Our Bilikiki Confusion

Getting really sick on a dive trip can change your whole perspective on what should have been the holiday of a lifetime. It's at times like this you really want to be surrounded by the familiarity and comfort of your own home instead of being in some strange land.

As we reported last month, Deborah Berglund (Bozeman, MT) fell sick when she was in the Solomon Islands. But we erroneously reported that she was on the Spirit of Solomons -- a craft no longer running -- when she was in fact aboard the Bilikiki.

Maurine Shimlock and Burt Jones of Secret Sea Visions wrote to Undercurrent that they were both on board MV Bilikiki at the time and noted that two-thirds of the passengers went down with an illness, but many rallied and enjoyed the trip and the craft, one that gets fine reviews from Undercurrent readers.

Indeed being sick, stuck in a cabin, and not feeling well and not getting any proper sleep colors anyone's impression. Deborah is a well-traveled diver with more than 1000 dives, and as she said in her report, lamenting being sick, exhausted, and with ear problems: "There is always one negative person on a boat, and this time it was me."

With that kind of self-awareness, she can be my buddy anytime.

- Ben Davison