right in the middle of Truk Lagoon.

This would certainly be a big welcome, if you tired of the fantastic wrecks then why not check this new site out. I am getting a more detailed report very soon and provide you with all the info then, so please stay tuned for more...
In the meantime check out dive-truklagoon for information on the Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center a member of the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance.
Check out the Videos/Movies and Podcast from Chuuk and our other destinations at our
Video Gallery just click this LINK.
The Divers Choice

http://www.dive-truklagoon.com/

See below some excerpts from the website:
The Truk Lagoon Dive Center offers up to 4 dives a day. Our private dock, dive lockers, rinse tanks and shower make diving with us easy and convenient. We have Bauer Compressors and use a Haskell for blending Nitrox and Trimix. Our expatriate PADI certified instructors take care of the technical and recreational diver with equal care and consideration.

The Truk Lagoon Dive Center has a comprehensive blending station that can provide any nitrox or trimix you require. Our Haskell booster pump ensures that there is no wastage of precious gas which saves you money.

We are the island's only supplier of medical grade oxygen so you can be assured of a never ending supply of quality oxygen. And, we maintain a large supply of Helium (at least 60,000 liters/21 cu. ft.) for those who wish to minimize the effects of narcosis at deeper depths and improve decision making at any depth.

The Truk Lagoon Dive Center is rebreather friendly and has a selection of rebreather cylinders available for those who do not wish to bring their own. We can also arrange to have Sodasorb and Snofolime on hand when requested to do so.

We have just added some very intersting Videos to our collection, you find them in our Podcast and Movie section,or Click this Link
The file size can vary from 2.5MB to 21MB

All video clips are for DSL/Broadband and we reccomend a good connection, these new clip have been produced for Sam’s Tours and Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center. View the World War II relics of Chuuk or also know as Truk Lagoon get inspirred by the History and dive the sunken Japanese fleet in the Pacific of Operation Hail Stone.
© Video’s by Gunther Deichmann & Dirk Fahrenbach, edited and soundtracks by Gunther Deichmann © 2008 all right reserved
GD

Tags: World War II, History War, Pacific War, Operation Hail Stone

© Gunther Deichmann - the Wrecks of Truk Lagoon, Chuuk Micronesia,
Dive with our Partner Truk Lagoon Dive Center for more info click this link.

Continental Airlines in Flight Media Associates Fly Away to Chuuk Sweepstakes

2008, at 11:23 am -"One Entry" |   | SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Continental Airlines In Flight Media Associates Fly Away to Chuuk Sweepstakes", url: "http://www.freestufftimes.com/contests/01/continental-airlines-in-flight

http://www.continentalflyaway.com/Prize: (1 winner) Destination Travel Package for winner and one guest to the featured destination of the month, Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. The prize includes round trip, coach air transportation on Continental Airlines for winner and Guest, (from major airport served by Continental nearest winner’s U.S. residence and the destination as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) plus hotel accommodations (one room/double occupancy) for four (4) nights at the Truk Stop Hotel. Trip must be taken and completed by August 31, 2009 and is subject to blackout dates, space availability, occupancy limitations and other restrictions may apply. This package cannot be combined with any other offer. This travel package certificate cannot be substituted is not transferable and must be presented upon check-in with proper identification. Average Retail Value (ARV) is $3,000.00. Actual ARV is dependant on available departure cities on the chosen week of travel. The bearer of this travel package certificate is responsible for any difference in price due to reserving any higher priced package, additional travelers, or a fee applied as a result of a change in the reservation, and is responsible for all airline and government departure taxes, incidentals, gratuities, optional travel insurance, personal spending and all other expenses not specifically listed. Trip winner and travel companion must have all necessary identification and/or travel documents required for travel outside the continental United States.

Tags: Continental Airlines, Media,Fly Away,Chuuk,Swepstakes,, Shipwrecks, Chuuk,Micronesia,Underwater Photography, The DIVERS CHOICE

© Gunther Deichmann - the wrecks of Truk Lagoon

Truk Lagoon is recognized as the world’s greatest wreck diving destination and for good reason. More than 60 World War II Japanese war ships and aircraft were sunk during Operation Hailstone in February of 1944 and now rest peacefully on the floor of Truk Lagoon. All of these sunken monuments are accessible to the scuba diver – most at a depth suitable for the novice or sport diver.

© Gunther Deichmann - the wrecks of Truk lagoon

The Truk Lagoon is roughly 40 miles in diameter and encircles 14 major, populated islands. Weno Island is the Capitol Island of Chuuk State and home to the Truk Lagoon Dive Center. Our Dive Map will show that the majority of these wrecks are highly concentrated in just 3 areas – all within a few miles of each other. Travel time from the Truk Stop Hotel’s private dock to most of these wrecks is less than 20 minutes.

The Truk Lagoon Dive Center offers a two tank am or morning dive then additional one or two tank dives in the afternoon. The most commonly visited or favorite wrecks chosen by divers are:

http://www.dive-truklagoon.com/main.php

Tags: WWII WRECKS,, Lagoon DiVING, TECH DIVING,, REBREATHER,, HELIUM,, Micronesia, Dive Center, Pacific

Part of the NEW HOME page...click on the image and go direct to Truk Lagoon Dive Center
http://www.dive-truklagoon.com/main.php

The Truk Stop Hotel & Dive Center is a PADI Resort Facility offering great accommodations plus an excellent, full service dive center for both the recreational and technical diver.
Truk Stop Hotel inventory of rooms include 2 apartments, 4 suites, 6 deluxe ocean view rooms, and 10 standard rooms. The apartments are air conditioned and fully furnished with kitchenette. All suites and rooms are air conditioned, have a balcony, private bath and furnished with a refrigerator plus TV/DVD player.

LOCAL TIME: 03:20:58 pm | May. 05, 2008

The Truk Lagoon Dive Center offers up to 4 dives a day (wreck, reef, shark, night), and our private dock, dive lockers, rinse tanks and shower make diving with us easy and convenient. We have Bauer Compressors and use a Haskel Pump for blending Nitrox and Trimix, and our expatriate PADI certified professional dive staffs take care of the technical and recreational diver with equal care and consideration.

Our Hotel Restaurant serves international, western style and local food daily from 6:00am till 10:00pm and offers inside dining in air conditioned, smoke free comfort or outside on our patio right next to the world famous Truk Lagoon. Enjoy our Wi-Fi broadband internet connection in the restaurant or on the patio – for FREE!

© Gunther Deichmann - the view from your room Balcony at night.
http://www.dive-truklagoon.com/main.php

The Hard Wreck Café & Bar is the favorite hangout for resident expatriates, the traveling businessman, island visitors and local residents and is the place to enjoy a friendly game of pool, your favorite beverage, karaoke with friends, or just rest up for your next dive or business meeting.
Other services available through the hotel include a relaxing, stress busting massage at The Body Shop, fresh breads, cakes and desserts from our Bakery, handicrafts & souvenirs from our Gift Shop, u-drives from our Car Rental fleet, and business services at our well equipped Conference Facilities.

Tags: TRUK LAGOON,, WWII WRECKS,, CHUUK MICRONESIA,, NITROX, OXYGEN, TRIMIX, Tauchen,, Lungenautomat,, TECH DIVING,, Wreck Diving,, HELIUM,, REBREATHER,, TEC DIVING,

Very soon up and running.... the New website


The Truk Stop Hotel is a PADI Resort Facility and a member of the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance

offering 4 suites, 6 deluxe ocean view rooms, and 10 standard rooms. All rooms are air conditioned with private balcony, refrigerator, TV/DVD Player and private bath. Guests are invited to use our free wireless broadband internet connection available in the restaurant and on the patio.

Whether you are an Open Water or Tec Diver, the Truk Lagoon Dive Center is equipped and staffed to take care of all your diving needs.

LOCAL TIME: 11:45:20 | Feb. 07, 2008

We offer Nitrox and Trimix, up to 4 dives a day (wreck, reef, shark, night), and our private dock, dive lockers, rinse tanks and shower make diving easy and convenient.

Our Restaurant serves international, western style and local food daily from 6:00am till 10:00pm and offers inside dining in air conditioned, smoke free comfort or outside
on our patio.

The Hard Wreck Cafe & Bar is the favorite hangout for resident expatriates, visitors, as well as local residents and is the place to enjoy a friendly game of pool, your favorite beverage or karaoke with friends while resting up foryour next dive.

Other services available at the hotel include The Body Shop, offering massage plus facial, manicure and pedicure, our Bakery which provides fresh breads and desserts to our restaurant daily, handicrafts and souvenirs from our Gift Shop, plus Car Rentals and Conference Facilities for the business traveler.

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Everything is high-tech at some of our partners in the Philippines and Micronesia, at Sam's Tours Palau (check out the previous Blog) the state of the art Digital Photo Center incorporating a high speed wi-fi connection for the internet and at Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center in Chuuk (Truk Lagoon) Wi-Fi connection is now available for all their guests free of charge. Diving with the Alliance has just gotten a lot better!


© Gunther Deichmann - View from your Balcony at the
Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center, Chuuk Micronesia

A lot is happening at the Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center, Chuuk Micronesia, Chuuk or also known as Truk Lagoon is about an hour and 45 min. flying time from Guam, via Continental Airlines. The world famous place for wreck diving. Our partner Truk Stop Dive Center can take care of all your diving requirements including your tech diving needs, yes they have helium and nitrox too. We have just came back from there and can proudly announce that Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center is now connected free of charge for all their guests via Wi-Fi in the restaurant and on the Patio area, have a real divers breakfast or dinner and check your email.

© Gunther Deichmann - a great breakfast and
Wi-Fi connected at the Hotel

Very soon we announcing the long overdue new website, incorporating all the wreck dive sites with a full description of the wrecks plus a lot more.
But that is not all, if you getting tiered of all these great wrecks take a afternoon dive at Shark Island only a 15min boat-ride from the Dive Center, watch the reef-sharks at the cleaning station in their natural environment at about 18-meters with superb visibility.
Check out the Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center section on the Philippine -Micronesia Alliance Website at: www.alliancediving.com
Your partner in island-hopping, tech diving, wrecks and shark-dives in the Philippines and Micronesia, you can also book direct via our exciting packages or with our expert travel agent Blue Horizons at: http://www.alliancediving.com/horizons.html
GD

Now I am waiting for some reports from our partners who visited the German boat Show in Duesseldorf, let's wait for their feedback when they all return.

Diving, Tauchen und inselhuepfen auf der Duesseldorf
Boot Messe Germany, mit der Allianz in 2008, 19.-27.1. 2008
Wir sprechen auch deutsch, click here

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© Gunther Deichmann

The current issue of Fins Magazine is featuring a nice 12 page article on Micronesia, please see below some excerpts from this current issue, you can download the whole article direct from their website at: http://www.finsonline.com/magazine/vol_6_6/ or go to our site in a few days and you find the pdf file under Alliance& the Media at:
http://www.alliancediving.com/media.html

Fins Magazine is also available as a download in the iTunes Store,
just check it out.

Dive or plan your next vacation with the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance in Micronesia or the Pacific, we offer you the very best in marine bio-diversity, wreck diving, wall or real shark dives, explore and have your next adventure with us at any of our partner resorts or dive centers. We like to express our sincere thanks to Fins Magazine for this great and comprehensive article on Micronesia, our partners in Micronesia are Sam's Tours in Palau and Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center in Chuuk or better known as Truk Lagoon.

The region known as Micronesia, meaning tiny islands, is in fact a vast area that includes over eight nation-statesand thousands of islands ranging from uninhabited atolls to overcrowded coral outcrops. Stretching from the Marshall Islands just west of Hawaii to theCaroline Islands east of the Philippines, and from the Marianas Islands to the north and Gilbert Islands to the south, Micronesia has less combined land area than the smallest state in the United States, yet more ocean area than the entire mainland USA. Located north of the equator, Micronesia sits on the fringes of the epicentre of marine biodiversity, making it a tropical diving paradise second to none. For scuba divers, the islands of Palau (or Belau), an independent republic since 1994, and the island states of Yap, Chuuk,Pohnpei and Kosrae, which make up the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are of the greatest interest. From
the magnificent mantas of Yap, to the fascinating WWII wrecks of Truk Lagoon (Chuuk) to the schooling sharks of Palau’s renowned Blue Corner, Micronesia ranksamong the world’s top high-voltage dive destinations................ more

Pohnpei is perhaps best known as the site of the ancient ruins of Nan Madol, though in recent years it has also begun to develop a reputation as a great surf spot. Much is still to be learned about the mysterious Nan Madol ruins. Called the Venice of the Pacific, this man-made city with ocean-filled channels once housed a thriving, royal civilization.............

The sleepy islands of Yap (considered the most “traditional” of the territories in the FSM) have managed to let most of the modern world pass by, practicing Micronesia’s most reserved and traditional lifestyle. Many Yapese men still wear traditional bright loincloths and women grass skirts. The people of Yap marry according to custom and still practice traditional handicrafts.............

Although the island has now reverted to using its more traditional name of Chuuk, it’s known to many scuba divers as Truk, a destination world-renowned for its a vast collection of intact WWII Japanese shipwrecks, sunk during Operation Hailstone by aerial attacks launched from US Fast Carrier Attack Groups in 1944..............

Palau, of course needs very little introduction, but read more about Micronesia in the downloadable pdf file at:
http://www.finsonline.com/magazine/vol_6_6/

From the author
www.deichmann-photo.com
“The whole of Micronesia is still relatively unexplored and a sheer paradise, with all its remote atolls and small islands covered with bird rookeries, and islands inhabited by only a dozen or so people.”

GD

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