Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Thorfin/Thorfin- land based due to Boat acc in
Micronesia/Truk Lagoon

Thorfin/Thorfin- land based due to Boat acc, Oct, 2007,

by Jon Bunnell, CA, USA ( 2 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 4117 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 1 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 1 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments We chartered 1/2 of the Thorfin for one week.In June we were contacted that the boat had hit a reef after refueling. We were offered a full refund, discount on a future trip, or to take the trip as planned and do a landbased trip with the two dive tenders from the Thorfin. The land based accomodations would be at the Blue Lagoon resort. Most of our group opted for a full refund, however 5 of us decided to continue on with our dive trip. The blue lagoon resort is a nice property. The rooms are very basic, airconditioned, and clean. We were amazed at the variety of food available at the one restaraunt. The food was very good, basic but good. Fresh fish, Japanese, and American food. The service was very slow and poor. More than once we sat for more than 45 minutes without being offered water or any other beverage after coming back from a full day of diving. I cannot say enough about the diving- it is everything I have heard- The Fujikawa Maru has incredible corals, fans and giant clams covering the entire ship. Unbelievable artifacts from the war. The Water was pristine on 80% of the dives. We dove 4 dives a day for 6 days. We were allowed to dive our own profiles. However, the dive opoeration was the most haphazard and dangerous operation I have encounterd in 20 years. The group was promised doubles and Nitrox upon request. Doubles were not available until our 4th day of diving, and there were only two sets. The group spent 2 hours assembling them and using our own dive kits for spare parts. About 50% of the parts offered for the doubles were corroded beyond use. During the week we were offered tanks with yolks that were so corroded, and O-rings so old they were not usable. The divemaster had only broken english and communication consisted of pointing and smiling. On the San Franciso Maru my wife and I went to use the first staged bottle for decompression at 150 feet- and one of the regulaters was so corroded it would not function. In preparation for the San Francisco our group of 5 plus an Irish couple orgainized our deco bottles with our own back-up equipment with the exception of the one which failed at 150 FT. (lesson learned) The following day while doing a decompression dive we found the same inoperative reg at 40 feet. The consensus of our group was that the diving was a success because of the experience and back up equipment the group brought with them. Nitrox would show up some days and sometimes only enough bottles for part of the group.The Panga we dove from was the nicest we saw in the lagoon- 20 ft rigid hull inflatable, two outboards, and completely covered from the sun. One side of the tubing was completly deflated. On the fifth day they brought the second boat which was completely inflated, however one of the engines failed-so for the afternoon dive were back to the flat tire boat. Overall the trip was incredible, but I would never dive with this operation again-although we did not get to use the boat where most of the equipment is-one would only assume the quality of their operation is indicated by who was left in Truk to run the business while the Thorfin underwent repairs. Many apologies were offered at the conclusion of our trip-given the advanced level of diving/depth-apologies do not excuse the poor level of performance of the Thorfin employees or equipment.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Over 3, 000 dives-Va Beach, North Carlina, Fl Keys, Walkers Cay, Bimini, Grad Bahama, Maui, Cozumel, Southern Ca., La Bufadora Mx.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 84-87°F / 29-31°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 40-150 Ft/ 12-46 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions No Restrictions
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 1 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments Accomodations pretty limited-for photagraphy if you need it bring it.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 1 Helpful vote
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 466 dive reviews of Micronesia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. Looking for sharks, wrecks, kayaking, tropical islands? We specialize in adventures to Micronesia.

Want to assemble your own collection of Micronesia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.08 seconds