From www.thecircumference.org!

The Experience - Diving in Blue Corner

by Kristin Cowles, Editor-in-Chief

Palau is a divers dream, with its fringing coral reefs and burgeoning marine life it's hard to beat. In a time where our oceans are being devastated beyond belief, Palau has managed to maintain some sanctity, and in 2009 with the help of pioneering dive shop Fish'n Fins, declared its waters a Shark Sanctuary.

Thanks to this, people who make the trek to Palau can enjoy an increasingly rare treat - sharks and other large fish that have been overfished in other areas of the world. Although you can see sharks on almost any dive here, perhaps the best place to spot these and other large pelagics is diving Blue Corner. Blue Corner is Palau's most famous dive site, and is continually in the running for the single best dive site in the world. Here at this current charged corner divers flock by the boat load to take in the high concentration of large marine life. Below the surface, a wild spectacle awaits. Drawn by the sharp change in current and depth, a Blue Corner dive parades a seemingly endless scene of sharks, tuna, barracuda and wrasse. Searching for a dive spot that flaunts these increasingly rare species on a more impressive stage may take a lifetime.

Blue Corner was first discovered by Francis Toribiong, Fish 'n Fins founder, just east of the Blue Holes dive site. Although it can be a difficult dive depending on the currents, it's one that you'll remember for the rest of your life. Diving Blue Corner essentially allows divers to pull up a seat and watch the show, by floating at the edge of the drop off suspended by a reef hook in the current. Your dive guide will help position each diver in a straight line so as to not disrupt the path of the sharks patrolling in front. After you've had your fill of the 10 - 20 large sharks that zoom by you, unhook and glide across the reef plateau through huge schools of bumphead parrotfish, jacks, barracuda, and the occasional wandering napoleon wrasse. And this is just your typical day diving Blue Corner. As if that weren't lucky enough, every now and then you may also see a hammerhead, whale shark, manta, marlin, sailfish or whale. Diving a place as extraordinary as Blue Corner will make you grow in awe and appreciation for its amazing sea life.