History of Ocean Hunter I

Ocean Hunter was conceived by owner and naval architect Navot Bornovski and by the father of Palauan diving, Francis Toribiong, who first brought diving to Palau and discovered most of the now world-famous dive sites visited by the Ocean Hunter. The Ocean Hunter’s 60 foot hull, built in Holland in 1979, was shipped to Spencer’s Ship Yard in West Palm Beach (the Rolls Royce of ship yards) where the vessel was completed to the highest standards, bought by Navot & Tova Bornovski in 1993, and crafted under the expert supervision of Navot and Avi Klapfer, owner of acclaimed liveaboard fleet the Undersea Hunter. Ever since 1993 the Ocean Hunter has been family-run by the Bornovskis in Palau, and has hosted such activities from Discovery Channel productions to National Geographic assignments by photographer David Doubilet.

About the Bornovskis
Tova and Navot Bornovski are the owners and managers of the Ocean Hunter and Fish 'n Fins, the pioneer dive shop in Palau. They bring decades of dive time to the table. This intrepid couple traversed the seas on a 4-year around-the-world sailing trip in the '80s and fell in love with Palau. They began to work on the first liveaboard to dive Palau, the highly acclaimed Sun-Tamarin. Tova and Navot worked as cook and divemaster, respectively, for more than a year from 1986 to 1987, deepening their bond with Palau. In 1993 after Navot had graduated as a Naval Architect and Mechanical Engineer in Israel, the Bornovskis returned to Palau, alongside friend Francis "Mr. Dive Palau" Toribiong. This time the Bornovskis crossed the Pacific in their newly- remodeled luxurious liveaboard, the Ocean Hunter, accompanied by their children Yarden (4) and Udi (3) at the time. Ever since, the Ocean Hunter has had a happy home in Palau and has taken out more than 350 groups of divers, all pampered by the same friendly family service provided by the Bornovskis and their experienced crew family. The children Yarden and Udi were joined by Liam and Gayl, born in Palau. They love meeting the children of divers venturing to Palau.