Nai'a, Bligh Waters, Fiji

Dear Fellow Diver,

Mantas! After a rough overnight transit from Vatu-i-ra, I was ready for the 7:00 a.m. dive in the Wakaya area on day four, west of the main island Viti Levu. Cruise director Bel's passion spilled over to us divers as she enthusiastically described and showed pictures of the mantas the previous day. She and Mike, her partner, study the mantas and have even named them. The rules: do not chase them and do not remove the camera she places at the pinnacle for recording their behavior.

Once underwater, I enjoyed the abundance of creatures -- scorpion fish, turtles, green morays, reef sharks, large groupers, a leopard shark, even a hammerhead -- and after 15 minutes, the mantas slowly arrived, swooping by close enough to see their details. During this first dive, I saw three mantas, with Danny Pegleg courting Shirley while M467 just hung out. Overwhelming in their grace, these 30-foot ocean mantas were beautiful. Over three dives, there were 14; on my 2010 Fiji trip, I saw only a couple.

Returning to dive the Bligh Waters between Fiji's two major islands with the Nai'a crew this September, I expected stunning sites and moderate currents on most dives. However, the currents were unreliable on the first day due to Bogi Walu, Fiji's eightnight trade-wind-driven surge, which brought choppy seas and stronger currents, exacerbated by a new moon. Bel suggested we take sea sickness drugs to stave off mal-de-mer and help us sleep during the rough overnight transit. And rough it was, forcing me at times to hold on to my bed and hope I didn't have to get up to pee. The first thing I did the next morning, with the help of Captain Angus, was sync my Nautilus Lifeline (marine rescue GPS and radio) with the Nai'a.

When I arrived in Nadi, I overnighted at the Gateway Hotel. The next day, around 1:00 p.m., a bus picked up divers for the hour trip to the Nai'a at Lautoka port. Before our afternoon checkout, the only one that day, we were shown to our cabins, unpacked, set up gear, and had a snack. I was still jet-lagged and groggy. The day felt rushed and met with some grumbling, but nothing could be done but to follow our marching orders. The Nai'a had somehow obtained and verified our C-cards online before we boarded -- except for my dive buddy, who was YMCA-certified 60 years ago. They also vetted for nitrox certification, as we all would use it.

The cool water (77-79°F) on our afternoon checkout dive woke me up, but keeping my eye on my buddy's in the five-foot visibility was hard. We were then divided into unchanging groups, Righty and Lefty, according to the side of the boat we would board our skiff. Three dive guides, Mike, Bel, and Semi, rotated between the two skiffs, and, when not diving, handled responsibilities onboard. The dive schedule would be 7:00 and 10:00 a.m., 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., and one night dive. Fifteen minutes before each dive, we were to be geared up with our 80 cu. ft. tanks checked for psi and nitrox by the crew, recorded by the divers, and ready for the briefing. Twenty-four dives were offered over seven days, and we would repeat several, either due to diver preferences or current avoidance.

We were an eclectic group: a dozen from Europe, four Americans, and two Canadians aged 35 to 82. We were physicians, psychologists, biologists, financers, realtors, and one was a travel writer for the German magazine Der Spiegel. Not a drama queen or a hotdog among us, just friendly, serious, experienced divers on a legendary dive boat. While much of our conversation revolved around dives here and trips elsewhere, there was a lot of concern about the influence of ultra-right factions and candidates in upcoming elections, both in Europe and the U.S.

The Nai'a, Fiji's only liveaboard, a well-cared-for 120-foot vessel, has been plying Fiji's waters for 30 years. Her showcase is the air-conditioned woodpaneled lounge/dining room, with three small comfortable sofas and various fish ID and Fiji travel books. There's an open-door camera room toward the bow and an ample dive deck and platform at the stern. Up top, the sun deck has plenty of lounge chairs (but no shade). Below decks are nine air-conditioned cabins -- with either double beds, twin beds, or bunk beds -- each with ample storage space and a head with a shower and plenty of hot water. One two-bunk bed cabin in the crew area housed our Der Spiegel writer (I'm guessing he was comped).

Day two, our first full dive day, was met with strong winds and currents too swift for the planned dives, two of the more outstanding sites from my previous trip: Mt. Mutiny and E-6. So we motored to a more sheltered area, Nuku Point, which had a slight current and stunning topography. We began, as often we did, dropping to 80-90 feet, then weaving our way back up. Large and small bommies blossomed with hundreds of colorful small fish, including butterflyfish and blue puffers along the bommie sides, a few nudibranchs, Halimeda ghost pipefish, hawkfish, and leaf scorpion fish. I followed our guide, Semi, through two swim-thrus, and below were a few sharks and schools of trevally, schools of triggerfish and barracuda, large dogtooth tuna and grouper, a variety typical at many sites.

On another day at a site named Kansas -- marked by a dense, beautiful bright yellow Sinularia flowing over the bommies and waving in the currents, like Kansas wheat fields -- anthias cascaded over a crevice between two bommies that exploded with purple dendronephthya soft coral. For photographers, the crevice windows framed the soft coral, as well as yellow and red fans. It was an iconic Fiji dive, and as we headed back, spinner dolphins surrounded our skiff and put on quite a show.

Following sites were Tetons I and II, with schools of barracuda, large groupers, small soft waving corals and sea fans, lots of small fish in crevices, and colorful anthias darting about. All beautiful dives, but the white-capped choppy seas meant bumpy rides in the two dual-outboard, sturdy 22-foot double-bottomed heavy-duty skiffs. For boarding after a dive, they lowered a stable, vertical metal ladder, but the sea was often too rough; some divers climbed in over the side, but I handed up my gear, turned my back to the skiff, and Clayton, our strong-armed driver, put his hands under my armpits and hauled me in.

At School House, our group finned into a mild-moderate current, and after a few minutes, the current near the bommies increased and became so strong I kicked hard but could not make headway. I warned my buddy away from the roiling currents but got caught. With some difficulty, I rose for my safety stop and surfaced alone in very choppy seas. I was sure I would need my Nautilus Lifeline to be found, but in less than a minute, Clayton came bearing down at the helm of the skiff, a testimony to the excellent Nai'a crew and, indeed, the skiff drivers!

Divers could dive their own computer profiles for up to 60 minutes, extended by 15 minutes if guides were informed in advance, though the depths and a lot of finning into the current quickly diminished psi. Following the dive guide was optional. As most back-rolled in negatively buoyant, there was a grouping following the dive guide, which became looser as the dive progressed. Of the eight divers on my skiff, five essentially dived solo, one went with a guide she hired, and one newlywed couple hung together. One diver never located the group on one dive. Headcounts on the Nai'a were taken via a portable peg board, with name tags for each guest placed to indicate who got on the skiff and who got off.

The 120-foot steel-hulled Nai'a is well preserved since her refit for a liveaboard thirty-one years ago. She was refitted again in 2010 due to a cabin fire. Conscious about fires and passenger safety, the cruise directors were emphatic that we were not to plug any devices into our cabin sockets (besides hair dryers they provided) and only charge electronics in the lounge or camera room. (I was furious with my assigned roommate for plugging in her iPhone in our cabin and let her know. She unplugged it and left the cabin.) They pointed out the three escape routes from below decks' cabins: a staircase and two hatches, where ladders had to be put down, or else one would need a mighty boost by another. A fire extinguisher was outside my cabin door. At my request, Mike took me on an engine room tour, which was remarkably clean and clutter-free, and touted two gigantic CO2 tanks designed to flood the area to suppress a fire. In a briefing, Captain Angus demonstrated the hefty life vests with whistles and lights stowed in the cabin closets. There's even a defibrillator onboard.

The two cruise directors/dive instructors, Mike (South Africa and Scotland) and Bel (Brazil), arrived together three years ago from Utila, Honduras. Mike is a tech master trained in repairing equipment. A perfectionist, he noticed things that needed correcting and did a great job troubleshooting my leaking air pressure gauge (corrosion) and had a new one to replace it. Underwater, he was keenly aware of his divers and pointed out esoterica, such as an endemic Fiji anemonefish. Bel was charming, a bit bossy, dramatic, and let it be known from the get-go that if you wandered off and got caught in the current, she would not come after you. You see, she was responsible for the group. She made most of the predive whiteboard drawings, and both made the briefings. Once, I asked Bel the direction of the bommies we were to head toward and expected a compass reading or at least a wave of the hand. "Bel direction!" was her quip. Dive guide Mo, whom one diver hired for personal shepherding, indicated the direction, as did Semi. Both were always eager to engage their guests as listeners or tellers of their own engaging tales.

Meals began with a continental breakfast at 5:30 a.m., full breakfast at 8:30, lunch at 11:30, 2:30 snacks (with one of the two talks given), and dinner at 6:00 p.m. The meals were nicely presented, varied, and substantial. Scrambled eggs and French toast were delicious. Freshly made ginger and orange muffins, and all breads were first-rate. One night, I could not eat all my tasty beef filet, so the chef fried onions and peppers and added them to the sliced filet for a sandwich for my lunch the next day. The last night's dinner choices were lamb shank, bacon-wrapped chicken, or vegetable risotto. Soups, such as root taro, accompanying dinner, were delicious and unique. That day, lunch was fish, vegetable, or chicken kebabs, served with fried rice, walnuts, apple, and yogurt salad. And one could always request another option. My favorite dessert was chocolate mousse, and cakes and brownies were delicious, with ice cream always available. With dinner, the gracious Maikeli, the Purser, served good red and white wines. Before or after dinner, wine, beer, or spirits were inexpensive and soft drinks were free.

The Nai'a crew is professional, highly skilled, gracious, helpful, and with friendly smiles. I felt safe, whether transiting under the guidance of experienced Capt. Angus, getting in or out of the skiffs, or being spotted by a skiff driver. The only glitch in this exceptionally organized trip was malfunctioning refrigeration on day six, which affected air conditioning and compressors. It was temporarily managed, and we picked up an electrician from the main island the next night, who fixed it quickly!

It seems like all Fijians sing beautifully, and the crew sang to us aboard when we arrived, when we left, and in recognition of a diver reaching 200 dives. Party night with kava offered singing and dancing. These guys are GOOD! Without them, Nai'a would not be the legendary premier boat she is.

Who should join the Nai'a? Confident and seasoned divers comfortable with moderate to strong currents and who love pelagics, colorful and widely diverse fish, and corals. The depths and currents are not for neophytes, and with only one guide in the water for eight or nine divers, beginners have little attention, though a personal guide can be reserved in advance. But for experienced divers, no matter where you have been diving, you'll find the Nai'a an excellent boat, and the diving is right up there with the best anywhere.

-- J.D.

Our undercover diver's bio: "I began diving more than 20 years ago, quickly becoming obsessed with observing fish and critter behavior. A couple of thousand dives later, I've made half my dives in the Caribbean and the remainder mostly in Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Turkey. Using the excuse of absorbing local culture, I've drunk kava in Fiji, penis soup in PNG, and spat betelnut juice in Palau. I'm convinced it helped my fish ID skills in those regions."

Divers compass: Nai'a price for a shared room, seven-day charter -- $4481. I transferred funds to avoid their 3% credit card surcharge . . . LAX to Fiji -- $5800 business class . . . nitrox is $150 . . . Rental gear looked new or at least in good shape . . . It would take over 24 hours to get to the nearest hyperbaric chamber in Suva . . . I prefer dry weather with higher visibility, July to December, though the water is cooler . . . I overnighted at the Fiji Gateway before boarding the boat, and for two days after the trip, $130/night . . . Garden of the Sleeping Giant (Orchid Gardens) is worth a visit . . . Nadi town is filled with blaring music and Indian merchants shouting for sales attention, which I found obnoxious . . . . For another fix of the beautiful singing voices, I went to a local church, Gateway Harvest . . . . Nai'a is a Hawaiian word that means dolphins. www.naia.com.fj