World Wide Diver
Contributor
Wow, 2 replies, is that both sides of the story!
Quote: (on just boarding the Stella Maris from the Vasco); "Hello, I'm Axelle the boat manager, "we have no room for you and we have no food for you". Nice, huh. After just being told to abandon ship and all.:shocked2:
International Maritime Law requires a ship to offer assistance to another ship in distress, this arrangement is between ships captains - not boat managers or operators. :deal:
Good job in our case as it seems like there is existing friction between Adventure Bound and Scubaworld.
All we were told was to pack all our bags for immediate transfer over to the Stella Maris. We were all ready for transfer within 30 minutes. We followed instructions given by our Captain and crew to the letter - nothing more or less. I stress Captain - not 'Boat Manager'.
We certainly didn't want to hang around for the band to start playing.:jazzband:
As we said in the previous post the captain and crews were extremely helpful on both the Vasco and the Stella Maris.
I don't know who contacted Cynthia Carrion, but certainly no one within our earshots announced that there were celebrities on board and asked for any special treatment because of this. So, who were the 'spolit brats' and why were they 'spoilt brats'? :madamy:
We were all 100% guilty as charged of asking where we could go to pee and poo. No one expected to find a cabin with sheets turned down and chocolate on the pillow. We were all aware of the popularity of Tubbataha and knew the boat would be full to capacity. All we needed was a dry corner to sit in and a place to pee and poo!
As for room (as in 'space'- not 'cabin') Axelle initially directed the Vasco refugees to the forward open top deck. When the weather worsened (heavy winds and rain), the captain said that it was too dangerous to deploy the plastic sheeting that kept this area dry (wind shear) and he kindly got us moved into the salon (Captain vs Boat Manager again).
We then had half our numbers inside - around (and under) one of the two tables in the salon, leaving the other table for the Stella Maris guests. The rest of our group found shelter outside where they could.
Regarding food, admittedly the Vasco crew were told to bring food for us, however the eggs, spam and sliced bread they brought over was not sufficient - their fault. This is why we tried to buy food from the Stella Maris. Their trip, like ours, had been cut short (not on the last day) and we did expect there to be some food left. The kitchen staff did want to help, but had been told by Axelle not to, citing that this was Scubaworld policy.
As is turned out, most of the food prepared for the guests on the Stella Maris went to waste as they did not show for their meal. Try and imagine the torture of hot chicken legs sitting steaming in bowls just a few feet away from you after not eating for 12 hours!:depressed:.
Later on in the evening, even though the food was still uneaten, we weren't allowed to eat it by Axelle. It is a fact that we saw only six of the Stella Maris guests for the whole of the 15 hour long trip, and just two guests turned up to eat food in the salon at 2am.
Onto the trash issue; we cannot contest this, as we were not part of the crew and don't know the laws regarding dumping trash into the ocean in the PI's. It was very unfortunate that it was felt that throwing it overboard was the only thing to do with it. There was plenty of space on the ship on unoccupied decks to stow this. The crew was also overheard to say that they made a mistake by letting people see them throw the trash in the ocean.
Also, Axelle was very distressed to learn that we saw them do this.
We hope that the turtles, dolphins and whales in the area are understanding of this.
Regards help finding a room in Puerta Princesa, it was two members of our own party that searched the town for accommodation while we waited on the quayside. This was pretty difficult as Puerto was full. Other trips had been cancelled because of the continued bad weather and the hotels were full.
The comment that, next time you should be left at the ranger station is malicious.
Had you been there, you would know that sea and weather conditions were appaling. As such, getting to the ranger station was impossible. Quite simply, lives would have been risked doing this. Again, good thing Captains have authority at sea in emergencies rather than Boat Managers/Operators.
Finally, may we offer some constructive advice and suggest that all Tubbataha liveaboard operators consider providing specific Emergency training for all boat management staff, especially as the weather appears to be becoming more unpredictable and severe in this area of the PI's.
We wish everybody a very safe and enjoyable dive trip to Tubbataha this year - whoever people travel with. Just keep a close eye on the weather and don't hesitate to cancel if there is any sign of tropical depressions in the area. Learn from our mistakes and experiences.
Regards.
PS - as a parting shot, we got approached at 4am by Axelle for a 'tip' for rescuing our 'spoilt brat' sorry a**s from the Vasco :amazed:
Quote: (on just boarding the Stella Maris from the Vasco); "Hello, I'm Axelle the boat manager, "we have no room for you and we have no food for you". Nice, huh. After just being told to abandon ship and all.:shocked2:
International Maritime Law requires a ship to offer assistance to another ship in distress, this arrangement is between ships captains - not boat managers or operators. :deal:
Good job in our case as it seems like there is existing friction between Adventure Bound and Scubaworld.
All we were told was to pack all our bags for immediate transfer over to the Stella Maris. We were all ready for transfer within 30 minutes. We followed instructions given by our Captain and crew to the letter - nothing more or less. I stress Captain - not 'Boat Manager'.
We certainly didn't want to hang around for the band to start playing.:jazzband:
As we said in the previous post the captain and crews were extremely helpful on both the Vasco and the Stella Maris.
I don't know who contacted Cynthia Carrion, but certainly no one within our earshots announced that there were celebrities on board and asked for any special treatment because of this. So, who were the 'spolit brats' and why were they 'spoilt brats'? :madamy:
We were all 100% guilty as charged of asking where we could go to pee and poo. No one expected to find a cabin with sheets turned down and chocolate on the pillow. We were all aware of the popularity of Tubbataha and knew the boat would be full to capacity. All we needed was a dry corner to sit in and a place to pee and poo!
As for room (as in 'space'- not 'cabin') Axelle initially directed the Vasco refugees to the forward open top deck. When the weather worsened (heavy winds and rain), the captain said that it was too dangerous to deploy the plastic sheeting that kept this area dry (wind shear) and he kindly got us moved into the salon (Captain vs Boat Manager again).
We then had half our numbers inside - around (and under) one of the two tables in the salon, leaving the other table for the Stella Maris guests. The rest of our group found shelter outside where they could.
Regarding food, admittedly the Vasco crew were told to bring food for us, however the eggs, spam and sliced bread they brought over was not sufficient - their fault. This is why we tried to buy food from the Stella Maris. Their trip, like ours, had been cut short (not on the last day) and we did expect there to be some food left. The kitchen staff did want to help, but had been told by Axelle not to, citing that this was Scubaworld policy.
As is turned out, most of the food prepared for the guests on the Stella Maris went to waste as they did not show for their meal. Try and imagine the torture of hot chicken legs sitting steaming in bowls just a few feet away from you after not eating for 12 hours!:depressed:.
Later on in the evening, even though the food was still uneaten, we weren't allowed to eat it by Axelle. It is a fact that we saw only six of the Stella Maris guests for the whole of the 15 hour long trip, and just two guests turned up to eat food in the salon at 2am.
Onto the trash issue; we cannot contest this, as we were not part of the crew and don't know the laws regarding dumping trash into the ocean in the PI's. It was very unfortunate that it was felt that throwing it overboard was the only thing to do with it. There was plenty of space on the ship on unoccupied decks to stow this. The crew was also overheard to say that they made a mistake by letting people see them throw the trash in the ocean.
Also, Axelle was very distressed to learn that we saw them do this.We hope that the turtles, dolphins and whales in the area are understanding of this.
Regards help finding a room in Puerta Princesa, it was two members of our own party that searched the town for accommodation while we waited on the quayside. This was pretty difficult as Puerto was full. Other trips had been cancelled because of the continued bad weather and the hotels were full.
The comment that, next time you should be left at the ranger station is malicious.
Had you been there, you would know that sea and weather conditions were appaling. As such, getting to the ranger station was impossible. Quite simply, lives would have been risked doing this. Again, good thing Captains have authority at sea in emergencies rather than Boat Managers/Operators.
Finally, may we offer some constructive advice and suggest that all Tubbataha liveaboard operators consider providing specific Emergency training for all boat management staff, especially as the weather appears to be becoming more unpredictable and severe in this area of the PI's.
We wish everybody a very safe and enjoyable dive trip to Tubbataha this year - whoever people travel with. Just keep a close eye on the weather and don't hesitate to cancel if there is any sign of tropical depressions in the area. Learn from our mistakes and experiences.
Regards.
PS - as a parting shot, we got approached at 4am by Axelle for a 'tip' for rescuing our 'spoilt brat' sorry a**s from the Vasco :amazed:
