This eyewitness account was posted on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10154950043746135&id=147940506134
Fiji was an exciting and eventful group trip, this time. We spent a few nights at the beautiful VoliVoli Beach Resort, and then the rest of our time on the equally beautiful Fiji Siren live aboard dive yacht. On Day 5, the night before our last night on the Fiji Siren, we had another delicious dinner, listened to the sweet sounds of our awesome crew's "Rubber Band Band" shared stories and kava, and performed our cruise's skit song, "Fiji Sirenville" to the tune of "Margaritaville." We headed to bed, knowing that in the morning we would be ready to dive the famous "E6" dive site for our last two trip dives. At midnight the engines started and off we went, just like so many guests before us, on the same course as always. Everyone except the crew were sleeping. A short while later, there was a loud noise, and the engines stopped. Divemasters where sent into the water to access the damage, as the boat was slowly taking on water. There was not supposed to be any reef in the area. There was no sign of hitting a smaller vessel either. Damage could not be found, but the leak could not be repaired. Pumps were working to drain the water. Simon, the cruise director came to each cabin to let us know that we were taking on water and we would probably abandon the ship on our dive tenders to a a nearby island. We grabbed our passports, warmer clothes, and our life jackets and headed to the back of the boat for further direction. Could this really be happening, or just a dream? No, this was real. A few minutes later, Captain Jack sincerely apologized, and with a heavy heart gave the order to abandon the Fiji Siren on our dive tenders. No water was in our cabins yet, but it was still coming below. Our wonderful tender drivers, Sy and Mo took us to the nearby island of Namena. There was an abandoned resort there, that had been hit by Cyclone Winston in Feb, 2016. This resort would be our shelter. There were a few construction workers on the island to assist when we arrived, along with 2 Siren crew per tender. Thankfully, everyone was evacuated safely. No one was injured. We walked up the hill to a single bure cabin. The crew brought water, food, and bedding for us, and brought in mattresses from somewhere. We rested for a few hours. It was a beautiful sunrise the next morning! The crew had been busy retrieving much of our dive gear, clothing and personal items. (They put themselves at risk doing so!) We were very grateful to find a lot of our belongings in big plastic bags on the shore that morning. It was like one big scuba rummage sale, sorting and matching items to owners. There was a large dive boat available around noonish to take us to an inhabited island and town of SavuSavu, a little over an hour away. We boarded the boat and headed to our new home at the Hot Spring Hotel. Dolphins joined us for a time on the way, giving a tired and hungry group some inspiration. After a shower and a good meal, we headed to bed for much needed sleep. The crew, in the mean time, had continued to salvage what they safely could from the vessel, before she sank in 1,000 to 2,000 feet of water. They spent Wednesday night in the bure we had used the night before The next day the crew made their way back to VoliVoli Beach Resort, the Fiji Siren's home base, tired and hungry! It was a long boat ride for them. We are very grateful for all their work, getting us off the vessel and being so kind and helpful. On Thursday, Simon reserved flights for us and bought many duffel bags to pack our gear, as our dive luggage went down with the ship. (Not sure how he did it in that small town!) We ate, packed our gear, and flew from an airport near SavuSavu to Nadi. Most of us left on international flights Thursday night for Los Angeles. A few stayed on for more vacation time. One guest's passport could not be recovered. She did not have a US Passport, so she is being assisted by the Siren's staff, and presently staying at VoliVoli Resort, cared for by the excellent staff there. Most of us are now home, safe and sound, feeling thankful that no one was hurt! We are grateful to an amazing Fiji Siren crew team, and still a bit numb, wondering if it weren't all a dream. Many, Many thanks to an amazing dive group of 16 from Dive and Travel Adventures!!! What a great team, showing courage, patience, problem solving stills, and kindness! Vinaka vakalevu! Thank you very much! I still hope to dive the E6 with you someday! God's speed.
