Dive Review of
Pelagian - Dive Asia Pacific in
Indonesia/N/A

 World-Wide: PNG, Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Galapagos, Malaysia,
Philippines 

Dive Conditions

General time limits from 70 to 75 minutes.  

There is a large dedicated area inside of the boat for photographers.  The
area contains many charging stations for 110 and 220.  On the dive deck
there are two large rinse tanks.  Diving is from tenders and cameras are
placed in the rear of the tenders.  Care must be taken to not kick
equipment.  

Overall Rating

I was on this boat for four (4) trips for a total of two (2) months.  I
started with their first trip of the year in late February 2004, did
another trip from Sorong to Soring in July, and concluded with a trip that
went from Sorong to Bali via Kupang in September.

The good.  

Diving in Indonesia when covering diverse areas from Irian Jaya (now
Papua) to Bali provides great opportunities for seeing areas with pristine
corals, wonderful fish life, glorious invertebrates, and many macro
opportunities.  Areas such as Komodo, to include Rinca, offer beautiful
soft corals with extensive fish and macro.  There are locations that are
"National Geographic" class.  Example: Gunung Api is a volcanic
island that has hundreds to thousands of Sea Snakes.  

The boat is very large and spacious for the number of divers which is a
maximum of twelve (12).  Diving is done from two tenders with a dive guide
and a maximum of six divers per tenders.  Entry is a back roll and exit via
a ladder.  Nitrox is available and consistently filled to 32%.  The lounge
area is large and comfortable.  There are many areas on the boat for
sitting outside to read or lounge.

There is typically three day dives and one dusk or night dive.  On a few
days subject to transit conditions there may be fewer dives.  All dives are
guided but you are free to dive solo.

The bad.

By most standards this boat is luxurious but it was showing wear and tear.
 The owner tells me they will do a major refit in at the end of the
season.

Food was average and could be improved.  Salad offered at lunch but not
dinner.  Sliced fresh fruit only at lunch although there was a bowl of
fresh fruit at other times.  Cooked to order breakfast.  Buffet at lunch
and dinner with two choices for main courses.

There was no cruise director as the captain attempted to fill this role. 
The diving staff and operation needs improvement.  Dive briefings were
minimal and uninformative.  Dive guides varied in their
"attentiveness".

Some dive spots, not many, were damaged from dynamiting.  A few of these
are encountered on the trips as in a couple of locations whether or timing
does not provide better diving on those days.

Overall.

Indonesia offers fabulous diving.  With some capital investment and an
improvement in diving operations this would rate as one of the best of
boats. 

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