Pelagian: Bali to Kupang Trip Report

[DontLieToMe]

This is a report of a two week trip aboard the Pelagian from Bali to Kupang (West Timor).

The weather has been very good and the diving excellent. This was the first trip of the season for the boat but everything ran very smoothly. The crew was great, food was excellent, good weather, and it was a very well appointed boat.

It is certainly a good thing I had not only my 5mm wet suit but also my hooded vest. The water temperatures were quite variable even on a single day subject to incoming and outgoing tides. One dive the water might be 82F and on the next in the same place it could be 75F.

24 February

The day began rainy but cleared in the early afternoon. At 11:00 AM I was taken to the Benoa Harbor where I met the skipper, Peter Manz, and the other three (3) passengers. Two are a couple from Canada and one is from Britain. There were originally two others but they cancelled at the last minute. Manz provided a briefing describing the overall plan for the trip as well as his background.

The Pelagian has six (6) cabins and is a very comfortable boat. With four (4) passengers, two (2) diving guides, a first mate, a couple of engineers, three hostesses, and other staff we are certainly going to have no issues with crowding or lack of service. The boat has three major decks with four of the cabins on the lower deck and the master cabin on the middle deck. The upper deck has the wheelhouse, the captain's cabin, and storage areas for the two skiffs. The boat has a very nice lounge areas with several comfortable couches. There is an inside and outside eating area. The camera room is located in the interior of the ship.

The boat is 115 feet in length and was built in Norway in 1965. The Pelagian is not a custom built diving boat. It has limited space for storing one's personal diving equipment. There are none of the traditional "crates" in which to place equipment such as masks, fins, booties, lights, etc. Mesh bags are hung on the railing for booties, lights, etc. On this cruise with only four passengers this is not a significant issue but it could be with a full boat.

The boat gets underway about 2 PM. Manz provides another safety briefing on-board on emergency procedures. In addition to life preservers there are smoke hoods and five (5) minute filter breathers in each cabin.

Meals are buffet-style. The first night dinner consisted of Frog's Legs in Black Bean Sauce, Pork, Broccoli, and Baked Potatoes. Soft drinks are complementary. Beer or a glass of wine is $2. Wine is also sold by the bottle and is reasonably priced.

There is an all night cruise to the first destination which is at Satundo Island.

25 February

We arrive in the vicinity of Satundo Island about 0830. The sea is very calm. A briefing is provided on the boat's diving procedures. All diving is from the skiffs. Once equipment is setup it is left on the skiffs. Dives are limited to 75 minutes and there are nominally four (4) dives a day. Two dives in the morning, one at 0730 and another at 1030. There is an afternoon dive and a dive that is either late afternoon or a night dive after dinner.

All of the diving is done from two tenders. Each tender has two large outboard engines and a ladder. Entry for diving is back roll. For re-entry you hand up your flippers and can climb back on the tender or pass up your equipment. I always climbed back on board with my equipment. Once you setup your equipment it stays on the tender

Dive 1. Satundo Island. Magic Rock. Not much of a rock and a fairly limited dive site. There are a few Pygmy Sea Horses on a fan, a very small Frog Fish, a couple of nudibranchs, and a small orange-yellow Cuttle Fish. We enter the water over a large area of sand and swim to Magic Rock which is about 75 feet. There is a very noticeable thermocline at 60 feet. Water temperature from 0 to 60 feet is 81F and 73F below the thermocline. 75 minutes.

Dive 2. Satundo Island. The Point. Similiar in topography and content as the previous dive. There are a few bonnies and a white-grey stand areas with small coral outcrops. We encounter a bashful octopus and several nudibranchs. 75 minutes.

Island Walk. The island has been declared a nature preserve. The interior of the island has freshwater lake. There is a story about wishes being fulfilled if you find a stone, with a hole in it, and tie it to a tree at the lake. All of the guests went ashore including several of the crew to find a rock and make a wish. There is a short climb to the top of the hills to overlook the bay.

Dinner. Soup. Asparagus. Two main dishes. A beef curry and chicken both Indonesian style, cauliflower, and Lyonnaise potatoes.

Dive 3. Satundo Island. Magic Rock.Night Dive. A nice night diving area. Items of interest included a Star Gazer, many crabs and shrimps in assorted shells, a sleeping Flounder, and several flowering corals. 72 minutes.

26 February

This is the first of the standard diving days.

0630 Grazing Breakfast
0730 First Dive
0900 Hot Breakfast
1030 Second Dive
1200 Lunch
1430 Third Dive

The fourth dive is either a dusk dive before dinner or a night dive after dinner. As this time of year the night dive is at approximately 1900.

 

[DontLieToMe]

The fourth dive is either a dusk dive before dinner or a night dive after dinner. As this time of year the night dive is at approximately 1900.

Dive 1. Sankiang Island. Techno Reef. The area has a sloping reef and black sand. The highlights included a pair of mating Cuttlefish, several very nice nudibranchs, and another bashful octopus. There was a slight current at the beginning of the dive. 75 minutes. After the dive the skiff is raised from the water and the boat is underway to another diving locations.

Dive 2. Sankiang Island. Bubble Rock. A very good dive. The site had all manner of unusual nudibranchs of assorted colors and shapes. There were several gobies hidden

Dive 3. Banta Island. K2. Moderate current. The dive potentially has Frog Fish, Leaf Fish, and Pygmy Sea Horses. In this case we found the Leaf Fish on a bommie (coral head) that was also inhabited by several types of shrimps. There was a nice anemone with some shrimp. Two of the divers on this trip are rather clueless and kick up considerable sand. In a moment of desperation I threw large hand fulls of sand in the air. From here on this will be referred to by myself and the staff as "snow diving". On the drift along the slope I did find a nice nudibranch. Other than that I either did not find very many critters probably because I am not a good spotter.

Dive 4. Banta Island. K2. Night dive. This was a great night dive. In fact both night dives have been exceptionally productive. On this dive there were several very large flatworms, a gigantic nudibranch, a small leopard shark, shrimp, eels, anemone shrimps and crabs, and some very small lobster-like shrimps.

27 February

Dive 1. Banta Island. Star World. This dive was pretty much a bust. There was a Leaf Scorpion Fish and some Ghost Pipe Fish. Towards the end of the dive I found a very nice Crocodile Fish and a green-ish Scorpion Fish.

Dive 2. Komodo Island, Batu Moncho. The dive began as a drift along a so-so wall and changed into a reef area. Along the wall there was a nice fan on which could be found four (4) Pygmy Sea Forces. There were several fairly common nudibranchs and a nice flat worm. During the dive we could hear two dynamite explosions. We also encountered an extensive area of dynamited reef. Is this really a National Park?

Dive 3. Gililawa Laut, Hard to Find Reef. The location is a sea mount off from an island that is very close to Komodo Island. I dropped in with my camera in hand because the currents were strong and a rapid descent was required. The location had some very nice soft corals and quite a bit of fish life. One side of the sea mount had several Blue Ribbon Eels. There was an octopus, several unusual nudibranchs, a turtle, and a couple of sharks in the distance. A couple of Eagle Rays circled near the surface for a few minutes.

Dive 4. Dusk-Night Dive. I was the only diver. The two clown-divers do not like dusk or night dives and the third diver felt tired after the action of the last dive. While not an exceptional dive it was still fun. The dive began a little after 5:30 PM and concluded in darkness. From a mild current the dive evolved into a very fast drift. There were several nice large nudibranchs, an Epaulet Shark, and a couple of critters, yet to be identified, hiding in holes. Upon surfacing at the end of the dive it took several minutes to obtain the attention of the skiff driver.

28 February

Dive 1. Gililawa Laut, Ikelite Reef. The dive was a sloping reef. The reef itself was not particularly spectacular. There were some soft corals and a large Cuttle Fish. The main feature of the dive is supposed to be the fish action at the point. In this instance the point had a limited number of large fish. There was one shark, a turtle, and a large Napoleon Wrasse. The point had some pretty corals and quite a few small fish. The current was slight along the reef and moderate at the point.

Dive 2. Gililawa Laut, Crystal Bommie or Not Hard to Find Rock. A very nice area with one rock (bommie) breaking the surface and the other submerged. A good collection of soft and hard corals. A nice turtle munching on the Staghorn coral. Numerous Scorpion Fish found in assorted colors. There was a very nice Leaf Fish perched beautifully on the Staghorn coral. Several nice nudibranchs but they were not the dominant feature. A good collection of tropicals and several small schools of Yellow-Tailed Sweet Lips.

Dive 3. Komodo Island. Pink Beach. Not a lot to say. Green, cold, and got in the water in the wrong place. A few nudibranchs, an eel, but generally not a very interesting dive.

Water temperatures from 75F to 77F.

29 February

Land Excursion. The day began with a 0630 breakfast and 0700 departure from the boat. The visit to the Komodo Dragons is a two hour walk accompanied by a couple of park rangers. The rangers speak English and point out various orchids, spiders, and birds. There are deer but we did not see any. At the dragon location we did find one cooperative Komodo Dragon. The dragons can be approached quite closely although the park rangers are ready to intervene if the dragons opt to go after the visitors. Dragon sightings are not 100% certain since feeding is no longer practiced. When we returned to the park headquarters there were a couple of dragons handing out at the cafeteria. Setup near the pier are many folks selling carvings - masks and of course the ubiquitous dragon - as well as pearl (real) and black stone necklaces. There are only several folks interested in exchanging dollars and euros for rupiah.

Dive 1. Rinca Island. Yellow (Invertebrate) Wall. This was an absolutely outstanding dive. Usually the water is 72F to 75F but today it was 81F or 82F. Visibility was good and the sun was out. The wall is absolutely a riot of color. Hard and soft corals of every time. After just a minute in the water we came upon a large Painted Frog Fish. There are many types of Sea Apples, there is probably another name, and many small and large nudibranchs. Everywhere you look there is something to see - clams, scallops, Scorpion Fish, Sea Stars, etc. Name and invetebrate and you are probably going to find it on this wall.

Dive 2. Rinca Island. Canibal Rock. It is easy to see why many people want to come to this area and go nowhere else. Canibal Rock is a bommie that comes within seven to ten feet of the surface. The rock is covered with brilliantly colored corals, anemones, sea stars, and lots of fish life. We dove this site at 4:30 PM which did not bring out the colors but we will dive it several more times both during the day and night. As with the Yellow Wall there are a huge number of invertebrates covering every exposed area of the rock. There are large and small anemones and Clown Fish everywhere you look.

Dive 3. Rinca Island. Torpedo Alley. The name of this site is from the Torpedo Ray - which we did not see. The site has a section of black sand which has both open areas and sections covered with small invertebrates. A highlight in this area are several very elusive Bobbit Worms. These worms live in burrows with barely visible claws that pop-up to snare food. We found several very beautiful blue and blue Swallow-Tail Sea Slugs and another large nudibranch that is known as the Solar Power.

Water temperatures are usually in the 72F to 75F at Rinca but on these dives the temperatures have been 79F to 81F which is unexpectedly and pleasantly warm.

A truce is in effect with the clown-divers. Pleasantries are being exchanged although the female is just as dismissive as before. The husband, Nick, is a bit more friendly. Both demonstrate poor diving skills. We will remain at Rinca Island for two more days.

01 March

This morning there are monkeys and iguanas patrolling the beach. The anchorage is a beautiful setting.

Dive 1. Nusa Kode. Outer Pinnacle. The pinnacle comes to 20 feet of the surface. The conditions had moderate current and the water temperature was from 75F to 81F. There were plentiful corals and several nudibranchs including one that was a combination of red, blue, and brown. In areas there were several types of shrimp, an octopus or two, and moray eels. At the locations with current there were some three foot Barracuda and several large Napoleon Wrasse.

Dive 2. Rinca Island. Canibal Rock. This was our second dive on Canibal Rock. The currents were mild and I explored the deeper parts of the bommie at 80 to 100 feet. The lower depths were less profuse in the coverage of invertebrates but held some interesting nudibranchs and had several anemones populated with small shrimps and crabs. There was a large and extremely friendly Puffer Fish that allowed me to get very close and that stayed with me for several minutes. Several large nudibranchs were found with small but different companion nudibranchs.

Dive 3.. Rinca Island. Yellow Wall. The Frog Fish was at the same spot at 75 feet in the crack. As before the wall is covered in a wonderful collection of hard and soft corals. There are numerous Sea Apples which have a bulbous bottom and a flowery top.

Dive 4.. Nusa Kode. Crinoid Canyon. Night dive and another good one. We had several encounters with Spanish Dancers and Decorator Crabs. The former are beautiful when they move through the water and the latter for the amazing way in which their shells are encrusted.

 

[DontLieToMe]

02 March

Dive 1.. Nusa Kode. Crinoid City. This site seemed a bit bland after the other dives. There were a couple of interesting nudibranchs, a jellyfish here and there, and some shrimp adorning a couple of the anemones.

Dive 2.. Nusa Kode. The Corner. A beautiful wall and slope dive. Visibility was limited but the corals were very beautiful. Water temperature continues to be quite nice - usually about 81F near the surface and at most 79F at the deeper parts of the dive. Lots of Clown Fish, soft corals, Scorpion Fish and the usual suspects.

Dive 3.. Rinca Island. Canibal Rock. I did most of this dive in the company of the boat's skipper who is very good at finding small creaters. There were Zebra Shrimp in the Fire Urchins and some very small shrimp on the backsides of some other urchin. The dive ends in the wonderfully profuse top of the rock which is covered with soft corals and hundreds of anemones.

Dive 4.. Rinca Island. Torpedo Alley - Annex. Night Dive. Our fourth excellent night dive. The area was adjacent to Torpedo Alley and was all sand with a few Sea Pens and a couple of coral outcrops. There was a couple of anemone crabs, a Hermit Crab, and some bottom fish.

03 March

Dive 1. Padar Island. Three Sisters. This dive site consists of three bommies. There are profuse hard and soft corals at the top of the bommies and a collection of leather corals at the base of the bommies. Depths at the top of the bommies is from 20 to 30 feet with the bottom at 80 to 100 feet. There were a few of the more common nudibranchs. Several large groupers and a Napoleon Wrasse. At one of the bommies there were two yellow-ish Leaf Scorpion Fish. There were quite a few Mantis and Coral Shrimp. The water temperature of 82F and visibility was much better than we have seen to date - probably on the order of 75 feet.

Dive 2. Tatawa Island. Current City. A fantastic dive! Sometimes everything goes your way. First I found a very nice Scorpion Leaf Fish sitting on some Staghorn Coral near a big Ear Sponge. After that the fun began. First there was one of those big black and blue nudibranchs. Suddenly there is a lot of tank banging because someone has found a Blue Ringed Octopus! There are beautiful and extremely poisonous creatures. The octopus was very cooperative and I took a couple of acceptable pictures. What could beat that? Next was the four Cuttlefish that had mated and just laid their eggs. The Cuttlefish were large adults and just kept swimming around the eggs. The turtle that came by was nice but after the octopus and the Cuttle Fish it was just in the way. Conditions were warm water at 82F and visibility between 75 and 100 feet. Current was mild to none.

Dive 3. Sabalon Cecik. This was a nice drift along a sloping reef. There were some nice flatworms and nudibranchs and a short appearance by an Eagle Ray.

There will be no night dive due to the long transit to our next dive site.

04 March

Dive 1. Raja (King) Island. Another incredible dive. Take your pick of the following - sea snakes, pygmy eels, Harlequin Pipe Fish, rare nudibranchs, and then another fabulous eel completely at ease in nine feet of water. The current was mild and temperatures ranged from 79F to 83F. The dive began as a mini-wall and then proceeded to transition to areas of different types of coral and ended in fine grey sand. This is a small island off of Flores.

Dive 2. Raja (King) Island. The second dive was much the opposite of the first. The area was mostly dirt, rubble, and mud. There were quite a few Lion Fish of several varieties but not much of anything else.

Dive 3. Raja (King) Island. Worthless site. Rubble, fish traps, and more rubble. The captain and dive staff seemed to just want to put us in the water for a third dive. No points to the Pelagian on the last two dives.

The boat is moving to Alor.

 

[DontLieToMe]

05 March

Dive 1. Kawulu Island. Leur Point. We have earned the PADI rubble diver badge for sure. Another dive with a few items of interest but generally mostly broken and dead coral. There were two Barrel Sponges that were spawning and a very large nudibranch that may have been a Spanish Dancer. We also found a Recticulated Wart Slug, a common octopus, and a large Bully Ray. Water temperature was 79F, the current was mild, and the visibility was 30 to 40 feet.

Dive 2. Lapan Island. Lapan Reef. Mild current and 81F. A generally uninteresting wall. Top of the reef was 50% rubble and dead corals.

Dive 3. Rita Island. The Arch. No arch but a nice dive. The site is a sloping wall with a nice collection of tropicals and mostly hard corals. There were several eels - Morays and Blue Ribbon and one interesting nudibranch. There were quite a few Dragonette Fish. Water 81F and mild to no current. Visibility 40 to 60 feet.

06 March

Dive 1. Pura Island. Coconut Grove. This apparently was a dive of convenience in that it was close to the boat. It is not clear that we got into the water at the right point as the first 20 minutes of the dive was a rather uninteresting area with a thin green plant-like covering. The bottom eventually changed to sand and then to a sparse reef area. The area contained a few nudibranchs. The area was heavily trafficked by boats and was very noisy. Water temperature 79F, little to no current, and visibility 30 to 50 feet. Sloping reef with many fish traps.

Dive 2. Pura Island. Smarts Lament. This dive site had better corals and was a sloping reef. There was a variety of nudibranchs, some soft crabs living on barrel sponges, and some very nice shrimp living in an anemone. The guides, especially Dede, were more attentive to the guests and finding creatures. Water temperature 79F, little to no current, and visibility 30 to 50 feet. Sloping reef with many fish traps.

Dive 3. Pura Island. The Boardroom. The reef was healthy and there was a strong current. Water temperature was 75F and visibility 30 to 50 feet. There was a very interesting shrimp, some nudibranchs, and a very cooperative octopus. The Staghorn Coral had Mandarin Fish but they were hard to see and impossible to photograph give the strong current.

07 March

Dive 1. Pura Island. Clown Valley. The dive site is one of the premier sites in Alor. The area features an extensive carpet of anemones with Clown Fish. The water temperature was the coldest of the entire trip. At the depth of 75 feet the water dropped to 70F but was progressively warmer at shallower depths. The current was mild to strong. The area has many fish traps one of which contained a large Lion Fish. There are several nudibranchs that are specific to this region. Other sightings at this location include a couple of common octopus and a Banded Sea Snake.

Dive 2. Pura Island. Sharks Galore. The dive is a sloping reef. We dropped in and went down on the reef. As I approached the 12 minute point and at 50 feet a roaring down current came over the reef. Before I had time to react I was blown off the reef and in a series of up, down, and whirlpool currents. I needed to use the inflator on my BCD to get enough lift to make my way to the surface. After deploying my safety marker the boat came the five (5) miles that I had drifted to fetch me from the water. After recovering another diver we located the other two divers still in-shore and jumped back in the water for another 60 minutes of diving.

Dive 3. Pura Island. Schools Out. The general area was similar to the first two dives. The area is carpeted with anemones and rich with Clown Fish. There was a very good collection of Anthias and other tropicals in the areas of the Staghorn Coral. One of the dive guides found a great nudibranch that was on one of the fingers of a Sea Star.

Dive 4. Pura Island. Night Dive. The night dive was just myself and the two dive guides. There were at least five Spanish Dancers, several large nudibranchs, big sleeping Puffer Fish, and a couple of very large octopi.
the International Terminal to check-in for my flight on Garuda to Singapore.

 

[DontLieToMe]

08 March

Dive 1. Reta Island. The Boardroom. The reef was healthy and there was a mild current. Water temperature was 81F and visibility 30 to 50 feet. This site was the location of a previous dive..

Dive 2. Reta Island. Cave Point. The area consisted of a wall with a shallow but sparse reef top. The current began as mild and increased to moderate along the wall. There was a lot of blowing sand. While there were

Dive 3. Reta Island. Edge or Coral Cliff. This location as an ad-hoc selection as the currents were very strong at all of the locations which we investigated before getting in the water. There was a sheer wall with many overhangs. I saw several Porcelain Crabs in Carpet Anemones and a nice Blue Tailed Eel.

Dive 4. Pura Island. Night Dive. This was my fifth night dive and without exception they have all been very good. The Pelagian diving team, Dede and Tatang, are very good at spotting creatures, both at day and night. This dive began with several large Spanish Dancers. There were a collection of plurobranchs which are like very large nudibranchs. A very interesting crab was discovered, sleeping fish, and a Sand Anemone.

09 March

Dive 1. S.E. Pantar Island. Beangabang. This site is a black sand and rubble area and it was replete with very interesting creatures. The dive began with a large octopus sitting in the open which made no attempt to move. In fact, later in the dive there was a second octopus in the open which also did not move. Yet there is more. Stone Fish, the very poisonous creatures - two of them. We found two Sea Moths that were delightfull. And there is more still. Several Blue Eels, some very small eels that I could not identify, and a Flying Gunard. A great dive! I stayed in the water for 85 minutes which was 10 minutes longer than the other guests. They were miffed and told me so. My response -I could care less.

Dive 2. S.E. Pantar Island. Beangabang. Just as good as the first dive. I really like the Delicate Tube Worms and all of the Blue and Black Ribbon Eels that abound in this area. I stayed under for 105 minutes.

10 March

A very nice sunrise as we continue to steam toward Kupang. After a buffet breakfast of scrambled eggs, fried noodles, and sausage we are off to the airport at 9 AM. Everything is smoothly handled by the ground agent and we look on track for a 12 noon departure.

After a unremarkable flight from Kupang to Bali I collected my bags and walked over to the International Terminal to check-in for my flight on Garuda to Singapore.