This live aboard dive adventure starts like most. Transport to the pier, a zodiac ride to the ship; quick introductions and safety briefing to the other divers and crew. So it begins. 10 nights; 11 days – all off the grid!! Lets dive.
The voyage hop’s from atoll to atoll here in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia – Rangiroa to Fakarava. With stops at Apataki, Toau, and Kauehi in-between. Often we dive two passes on each atoll; and spend several nights at some (in the lagoons). We did attempt another exploratory atoll; but the weather was horrible that early morning, so the ship moved on.
All the dive profiles are determined by the currents. Is the lagoon draining into the South Pacific (outgoing) or filling (incoming). Each has different dive profile- typically your wanting the incoming…ending the dives in the safe lagoon. Outgoing currents of the passes present the danger of being pushed out-out-out into the blue. If its strong enough; its 3-4km before you can be retrieved…. Kinda sketchy; so they avoid it at all costs.
This is not a trip for beginner divers. They expect at-least an advanced PADI, but in truth – that is not adequate. You Must manage you air, buoyancy, energy and nerve. No room for errors. And the divers that didn’t hold-up their end of the deal get ‘shunned’ by the others. No-one wants to dive with you; petitioning the Cruise Director to switch dive teams.
We have 16 paying divers (guests) on this trip; the ship can handle 25. So, there was plenty of room on the zodiac’s. 4-5 dive guides, and a crew of 12+ to operate the ship. A huge operation.
And this is French Polynesia; so all the dive guides speak French first; English second. And they think in bar and meters; not psi and feet. Get used to it !
Sea-Life: Crazy great Dolphin experiences in Rangiroa and Apataki. Sharks everywhere, Every dive. With the peak numbers at South Fakarava. If you see less then a dozen sharks on a dive – you had a bad dive. In Fakarava it’s in the hundreds. The Wall-of-Sharks dive site there can have as many as 700 in the pass. Unfortunately for us, we missed the currents the first day there and only had one chance to dive this famous site…. And as luck would have it, my dive group was last in and was the victim of a turf-war between our dive boat (Master) and a local dive operator. Somehow, someone pissed someone off..and the local dive operator took his group into the channel, chasing and scattering most of the ‘Wall’. Even so; I still saw at-least 150-200 sharks on that dive. More than I’ve ever seen at once. An insane adventure. Epic. Mostly its Gray reef sharks, followed by lots of Black Tips, then White tips. The interesting Silver tip show up sometimes, and the occasional nurse shark. I didn’t see any Lemons here on the trip, and didn’t get lucky enough to see the Tigers they say show sometimes. One hammerhead in Rangiroa… but all in all tons and tons of sharks. As expected; Napoleon Wrasse and the typical array of reef fish. A few moray, Barracuda, a few turtles, 1-2 Manta Ray’s in the deep, almost no nudibranch; but still - plenty to keep you entertained between the sharks. Its about the big pelagic stuff on these atolls.
I had one dangerous-scary moment during the trip. It occurred while on the zodiac heading out to a dive site (doesn’t it always?). In an atoll pass, the zodiac ran out of gas. NOT cool. We drift back into the lagoon with the incoming current - onto a ‘moto’ a small island...more a big coral sand bar in this case. The zodiac began crashing into the moto and coral-rocks, we’re in 2 foot of water, the waves where strong and dangerous. The driver/skipper gets behind the boat trying to hold it back; the 2 dive guides out front pulling-kicking-swimming with a rope… waiting for help to arrive from another zodiac. Holy shit!! This looks bad. I’m in the back, next to the driver and see the action best. A big wave hits us and totally lands the boat and its two 150hp engines onto the driver; he disappears in the waves under the zodiac – I wonder if it’s the last I’ll see of him !?! I was prepared and had my mask on – so I jumped out and help hold the zodiac off the reef (…NOT from behind…from the corner). One more big wave and this thing is going to capsize. Miraculously, the driver regains his footing, and help arrives at that very moment…another zodiac pulls us off the reef and sure disaster. Crazy shit. Not sure I really helped much, but it’s all I could do. I was amazed the driver made it out alive. So the lesson is: When doing your equipment check-list while boarding the zodiac – add ‘check the zodiac gas’.
The French Polynesian Captain was the friendliest I’ve ever had on a live aboard. Often most Captain’s just keep to themselves. Captain Stephan Gosselin was always interacting with the divers, sharing stories, asking how we getting on. He was more like a Cruise director. Very cool. Share a drink with him on the final night if you ever join this live aboard.
OK – my suggestion list if you joining the fun. Have a blast Seminole Scuba !!!
- Wear a full suit. The ripping currents throw you about. Anyone in a shorty or board shorts ended up with cuts on their knees.
- Use gloves and/or a reef hook. I prefer gloves. But at times the hook is cool.
- Manage you weights well. Sometimes it’s a negative entry, and sometimes you need to settle in and hold-on to watch the sharks. Buoyancy control at all times. !!!
- Your’ll hear about the “Mascaret” about 100 times. Its French for the rip-rap currents and vortex that occurs at the mouth (and/or the lagoon side) of the passes. If the wind is entering the pass from the ocean side, and the current is outgoing….wow, the waves and bounce is out of control. No way the zodiac’s can pull you out, no way to enter. In the mix the vortex’s will pull you down or while the upswells will push you to the surface --- all with a bad outcome. All dive profiles and briefings prepare you to avoid the Mascaret !! It becomes part of your education of diving the atolls.
- Dive Nitrox. Anyone not diving Nitrox, will have a terrible, impossible time. Most dives are deep (25-33m), and you stay at depth for 30-40 minutes. Interestingly; the Nitrox mix was 35-36% Oxygen for almost the entire trip. That seems to be standard for this ship. We started getting 33-34% the last day or two and felt ‘ripped off’ … they apparently had a little calibration problem and were sorry. Kinda interesting considering almost everywhere in the world – your luck to get 32%..I think it’s the Cruse directors attempt to head-off deco problems. With 3 deep, long dives every day; it helps.
- If you’re an air HOG; pay for the larger tanks; 15L vs: the standard 12L
- Food was great. Not sure why some review of prior groups where unhappy – I thought it was great! Coffee machine on the other hand..could use an upgrade.
- Dive guides are mostly good; but less then outstanding. They apparently have a high turnover among guides. It’s a very very hard job. Intense diving every trip. One or two of the guides were very new and didn’t know the dive sites and currents. … but on the other-hand … the Cruise director (Alex) was outstanding and his dive briefings excellent, PAY attention to his briefings. On 5-6 of the dives.. if you were sleeping … you were screwed!!!
- The ship is huge, rooms great, killer sun-deck. Plenty of room. Nice salon.,
- Some of the passages between the atolls can be rough. If you get seasick or have trouble sleeping in those conditions… prepare ahead.
- Diving here is all about the Sharks. Dolphins and Manta Rays are a plus. Schools of barracuda at times. But the coral is modest. All hard coral, mostly brown/white/tan. Looking much the same everywhere.
- The atolls themselves are epic…beautiful The topology of these atolls are unique to the world, none other can compare. Amazing place !!
- They rate the dives on a star-system. 1,2 or 3 star’s. Skip the camera on 3 star dives. 2 star dives will only provide a few minutes of opportunity to take photo’s while hanging on to a rock or ripping thru currents.
- Dive entries are back rolls from a zodiac – standard stuff.
- They require the divers to hand up all their weights, then their tanks and fins before climbing the ladder to board the zodic’s after a dive. That includes integrated weights. That plan results in you needing to re-insert your integrated weights for each dive. A real pain in my opinion. But then I don’t have to lift the tanks out the ocean.
- Book yourself another night or two on in Rangoria and on Fakarava. Dive there with the local diver operators (TopDive or 6 Passengers seem the best)
- Snorkel with the sharks off the back of the ship in Fakarava. After one of your dives…just get back in the water. Its brilliant !!! Take a 1000 pictures.
- Absolutely skip the expensive, useless Wifi they sell.
- Visibility in the lagoons is normal poor. But the passes, reefs, pass corners are usually great. All in all, you won’t complain about the vis.
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