Chertan, April 1995, Cindy & Alec Chambers, Santa Barbara, CA. "Four days of diving;, a short charter that accommodated our stay at Walindi and the Highlands. Walls dramatic and sheer, taxing conditions, current, heavy seas. Can dive as many dives as you choose, Dove walls and bommies; every square inch of the reef is covered with lush growth, soft corals, billions of vividly colored tiny fish. Saw gray reef, white tips, blacktips and silvertip reef sharks. Four days of diving was not enough. Tropical Adventures did a perfect job of planning our trip."

Chertan, May 1996, Donna Layden, Denver, CO. "Something exciting every dive - schools of barracudas, bat fish, coronetfish, crocodile fish, rhinopterus, cuttlefish. Disappointed in the pelagics: 2 hammerheads, a few white tips. Some strong currents but overall manageable. One day it rained all day. July­Aug: Rainy season. Feb­Apr: decreased visibility but big creatures. May­June: water clearing, chilling (78° is coldest) but still some big stuff. Boat is very comfortable. Rob sliced open his finger. Fortunately we had brought enough supplies to start a small hospital and were able to take care of it on the boat. Remote area: bring everything you think you might possibly need. Partner and chef, Pao, was great at finding nudibranchs and even a Spanish dancer on a night dive!"

Chertan, July 1995, Susie Snowdon, McLean, VA. "Rob Van der Loos, owner, makes you feel like family. Well maintained boat, experienced, friendly crew. Showed us exotic creatures we would never have spotted. Due to rough seas, we spent most of 8 days on the North shore. Didn't see many large fish or schools, but the coral and critter life made up for it. Unspoiled reefs. Visits to the local villages gave us some ideal of the simplicity of their lives. Don't go this far without touring the inland areas. Chertan dives same waters as Telita: newer, better maintained boat and Rob has dived this area for 10+ years."

Chertan, October 1995, Kai-Man Lee, Oakland, CA. "Twelve divers too many for this boat. Food is mediocre. Two elderly ladies from Southern California, ages 65 and 72, were poor divers and restricted our overall dive plan. People like them should be barred from live-aboards. Vis: 40­150 ft.water: 75­80°"

Chertan, November 1995, Kaj Maurins, Santa Rosa, CA. "Great! Rob Van Der Loos, Australian Ex Pat, owns and operates the Chertan. Enthusiastic diver, shows wonders of above and below. 10 guests and ample space for everybody. Six crew members. Plenty of good food. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Algae bloom caused 30­50 ft. vis. Wide angle was out; did macro photography. Trip wonderful, price right. Travel via Air Nuigini to Alotau. Milne Bay Air charges excess baggage. water: 80­84°"

Chertan, May 1996, J. M. Duran, M.D., Corpus Christ, TX. "Serious coral bleaching at Milne Bay. (Not found up North in Madang) CPT. Dinah's (or Lionfish) beach at Lauadi incredible for photo/video. 5­30 feet sloping beach with few low profile coral heads: Octopi, eels, lionfish, mantis shrimps, inimicus, dwarf lionfish. anemone fish. Rainy weather (Water: 80­82, vis: 40 to 80 Feet). Decreased vis on wall dives but still it's difficult to beat PNG (Irian Jaya a close second)."

FeBrina, April 1995, Neal Marcus, Englewood, CO. "Beautiful coral, surprising lack of pelagics, a few schools of jacks, tuna, barracuda. Treated like adults when it came to dive frequency and profiles. Guests pick dive sites. Great food, great staff, especially owner Alan Raabe. Comfortable staterooms, AC weak. Never saw another dive operation the entire week."

FeBrina, May 1995, Chuck Nicklin, San Diego, CA. "Vis often 150'. Water flat and calm. Food gourmet. Captain Allan Raabe is excellent. Fifth trip to PNG."

FeBrina, July 1995, W. Brenner, Wayne, PA. "Everything top drawer: food, dive operation, accommodations, helpfulness and friendliness of crew, overall comfort. Captained by owner Allen Raabe, the FeBrina operates out of Walindi Plantation on Kimbe Bay, North Coast of New Britain Island. All diving in Kimbe Bay though some trips go further afield. No hand holding and no regimentation. Four or five dives a day were the norm and lots of night dives, too. When a large pod of dolphins appeared he positioned the boat so we could spend an hour in the water with them. Compares favorably with the Red Sea, many turtles, sharks, lots of other goodies like clown triggerfish, anemone fish, firefish, schools of barracuda. About half sun and clouds and one day of rain. Water low 80's. Vis 80­100 ft. You could dive your own profile."

FeBrina, September 1995, Douglas Piper, Fairport, NY. "Enjoyable; excellent diving, good food, well laid out for diving, attentive staff. Captain Alan Raabe competent, hard working and sociable. Pristine reefs, warm clear water and plentiful fish (some unusual ones), comfortable relaxed live-aboard."

FeBrina, September 1995, Finn Arne Olsen, Hovik, Norway. "During 61% of total diving FeBrina moved about 10 nautical miles. Dive spots of varying quality, some very good, but majority below reputation of the area. Vis limited on several dives. 1 guide for 8 divers, but did a good job. Dive briefing limited. Insufficient rinsing facilities for gear - all sweet water tanks occupied by photographers. Limited night diving. Twice waste water/heads holding tank emptied on dive site prior to dive! Film of oil/diesel surrounded the vessel, through which divers had to jump. The claim of unlimited diving unrealistic. 18 dives 5 days of diving with no bad weather limiting activities. Overpriced."

FeBrina, April 1996, Ricky and Sue Ferguson, Bryan TX. "Crew excellent. Captain went beyond the call of duty to show you things; whales, dolphins, sharks. Option to dive new sites never dove by the boat before. Three weeks onboard and 55 rolls of film were not enough." Vis: 80­100 ft. water: 85°."

FeBrina, May 1996, David Brannon, Bryan, TX. "Refitted vessel, small group of divers, captain not afraid to burn fuel to get to best sites. Underwater moorings, conservation oriented, shark feed, brought school of 100+ spinner dolphins by us in the water (for wake rides with props in neutral). Gerald Allen and Roger Steene on boat (authors of 30+ Pacific Reef and fish books) to dive with. First rate operation for a group of divers with cumulative 3000 + dives! vis: 50­200 ft. water: 86­88°."

FeBrina, June 1996, Lyle German, Corpus Christi, TX. "Spent 9 days on FeBrina. Everything great. Captain knowledgeable of sites. Boat comfortable; plenty of room for two in a cabin. Two tables for camera equipment above our dive gear storage area, plus a table where you could sit and work on camera gear. Crew great. Helped with tanks, cameras and equipment when entering or exiting. 32 dives in nine days, could have made more. 27 different sites, each very good to excellent. Cook and food super. Great time."

Golden Dawn, April 1996, Scott Dufford, TX. "Great diving. vis: 100­200 ft. water: 80­84°. Nearly perfect weather except on return crossing - rough! Diving on your own. When divemasters came along, they were more interested in taking their own pictures than helping anybody find rare creatures. Friendly and helpful topside. . . . Upstairs berths tiny - difficult for 2 people to move around. Downstairs roomier, but toward end of trip, toilets overflowed, stinking the place up. On top deck were wooden benches - very uncomfortable. Since mid-deck lounge was unairconditioned and enclosed, the top deck was the only place to relax. . . . Sharks on most dives, including night dives. Few other large creatures spotted; glimpsed 1 manta. Several turtles. Snorkeled with passing pilot whales. Excellent trip - wildly colorful coral, 100's of big fans, loads of nudibranchs, tropicals, a couple of cuttlefish and a great shark feeding dive that included a tiger! Many lion fish."

Telita, June 1995, Jeff Cauchy, Chicago, IL. "Pretty much stays in Milne Bay year-round. Nine of ten guests had lots of experience; one beginner was given assistance when requested. Three local guys working on boat were helpful and pleasant. . . . Water mostly calm; only rare current. Most dives begin and end off the stern. Skiff available for shuttling. Photographers content but would be cramped if more than three or four. You manage your own profiles. 02 on board but this might be the last place on earth you'd want to get bent. . . . This is macro, close-up type diving. Chris will find tiny animals in the muck, sand, and coral. Often unique to Melanesia/Coral Sea. Sharks, tuna, Napoleon fish, mackerels, rays, turtles seen by somebody on every dive, but not the density you see out of Kavieng. Reefs incredible; diversity and abundance of life spectacular. Nautilus trapping/dive interesting. Merlot's scorpionfish, leaf fish, ghost pipe fish, and peppermint sea cucumbers. Four dives a day and usually a night dive offered. 11 nights on board with 9-1/2 days diving. . . . Breakfasts mostly eggs and cold cereal. Lunches and dinners were plentiful, varied and delicious: snacks and drinks adequate. Special diets accommodated. . . . Cabins had bunk beds, shelving, sink with vanity and mirror, plenty of light fixtures, good ventilation. Two marine heads with showers on main decks and never aline to get in. Plenty of fresh water. One tank per passenger, quickly filled at your locker for the next dive. The hardwood interiors throughout the boat are beautiful. The sundeck is half-covered and spacious. Minor things need improving: towel service, water pressure in the cabin sinks, configuration of the dive deck, exhaust soot blowing around the sun deck. But none of these things takes away from the quality of the experience underwater. Vis. 50­80 ft. water: 76°."

Telita, August 1995, John Rigsbee, San Francisco, CA. "Lousy weather, fantastic trip. Rain muted spectacular colors, and rough seas limited choice of dive sites, but I'm convinced to skip Caribbean trips to save for another trip here. Boat occasionally cramped because we had to stay inside often. The crew was great, letting everybody dive as they wanted, and giving whatever help was asked for. Only for safe, responsible divers who understand their own limits. The food was good and plentiful, plenty of fresh water. Explore the highlands: amazing. See and Sea can help arrange this with Trans Nuigini Tours."

Telita, August 1995, Mary Lou Reid, Lake Jackson, TX. "Vis poor. AC barely worked; 85 degrees in our room at night."

Telita, August 1995, Charlie Erickson, New Haven, CT. "Great boat, delightful team of Chris and Suzy with Sep, James and Junior as crew. Friendly, good humored and want to help you find everything you've travelled so far to see. Certainties: the most pristine, abundant, lush reefs anywhere, breathtakingly beautiful, zillions of reef fish (anthias, chromis, fusiliers) Night dives at Observation Point will have you hyperventilating. Weird creatures everywhere, inimicus, flying gurnards, 1 inch "burying octopus," flamboyant cuttlefish, mantis shrimp; play with a nautilus and watch dolphins cavort. Probablies: Big stuff, you'll see some: a shark or two most days, four different hammerhead sightings (one close) and a magic two minutes with a manta. Maybes: good weather. ten days we had 2.5 days of sun, just enough to tease you with the color of the reefs. Clouds and some rain the rest of the week. Rough seas prevented exploring all but closest islands. Vis: 50­100 ft. water: 80­84°."

Tiata, May 1995, Thomas Godfryd, Birmingham, AL. "Staff exceptional. Captain David maintains enthusiasm and courtesy. Excellent cook. Boat exquisitely maintained, ample hot water, comfortable. Silvertip Reef provided much shark action. Opportunities to interact with locals. Be watchful of add-on air charges for dive gear."

Tiata, November 1995, E. P. Franks, M.D. Albany, NY. "From the moment the skipper, builder and owner of the boat picked us up at the airport in Kaviang to our departure, the 12 day experience was nothing short of spectacular. Boat is extremely well equipped with redundant systems; considerable audio/visual and photographic capabilities. Crew and cook are personable, knowledgeable and helpful. Dives well coordinated; could select our own locations to dive. Some did as many as 6­7 per day, others 2­3. Currents in certain areas strong but, it was a safe and sunny trip. Fed silvertip sharks on three occasions, numerous turtles, hovered four giant eagle rays. Night dives spectacular. Spent time in a village, which gave an understanding of how primitive this country is."

Tiata, April 1996, W.D. Nelson, Howell, MI. "Alotan to Lae wreck dive trip: Hudson Bomber, P-38, two P.T. boats (one was PT 107), B-17, S'Jacob, plus finding and diving the Masaya (sunk in 1943, 4 stack U.S. destroyer build in 1920 converted to cargo ship for WWII. Plenty of critter diving. vis: 50­120 ft. water: 84°­89°. Tops for photography, convenience, overall amenities, pleasant diving. Passengers repeat so book a year in advance."

Copyright 1997 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.