Dear Fellow Diver:
While diving Kri Island's reef, I was in the midst of a fish "rush hour."
Actually, with schools of fish going in every direction, it was more like underwater
gridlock. A yellowfin tuna made a left turn, a bumphead Napoleon wrasse
appeared to be stalled. Crisscrossing in the mild current were multiple species
of fusilier and schools of diagonal-banded and many-spotted sweetlips. Parrotfish
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spit exhaustive clouds of chewed reef. Oversize barracuda appeared trapped in
a roundabout. A black-tip shark met up with buddies for twilight reef patrol.
Angelfish and red snapper went in every direction, while spadefish coasted in
neutral. This was just an ordinary dive in Raja Ampat. Its 50,000 square kilometers
is considered the heart of the world's marine biodiversity. Scientists have
identified more than 1,300 species of reef fish here, swimming among more than 50
percent of the world's soft corals and 70 percent of the world's hard corals. It
is breathtaking.
Five years ago at this location near Kri, I spotted two blue-ring octopuses
during a night dive. This time, the unusual critters included one of the recently-
identified walking, or bamboo, sharks, an unidentified grey nudibranch, and
the colorful finned tiny oscillated or Scooter dragonet. Home for these critters,
especially around Aljui Bay's Channel Island, included a glorious rainbow-like
reef of soft and hard corals.
"A crew of 18 cared for 12 divers,
and they did everything humanely possible." |
The route on the luxurious 130-foot, sixcabin
Damai I took us from West Papua's city
of Sorong to the port of Tual on Kri Island.
Captain Iskandar motored the handsome teak
and mahogany phinisi south toward West Papua
around Bird's Head Peninsula. We usually traveled
from one site to the other during the
night, while moving in the day only if weather
conditions dictated. The Damai I is the real
deal when it comes to "concierge" diving. A crew of 18 cared for 12 divers, and
they did everything humanly possible. They helped us suit up and carried our
gear. They washed and either hung my gear to dry or folded my skinsuit or 3-mil
wetsuit, my preference for the average 83-degree water temperature. Puto, in
charge of the dining salon, passed glasses of water on a tray before and after
each dive. My only responsibility was carrying my mask to the tender and determining
which camera lens to use.
Cruise directors Simon Marsh and Andrina Bindon, two former Peter Hughes
trainees who are about the best in the business, commented when I presented my
c-cards, "When you spend this much money for a scuba trip, we know you're certified."
The same level of trust might be said about the Nitrox fill percentages.
I observed them using gauges, and saw the percentage posted on the briefing board
(there was no self-analyzing) that also noted our tender order number and buddy
assignments, which rotated daily. Simon told me, "We believe in unlimited diving.
The amount of time spent underwater on our three daily dives is your discretion;
it's the quality, not the quantity of dives. We aren't going to look at the
amount of air left in your tank." I normally stayed down 60 to 70 minutes, but
one couple regularly averaged two-hour dives. They provided one divemaster for
each four guests. Three divemasters were excellent, especially at critter sightings;
the fourth appeared more interested in his own underwater photography than
serving his divers. He needs to serves his guests, not himself.
On our first dive (hardly a checkout,
more to verify our buoyancy), there were
half a dozen tasseled wobbegong, a large
100-pound wahoo, a school of sweetlips
puckering in the current, the rare cometfish,
a three-foot moray having a ruckus
under a boulder with a wobbegong (the eel
swam away), tridachna clams large enough
to swallow a diver, and even a school of
grouper. A yellow symmetrical flatworm was
the only loner.
After a unanimous vote, we passed on
diving Manta Sandy, a feeding station so
popular that with 40 liveaboards now operating in Raja Ampat, there are
frequently more boats and divers than
mantas. (Nearly two decades ago,
Undercurrent was the first publication
to visit and write about Raja
Ampat. There were no liveaboards and
only one resort, Camp Kri -- now Kri
Eco Resort -- built by Dutchman Max
Ammer, who subsequently built Sorido
Bay.) Our unexpected reward was an
unusual encounter at Blue Magic. A
graceful 15-foot oceanic manta, displaying
its black T-shaped stripe
outlined by a white lip, circled for
20 minutes with a reef manta, identified
by its spotted underbelly. Also
circling us were schools of barracuda, trevally, silversides, horse-eye jack and
one nippy juvenile damsel. There were also the rare orange mantis shrimp, bumphead
parrotfish, and schools of red snapper and sweetlips.
After diving Arborek Jetty, we took a stroll around the fishermen's tidy
village. Children followed us, singing and dancing. Refreshingly, they were not
looking for a handout. During a night dive at Arborek Jetty, before my flashlight
went out and my purge valve stuck, I spotted a tiny blue-ring octopus,
so small it looked like it had been born that morning. I also spotted a minute
pygmy squid, a few popcorn-like squat anemone shrimp, and a juvenile blue lobster,
its white feelers giving away its rocky nook hideaway. As we did our safety
stop in the darkness of the night, my light illuminated a dark blue bobtail
squid scurrying across the sand.
Alblulol's No Contest and Farondi's Three Sisters offered more variety, with
bottomless walls, mobula rays and large schools of silversides. Goa Farondi had
two caves, one at a depth between 30 and 100 feet, and a second cave with a wide
opening that surfaced above the waterline, not unlike a cenote experience. An
irascible current required us to descend to the smaller cave, where, as if in a
washing machine, we were swept in one direction, then another, while trying to
maintain our buoyancy in upward and downward currents. Neptune Fansea's drift
dive was milder than the usual current. The edge of the channel, enhanced by
perfect sunlight, had mature fans measuring at least 20 square feet, large whips,
colorful purple anthias, six-inch garden eels peering out of sandy areas, and
even a rare species of red nudibranch.
Misool Eco-Resort controls the area, requiring boats to reserve mooring
times. The resort owners were responsible
for eliminating shark finning in
Raja Ampat (see our article about that
in the January 2014 issue). The area
is now a nursery for black- and whitetip
sharks. Bayangan's Magic Mountain
is a shallow reef at 60 feet. While none
of the anticipated mantas were sighted,
there were many juvenile white-tips, and
a large two-foot walking shark sharing
a rocky nook with a peacock stingray.
The site was so productive, we returned
the next morning for a stronger current
filled with schooling barracuda and
spadefish, plus many more white- and
black-tip sharks.
Specifically designed for divers,
the Damai I has a large dive deck with
individual cubbies and rinse tanks. While there is a camera-drying air hose on the deck, there is also a dedicated
camera room off the salon with separate workstations and many outlet choices. The
Damai's utilitarian tenders were not much to look at. With no gunwales, a rubbercovered
bench with six tank holders, and low to the water, it was easy to backroll.
There was a sturdy, flip-down, potentially finger-pinching ladder. There
was always a boat waiting when we surfaced. Prior to dinner, during several sunsets,
we took lagoon trips on the tenders. Surrounded by giant tropical plants,
we explored the narrow channels with overhanging trees. I spotted a pair of hornbills
and a grey cockatoo.
My group was interesting and amiable. There was a New York vet with his
wife. A female U.S. government employee, based in Kabul, Afghanistan, was a
repeat diver. Her diplomatic U.S. passport, which clearly impressed immigration
officials, went on top of the pile when required for customs. Another New York
couple both boasted PhDs; he worked for an algorithmic hedge fund. Also onboard
was Tadd Frye, a private chef who cooks for the rich and famous, primarily in
the Turks and Caicos. He was consulting for the Damai on food preparation -- and
as you'll read later, they need it. A Swiss English-speaking couple on their
third Damai voyage had a bow cabin on the main deck (#6), with a private balcony,
separate toilet and a walk-in shower.
I enjoyed a single cabin with a "real toilet" and plenty of storage space.
There were drawers under the bed, a large corner cabinet with hangers and
shelves, a desk with drawers and a chair. The large bathroom had a wood-slatted
floor with rainfall shower. Included were upscale, Four Seasons-style amenities
of soap, lotion, shampoo and moisturizer. My cabin was next to an always-on-four
generator that vibrated my comfy bed. In desperate need of sleep when I arrived,
I commented about the room to Andrina, "I paid a premium for this?" She replied,
"In three days, you won't notice it." She was right. But I did notice rainwater
leaking from the salon ceiling into the stairwell.
The main flaw in Damai's luxurious standards is the food preparation. Puto
set the table for each meal with cloth napkins and placemats, and we'd sit
down for dinner, placing individual orders. Prior to my departure home, I had
dinner at a restaurant near my Sanur hotel. At first bite, I realized what the
Damai food had lacked: flavor. Indonesia is a land of exotic, flavor-filled
meals, yet chef Tadd Frye was onboard to help Chef Wayan Kadek "westernize the
food." Overall, the food was overcooked, and heavily salted and peppered. A
tuna fillet was well done and tasteless. A nondescript pudding was gelatinous.
Unappetizing snacks were offered following the third dive. I was never even
tempted. In all fairness, it was the chef's first week on the boat, and I am
not sure about the availability of ingredients. His poached eggs were good, the fresh fruit was delicious. We were served a lovely dinner on the top deck. None
of the divers drank. The conversation was so interesting, I don't think anyone
cared about the food.
Indonesia food was available on request, but it was primarily rice, noodles
or curry, all of which were better than the Western alternative. At Damai's price
point, they desperately need Tadd's advice. Each morning when the chef cooked
sambal, a spicy chili sauce, the heat of the spice in the air was a throat tickler
and forced a mass departure from the salon and 12-seat dining area. (Why
didn't he make it while we were underwater?) The shaded upper deck was the perfect
escape. Canvas-covered wicker lounge chairs and outdoor beds were located
in front of the fully equipped bridge. There was an "off limits" finicky single
cup coffee machine, brewing bitter rather than full and robust coffee. They also
offered a press as an alternative or a teapot. Frankly, if I'm going to be so
decadently spoiled, and they have to make individual cups of coffee, how about a
coffee mug with a wakeup call for the 7:30 a.m. dive?
Leaving Raja after six days, we entered the Banda Sea and dive quality
diminished. Each village required permission -- and either Coke and cigarettes
or money as payment -- to dive its rubble reefs with rusting, snagged fishing
lines and nets. Our first stop in the Kurkap area was at Taka Kurkap, a rubble
coral seamount. We were on the hunt for hammerheads, but unfortunately, there
were only several turtles and an octopus.
Geologically-created, channel-like strong currents tended to split and change
directions. Two dives were literally in the "middle of nowhere." Much of the area
lacked the visual island beauty of Raja Ampat, and many of the seamounts were
damaged by dynamite. At the same time, the Banda Sea had sparkling blue water
with great unlimited visibility, sandy white bottoms and many schools of fish.
Raja's plankton-rich waters may not enjoy the same visibility (50 to 75 feet),
but it surpasses in its beautiful underwater terrain and marine life.
On one exploratory, no-name site, we were distracted by thousands of schooling
barracuda swimming circles around us. Using my reef hook to watch them, I
suddenly saw an eight-foot gray reef shark coming at us like a torpedo. He veered
away at the last moment and was gone
in a blink of the eye. Startled, we
kept on diving, hoping the shark was
now miles away. At another site, where
zebra sharks and cuttlefish had been
previously sighted, I saw a cockatoo
waspfish, two olive sea snakes that
looked like they had swallowed a pufferfish,
a hairy crab, Halameda ghost
pipefish and fields of hard corals.
Is Raja Ampat worth the time and
hassle of the travel required? Flying
30 hours each way, I took a total of
11 different flights with three necessary
overnight stays. I paid overweight
baggage and multiple "exit" fees. If I
just recall the memories of Raja diving,
I can overlook the jet-lag ordeal.
However, returning home to another
day at the office, I just don't know.
Raja, according to my current passport,
shows that, like childbirth, I forgot
the pain of the travel for the beauty
of the experience. After all, it is
the center of planet Earth's marine
diversity, but maybe once, or twice,
is enough.
PS: I made a slide show of the great critters I saw on this trip; you can
view them at www.kizoa.com/slideshow-maker/d10493408k6061070o1/damai-critters.
Also, Two of my long-time diving buddies were aboard the Damai two weeks after
I was. One told me that even though the boat had just left dry dock, it "leaked
live a sieve" in a heavy rainstorm. Rainwater flooded into lower deck rooms, even
into her bed. The flooded wooden stairwell was steep, slippery and dangerous;
rainwater even poured into the camera room. The other friend, who was in the
cabin next to the one I had, slept with his door open because of engine fumes,
as did the guest in that cabin during my trip. The price of a Damai trip is too
expensive to have to face these problems.
-- N.M.
Divers Compass: Preferring Cathay Pacific Airlines, I flew a
20-hour, one-stop flight (Hong Kong) to Bali (most divers flew
through Jakarta), I had to overnight both ways in Denpasar, Bali,
as well as in Makassar, and I had to take three flights between
Tual and Denpasar; most internal flights are in the middle of the
night . . . While Damai's booking agent, Wayan, was helpful in
securing internal flights and transfers, I found it less expensive
to book my hotels through Agoda.com . . . Be sure to get rupiah
prior to leaving the airport, as neither U.S. dollars nor credit
cards are accepted anywhere . . . Also be prepared for departure taxes and high
extra charges for excess baggage; Damai gives you a full kit of gear, gratis,
thus a good reason to leave your dive gear at home . . . The nearest recompression
chamber is in Manado, which requires the liveaboard to find an airstrip to
get evacuation, no easy trick here; therefore, one must dive more conservatively
than ever . . . Website: www.dive-damai.com