Fiji Siren - Lost at Sea

[scubafanatic]

We have one of those in a museum in Chicago, perhaps they will find a way to ram it during one of their exotic cruises!

...or perhaps the German U-boat you have took sanctuary in Chicago to hide from the Siren fleet ?

 

[Scubagolf]

At the risk of acquiring the nickname “Lucky”, my favorite dive trip to date was in 2013 on the Palau Siren.

 

[Dogbowl]

The more I read, the more incredulous I find the situation. I suspect the Siren fleet is doomed. And to that Hallelujah!

I love to dive but I love life even more. One must be very diligent in choosing a liveaboard.

 

[judyo1]

I've done 3 cruises on the Fiji Siren and loved it.. and had no concerns regarding safety. This is sad

 

[Russjstewart]

@Russjstewart, here is more information about the Siren disasters:

Palau Siren Grounds and Floods
that’s five disasters for eight Siren boats in six years

from the September, 2015 issue of Undercurrent

Palau Siren Grounds and Floods: Undercurrent 09/2015

Thanks for the link

 

[KathyV]

One of the things that surprised me in the Undercurrent story about the Philippine Siren losing an engine and (barely) managing to get back to port under sail and with one engine, was that the Captain had been on board for 9 years and had never steered the ship under sail before.

We attend a large local dive expo show every year and the Siren Fleet always has a large, attractive exhibit booth with lots of pictures of their beautiful boats under sail. It looks so romantic and lovely and I always assumed that being under sail was one of features of their trips - but apparently not!

Our first liveaboard was an economy Blackbeard's sailboat and it truly was Camping at Sea, but we actually did sail during the trip. The crew hoisted and set the sails one day and turned off the engines and it was quite exhilarating to be on a large boat under sail, moving fast under the sky, and much quieter than the engine. It is a happy memory for me.

It made me wonder if Blackbeards still offers sailing on their trips and apparently they do - when they have the wind for it - because I found the info below on their web site under the FAQ.

So if you are ever on a Blackbeards LOB and they lose engine power, you can feel confident that they will be able to get you back to port under sail - just as long as they have the wind for it!

From the Blackbeard's Cruises Web Site:
Do we actually sail?
The best time for sailing is from October to April. During the period from May to September there is normally very little wind. Passenger participation is welcomed by the crew or you may just relax in the sun.

 

[Buoyant Photos]

One of the things that surprised me in the Undercurrent story about the Philippine Siren losing an engine and (barely) managing to get back to port under sail and with one engine, was that the Captain had been on board for 9 years and had never steered the ship under sail before.

We attend a large local dive expo show every year and the Siren Fleet always has a large, attractive exhibit booth with lots of pictures of their beautiful boats under sail. It looks so romantic and lovely and I always assumed that being under sail was one of features of their trips - but apparently not!

I was on the Philippine Siren a couple of years ago and they put the sails up so everyone can take photos, but it would have surprised me if they ever actually used them to move the boat. Both the condition of the sails and the lack of general awareness of how to sail led me to believe that sailing was only a photo opportunity.

I would have guessed the boat was safe and was happy with the safety procedures on the boat, but the record seems to show they have a problem somewhere.

 

[Scubagolf]

Same on the Palau Siren in 2013. They hoisted the sails for show one afternoon.

 

[Mike Veitch]

I was referencing the post below; perhaps they salvaged and repaired it?

They had two boats in Raja at that time, the Mandarin Siren and the Indo Siren. It was the Mandarin that caught fire, not the Indo Siren.

 

[chillyinCanada]

The no actual sailing business is not exclusive to the Sirens. I've been aboard a well-thought of boat and the sails were hoisted for photos. We were told everyone was a sailor and then given some strange reason why, regardless, we wouldn't be sailing. I no longer recollect the reason given.