Komodo

[r.m.jackson 0]

Can anyone advise me on the schooner Siren, which is now operating as a liveaboard dive vessel around Komodo?

 

Thank you.

[scubarews 2]

I assume you have been to their website: http://www.worldwidediveandsail.com/liveab...aijumpalagi.htm

 

My wife and are booked on it for October. We booked with Dom (www.DiveAdvice.com) and it looks really nice online. The boat had good reviews in Thailand as far as I could tell and the price was inexpensive, so I thought it was worth the chance. I can tell you more when I return.

[Steve Williams 0]

I'm impressed, checkout this note from the website;

 

Specialized features for Underwater Photographers & Videographers include:

• Each cabin is fitted with an individual computer and multiple power sources to facilitate the needs of digital photography. The computer features high-end specifications and 20†high-definition flatscreens, which is integrated with the yachts network server in the saloon
  

There is a massage service onboard too. Where do I sign up?

 

Steve

[Drew 0]

The WWSD group is based in Thailand and the boat sails across the Java Sea during the thai low season.

There are a few reasons to watch out for these ops, the biggest one is site knowledge. When Mark Heighes (now of the 7 seas boat) while working with the TNC in Komodo, many of the popular sites now known were found by him and published them. Komodo is a very current driven area. So the currents make or break some sites, and some of them can be downright dangerous with down currents and whirlpools and upwellings all in 50m.

The Thai boats I've seen dive on sites quite often at the wrong time of the tide. This is because they don't hire good local guides and import their staff from Thailand, which is really useless in Indonesia (although thai food is always better than Indonesian food )

Looking at the layout of this boat, there is no area for camera gear. 2 things about diving in the tropics is you want the camera out in the open and not in the a/c room for prevention of condensation. Without a specific camera gear table, you can't work on your camera properly.

Which brings me to think an 16 pax boat is actually 3 too many for a schooner at 34m.

Looking at those desks with the LCD monitor, I doubt you can fit anything more than a small computer on there.

Every boat has massage service by a crew member who doubles as a cook etc.

The price is not much lower than many boats from Indonesia if you count per night. Komodo is one of the areas where a good boat and crew can make a huge difference. Of course, I know someone who'd been on a thai boat in Komodo who loved it because it was his first trip there. After I told him to take a certain indo ops, he came back gushing at the difference in guiding and dive site knowledge.

Choosing a boat in a new area is always difficult. Good luck.

[stewsmith 14]

we were on the Thai boat Mermaid 2 in Komodo last year and we found the boat and crew to be very good regarding knowledge of the reefs, tides and currents. The food was probably the best we have eaten on a liveaboard ( on par with the undersea hunter )

All briefings were very precise, very informative and 100% accurate. I would deffinately recommend the for a trip to Komodo as well as Similan, Surin, Burma and Andamans.

 

The Mermaid 2 is not a schooner but I thought it was worth posting this because from my personal experience some of what has been written above about Thai boats just isnt true.

Edited March 21, 2008 by stewsmith

[CADiver 2]

I did the Pelagian last summer. The ship was fantastic, as good as those in the Red Sea. Marble bathroom !

The crew was excellent, food was excellent, dive was excellent. Our 2 dive guides were not, however, I was told they no longer there, they went to Africa now, so it might worth going.

[Drew 0]

we were on the Thai boat Mermaid 2 in Komodo last year and we found the boat and crew to be very good regarding knowledge of the reefs, tides and currents. The food was probably the best we have eaten on a liveaboard ( on par with the undersea hunter )

All briefings were very precise, very informative and 100% accurate. I would deffinately recommend the for a trip to Komodo as well as Similan, Surin, Burma and Andamans.

 

The Mermaid 2 is not a schooner but I thought it was worth posting this because from my personal experience some of what has been written above about Thai boats just isnt true.

 

Stew thanks for the review.

I'll admit my information on the Mermaid 2 is at least a year old. That was when they first started doing Komodo to offset their andaman down season, they were terrible. I was laughing at how they would dive various sites on the wrong currents and get blown off.

Mind you I've been on the Mermaid 1 and 2 for the Similans and I've never been too impressed. This was when Lars was still running the show.

While you were on the boat, how many Indonesians were working besides the dive guides? Also they do the 7 day Bali to Bali via Komodo trip correct? So you only dive in Komodo 3-4 days and never do the southern sites? That's how they offer such cheap fares. But that should all be changing soon.

[stewsmith 14]

we might have just got lucky then. we had one of the top women on board from the mermaid team, kaye, so it might have been that all the other crew were on best behaviour. it was a bali - bali trip which was the only downside, but we did know this before booking. we had just done sipadan and mabul in malaysia so it wasnt too bad. our guide on the boat, pj, was excellent. i cant speak for the other 3 as i did not dive with them. he knew i liked photography and videography and left me to it. all dive briefings were spot on. current checks done prior to every dive. the food was to die for. but like i said this could have been due to kaye being on board.

[MikeVeitch 0]

who is kaye the mermaid?!?!

 

sounds a little fishy to me..

 

[Drew 0]

Stew, I don't doubt you had a good time. Komodo sites have current nuances and often diving them at the right time is crucial. I'd actually like modern dive boats like the Mermaid to be in Indonesia. Pinisi boats like the Siren and most other Indonesia boats have charm and atmosphere being partial sail boats, but they also leak and suffer from ventilation and 'wood' related issues. I think only one boat, the Grand Komodo, converted the rear deck into a dive platform. A modern purpose built rear dive area and platform makes a world of difference in comfort and ease.

However if these ops don't contribute to the local economy much more than food and fuel consumption, then I'd have to consider my options as I prefer local operations which hire locals and contribute to the area's economy.

Mike, Kay Golding is the operations manager. She ran the Anggun in Phuket before joining Mermaid.

[MikeVeitch 0]

i know a girl here named Anggun..