27 Oct - Embassy Boat Move

Thursday after work we moved the Embassy boat back into the water after having the engines serviced. Of course we had to do an 'engine trial' which involved a constant speed trial - about 7 knots should do it. And a fast acceleration trial - look is that a school of fish over there....

I took our compound gardener. Believe it or not he is a Pohnpeian that had never fished outside of the reef. Unheard of. He was very excited to wind in his biggest fish ever, even if it was a barracuda. A great big smile. He is a top guy and it was a pleasure to see him so happy.

Still trying for the 'Front Cover' shot.

I also took along Mike who is a pastor at one of the local churches. His kids and our kids really play well together so it was time for male bonding. Mike hadn't fished this style of fishing before either so he was also very happy to fight a fish all the way into the boat. Unfortunately no 'quality' fish today but the smiles were definately enough to make the trip worthwhile.

21 Oct - Wedding Anniversary - One Day Early

Nic and I celebrated out wedding anniversary one day early this year so that I could go in the monthly fishing tournament. Knocking off work at lunch times on Fridays allowed us to take the boat out to an in-shore reef for a snorkel and a couple of beers.

It was a nice sunny afternoon, perfect for snorkelling (and a nice slow cruise (read troll)) on the way home.

The coral every where is definately bleaching but the fish are beautiful.

The bleached corol really makes the fish stand out.

Dead lumps of coral. It would have been great to see this stuff in it's prime.

Every now and again though you come across some coral that seems to be more resilient to the warmer waters.

Ducking down to see a large fish hiding in a cave.

After the boat trip we headed out for dinner at the Rusty Anchor eating Poke (spicy raw yellowfin tuna), beef curry and blackened yellow tuna. Awesome feed.

22 Oct - 'True Value' Fishing Tournament

22 Oct any year just happens to be our Wedding Anniversary. Well this year Nic proved once again that I married the right woman. As fate would have it the 22nd fell on a Saturday and this particular Saturday was the monthly fishing tournament. So Nic decided that we would go for a snorkel on Friday afternoon and then out to dinner. What a great wife!!!!!!

Well the wahoo have finally made it back to Pohnpei with the 'trade winds' starting to pick up. We boated four wahoo, eleven small tuna and three barracuda. We lost a 60-80kg marlin at the boat but learnt a few valuable (never forgotten) lessons. It was heart-breaking but at least I know he's out there for next time.

Still trying to get that 'Front Cover' shot.

As you can see the conditions were terrible.....

What ended up being the tournament winner; a 96lb pacific blue marlin. Ours would have pipped this one by 30lbs but that's fishing I guess. It's not caught until it's on ice or the tag is in.

Jaxon and Indi were excited to see Daddy's fish and the marlin, but that level of excitement can only be maintained for so long, especially when the worlds biggest sand castle is on the dock.

15 Oct - A Very Busy Saturday

We put the boat in yesterday and heading out to Manta Pass with the kids and some friends for a snorkel and dive. The rain held off while we were there and the overcast conditions made the fish life very active.

After tieing up to the mooring bouy we all jumped in for a snorkel. Jaxon and Indi love Nemo and it wasn't to hard to find them some.

Not sure what this fella is called but he didn't seem to fazed by us swimming near him.

Nic and Jaxon in search of Nemo.

Loads and loads of brightly coloured fish on the reef today.

After a short break we put on the dive gear and went in search of our target species - Manta Rays. Once we were on the bottom it was less than five minutes before the first one cruised by.

Once again the Rainbow Runner were plentiful.

Nic is really enjoying her diving now, as you do in 28 degree water with 30 metres vis.

Even on the sandy bottom of Manta Road there is heaps to look at while searching for mantas.

We went a little while without seeing another manta until this beauty showed up. Estimated between eight and ten feet across it was truly awesome.

Scott was so close to it at one stage it wouldn't even fit in the view-finder of the camera.

The big eye just casually checked Scott out before slowly moving away.

See ya fella, thanks for the amazing experience.

Time for a quick lunch and then home to offload all the dive gear and go out for a quick fish. Unfortunately we only caught one small tuna, but we had a go..... We got back in time to clean up the gear and get cleaned for dinner at the US Ambassadors place.

The US Ambassador hosted the USN Construction Battalion for dinner. The Sea-Bs have been doing community projects for the last couple of months (one month to go) such as repairing the local library. It was a great dinner as always; well deserved by the lads from the USN.

A lot of the Pohnpei community that have provided assistance to the Sea-Bs in one way or another were invited for dinner. It was a great turnout, showing the gratitude of a greatful nation.

The boys have quite a few unique momentos to take home.

After the US Ambassadors for dinner it was to Club Cupid for the 80s Party. Nic got me a childs yoda costume that I modified to fit into. Starwars was big for me in the 80s.

Caroline, Nic and Jamie in their best 80s outfits.

So as you can see it was a very busy Saturday in Pohnpei. Resting up today (Sunday) looking forward to the Wallabies vs All Blacks game tonight at the Rusty Anchor.

08 Oct - Ant Atoll Trip

Saturday saw us take boat and head over the Ant Atoll on what may end up being the last trip there for a while as the tradewinds have started to kick in. It was a little lumpy but doable. In a couple of weeks it may be considerably worse.

Local fisherman setting their nets at the base of Pohnpei's iconic rock, Sokez Mountain.

The Pohnpei Surf Club boat at Palikir Pass (the world's best left hand surf break). Not at this point though.......

Ant Atoll. Nic and I love this place. Clean beaches and great snorkeling.

Does this look like a great set up or what!!!!!!!! Well the beach is sorted, time for a snorkel.

As soon as we entered the water the fish life began. The ray didn't seem to mind us too much and gently cruised out of our way.

I'm not sure of the reason but the coral seemed very 'alive' today. The most colourful that we have witnessed since being on Pohnpei.

The incoming tide meant all creatures large and small were searching for food.

Finally got a half decent shot of one of these fish.

Bright and vibrant. It truly was a great snorkel.

All the corals seemed to light up.

Postcard quality. Clean water, bright sunlight, 28 degree water - does it get any better.

Heaps and heaps of clams today. We always snorkel this spot when we come to Ant. Today we saw more clams than ever before. Some as small as my little finger.

Freaky coral of some sort.

More freaky but colourful coral.

Nic enjoying the warm, clean, clear water.

A massive 'brain' coral.

Even the clams had all their colours out today. Fantastic.

I didn't take many photos of fish today but they were out in force as well. Luckily this one sat still long enough for me to take a photo of him/her.

How good is this place? It will be very hard to leave in 15 months time.

Another postcard shot.

This seaslug was out enjoying the sunshine as well.

More colours than we have seen here before.

Just incase you were wondered we did do a bit of fishing on the way over and the way home but weren't successful today. Lucky we have a freezer full already. So it was another great day in Pohnpei. Mantas next weekend, Fishing Tournament the weekend after, love it here.