Thorfinn Pan-Micronesia cruise

[vjongene]

This is a belated report on a trip I took in June-July last year (2011) on the SS Thorfinn. Most of the relevant information is in the attached PDF, which I wrote as a kind of logbook during the long hours when the ship was going nowhere. Here is the short-short version:

I booked this very expensive ($8000) cruise on the expectation that we would be visiting many out-of-the-way Micronesian islands and dive pristine and unexplored reefs, on a comfortable ship. The cruise was to start in Palau and end in Chuuk. The reality was that the ship was in no shape to undertake such a long voyage, that we started in Yap, that we visited a limited number of islands because of idiotic FSM Govt rules, that the reefs were for the most part in abominably poor shape, and we spent most of our time stopped at sea or cruising at low speed instead of diving. The only saving grace was that we were offered reduced rate diving in Chuuk lagoon at the end of the cruise, and that i had had the foresight to push back my return flight by three days to take advantage of it (several of my dive buddies had not).

The lesson (if any): you may want to dive from the Thorfinn when it is anchored in Chuuk Lagoon, but make sure that you do leave the ship before it sails out of there.

Happy reading,

Victor

 

[Wookie]

Wow. I lived in Micronesia for a couple of years, learned to dive there in fact. That's a sad trip report.....

 

[Shasta_man]

I think he meant to say Mr Reality, not Mr Criticism. Though it's too late to help you, your report is remarkably restrained.

Wow, the implications of that report are abundantly clear. Don't get the "crew thought it was a two tank dive" so they left you in the ocean. Where did they think you were going to go to get tank 2 after they dropped you off in the ocean?!

Never had to deploy an SMB throughout the dive on any liveaboard I've been on. Gives me even more admiration for the crews I've sailed with.

I seem to recall the Thorfinn being significantly damaged at some point in the last couple of years.

 

[vjongene]

Wow, the implications of that report are abundantly clear. Don't get the "crew thought it was a two tank dive" so they left you in the ocean. Where did they think you were going to go to get tank 2 after they dropped you off in the ocean?!

Never had to deploy an SMB throughout the dive on any liveaboard I've been on. Gives me even more admiration for the crews I've sailed with.

I seem to recall the Thorfinn being significantly damaged at some point in the last couple of years.

Most amazing is that the tender that deposited us at the dive site went in the OPPOSITE direction from our bubbles, and waited for over 2 hours for us to surface, without ever contacting the mother ship by radio. The "dive master", who also happened to be the ship manager, had no idea of how to operate a VHF radio and had never followed divers in a drift dive. The SMB (which by the way pretty much all of the customers carried) was just a red herring. The dive guide deployed one during one dive and then it was back to "normal". However the lesson about following bubbles was not forgotten.

The Thorfinn had been beached on a reef and damaged about 5 years ago, and was refurbished in the Philippines. The steam plant however is still the original from the 1950's. It is being kept alive with tender loving care and a lot of welding by Capt Lance.

There are many more stories I could tell about this ship, may do so if the thread keeps going.

 

[Centrals]

.........There are many more stories I could tell about this ship, may do so if the thread keeps going.

I thought Thorfinn had been doing this trip for several years and Capt Higgs should had known all the red tapes!!!
Dived Truk twice before from Thorfinn. If I ever go back again, it will be on Thorfinn.

 

[RJP]

Sounds like "Lack of sufficient research/due diligence before spending $8k on a trip is a bad idea" is another lesson learned.

Much of what you wrote about the Thorfinn is readily "find-out-able" with rudimentary google skills; I found much of it when researching Truk liveaboard options several years ago. Certainly enough to know that a trip of that length/distance on a ship of that type is just not going to go well.

Sorry to hear of your experience.

 

[vjongene]

Sounds like "Lack of sufficient research/due diligence before spending $8k on a trip is a bad idea" is another lesson learned.

Much of what you wrote about the Thorfinn is readily "find-out-able" with rudimentary google skills; I found much of it when researching Truk liveaboard options several years ago. Certainly enough to know that a trip of that length/distance on a ship of that type is just not going to go well.

I did in fact do some online research on the Thorfinn beforehand. The consensus seemed to be that while this is not a luxury vessel it is an OK liveaboard for exploring the wrecks in the Chuuk lagoon. My experience confirms this, once in the lagoon it was OK. Could you please share some of the information that led you to conclude that the Thorfinn was not fit for long-distance travel?

---------- Post added May 10th, 2012 at 07:52 AM ----------

I thought Thorfinn had been doing this trip for several years and Capt Higgs should had known all the red tapes!!!
Dived Truk twice before from Thorfinn. If I ever go back again, it will be on Thorfinn.

While the Thorfinn Web site may lead you to believe that the Pan-Micronesia cruise is a regular event, in fact the last time it was done was about 10 years ago and I doubt that they'll do it again. It was very clear that the crew had never worked under these conditions, and that the ship's operating procedures did not match the requirements of daily sailing. Once in the lagoon, where the steam plant is almost never needed and the tenders stay in the water most of the time, the Thorfinn was a perfectly acceptable diving platform. I should add that the crew were extremely friendly and helpful, and that I have no complaints on that score.

 

[Shasta_man]

With the obligatory "you should have known" and "my experience was great" responses, the thread is now complete.

 

[Layla]

Pan - Micronesia cruise = getting guests to pay the gas to get the Thorfinn back to Truk from dry dock?

Three times on Odyssey + two/ three days out of the Blue Lagoon resort either side of each of those Odyssey trips

No faults or negative comments on either Odyssey or Blue Lagoon