Pohnpei's Sokehs Rock
The BEST of Micronesia Diving (Part 2)
(Part 2)
Story and Photos copyright Tim Rock 2009
MACRO DIVE
Title: Palikir Pass Inside Wall, Pohnpei
Max. Depth: 80 feet
Visibility: Tide dependent
Current: Minimal
Main attraction: Small and pretty stuff
The Site: This wall is good on many levels from the very shallows to the deeper reaches along the passage floor. Micronesia does have some of the more traditional muck sites and it has some unusual blennies, gobies and a recently discovered new species of pygmy seahorse found in Palau and Pohnpei. Many of these and more can be found inside at Palikir. Start a dive near the channel marker and drift in. Visibility may diminish but marine life will increase. Lots of anemones, soft corals, pipefishes and nudibranches are obvious and splendid. Pohnpei’s inner lagoon is one of the richest and least explored in all of Micronesia. A keen set of eyes and a little knowledge of marine life here can go a long way.
Honorable Mentions: Puluwat Lagoon in Chuuk State takes a live aboard to visit but it has a great variety of little stuff including harlequin ghost pipefish. Also, the aptly named Macro Reef in Yap is full of nudibranches, shrimps, gobies and many things muck. Fish N Fins Reef, aka Brown Corner, is also a good slog through the silt for things weird.
NIGHT DIVE
Title: Rainbow Reef, Yap
Max. Depth: 25 feet
Visibility: It’s dark, who cares
Current: None
Main attraction: Mating mandarinfish
The Site: This is the night dive choice for one main reason and a couple of other lesser reasons. The lesser reasons are that it is close to the main docks of most of Yap’s dive shops and it is accessible in most conditions. The main reason is that it is one of Micronesia’s premier spots to see mandarinfish. These colorful little fish can be seen flitting about in the depths of the finger corals by day, but at dusk, they get downright randy and throw caution to the wind in favor of an amusing and wild little mating ritual. A male will approach the smaller females in his “harem” and proceed to mate by leaving the protection of the coral and swimming side-by-side into open water to release sperm and egg. This behavior goes from dusk into the early night when the reef is pitch black.
After getting a voyeuristic eyeful, look also for arrow crabs, cardinalfish, fantail pipefish and lots of other tiny critters that like the netherworld of craggy corals near the mangrove-lined island one populated by his majesty O’Keefe.
Honorable Mentions: An extremely, extremely close second here is the Shinkoko Maru in Truk Lagoon. Loaded with soft corals, anemones and heaps of corals, this is an underwater kaleidoscope of surreal proportions. The bridge top and the bow rise to about 40 feet, making the dive quite nice at night. And here you can turn your lights off and watch as the currents carry phosphorescence through the waters. Polyps ignite like embers when they snag phosphorescent particles. Turtle Cove in Palau is also a great spot after dark. The ride back through the Rock Islands under a starry sky is as good as the dive.
Gray Reef Sharks, Vertigo, Yap
SHARK DIVE
Title: Purple Wall, Eurapik, Yap
Max. Depth: 130+
Visibility: 80+ at high tide
Current: Slight to moderate to strong near the corner
Main attraction: Lots of big and unafraid sharks
The Site: First, even though the finning threat has been manifest in Micronesia, for the most part, sharks are still quite plentiful throughout the region and show up at many of the popular diving venues. I know you can’t get there from here, but if you find the means (translated: a chartered live aboard), the Purple Wall in Eurapik Atoll in the remote outer Yap Islands is one superb place to see sharks. On one dive there, we marveled at the purple soft corals and violet lace corals along this magnificent wall at the outer wall of Eurapik’s reefs. Without even asking, we saw gray reef sharks, whitetips, a nurse shark, silvertips rising from the depths and a tiger shark appearing from the blue and coming in close and too personal. As one swims along the wall and closer to the point at this site, shark activity picks up and remains exciting. Few people get to see this spot, which is why the sharks aren’t shy. They certainly are there. And they are there naturally, without any bait (except divers!!).
Honorable Mentions: Blue Corner in Palau is the perennial favorite here and obviously the much more accessible venue. Jump in, do a great wall dive and then move up to the corner of this open ocean pinnacle to watch gray reef sharks float right in front of your face. Use a reef hook to keep your hands free to take lots of pictures. Also, Yap’s Vertigo dive site produces regular sightings of gray reefs, blacktips, whitetips and the occasional silky shark.
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