Palau on the Eco Explorer - topside video

[robint]

Palau on the Eco Explorer
Last month my hubby and I spent a week on the Eco Explorer in Palau. Our trip report is getting finished up and will be posted here soon. I just thought I would go ahead and post the video I put together of the Topside on the Eco.

PLEASE be sure to right click and "save target as" to your computer and play it from there. It is a large file with music. Thanks!
http://www.rnrscuba.net/Palau2007/Palau07_EcoExplorerTopside.mpg

Here is the basic info on the boat:
It is not a new fancy liveaboard...it was a Japanese "research vessel" meaning that they used it for hunting whales. It was sold to the Expedition Fleet and converted to a dive vessel. The boat was built for much shorter people, so anyone over 6' tall will bump their heads going thru doors, etc. unless they remember to duck. The layout of the ship is a bit awkward, the first day it seemed like a maze of corridors and walkways and stairs but soon we were all getting around fine. The boat is mostly metal, with wood flooring outdoors and carpet inside and on the top-eating area. Once again, not a fancy boat, but absolutely adequate as a diving vessel and I quite enjoyed the feeling of being on a ship. It is very large, 155' long, and heavy...... this means you don't feel the water at all. Our room was on B deck (the middle one) and had a double bed with single bunk over, plus a full sized bathroom.

the food:
Since the boat is owned and crewed by a Philippine staff, the chef prepared what he knows best, and everyone was happy with the food. Every meal had rice, plus 2 proteins, a soup, and other items. Breakfast was always eggs of some sort with pancakes or french toast, bacon or sausage, fruit, etc. Lunch and dinner included a fish dish and a meat dish, salad and vegie dish, and a dessert or cookies, cake, or cheesecake. Food had an Asian slant which we all enjoyed especially the curries and seafood dishes. There was an attempt at lasagna one night which was okay but the least successful dish of the week. All in all we thought the food was excellent.

the diving:
you'll have to wait for the full report for that.

 

[Rickg]

Robin,

Thanks for the video. We are looking at going to Palau in FEB 09 for our 25th wedding anniversary and I always wondered what one of the "Eco" boats actually looked like up close. Looks just fine to me.

By the way, was Peliliu Corner one of the sites you got to dive? We didn't make it out there when we went last time because we were diving on day trips that time.

Thanks again for the video and look forward to the trip report.

Rickg

 

[robint]

thanks Rick!
We did get to do 4 dives at different sites on Peleliu and they were some of the best of the week. It is hard to explain what it feels like to be drifting along pretty quickly and suddenly realize you are about to drift right through a school of 50+ grey reef sharks! It was something none of us will ever forget (even the dive guides were screaming through their regs underwater about it). I have video of that too. We were told that Peleliu is not always done because of wave conditions being too rough and current being so strong, we just got very very very lucky. If you get there, I don't guarantee the sharks will still be there --- but they had already started mating season and many had huge gashes all over them to prove it. It was freakin' awesome!

The Eco isn't pretty, but we really enjoyed it. The crew was fantastic and although 2 of the 4 dive guides left with us (one going to land-based op, the other back to states for medical school), you should be very happy with the diving overall. The 2 new dive guides who arrived the day we left seemed very nice (a European girl and and Aussie guy).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Trwmodela]

Water temperatures surface and at depth?

 

[pilot fish]

Thanks for sharing that fun video. That must have been sensational? If it's not to personal, what did a month cost pp on the boat? That looks like a dream vacation.

If you can believe it, I went to Turk for 8 nights, it was super, and instead of going to Palau as I wanted to, I opted to meet somone I knew on Yap, it was OK, for a week and missed Palau all together. I want to shoot myself now.

Palau on the Eco Explorer
Last month my hubby and I spent a week on the Eco Explorer in Palau. Our trip report is getting finished up and will be posted here soon. I just thought I would go ahead and post the video I put together of the Topside on the Eco.

PLEASE be sure to right click and "save target as" to your computer and play it from there. It is a large file with music. Thanks!
http://www.rnrscuba.net/Palau2007/Palau07_EcoExplorerTopside.mpg

Here is the basic info on the boat:
It is not a new fancy liveaboard...it was a Japanese "research vessel" meaning that they used it for hunting whales. It was sold to the Expedition Fleet and converted to a dive vessel. The boat was built for much shorter people, so anyone over 6' tall will bump their heads going thru doors, etc. unless they remember to duck. The layout of the ship is a bit awkward, the first day it seemed like a maze of corridors and walkways and stairs but soon we were all getting around fine. The boat is mostly metal, with wood flooring outdoors and carpet inside and on the top-eating area. Once again, not a fancy boat, but absolutely adequate as a diving vessel and I quite enjoyed the feeling of being on a ship. It is very large, 155' long, and heavy...... this means you don't feel the water at all. Our room was on B deck (the middle one) and had a double bed with single bunk over, plus a full sized bathroom.

the food:
Since the boat is owned and crewed by a Philippine staff, the chef prepared what he knows best, and everyone was happy with the food. Every meal had rice, plus 2 proteins, a soup, and other items. Breakfast was always eggs of some sort with pancakes or french toast, bacon or sausage, fruit, etc. Lunch and dinner included a fish dish and a meat dish, salad and vegie dish, and a dessert or cookies, cake, or cheesecake. Food had an Asian slant which we all enjoyed especially the curries and seafood dishes. There was an attempt at lasagna one night which was okay but the least successful dish of the week. All in all we thought the food was excellent.

the diving:
you'll have to wait for the full report for that.

 

[robint]

thanks. Water temp was a steady 82 degrees and air temp steady mid-80s with a tropical breeze out on the boat. We had one day with rain, the rest of the trip was partly cloudy and occasional rain at night. (In town, Koror, it was hot and humid. No breeze as buildings and island hills blocked it. Yuck. The one day there was plenty for me.)

More details are in the trip report when we get it done. (Hubby is still working on photos of the last day).

Pilotfish, you should look at the Aggressor instead. As I said, it isn't a "fancy" boat. I doubt you would like it.