Instant Reader Report
on Lammer Law / [same] in
Galapagos Islands / Ecuador on
2002/12
by
Donald A. Brooks , IL, USA
Report Number 030904131402510

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 Over 1,500 dives around the world 

Dive Conditions

Essentially allowed to dive your own profile, but certainly do to
conditions, it was best to stay within your small group  

[None]  

Overall Rating

In December 2002 we dove the Galapagos aboard the Lammer Law.  We had dove
the Galapagos several years before aboard another liveaboard, and the
experience and diving were fantastic.  We enjoyed it very much and looked
forward to diving the islands again. We especially looked forward to
spending most of the trip at Darwin and Wolf, where all the action is.

The Galapagos is awesome diving, but definitely not for the beginner
diver.  The currents are often strong and the seas are rough at times, but
the big fish life is superb.  The Galapagos are home to hammerhead sharks,
manta rays, and sea turtles.

Unfortunately, our experience aboard the Lammer Law left a lot to be
desired.  Although it is a trimaran (93') and designed to be fairly
stable, it is NOT for seas with conditions worse than calm.  In moderate
to rough seas as you can expect in the Galapagos, the Lammer Law heaves
and twists constantly and gives one the feeling that it is NOT seaworthy. 
In fact, in some of the rough seas we encountered, the boat 'creeked and
banged' extremely loudly.  In addition, sea water splashing up on the
upper deck would often leak through the port holes in the bow cabins. 
Imagine being awakened with a 'bucket' of salt water that has leaked
through the window and splashes down on you and drenches you and your bed.
 Ever try sleeping on a soaked mattress?  For several nights the crew slept
in the lounge due to the rough seas, rather than below deck where they
normally bunked.  The crew said that is quite often the situation in the
Galapagos.

For the most part the crew was very helpful and performed their tasks very
well.  The food and the service were both good.  For diving, we had two
divemasters aboard, Fabian and Patricia.  Patricia was excellent and tried
very hard to accommodate the guests.  She was very knowledgeable and her
land tours were extremely informative.  She was also an excellent diver,
who cared for her guests.  Fabian was also an excellent diver, but he
definitely lacked the personal touch that Patricia genuinely exuded.  In
fact, his personality was often abrupt and rude.  In several instances he
was ‘flat out’ rude with his comments to several of the guests (including
myself) for no reason whatsoever.  His comments were certainly not
becoming of a trip leader.  He made the trip very uncomfortable for many. 
I would not recommend him as a divemaster for anyone anywhere.

The Lammer Law was to have nitrox for our trip, but upon our arrival no
nitrox was, as yet, avaialble on the boat.  That was okay, but with the
promise of nitrox aboard I had purchased a new ($600) nitrox computer and
looked forward to comparing it to my old nitrox computer.  Unfortunately,
the new computer was stolen off my BC two days later.  Early in the trip
Fabian asked about the computer and even asked if I had a backup computer
with me.  The next night my new computer disappeared, and being 100 miles
or so away from any other boats, it leaves no doubt that someone aboard
was responsible.  Since I had dove with all of the guests before and many
times, it only left the crew.  When I noticed the computer had
disappeared, I approached Fabian and let him know.  However, he or no
other crew member was very helpful in trying to recover the computer; but
instead blamed it onto to the fact that it probably had fallen off into
the water.  This was extremely unlikely since it had been secured to my BC
with its strap/buckle and a 'tie-wrap' for extra measure.  To my further
disappointment, even the owners of the Lammer Law (Duncan and Annie) were
NOT helpful at all and said there was nothing they could do.

My experience with the Lammer Law and Fabian certainly left a very bad
feeling for the Lammer Law and their owners.  Although, Galapagos is
awesome diving, I absolutely would never recommend the Lammer Law nor
diving with Fabian again.

Don Brooks
 

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