nutrient-rich ocean currents, Belau is blessed with the highest concentration of sea life in Micronesia.
And as for diving, it has it all. Wall dives, drift dives, and manta 'stations'. Cave dives, shafts, tunnels, a cavern with stalactites, and even World War II wrecks.  With Jeff's assistance we planned to have a go of at least a handful.
We waited for good light and then proceeded down narrow German Channel. It was cut a century before by colonial phosphate miners. The dead straight channel leads to a bight of deep water where the barrier reef bends to form a broad bay. Along its walls are positioned a few dive moorings. 

At the Ngemelis Wall Michael stayed aboard while Miki, Jeff and I leapt overboard and slowly dropped to 60 feet while the wall plunged out of sight. A dozen sleek gray reef and white tip sharks patrolled below. Miki froze. Jeff had to take a grip on her, so she would not dart away in panic. This was Miki's first open water dive. What a dive!

Most of Belau's dives are safe enough but some of the locations are notorious. The Blue Corner is one of these. Late the next afternoon we found ourselves there, the only boat outside of the barrier reef. This time Miki and I kept watch.

Jeff and Michael slid beneath the sea's glittering surface in a place known for its schools of shark and barracuda. With Miki and I their only back up, they could afford little risk.
The kitchen alarm went off. Time was up. I had never ceased scanning with the binoculars along the reef edge but after the first five minutes, through the glare and ruffled water, I had seen no trace of Michael & Jeff's bubbles!
I signaled Miki on the foredeck, to drop the mooring. A school of frightened fish broke the surface and the strong current dragged at Sea Quest. It was past the deadline..…still no sign!  We circled. Then I saw heads against the glare. Under my breath I swore I'd never let Michael out of my sight again!
Jeff was ecstatic, but Michael later said, "The current was so strong it nearly ripped the mask from my face. We clung to the reef face with hooks. Next time I'd prefer something a little less traumatic."

At the southern extreme of Belau's enchanting lagoon lies Peleliu Island. We found a cosy anchorage in landlocked Beck's Harbor, accessible only at high tide with our six-foot draft.
Peleliu was the site of the infamous "Forgotten Battle" of World War II that claimed the lives of more than 14,000 Japanese and American men. From atop Bloody Nose Ridge, we overlooked a hellish killing zone.  Here the marines had the job of chiseling the suicidal Japanese from the 600 man-made caves they had built into the limestone escarpment. Though the Japanese Central

Command knew by that stage that the war was lost, they felt com