Matagi Princess, December 1996, Steve & Adrienne Abbott, Boulder, CO. "Beautiful boat; being near the end of the season, only five divers. You set up equipment on a tank once, it stays there the rest of the trip. With the exception of one dive at a dead reef (an old ferry port), every dive was exceptional and the divemaster helpful, not overbearing. vis: 40­70 ft. water: 82­84 degrees. Restrictions were 60 min. if current allowed. We spent only 4 days on the boat; the short trip stays close to Taveuni. We wish we had booked a 7 day trip, which goes to the further islands. Still the best diving we'd ever had: sharks, lion fish, turtles nearly every dive, huge schools of barracuda."

Nai'a, August 1996, Barbara Garrett, Annapolis, MD. "Good: Fijian crew incredible. Happy, friendly, and always helpful. Dived my own profile; diving from skiffs was great because you just surface anywhere; I could pretty much drain my tank dry (400 PSI). E­6 and Mt. Mutiny were awesome. Nigali Pass was okay, but we didn't needed to stay there 2 whole days. Village visit was humbling, not touristy at all. . . . Bad: Weather was iffy (their winter). On one side of the island (at E­6) the weather was perfect. No wind, all sun and calm water, but other side it was very windy, rainy and rough water. The food, which wasn't awful, was not plentiful like on the other live-aboards. With 18 people on board, if you were last in line you might miss out. At some sites, the crew indicated no current when reality was there were strong, hold­on­to whatever you can currents. In our case, it was the coral which obviously is unfortunate because it won't take too many divers to make an incredible detrimental impact. I feel like some of those dives (specifically, Nigali Pass) should have been treated as a non­stop drift dive instead. I think some people had a problem with the dive­your­own profile because of the instilled buddy­system rule they were taught. Two people on the previous trip got bent! All in all, this trip rates a 10. Incredible diving, which is really all that matters, isn't it?" vis: 80­150 ft. water: 76­78 degrees."

Nai'a, November 1996, Lionel Specter, Albuquerque, NM. "Some very good dive sights and sites, some great ones, exciting shark action ­­ boat and services very good, crew friendly, cabins large and well laid out. No limits diving per your computer, bets for experienced divers but crew will go out of their way to take care of less experienced ­­ well worth the time and money. Take a day room at Mocambo Hotel at the end of your trip before departure."

Nai'a, November 1996, Hal and Lou Stewart, Bakerfield, CA."Water: 80 to 82 degrees. Vis; 50 to 90 feet. Fiji people were wonderful. Saw a number of fish, we have not seen before( Leaf scorpion fish). Diving from Zodiac. Crew excellent: Cat (video pro) and Rob (owner). Boat has wide beam, ensuite bath and showers. Food very good. Food service good. Beer and soda and drinks extra ­­ wine include with dinner. Shark feed was our best. 2­3 manta's, some hammer heads, numerous macro items. Plan extra days, but not in Nadi."

Nai'a, November/December 1996, Rick Taft, Hermiston, OR. "Rob and crew made this an excellent trip. Boat was the best and most comfortable of ten I have been on. Private shower, head, sink, mirror and storage areas in each cabin. The dressing area was covered, had individual gear storage facilities and benches. Tanks are kept on platform at stern and loaded on chase boats by the crew. Separate room for storing and working on cameras, allowing half dozen people to work on their rigs at same time. Additional shelves for extra gear under the main storage area and lots of 110 V sockets for rechargers. Norm was four day dives and a night dive. Forty dives offered, though no one made all forty. The food was average, but offered in quantity and with a variety. 15 divers and 14 crew; no trouble getting help when you needed it. Rob and Rusi went out in the chase boats on most dives and acted as spotters for the divers. The divers were dropped off in different locations to allow more space on the sites and a choice of sites on many dives. Rusi was especially good at finding requested sea life, but both Rob and Rusi pointed out critters advertised during pre­dive briefings. No hammerheads, though white tip and gray reef sharks on many dives, ribbon eels, banded sea kraits, turtles, tridachna clams, hard and soft corals, crinoids, anenomes. Special finds: leaf scorpionfish, scarlet lady cleaner shrimp, soft corals, flashlight fish, basket star fish, garden eels, poison spine nudibranch, ghost pipefish, red anenome and Hell's fire anenome. Six mantas were spotted feeding in the lagoon near the Naia and swimmers and snorkelers spent time in the 82 degree water with them. Weather calm with a few showers. Current dives were planned at tidal changes to watch fish feeding. Air fills were 2800 psi though top­offs could be requested. Vis: 50 to 100 ft."

Nai'a, April 1997, Charles Denham, Lexington, KY. "Brilliant soft corals and zillions of colorful and unusual little critters. vis: 60­100 ft. water: 80 degrees. Rob Barrel has an extensive background in marine biology and has spent many years in the Pacific. His intense desire to share the underwater wonders will open the most jaded diver's eyes to things he never knew existed. Friendly crew and excellent accommodations make any of Rob's Expeditions a memorable experience."

Nai'a, May 1997, Dianne Langmade, Phoenix, AZ. "The good: the crew's service, their knowledge of the dive sites, their friendliness. vis: 50-100 ft. The bad: Hurricane June blew in."

Nai'a, May 1997, Susan & Dave Welch, Stuart, FL. "The incredible, sea worthy vessel. Beautiful accommodations, excellent food. The crew has been with the boat since the first trip. They are happy and extremely helpful, not over worked. Owner operator Rob Barrel and assistant, Cat Holloway love what they are doing and do it well. You come away with a strong understanding of the Fijian people and culture because of a village visit and being with the crew all week. Fijian music, ceremony and customs part of daily environment on the boat. Our diving was hampered by tropical depressions and Typhoon June. vis: 60­75 ft. water: 78­80 degrees.. No diving restrictions enforced. E­6 and Nigali Passage are awesome dives. The soft corals are beautiful!"

Nai'a, May 1997, Sueling Chu, Tempe, AZ. "Rob and crew did an excellent job honoring our trip even though See & Sea did not pay them for the trip. As passengers, we never saw quality of service go down, great job! vis: 30­60 ft. water: 80­83 degrees."

Sere-Ni-Wai, June 1997, Jeff Cauchy, Chicago, Ill. "Water 78 degrees, restrictions were 'don't kill yourself and try not to get lost.' Second visit to Sere in 15 months. Conditions less than tropical, but we missed thunder storms. Captain(s) and crew are well qualified and know the area. Poor viz meant you couldn't see the jacks, barracudas, sharks as well. . . . and you knew there were more out there just beyond the range of visibility. Excellent "first live-aboard" for my girl friend; all other guest except one were repeat visitors. Ten passengers, 4 crew, 110 foot boat is a very comfortable size."

Copyright 1998 by DSDL, Inc. 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 Elephant Socks Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.