October 2009    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 24, No. 10   What's this?

National Geographic Explorer

real pirates use nets

from the October, 2009 issue of Undercurrent  

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Dear Fellow Diver,

Mozambique. French Comoros. The Seychelles. Exotic destinations all, featuring exotic cultures, gorgeous beaches, and lovely people. But not diving. Not anymore.

In two weeks cruising on the Lindblad/National Geographic Explorer in May and June, we covered 2000 miles of ocean between Dar-es-Salaam and Victoria, capital of the Seychelles. And in all that time, in a part of the world where the diving should be wonderful if not outright pristine, I had one proper, good dive. Not that it was wholly disastrous: it’s just that after shelling out sixteen grand (you read that right—$16,000) for a single room, one would hope to see more large fish (not counting rays) than three sharks and a single bumphead parrotfish. As far as any fish longer than a meter, those four were it.

This is a sizable vessel (passenger capacity: 140) re-commissioned in 2008 for what has come to be called adventure cruising. Though exceptionally well looked-after, diving is not its primary purpose. Indeed, there were rarely more than ten divers on any dive. With two divemasters always in attendance, dives were both relaxing and enjoyable. If only there had been more to see. ...