Bilikiki, April 1995, Hans S. Menco, Pittsford, NY. "Most comfortable dive boat. Ideal setup for photography with large rinse tanks, ample work space for camera care and E-6 processing. Great support from boat managers Jim and Kay. Boat clean. Food very good. Diving very good, not spectacular. Large variety of small tropical fish with unique species: leaf fish, crocodile fish, pipe fish, unusual anemone . Wide variety of hard and soft corals, although not the big soft coral trees. Did not see any large fish. Vis poor on most dives, on some no better than 40­60 feet. Many times I found myself diving alone though I knew - but could not always see - that other divers were nearby. Chase boats was always there to pick me up."

Bilikiki, April 1995, Linda Allen, Springfield, MO. "Excellent crew, hosts, Jim and Kay knowledgeable and helpful. Easy diving, what you saw depended somewhat on how much current was running. Hotel in Honiara - Kitano Medano - nice service but rooms were mildewed from top to bottom - extremely poor."

Bilikiki. May 1995, Robert Shaklovitz, Houston, TX. "With the notable exception of Morokua Island, which featured large schools of jacks and barracuda, not much big fish action. Macro subjects abounded: Mantis shrimp (several), anemone shrimp and crabs, colorful gobi's, nudibranchs and flatworms. Visibility not as clear as I had expected - 50' to 70' in the Florida Islands; a bit better in the Russell Group. Water temp. was 83 deg. F. in early May. Boat quite comfortable. All cabins air conditioned, and each has its own shower, sink and toilet, storage facilities minimal; could be a problem if you have a roommate with a lot of stuff to stow. Crew experienced, friendly and helpful. Food was good to very good."

Bilikiki, July 1995, Robin Dyleski, Marina Del Rey, CA. "Stable vessel. Tenders ferry divers to site, less than 30 second wait for pickups. Crew always present to help, but not underfoot. Managers Jim and Kay excellent photo pros. Intervals between dives spent on deck tanning, checking photo gear or fishing with crew. Crew purchased produce and fish at remote villages. Diving as good as it gets. Water temp 80­81 deg., good vis. Scheduled 4 dives/day with night dives, actually 5 plus in 11 day trip. Food was good and abundant."

Bilikiki, July 1995, Cory Gray, Los Angeles, CA. "Several trips to villages. Vessel traveled at night so sleep was possible. Scenery not lush as Fiji, and fish were not as friendly as in the Red Sea. Main attraction for photographers: gobi's, nudibranchs. . . . I got bent. Nearest chamber is in Australia. Fortunately, O2 therapy relieved my symptoms, and there has been no after effect. 5-dive-a-day schedule was a contributing factor. Although I did most dives, my computer indicated I was not over the line (although up to the line). After my incident on the sixth day, I noticed many of the other divers skipping scheduled dives. Not a bad idea on any trip of this length."

Bilikiki, August 1995, Alan Hutchison, Reno, NV. "First-class operation, great diving. Did not dive World War II wrecks; reefs, fish and turtles were outstanding as was service. High risk malaria area. I took Lariam without problems, but two divers became sick and said it was Lariam. Divemaster has had three bouts with malaria in three years. Aussie doctors don't recommend Lariam for divers since it may cause convulsions underwater."

Bilikiki, September 1995, Steven Wolper, Ketchum, ID. "Bilikiki and Rainbowed Sea Tours are the best. Good and plentiful food - exceptional diving for photographers. Solomon Islanders are kind and humble people. Air Vanuatu - Solomon Air from Fiji. They charge cash, no credit card, for excess baggage and they weighed it all. Had to run to the bank at the other end of the airport and use credit cards to get Fiji dollars (no US dollars accepted) and then run back with the proper change."

Bilikiki, November 1995, Robert Jackson, Birmingham, AL. "Two week excursion executed perfectly by Chris Newbert and Birgitte Wilms. They signify the standard of excellence in diving expeditions and underwater photography. Bilikiki is large enough to provide luxury. The crew is attentive, you'd think you'd entered heaven after a sin-free life! This corner of the Indo Pacific has it all."

Solomon Sea, April 1995, Stan Watt, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. "Nice boat with 5 staterooms for a maximum of 10 divers. Crew is Fijian and Solomon Islanders. Dives range from average to spectacular. Food was good and Captain was flexible."

Solomon Sea, August 1995 Jim Pisani, Seal Beach, CA. "Catered to experienced adventurer who love high currents, lots of life on a reef, and who don't need their hands held. Reefs pristine and unexplored. Quite a variety - much more than Fiji - of 'stuff' crammed into each square yard of the reef. WWII wreck diving, if not so deep, could be world-class. Islands we dove (Tulagi, Gauutu, Guadalcanal) had major battles and war junk in the waters offshore. One dive near Tulagi had dozens of 5 unexploded ordnance at 80 feet. The boat has relaxed atmosphere with the Captain/owner Fred Douglas participating with the guests in deciding on next dive spot and often join on the dives. Crew friendly and helpful."

Solomon Sea, September 1995, John Williams, Lakewood, CA. "Two days in Honiara. John Carr (Island Dive Services) took us on four wreck dives. Solomon Sea 80+ feet long, spacious, air conditioned, tons of room on deck. ten divers, crew of six. Dives full of hundreds of exotic and colorful reef fish, soft and hard corals, and pelagic, schools upon schools of trevallys, unicorn fish, snappers, and barracuda all darting around feeding on baitfish. People are friendly. Vis 60' to 120."

Solomon Sea, July 1996, John Crossley, Midvale, UT. "Fred Douglas runs an excellent boat with nice accommodations for 10 divers. Diving off stern platform or a short ride in open motor. Coral excellent condition though not as colorful as Fiji. Fish life more diverse. 4­5 dives per day; Spanish dancer, crocodile fish, 3 stone fish together, sharks, eagle rays, 4 lion fish together, clownfish, WWII wrecks, bumphead wrasse, banded pipefish. Food good; lunch often tasty pasta; Breakfast Fruits, cereals, toast. Dinners culminated with original desert. cabins have showers, sink and toilet and plenty of room. Good library, video collection, best facilities for film developing. Dive deck small; camera table holds 6 cameras and strobes, rinse tank and fresh water shower. Great crew."

Spirit of Solomons, May 1995, Pat Clark, Tempe, AZ. "Paul and Vikki's knowledge makes this among the top trips. Sharks, eagle rays, mantas, turtles, plenty of reef life. Food fantastic, Village tours. five dives/day. Trip to the new Georgia Group was new to us. We had been on the Bilikiki in 1993."

Spirit of Solomons, September 1995, Gerry Smith, Orland Park, IL. "Identified 200 species of fish from Guide and an equal number of other living things. Fresh towels after every dive including one for the camera. Spectacular caves with shafts of light sparkling down from holes in the roof. North Point was shark heaven with huge clouds of fish everywhere. Many lionfish, batfish, unicornfish; Tridacna clams were huge; hammerhead, gray and several white-tip sharks."

Spirit of Solomons, December 1995, Mona Cousens, Santa Barbara, CA. "Spacious, comfortable. Dive deck accommodates 21 divers with room. Upper deck roomy. Ice, cold drinks, coffee and hot tea always available. Food varied and excellent. Sharks, turtles, (neither in great abundance) cuttlefish, leaf fish, crocodile fish, scorpion fish, stonefish, ghost pipe fish, mantis shrimp. Staff friendly, always available to take a ride in the tinny or go fishing. Organized visits to native villages. Difficult to snorkel between dives, as boat was rarely at anchor. Required to dive at the same time so sites were crowded. Heavy current; once had a down-welling which scared newer divers."

Spirit of Solomons, May 1996, D.W. Sutherland, M.D., Portland, OR. "Paul and Vicki were constantly available to our group (it varied from those with less than a hundred dives to those who had been diving up to 25 years). Crew who ran the "tinnies" were uniformly good humored and excellent. Easy diving. Filled tanks with BCs and regulators put on and pulled off tinnie with smiles with good humor. Helped putting on the BC and tank prior to getting in the water. Briefings accurate, excellent and good humored. Pointing out Caledonian stingers, crocodile fish, electric clams. Excellent weather and sun with every dive except clouds one morning. Five dives every day. Sites varied; directions ahead of time for photographers, both wide angle or macro; E-6 processing immediately; help with repair of cameras and video was of the best professional quality. Turtles, mantas, four kinds of sharks, schooling barracuda (once of certainly more than 500) and jacks (certainly more than 1,000) made for the best diving eve. Stopped at three native villages to purchase high quality carvings; dancing enriched the trip and were enjoyed by all. . . . Food marvelous, plus muffins after the first dive in the morning and tea and cookies between the third and fourth dives of the day. Undoubted five star on the boat, the facilities, the food and the money's worth."

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