Febrina, July, 1995. "July may be the windy season (we dove Father's Reef and Kimbe Bay) but the water was always calm and flat. Occasional currents, but the bigger stuff was there with or without currents: schools of barracuda, tuna, jacks, rainbow runners, oceanic triggers, trevally, and bumphead parrots. Saw sharks (white tip, silver tip, and grey reef) every day - up to eight at a time at 18' to 60' deep (usually 30'-40'.). Deeper profiles available on most dives for those who prefer. Usually nice shallows for entertaining off-gassing. Plenty of reef fish, too. Saw several turtles, lots of juveniles, scorpionfish, mackerel, Spanish dancer, eels, lots of octopi, white-bonnet anemone fish, cuttlefish, stonefish, and friendly bat fish. . Three dives per day + usually a night dive. Vis. usually 70' +; once it was 150'. . . Lots of good food, you could gain weight if you don't watch out. Boat was comfortable, but fans in the room would be great -­ especially in PNG's summer. OK in winter. Captain Alan took expert care of Ethan when he came down with malaria early in our trip. Only two days of diving were missed. Alan knows exactly how to take care of malaria victims - we can't imagine receiving better care anywhere (PNG or US). Don't take Lariam. Take Doxycycline + Chloraquine. We took Lariam - it's expensive, has plenty of side effects and isn't that effective for PNG." Ethan & Gigi Davis, Coppell, TX

Febrina, August, 1995. "Water temperature 84°; visibility 40­60 feet. Good: The diving far surpassed what I expected; the bommies, reefs and seamounts were crowded with all of the Pacific tropical fish that I had only seen in photographs. The cook did an amazing job under difficult circumstances, particularly after a bad weather crossing to a better night mooring. . . . The dive crew was fantastic, always helpful and cheerful even when they had to hoist us by hand out of the water because the seas were too choppy to use the ladder. . . . Bad: The boat is slightly shabby, crowded and the cabins are small with limited storage space. All cabins had bunk beds (no ladder); eight people in my section shared two bathrooms. Availability of ice was a problem (particularly the last two nights when I had a raging fever), and at times the fridge contained only regular beer and ginger beer. . . . I wish I had known that no matter how warm the water, wear a long wetsuit; I wore a shorty and must have jumped right onto a jellyfish during a night dive. I was also stung numerous times during the week, even through a Lycra dive skin. The cumulative effect of the toxins caused a severe allergic reaction (seizure) the second­to­last night of the trip. The captain assumed I was bent, appeared more concerned liability, and was ready to call in Medi­Vac to Australia. Anything I had to say about how I felt physically was totally ignored. Fortunately, a diagnosis from the local doctor (an adventure in itself) verified the cause." M. Sorrel, Old Bridge, NJ

MV Chertan, September, 1994. First class live-aboard. 68 foot long with an extra wide beam. Much more comfortable and accommodating than Telita or Tiata. Six double staterooms hold 12 divers. Completely air conditioned and has the most comfortable salon of the 14 live-aboards we've been on. . . . Captain Rob Van Verloos is more customer­oriented than Telita. A long time resident of Milne Bay, he knows the eastern PNG waters and all the dive sites (water 82 degrees). On our second day we photographed two merlots scorpion fish. During our trip we also saw three types of ghost pipe fish, sea horses, a whale shark and many different types of anemone fish. The Chertan has a Nautilus trap and we were all successful in getting shots of free swimming Nautalis. The Nautilus was placed in a pail of water with several live shrimp and promptly ate one, disproving some critics who feel that trapping them is detrimental. The Chertan we'll be our regular PNG dive boat. Request to visit a skull cave. A real great shore visit. Make sure you take Malaria medicine. Be prepared to negoiate/payoff." Allan & Barbara Jones, Anaheim Hills, CA

MV Chertan, July, 1995. "Rob Vanderloos, owner/operator of the Chertan runs a superb operation in Milne Bay. Getting to the boat in Alotau is an adventure. Our group's biggest complaint was that eight days aboard wasn't enough. The weather in July at the beginning of the rainy season was mostly cloudy with rain every day - but it didn't hinder the great diving. Water 78 degree, vis 40­100 ft. Rob made us feel like guests in his home and dove with us almost every dive. He found us exotic critters to photograph and was an excellent photographer himself. (He hopes to provide E-6 in the future.) The boat was clean and comfortable; AC in the cabins made sleeping easier. About 1/2 the dives were from the dinghy. It was hard to get back on board with no ladder. Says a new dinghy is on order. . . . Peo, a PNG national, was a wonderful chef - using many local fruits and vegetables, and lots of seafood and Australian beef. The entire crew was pleasant and helpful but their limited English didn't allow too much with action in conversation." Susie Snowdon, Fairfax, VA

Golden Dawn, November, 1994. "The bad: Bland, unimaginative meals, lots of peanut butter, vegemite and marmite. The best: 200 ft. visibility, fantastic unspoiled coral reefs, huge diamond rays, explorations, schools of humphead parrot fish, (Carl's Ultimate.) reef. Coral gardens that are like Alice in Wonderland, big schools of barracudas, jacks, tunas, silver tip sharks, gray reef sharks, shark feeding, one 12-foot tiger shark, several huge hammerheads. Solo dive boat in Eastern Fields and Port Lock - no other operation in sight. 79 degree water. . . . Captain puts all 10 paying guests into the water at the same time - too crowded. He also has friends as nonpaying guests, cramping the system." Julie Leung, Kaneohe, HI

MV Telita, September, 1994. "My fifth cruise on the Telita out of Alotau, PNG. This vessel is run by Chris Carney and Suzy O'Connell; since the owners, Bob and Dinah Halstead, are no longer in command, my expectations were lower. When I saw how clean and bright she looked, I felt better. The trip was better than ever. Chris and Suzy are doing an excellent job. Chris is a competent captain and was well oriented to the dive sites. I could do my five dives a day with the same freedom the Halsteads had allowed. Chris solved problems such as a badly fouled anchor with confidence and equanimity. . . . Suzy is a great cook. She made double main dishes to accommodate the vegetarian guests and baked wonderful desserts and afternoon snacks. The crew is completed with old hands Guma and Jeff and Septimas, the engineer. Since last year, they made improvements that I appreciated: Able to board immediately upon arrival in Alotau instead of staying overnight in the Masurina Lodge. This gave us a half­day head start - at a lower price. . . . The new desalinator means no more skimping on showers or rinsing cameras and dive gear. There is now a shower on the dive platform. The air­ conditioning is now maintained at a comfortable level in all the cabins. With the new refrigerators in the galley, you can now get a beer or soda while underway without all the other cans falling out. The new curtains and carpets look nice and show a continued commitment to maintaining a beautiful boat." Mary Jane Kelley, Arcadia, CA

MV Telita, May, 1995 "Great for experienced divers. Boat policy according to Captain Chris: 'You are responsible for you. Dive within the limits of your own ability.' All divers on had numerous prior live-aboard dive experiences and more than 200 dives logged. One diver appeared to push dive depths to the limit and could have soiled the trip if she got in trouble. Some dives were in strong currents and a couple of divers required Taxi service to get returned to the boat. Overall diving is awesome and service on the boat was good, especially Jeffrey. . . . The only complaints are that Air Niugini misplaced luggage in Port Moresky causing us to miss one half day of diving; (2) lack of E-6 photo processing on board; and (3) limited camera facilities -­ small rinse tank, small table and no light directly over table. . . . Our group of three averaged 47 dives/person for the ten-day trip including lots of night dives and incredible diversity of critters. We like it." Richard Powers, Fremont, CA

MV Telita, June, 1995. "High expectations ­- and they were met or superseded. Chris and Suzie are in charge and from what I could gather were trained by Dinah and Bob Halstead so that nothing would change. . . . Most on board (myself included) wanted to avoid mask ripping currents so Chris chose sites with little or no current, but we certainly didn't give up any wonders: various reef formations, muck diving, shallow, and the corals -­ hard and soft, colorful and plentiful, seafans perfectly formed wear or abuse over 6' in height and width. Each site was a distinctive and unique. Saw octopus, bumphead parrotfish, cuttle fish, orange and blue ribbon eels, lionfish everywhere, lobsters, five different kind of shrimp at one cleaning station, white tips, hammerheads, clownfish (three kinds), schools of batfish and rhinopus, schooling barracuda, huge Spanish dancer (size of a carpet to wipe your feet), nudibranchs, flatworms, crinoids (10+ colors), crabs, ghost pipefish (3-5 different kinds), eagle rays, schools of tuna, clams, Nautilus caught in trap and brought aboard for photography. Yellow leaf scorpionfish, gray stingrays, black and white spotted stingrays, clouds of reef fish. It was great. Experienced divers will have a great trip, if not a trip of a lifetime. Chris and Suzie would have appreciate a newspaper, magazine, anything with current info." Susan Howarth, Mount Sinas, NY

MV Telita, July 1995. "If you want to see bizarre fish, juveniles galore or an abundance of fish in a book, this is it. Weedy scorpionfish (Rhinopias) - two together. Many kinds of lionfish ­­ and lots ­­ yellow-spotted scorpion-fish, stonefish, ghost pipefish: both the harlequin and the one that looks like sea grass, leaf/paper fish, both adult and juvenile blue ribbon eels, juvenile shaded batfish, banded pip fish, mantis shrimp, blue spotted rays, Nautilus, crocodile fish, cuttlefish - you name it. Plus sharks, mackerel, tuna, schools of barracuda, jacks and oceanic triggers. One manta. A few turtles. Every kind of reef fish. Numerous octopi. Lots cleaning stations. . . . Easier diving than expected, but you're on your own in the water. Better for experienced divers, no guided diving. . . . July is windy season - but our seas were calm - we didn't venture to the outer most islands and reefs. Only occasional current, but that brought in the bigger stuff. Each trip is different, depending on the season and weather. . . . Water temp's: 78° - 80°, usually 80°. Vis usually 70'+. Entertaining shallows available as nearly every dive for maximum bottom time and off-gassing. Nearly every dive provided a profile if you prefer deeper diving. Four dives+ per day. . . . Food was great and varied. Crew was great. Dive briefs based on written documentation and maps for every dive - depths and features shown. . . . Captain Chris and wife Suzy (our chef) are gracious hosts. Boat is beautiful. Food great.. . . Wish we'd known: we took Lariam, but Ethan got malaria after spending three weeks in PNG; fortunately only two days of diving were missed. Doxycycline + chloraquine are recommended for PNG by those who life in PNG. Still, CDC stands firm in recommending Lariam." Ethan & Gigi Davis, Coppell, TX

MV Telita, August, 1995. "Weather was awful (windy and rainy). The worst I have experienced in over 20 years of diving outside the U.S. This prevented us from getting to many dive sites and forced the crew to spend too much time running from one dive site to another. If this was normal Milne Bay weather for August, try to dive the Telita at another time of the year. Due to my schedule I couldn't avoid this, but I paid for it. . . . Enjoyed the diving freedom allowed by the Telita crew. No depth limits, buddy requirements. Chris and Sue did a nice job of trying to find unusual creatures to photograph, like the Ghost Pipefish and Leaf Scorpionfish. Trapping and photographing the Chambered Nautilus was also fun. This is something they do every trip. See & Sea Travel handled the arrangements in a professional manner" Mark Boranyak, St. Louis, MO

MV Tiata, April, 1995. "The only boat in PNG that was built (not modified) for divers and photographers. No cautions on fresh water use, huge dip tanks on stern for cameras, plus showers. Only five steps from gear to water entry. Cabins exceed quality of cruise boats, food is fantastic. This live-aboard has all the amenities except E-6 processing. Have been on her before and will be on her again. Marine life in New Guinea is the best I've ever experienced, particularly for rare critters." Wilt Nelson, Howell, MI

MV Tiata, May, 1995. "Lae to Kimbe exploratory trip. New chef Martine is spectacular, unless you want to lose weight. Captain Dave Miller and Owner Kevin Baldwin love to explore new sites with divers. Family-like atmosphere (eight divers, but capacity theoretically ten) plus four crew. Stabilizers (NAIAD) eliminate the roll, even in rough beam seas, making life quite bearable. Lots of video and still photography help available from Dave and Martine. 3000 psi tank fills by Jonathan and Ela. . . . Engine room a work of art - everything from holding tanks, hot water to engines has 100% backup. . . . What could be better? Surface intervals occasionally longer than necessary resulting in the fourth dive being a late afternoon/dusk dive resulting in a lack of enthusiasm. (Often a result of time spent exploring for new sites, however, which is great). Upper deck designed for lounging - in practice used for hanging skins/wet suits and storing garbage bags - so not particularly inviting, but a minor problem." Peter Jennings, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia

Copyright 1996 by DSDL, Inc., publishers of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.