Kelcey Chandler-Yates and Jim Yates present...

UnderSeaPhotoVideo.com

April 17, 2003

As we were swept through the pass we were delighted to float through a seemingly unending mass of gray reef sharks for over 30 minuets!

April 17th, 2003

Once provisioned we awaited a proper weather window that never seemed to come so-------- we went for it!-We were glad we did as once we arrived back in the Tuamotu the wind shifted to our nose and made the last 12 hours of our journey hell. Now settled back in the beautiful lagoon of Fakarava it is hard to imagine that one more day of wait would have provided 20 foot swells and 25 foot seas on our nose that would have forced us to turn back to Tahiti. The weather gurus were wrong which occasionally happens but the wind gods were watching over us and encouraged us to leave when there was no "good" reason to-----!-

April 18, 2003

Fakarava is as beautiful as we remembered but all has not been very well here on ship. Menopause has hit the galley wench early and depression seems an unreal reality! Crappy moods and short temper has hit the fan-who am I anyway? The water is no clear enough and the sky is over cast-we are in the same place again, why can't we go someplace new!! At least the boys are making light of it and Jim is patient-I feel for them as I can't stand being me so how can they stand being on a small boat with me-this too I hear passes in a few YEARS!!! Until then-I guess I'll GET OVER IT!! Grow up Kelcey and get a sense of humor!

April 19, 2003

Dove the pass today-it started with a few barracuda who dared me to get closer and then some very inquisitive gray reef sharks-naturally I had chosen to leave the cameras packed and have a leisurely swim with my family-actually I was just being lazy-STUPID-is what I felt soon when I heard Jim yell---KELCEY and I looked to see a literal wall of sharks coming toward us! I thought I was in heaven till we hunkered down in the coral and they surrounded us-Now I knew I was in heaven!! As I watched Nicholas who had found a neat little hole to hunker down in, I marveled at how beautiful they were as over 300 of them schooled within our view and when one swam 3 feet from his head and hesitated for a long look at him he turned back at me with those big blue eyes so wide and gave me a double thumbs up! For over a half hour we sat admiring their beauty. As time went on they became used to us and it was not unusual to have 5 or 6 of them as close as 2 feet surround us. We all agree we could have stayed for hours studying them but our bottom time was up and as we let go and were swept through the school with the 5-knot current we enjoyed eye contact one by one. Towards the end though there came a very large bull shark that was not so amused with our presence. He came up close and shook his head in obvious annoyance. Seasoned shark observers we exited left to play with the resident 300-pound Napoleon wrasse. As if our day was not now complete, Manihi invited us for a BBQ dinner of fresh tuna at his pension. Tila his wife was gracious as usual and the food outstanding. We met several people from Tahiti who are staying for the Easter holiday. As usual they all wanted my chocolate cake recipe! Always a big hit with locals! Easter -

April 20, 2003

Well today I was NOT stupid-out came the new camera and housing and off to sharkdom I went-Eyeball shots with a 100 sharks in the background were my reward-with a 28-85!! It was no less than wonderful. The shots were composed great but the technical part will take a bit. The learning curve is much to my favor at least as the digital is instant gratification!! With shark mating season around the corner and another 3 weeks in this area I should be able to "get it down" in short order! It is the best of the best-never before have I been so intrigued with animals since Cocos Island several years ago with the schools of hundreds of hammerheads. These guys are much more inquisitive however and allow us to practically touch them. One by one we are allowed to study their movements as they move in close. Tonight we had Christopher's girlfriend's parents over for dinner. Lots of laughs comparing teen stories!! She is quite adorable and gives Chris a run for his money. It is sad that they will leave for Hawaii soon but they have at least another few weeks.

April 22, 2003

After many days of shark watching our friends are getting irritable. They are shaking their heads and showing aggressive behavior towards each other so today we took the day off and went snorkeling near a little balmy in the mid lagoon. As if we had not had enough sharks for the week we were graced with some beautiful black tips and a very inquisitive and large white tip. After a couple hours of exploration the gray reef sharks showed up and we decided to go home. The land here is quite barren but there is quite a lot of bird life. Even my favorite-the blue-footed booby is present in numbers. April 23, 2003 Early to rise, the wind is turning and has shifted to the Northeast. This brings an uncomfortable swell through the lagoon to sway our boat at anchorage. If the winds pick up we will be forced to move but for the time being we will deal with it. The boys are diligently working away at schoolwork. Soon the guests will arrive in mass. Jamie and Brad will arrive this Sunday for two weeks once again to enjoy good shark diving. Much work to be done-sheets, bathrooms, food preparations. All must be in order or it is total chaos when you add two more bodies to the mix!-even if they are best friends. Jim will do the "net" this morning-our local communication with boats all over the Society Islands.-Each morning we connect in a radio transmission where we follow those under passage, check in with good friends and share valuable information. We are in contact with our friends on Oddly Enough up in the line islands who have shed great light on what we may face up there next season. Sounds kind of bleak but very interesting. Not very many people and definitely not a lot of supplies. Another test for my provisioning skills!

April 26, 2003

The best of the best of the best shark diving in all my life-this far surpasses Cocos island I thought that could not be beat!!-The sharks for the past 2 days have come in throngs and in close enough to shoot close ups of one who had stolen our friend Manihi's luer the other days-Spectacular-see the photo!! Today after our dive we packed up and saitled to the north end of Fakarava where our friends Jamie and Brad will arrive. We had a beautiful sail until we met with the pearl farms. Bouyies everywhere-we had no choice at one point but to go over a line. It caught on our rudder and we were worried about the chance of it steadfastly ripping it off!-Fortunate as ever we made it through the pearl mines and anchored off the "villiage" one road, two stores and a gas station-and a dive shop! Happy to have the chance to buy cold coke the boys quickly shut down the systems, released the dinghy and took off for civilization, as we know it here!! We will dingy over two miles to the airport tomorrow after thoroughly scouring the boat and preparing for "guests".