billt4sf
Contributor
- Messages
- 2,561
- Reaction score
- 1,151
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
To begin, we had our share of angst getting out of Bali to Sorong. The airport opened 36 hours before our flight was scheduled. After a two hour wait at the gate, the flight was delayed 12 hours. Garuda put us up in a hotel and woke us up at 4:45 am for the bus back to the airport. In a true Indonesian touch, the hotel staff called us at 1:30 am (an hour after we had fallen asleep) to let us know that they were going to wake us up at 5am 
. Sheesh. We had planned a 12 hour layover in Manado and a 24-hour layover in Sorong so we had extra time anyway and we were sure glad we had built that in! Even so it was a pretty anxious time getting out of Bali.
MERMAID I: Overall really good trip. Great Tour Leader, new in the last few months. We initially had some issues with currents (we started at a Full Super Moon, sheesh
), and they broke the groups up so we got more attention, very nice of them, we felt well cared-for in that regard.
There was one event worth recounting. The dive site had a very strong current, we could see the washing machine currents in the passage between two little islands, but we dove in the lee of it all behind a large rock island. Great, easy dive. Came up normally but when we hit the surface we had to quickly push away from the jagged rocks, which brought us into the washing machine, swirling currents at the surface and .. in a split second we were separated with NO hope of reconnecting. in 10 seconds we were separated by 100m! In a flash I saw myself as one of those headlines. But by the time I raised my SMB the dinghy was there. Never really any danger of floating away, though had it been poor weather at the surface...anyway ONE SMB PER DIVER, guys. Mermaid enforces this and I was glad to be wth an established outfit where people are well-trained to do their jobs effectively. Good outfit.
Four dives / day if you can handle it. Reef hooks, nitrox, safety gear are essential. Quite a few negative entries, but few required you to swim quickly down to the reef, mostly it was to reduce the drift on the surface. Most dives were 20 – 25 m depth. Temp 29 – 30 deg C. Tons and tons and tons of fish! Beautiful reefs, hard and soft corals, marine life in great abundance, we saw sharks on most dives though usually just one or two – black tips, white tips, grey reef, and Wobbegongs. Several manta dives but we did get skunked a few times. Reef and oceanic mantas. We spent half the time in the Misool area and half in Dampier straight or a little north of it.
Good food. With five good meals a day, it’s easy to overeat. A nice advantage of a LOB vs. a day boat is that it’s nice to REST in bed during surface interval (2 hours including meal). Staff was great – they are all there for you, easy to get along with, very helpful though there is a variety of levels of English and some hide it too well. Indo DMs don’t really socialize with divers much, but the Westerners did. I wish Indo dive and boat people were more safety conscious, “safety first” is just not part of the culture.
The dive deck is great. A bit crowded getting ready. Easy ins and outs! One step in or out of the dinghy, crew is trained that TWO people always help you in and out (which I need). Dinghy rides were just a minute or two to the dive site then backroll. I put the gear on in the dinghy (with the crews’ help) and took it off in the water, the dinghy divers are used to this. The entire boat crew helps before and after dives with wetsuits, gear, tanks, etc. Showers on the back of the dive deck, which is great for a big guy like me – plenty of room, soap and shampoo right there.
The boat feels safe with valuables, etc. – no worries. Good camaraderie all around, I enjoyed bantering with the crew though it was limited by the language problem. Enough room to lie around on the party deck or sun deck, though you would not usually be alone, but never crowded. Boat was very clean, good safety equipment. The only downside – some floors very slippery when wet.
Watch out for the charges at the end – nitrox is not included, nor are park fees, and if you drink much and pay tips – it adds up pretty fast!
We’re now holed up in Swiss Bel Hotel in beautiful So Wrong waiting for our next adventure – 10 days in Sorido Bay Resort on Kri island. Christmas is on in full swing, complete with little Santas, a Christmas tree, and (God help me) constant Christmas carols in the lobby and restaurant – will insults to the mind of man never end?!? Tough life.
. Sheesh. We had planned a 12 hour layover in Manado and a 24-hour layover in Sorong so we had extra time anyway and we were sure glad we had built that in! Even so it was a pretty anxious time getting out of Bali.MERMAID I: Overall really good trip. Great Tour Leader, new in the last few months. We initially had some issues with currents (we started at a Full Super Moon, sheesh
), and they broke the groups up so we got more attention, very nice of them, we felt well cared-for in that regard.There was one event worth recounting. The dive site had a very strong current, we could see the washing machine currents in the passage between two little islands, but we dove in the lee of it all behind a large rock island. Great, easy dive. Came up normally but when we hit the surface we had to quickly push away from the jagged rocks, which brought us into the washing machine, swirling currents at the surface and .. in a split second we were separated with NO hope of reconnecting. in 10 seconds we were separated by 100m! In a flash I saw myself as one of those headlines. But by the time I raised my SMB the dinghy was there. Never really any danger of floating away, though had it been poor weather at the surface...anyway ONE SMB PER DIVER, guys. Mermaid enforces this and I was glad to be wth an established outfit where people are well-trained to do their jobs effectively. Good outfit.
Four dives / day if you can handle it. Reef hooks, nitrox, safety gear are essential. Quite a few negative entries, but few required you to swim quickly down to the reef, mostly it was to reduce the drift on the surface. Most dives were 20 – 25 m depth. Temp 29 – 30 deg C. Tons and tons and tons of fish! Beautiful reefs, hard and soft corals, marine life in great abundance, we saw sharks on most dives though usually just one or two – black tips, white tips, grey reef, and Wobbegongs. Several manta dives but we did get skunked a few times. Reef and oceanic mantas. We spent half the time in the Misool area and half in Dampier straight or a little north of it.
Good food. With five good meals a day, it’s easy to overeat. A nice advantage of a LOB vs. a day boat is that it’s nice to REST in bed during surface interval (2 hours including meal). Staff was great – they are all there for you, easy to get along with, very helpful though there is a variety of levels of English and some hide it too well. Indo DMs don’t really socialize with divers much, but the Westerners did. I wish Indo dive and boat people were more safety conscious, “safety first” is just not part of the culture.
The dive deck is great. A bit crowded getting ready. Easy ins and outs! One step in or out of the dinghy, crew is trained that TWO people always help you in and out (which I need). Dinghy rides were just a minute or two to the dive site then backroll. I put the gear on in the dinghy (with the crews’ help) and took it off in the water, the dinghy divers are used to this. The entire boat crew helps before and after dives with wetsuits, gear, tanks, etc. Showers on the back of the dive deck, which is great for a big guy like me – plenty of room, soap and shampoo right there.
The boat feels safe with valuables, etc. – no worries. Good camaraderie all around, I enjoyed bantering with the crew though it was limited by the language problem. Enough room to lie around on the party deck or sun deck, though you would not usually be alone, but never crowded. Boat was very clean, good safety equipment. The only downside – some floors very slippery when wet.
Watch out for the charges at the end – nitrox is not included, nor are park fees, and if you drink much and pay tips – it adds up pretty fast!
We’re now holed up in Swiss Bel Hotel in beautiful So Wrong waiting for our next adventure – 10 days in Sorido Bay Resort on Kri island. Christmas is on in full swing, complete with little Santas, a Christmas tree, and (God help me) constant Christmas carols in the lobby and restaurant – will insults to the mind of man never end?!? Tough life.
