Komodo -Mermaid II or Black Manta?

[Heg]

Hi All
Planning a liveaboard to Komodo in Sept this year. Torn between the Mermaid II and the Black Manta because of their departure points. Mermaid sails from Bali, so no internal flights required. Manta sails and returns to Labuan Bajo, so necessitates an extra flight . My question is -
will we simply spend the first day on board the Mermaid travelling to dive sites? Are we better to fly to Labuan Bajo and get a 'head start' so to speak? Or are there some good dive sites that the Mermaid visits that the Manta does not?

The Manta trip is slightly shorter, but only by one night....
Any advice on boats and on the Komodo area generally would be most welcome
Thanks
Jo

 

[weeksd]

The mermaid 2 leaves at 4pm and travel at night to the first dive site which is moyo island so no missed diving. I have done the trips and you get 6 days of diving on mermaid 2. The diving on the mermaid liveaboards is very good. The divesites are very good with blue water and clear visibility. As you get to the komodo park the water becomes greener and colder as the indian ocean water is greener. At horsehoe bay in rinca we had 72 degree water which was a little chilly. A huge variety of suits was used from drysuits to diveskins in rinca island as the water there is indian ocean water. Green and cold but some of the best diving. I find the mermaid trips easier as no flying within indonesia and the overnight after diving you can relax on the boat.

 

[Heg]

Are the strong currents an issue? I've never used a reef hook before...

 

[weeksd]

Yes the currents can be strong but reef hook is very easy. The only reef hook dive is manta alley and makkassar depending on which site the mantas are at. At some times during the year the mantas disappear from manta alley. The channel between komodo and rinja has the most current. There are only a few sites there that are dove with any regularity as some sites it is a washing machine current. Too dangerous. I am sure it has great diving but too much current. The rest of the divesites have current but nothing to wild. Just enough to keep you moving.