How to dive Truk

[RJP]

This is a timely thread as I am starting to think about my trip on the Odyssey. Are the al30's already rigged or do I need to bring my own rigging?
Are the wrecks wide open these days because of decay or is it best to use a reel in general?

I would like to do some of the deeper wrecks before getting on the boat, I like helium. it sounds like the Truk Stop may be more convenient for this?

Having now done Truk from land (Blue Lagoon) as well the Odyssey (2009) and the Truk Siren (two weeks ago) I can tell you that the Truk Siren is my new favorite way to dive Truk.

Siren can accommodate rec, tec, TMx, and rebreathers. Seven-day and ten-day itineraries, offering four dives per day. As a new boat (to Truk, that is) the dive/tec gear is all new/newish. Deco and stage bottle are all done-up with DiveRite sling kits to the satisfaction of my DIR-sensibilities.

The diving in Truk is well known, and will be the same wherever you dive from. No need for me to go into details there.

The Truk Siren is spacious and comfortable. (Odyssey is fairly spacious too, perhaps a bit less comfortable.) The food is great. (As it was on the Odyssey as well.) Cabins on the Siren are the largest of any liveaboard I've ever been on, bar none.

The Odyssey is great, don't get me wrong. I'd dive with them again in a minute. But if I had the choice, I'd go with the Truk Siren.

The Siren has a different feel. More like you're on someone's private yacht than on a liveaboard. The Panisi-style sailing design of the Siren is just a touch longer than the Odyssey but nearly 10 FEET broader in the beam; Siren = 33 feet, Odyssey = 24ft. That extra 9ft is obvious in the salon, dive deck, dining deck, and most of all in the cabins and ensuite heads. I've long said that the Odyssey ruined me for any other liveaboard. The Truk Siren has raised the bar that much higher.

The crew was phenomenal... as was the crew on the Odyssey when I dove with them. I'm willing to assume they still are. The Siren has just brought on board an Operations Manager who captained the Truk Aggressor for many years so his knowledge of Chuuk, the Lagoon, and the wrecks is great. Tom - Cruise Director and Dive Guide - has lots of experience on Siren boats and is a well-trained tec diver/instructor. Local guides and dive assistants are great as well. Crew totals 12 people, from a dedicated captain (he drives the boat, that's it) to two chefs, a hostess, dive assistants, deck hands, and even a masseuse.

At first I thought I'd feel that 4 dives per day on the Siren (vs five on the Odyssey) would be giving something up. But as deep and as long as some of these dives are you'd really be pushing it to do five dives a day.

I also think the 10-day itinerary is ideal. More days obviously lets them get to more wrecks but it also afford them the ability to offer three dives on some of the larger, more interesting wrecks. No need to feel like you've got to zip through everything to see it all.

Logistically, the Siren moors/leaves from Truk Stop and the Odyssey moors/leaves from Blue Lagoon. Not that it makes a huge difference after 37hrs of travel to get to Truk, but worth keeping in mind as you plan travel. in fact the Siren dispatched a skiff to pick up one of our passengers from Blue Lagoon.

I should probably write up a full review at some point, but the summary is "Highly Recommended - Five Stars."

 

[Akimbo]

RJP

How do you get in and out of the water on the Siren? They could use more diving related images on their site.

 

[egovenatus]

I'll be diving Odyssey starting this week and will be staying at the Blue Lagoon for a few days after before heading off to Palau. Looking forward to it. I'll post some pictures when I get back.

Thanks for your mini review of the Siren. I'll stop by an take a look when I'm out there, maybe next year?

 

[farkurnell]

I finally booked it! I'm off for a week in June, staying at Blue Lagoon.

I'd initially hoped to take 3 weeks off and do a big Micronesia dive trip to Truk-Yap-Palau, but it wasn't to be. Couldn't get the extended time off work. Still, a week in Truk will hopefully give me a taste of what it's got to offer and whether a more extended trip is warranted sometime in the future. I'll get to Palau eventually.

What was the overall cost?

and did you do your course yet, or doing it there?

 

[RJP]

RJP

How do you get in and out of the water on the Siren?

Three-step ladder down to a dive platform on port side; they were building another on the starboard side while I was there. That platform is a typical 18" or so drop to the water. Nice, deep/wide ladder to exit water. I'm very tall, and often struggle with dive ladders that are "one rung shy" of being sufficient.

Handful of dives were done from their skiff. Not a small rib, but an actual twin-outboard covered boat with solid dive benches, good ladder, etc.

They could use more diving related images on their site.

Do you not know what diving looks like?



But seriously, I tend to agree. Specifically for their Truk boat. We discussed this extensively while I was there. It's a challenge marketing-wise; as a fleet their differentiating factor is "the boat" and I think showcasing that is important (if not sufficient) to get well-heeled vacation divers to join them in "pretty fishies" locations. However, as you've alluded, I think the typical Truk visitor probably does want to see a few like-minded tec/wreck types frog-kicking along some giant hunks of rusty steel.

Frankly, I was willing to roll the dice that they'd be fine diving-wise but based on the website alone, before booking I was wondering what the experience would be like. Would the boat be too heavily weighted towards luxe instead of diving? After 10 days on board that's not a worry at all. In fact one only needed to spot the "Bud in cans" in the deck fridge to know that wasn't going to be the case.

 

[WetPup]

What was the overall cost?

and did you do your course yet, or doing it there?

Flights (Cairns-Guam-Truk): AUD$1300
Accommodation (6 nights single room +10 dive package): AUD$2000

Crappy exchange rate with the US dollar right now, but such is life.

And no, I haven't done the tech course. I probably won't. I've since done my rescue diver course though, and ended up doing a couple of deeper (~50m) dives with the instructor as my buddy, so I know I'm comfortable diving to that depth on a single tank.

 

[Seya]

50m on a single tank is extremely risky. And your dives would be very short. If your going that far get some tech courses to dive doubles and learn about dive planning, deco and gas management.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[Akimbo]

… Do you not know what diving looks like?



But seriously, I tend to agree...

Yeah, dive logistics is a big deal on any liveaboard. Is the dive platform fixed or do they have to raise it when underway or when docking (not that there is a dock in Chuuk)? Is there much space on the platform(s)? Are the pretty flexible providing different Nitrox mixes rather than just what is banked?

 

[RJP]

Yeah, dive logistics is a big deal on any liveaboard. Is the dive platform fixed or do they have to raise it when underway or when docking (not that there is a dock in Chuuk)? Is there much space on the platform(s)? Are the pretty flexible providing different Nitrox mixes rather than just what is banked?

Platform is fixed. They raise the ladder when underway. The boat doesn't go very fast, so it's not like it's keeling over to one side or the other. The platform that you directly enter the water from isn't terribly large - more than two crew and two divers would require some choreography. But the overall traffic flow from the dive deck and down the few steps to the platform is so easy/logical that platform size is of no consequence unless for some reason everyone wants to jump in at the exact same time. Crew brings your fins/camera/bottles to the platform (if you want) and you just walk down when you're ready. At the end of the dive... reverse the process. Having TWO entry/exit platforms will only improve the situation.

All dive stations are on the "outside" of the dive deck, and the steps to the platform are right around where the salon starts (Indo Siren shown, but essentially same boat):

Dive platform shown in black on port side below:

They also have a hanging deco-bar set-up with bars at 30, 20, and 10ft. Extra tank/reg at 20ft.

Up to 28% (which they bank) is included in charter cost but they do PP blend and will mix whatever you like. O2 is 5-cents per liter above 28%. I had them give me an AL80 of 50% and I used that for deco gas, refilling as needed. For the vast majority of profiles there's lots left to see at 70ft and shallower (some wrecks have kingposts that come up to deco depth that are so filled with life you could spend an hour there and not get board) so a leaner gas you can hop on sooner is better than 80-100% that you can't touch until you're under the boat. For anything deeper than what 28% was good for I simply went with rough air top-offs of whatever I had left from previous dive... I like to make the crew's life easy.

As you mentioned... there's no dock in Chuuk, other than the fuel dock. Siren moors near Truk Stop and uses the skiff for transfer.

 

[egovenatus]

Man, now I feel like I chose the wrong boat....Siren looks amazing, plus I like the set-up you described and the services provided.