Koi Mala, March 1996, Tom Trotter, Singapore. "Wooden hull (76 x 18ft) Maldivian owned vessel, chartered by Sea Safaris, an Italian company. Accommodates 14 divers but prefer 12 otherwise divemasters have no bunks, as on my trip. Two double bed cabins with ensuite and five double bank cabins with outside shower/toilet. Accommodations good; AC if generator works - didn t for three days. One lounge area, sundeck, eat on pool deck. Food plentiful but repetitive, not unusual for Maldives, everything imported. No soap in showers/toilets. . . . Big, heavy, steel tanks; with Polartec suit and no weights I still sunk like a rock. Diving from two 20 x 8ft boats, Maldivian Dhoni . Tanks pumped on board these, dive gear remains on. Boatmen good with cameras and pickups; use sausage because of currents. . . . Ari Atoll sea mounts and walls outside of atoll. Lots of fish but coral not so good. vis: 50­80 ft. water: 28°­29°C. American instructor. Locals aren t used to 4 dives/day, but they are trying! A reasonably good operation with pleasant crew and boat. Cost: US $220/day.

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