If you're a subscriber to Undercurrent, here's an excerpt from John Kirkener's trip report titled:
Let’s start off with the accident and get that over with. On the first day of the 8 day trip we got to the boat about 2:30pm and stowed our gear and got a briefing about the boat and the trip. We then sailed about an hour from the dock and did a check out dive. This was a good idea but we were all very tired after traveling 24 hours from Philadelphia. The boat went back to the dock to get some supplies and to have dinner. The plan was to get underway around 10:30pm and travel until about 6 am to the first dive sites. We awoke to find out that the boat had run aground around 11:30pm. There was a well marked channel with lit channel markers we could see that were about 1000 feet off the starboard side. The crew checked out the boat and there appeared to be minimal damage but we were stuck on the reef until 11 am when the tide came back in and a tug boat could come and pull us off the reef. The plan then was to return to the dock and have a surveyor check the boat over before we could resume our trip. We were taken to a botanical garden called the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant. We got back to the boat around 3:30 pm and were cleared to resume our trip.
Running aground is no small matter in my opinion. All kinds of real bad things could have happened. The communication with the passengers was very poor and sketchy. At no point during the accident or after did the Captain address the passengers at all. This was really bad form. The Cruise Director/Divemaster Mike was sent in to let us know that the the boat was good to go and the issue is behind us. When pressed for details on what happened a vague and bogus explanation of a bad GPS overlay was given. When asked how the person driving the boat missed the lit channel markers the answer was it’s behind us now and he immediately the galley. Discussion over. During the whole week the Captain never engaged the passengers or offered an apology or explanation. I hope some kind of investigation is done so this can’t happen again.
Nai'a Fiji: "Good Trip except for the accident", May, 2024
Nai’a is a 35 year old vessel. It’s showing it’s age but is freshly painted and well maintained. It’s docked in a seaport about an hour drive from Nadi airport. Transport was provided by ship.Let’s start off with the accident and get that over with. On the first day of the 8 day trip we got to the boat about 2:30pm and stowed our gear and got a briefing about the boat and the trip. We then sailed about an hour from the dock and did a check out dive. This was a good idea but we were all very tired after traveling 24 hours from Philadelphia. The boat went back to the dock to get some supplies and to have dinner. The plan was to get underway around 10:30pm and travel until about 6 am to the first dive sites. We awoke to find out that the boat had run aground around 11:30pm. There was a well marked channel with lit channel markers we could see that were about 1000 feet off the starboard side. The crew checked out the boat and there appeared to be minimal damage but we were stuck on the reef until 11 am when the tide came back in and a tug boat could come and pull us off the reef. The plan then was to return to the dock and have a surveyor check the boat over before we could resume our trip. We were taken to a botanical garden called the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant. We got back to the boat around 3:30 pm and were cleared to resume our trip.
Running aground is no small matter in my opinion. All kinds of real bad things could have happened. The communication with the passengers was very poor and sketchy. At no point during the accident or after did the Captain address the passengers at all. This was really bad form. The Cruise Director/Divemaster Mike was sent in to let us know that the the boat was good to go and the issue is behind us. When pressed for details on what happened a vague and bogus explanation of a bad GPS overlay was given. When asked how the person driving the boat missed the lit channel markers the answer was it’s behind us now and he immediately the galley. Discussion over. During the whole week the Captain never engaged the passengers or offered an apology or explanation. I hope some kind of investigation is done so this can’t happen again.
