This article was first published by Cruising Helmsman, Feb 2004.
However the following is an unedited version.

By Tere Batham

The concrete wharf looked ready to murder Sea Quest, but from the dock the uniformed figure impatiently waved for us to come alongside. Carefully easing Sea Quest between the fuel barge and rafted Taiwanese fishing boats, we scrunched against the only tire. Michael tossed the bow and stern ropes up. We were secured.
Earlier that same morning we had entered through Belau's Toagel Mlungui Pass, into the shimmering turquoise lagoon, passing close by a wreck perched high on the coral. Samar in the Philippines lay 650-nautical miles astern. The beat to windward had taken us a full thousand miles and ten days. Though we had tacked south and north again we found no trace of the Equatorial counter current at any latitude, and at least a knot of current held steady against us.


Belau, formerly known as Palau before Independence in 1994, consists of 343 islands, mostly within the perimeter of a barrier reef. The stunning Rock Island groups are unique, formed when a cataclysm suddenly thrust the existing seabed 200 feet higher exposing reefs to atmospheric erosion.
The coral petrified to limestone. Time, sea and weather have chiseled scores of mushroom shaped islets, now intersected by deep serpentine channels. The Rock Islands and Belau's near perfect climate, are hard to beat. Add to this a beautiful underwater world of unparalleled bio-diversity. What cruiser would not be in heaven?
With our dock lines now made fast, a hefty Customs officer jumped aboard. Below, he made a show of searching for narcotics, opening a few cupboards.
"We get lots of the stuff coming in, especially from the Philippines," he said.
The entry charges were high. $300 US simply to enter the country. But yachts that had written ahead for Cruising Permits were charged "only" $200. Beyond that we had the privilege of paying $20 to "cruise the reef," another $25 to toss a fishing line overboard….and a levy of $25 per person to scuba dive.
We motored to the designated yacht anchorage, but with depths excessive for us, anchored on a reefy shoal, barely containing our impatience to get ashore. As soon as Sea Quest was safe, Michael and I, and