Dive Review of
Truk Odyssey in
Micronesia/Truk Lagoon

Bahamas, Bay Islands, Belize, Cozumel, Turks & Caicos, Australia, Sea
of Cortez, Fiji

Dive Conditions

If you go into deco, follow your computer and be sure you have enough gas
on your back to do the hang time.  

[None]  

Overall Rating

Let me begin with the ugly: the flight from Little Rock to Weno.  We arose
at 0330 in a desperate bid to get our luggage onto the airplane(those of
you who fly out of major hubs cannot imagine the problems of divers who
must begin their journies on tiny Embraer jets).  We went to bed on the
boat a bit after midnight. Half our group was plagued with sinus and ear
problems for the next week, and we kept falling asleep at 2030 and awaking
at 0430.  Everything else about the trip, however, was excellent.  The
Odyssey is a very comfortable boat.  The cabins are huge.  Even with a
queen-sized bed we had more floor space than is usual on a liveaboard, and
the shower was of normal dimensions.  Each cabin has a small TV and DVD
player with two sets of headphones so our neighbors could watch action
movies while we read. There are also reading lights on both sides of the
beds. Cabin towels were replaced daily, and hot water was abundant.  The
dining area was a sunny room with hardwood tables.  The salon on the deck
below offered soft couches and a large TV, while housing the boat's
outstanding library of marine ID and history books.  The half-covered sun
deck was large enough to accommodate all 16 divers during surface
intervals. The food was good home cooking in liberal quantities.  Breakfast
was cooked to order from a menu, while lunch and dinner were served buffet
style.  There were sweet snacks between morning dives and outstanding
savory snacks (sushi, calamari) in the afternoon.  Candy, nuts, and package
cookies were always available.  On the Odyssey, everything is included in
the ticket price.  There is no extra charge for Nitrox or the bar. The dive
operation treated us very much as responsible adults capable of determining
 our own limitations. Dive briefings were the most thorough we have ever
been given.  We were told about the history of the ship, given detailed
information about penetrations, and also advised of the marine life we
would see.  Divemasters offered to serve as guides before every dive. With
the help of the DM's we were able to see areas of the ships we would not
have penetrated alone.  There were five divemasters/instructors and Captain
Lenny to assist sixteen divers. The dive deck provided each diver with a
station that included under-bench storage.  Warm towels appeared after each
dive, and the deck shower was warm.  The diving in Truk Lagoon was like no
other.  From massive destruction comes great beauty.  The wrecks
themselves, qua wrecks, are truly awe-inspiring.  Heavy decking is twisted
in sinuous forms.  Entire portions of ships have been blown away.  What I
found most moving were the small objects that had been dropped as men ran
to their battle stations or struggled to safety.  But after sixty years,
the wrecks have also become reefs.  We saw gorgeous carpet anemones guarded
by three kinds of anemone fish.  Soft corals covered kingposts and masts. 
Tropical fish were cleaned in holds and along decks.  We saw quite a few
nudibranchs, several turtles and morays, and one pair of eagle rays. Once a
week the Odyssey does a shark feed followed by a dive on the lagoon's outer
reef.  The diving in Truk Lagoon is unique, and the Odyssey with its
excellent crew offers a safe and comfortable base for doing up to five
dives a day there.  It is a topnotch liveaboard in a very special location.
 We felt that a week of diving in Truk barely gave us an overview. 

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