Raja Ampat, St. Lucia, Rangiroa, Vancouver Island

While divers are getting back in the water, most land-based operations have plenty of openings, as do many liveaboards. As expected, we've received fewer reader reports than years back, but of our subscribers, many have unusual stories to tell. Below, you'll find some of those stories, as well as reports on a few not-so-popular destinations that may be just your cup of tea.

The Disappearing Captain

While our lead article this month covers three excellent weeks on the Roatan Aggressor, in the past, we have often noted management problems with Aggressor boats, the latest reported by Craig Howe (Deerfield, FL).

After arriving in September for his one-way Raja Ampat Aggressor voyage from Sulawesi to Raja Ampat, he spent the first night on board, awakening to find they were still in port. Turns out, the night before, the cruise director and captain had a disagreement, so the captain left the boat, taking six crew members with him. The cruise director rallied quickly, and the next day the Aggressor flew the divers to Sorong, where five taxis and then two speedboats took them an hour's trip to stay at Meridian Adventure Dive.

After three days of diving, the Raja Ampat Aggressor appeared with another captain at the helm, and the divers all went aboard for four more days of diving. Howe says, "I can't congratulate them enough for how they handled things." Furthermore, all the displaced passengers were given a complimentary future trip on the Raja Ampat Aggressor, a move genuinely recognizing the value of their customers. Kudos. (www.aggressor.com)

But No Free Voucher Here

The cold waters off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, provide unique and fascinating diving, which is why Brent Woods (Deep River, ON) made an October trip to Browning Pass Hideaway, on which Undercurrent reported favorably in 2009. While it was a bit funky then, today, says Woods, it's a disaster.

"After I finished unloading my gear from my car at the Port Hardy dock, a rusty vehicle pulled up, and a man who looked like he came from Skid Row got out. It was John de Boeck, legendary proprietor of the Browning Pass Hideaway. A water taxi took us to the resort, six floating buildings covered with decades of junk. Two are usable; the others are sinking. There was no potable water or electricity. A couple of hours later, the managers showed up with provisions and turned the generator on.

"The checkout dive was postponed because the dive boat was in Port Hardy being repaired using salvaged parts. When it arrived, it required more work. One other diver and I sat out the checkout dive because we were skeptical of the fitness of the boat.

"On the checkout dive, the engine failed. John could not radio the resort for help because he had not plugged in the resort's radio, but he found a boat to tow us back. The engine was repaired again using parts from another of John's derelict engines. Three divers decided not to dive at all. While there were no further incidents, nothing seemed fully compliant with my understanding of codes and regulations." (www.vancouverislanddive.com)

Another Regulator for your Diving Checklist

The Belize Aggressor III had an engine go haywire in October, so it had to scrap its new Glover's Reef route and head, slowly, to Lighthouse Reef so the Aggressor IV could keep an eye on it.

Robert Linscheer (Colorado Springs) reported, "Many sightings of eagle rays, sharks, turtles, and many smaller critters with the coral and creature count among the best I've seen in the Caribbean." But he encountered a problem that divers don't think about much. The emergency hookah rig, 15 feet under the boat, was mainly nonfunctional.

"By pressing hard on the purge button, I could barely get air to come out." The captain didn't want to do anything about it, but when Linscheer told a passenger sent out by corporate to inspect the boat, it was replaced the next morning. "It will be my practice in the future to check the emergency hookah on the first day." (www.aggressor.com)

Land-Based Diving with Big Fish:

You don't always have to be on a liveaboard to dive with big fish. Consider French Polynesia, which takes less time to reach than Fiji. William J. Marlow (Key Largo, FL) dived there in October and noted that.

"Going to the 'out islands' is very interesting. English is not spoken widely, but the team at O2 Diving Center speaks relatively good English. You dive off large Zodiacs; they lift your gear to you as you sit, and then you back roll into the water. Fakarava North is spectacular diving! Incredibly healthy coral and more fish and macro life than you can imagine. On every dive, we were visited by mantas, sharks, and turtles. The highlight is riding the current into the lagoon where you pass through huge schools of fish." (www.o2fakarava.com)

But they Bite. And, Yuck, There's Poop in the Water

One of our readers went to Rangiroa and the Kia Ora Resort last year to follow her husband's dreams: "to dive with dolphins, and this was a great place to do so. We were paired for two days with an older American couple that couldn't dive. She asked before the first dive, 'Which button do I use to inflate?'

"We were at 30 feet, and the husband defecated in his wet suit! With so much surge, it was sickening . . . . We got a private guide for one incredible dive at the mouth of Tiputa Pass. At 85 feet, we saw barracuda enjoying the bubbles of the divers. Then came the dolphins. The divemaster of another group had a great admirer - a female dolphin that wanted him to caress her, and he did. Soon, a 9-foot dolphin came toward me. I began to pet it, and he quickly bit my two wrists. I was shocked as we were told they did not bite! One bite still flares up at times. I gather he was the alpha male, and she was his, so he took out his aggression on me."

Moral of the story: For three million years, dolphins got along just fine without being stroked by humans until Jaques Cousteau decided it would help him sell films. Let us divers ignore our inner urge to pet sea creatures that we, as omnipotent beings, have decided they want us, humans, to be their snuggle buddies. They're not dogs and cats. (www.hotelkiaora.com)

Suppose You Want to Go Upscale

Fine rooms with a view, superb food, top-notch service, and pretty good diving. And a starter price of at least $1000/night. But that's the beautiful Anse Chastanet, frequented by the rich, famous, and serious divers like Undercurrent correspondent Bobby Munno (NYC), who loved it.

"Our hillside room had a fantastic view of the famous St. Lucia pitons and the sunset and beach to the west. Morning coffee on our balcony brought Antillean crested and purple-throated Carib hummingbirds, bananaquits, and Lesser Antillean bullfinches, all within arm's reach. While beachside rooms are convenient to the dive center, our room was 225 stairs up from the beach. I soon became accustomed to the 'healthy' several-times-a-day climbs. (The hotel provides a shuttle service.)

"Great Friday night five-course lionfish on-the-beach dinner. Diving was very good, with only one tough dive due to the current and my carrying the unwieldy zookeeper for lionfish hunting. I got to see The Thing (shorturl.at/lnoY8) on a night dive along with squid, octopus, scorpionfish, slipper and spiny lobsters, crabs, etc. I saw sea horses, several scorpionfish, frogfish, turtles almost daily, and a giant nurse shark. A couple of beautiful and healthy Elkhorn coral stands made for nice photos." (www.ansechastanet.com)

Liveaboards Close to Home

You can see some unusual fish in the Sea of Cortez; the only downside is that you must travel from mid-July to mid-November for warm waters.

Alice Ribbens (St. Paul, MN), was aboard the Rocio del Mar in October for the "Explore Baja" itinerary, which started in Puerto Penasco and ended near Cabo, Baja California Sur. There is little coral, mostly boulders and rocks going down to sandy slopes.

"Biodiversity changed from north to south. Some sites had tons of fish (like ridiculously huge schools of grunts, snappers, or pompano) and others were more sparsely populated. We got buzzed by sea lions at several sites (one woman on our boat was bit by a sea lion on her arm, completely unprovoked, she said).

"For a night, they set up lights to attract plankton, which attracts Munk's mobulas (1-2 feet big). It was fun to watch the school of 50-100 swoop up and down while feeding . . . The boat and cabins are comfortable, the crew top-notch, the food incredible."

But no more diving Cabo Pulmo from liveaboards, she was told. "New government rules require that all liveaboards stay five miles offshore of Cabo Pulmo, which means a 40-minute panga ride to get to the beach, and you still may not be able to dive due to limits on divers." If you want to dive Cabo Pulmo, do it by land.

We had trouble connecting with the website of Rocio del Mar, but the the Nautilus liveaboard is also an excellent choice to ply these waters (www.nautilusliveaboards.com)

Hide Your GoPro

Since the '80s, I have always traveled with my dive and photo gear in funky old ballistic nylon suitcases so they wouldn't draw attention. Most folks carry them in hard cases, a dead giveaway.

Matt Radtke (Boulder, CO) told us that upon arriving nonstop in Denver from Cozumel, he discovered "Someone had cut the locks on our checked hard case and stole our two GoPros and underwater housings" while leaving ordinary dive gear behind. "Clearly," he says, "they had a specific target."

Sounds like a Cozumel inside job to me. He says next time, his expensive stuff will be in his carry-on.

Where Have All the Red Sea Big Fish Gone?

Tim Williams (Dana Point, CA), diving from the Blue Force 3 in Egypt's Red Sea, found "the corals and wrecks in great shape, with lots of blue spotted rays, large eels, and crocodile fish. The only shark we saw was a ragged old oceanic white tip. No large rays, no turtles, one octopus, and nothing exotic."

In May, aboard Blue-o-Two's Blue Horizon, Belinda Nelson (Katy, TX) says, "We started this journey hopeful of diving with dolphins and hammerheads. The reefs are healthy and beautiful, but I didn't see any sharks or rays (except small blue spotted rays on the sea floor) and no dolphins.

"We anchored at the Dolphin House so we could dive it twice, but still, no dolphins close up. Snorkeling tours, there at the same time, chased the dolphins with their skiffs, making them all move away. I hated that; it was dangerous underwater with the skiffs zooming overhead."

Our senior editor, John Bantin, a Red Sea veteran, said they both were truly unlucky. His wife was there in October and had magnificent scuba interaction with the resident school of dolphin at Sha'ab al Erg (AKA Dolphin House). As for sharks, oceanic white tips frequent the offshore sites like the Elphinstone Reef and The Brother Islands. Best do better research ahead of time. (www.blueforcefleet.com) (www.blueotwo.com)

A Boutique Muck Diving Resort in Indonesia

Laura Todd (McKinleyville, CA) visited Black Sand Dive Resort, a small Lembeh operation in its own little bay, in September, and said, "Its seven rooms are huge and well designed, with outdoor bathrooms and enormous porches with a view of the bay. Good variety of western and Indonesian food. The dive center is in the capable hands of Lembeh diving legend Abner Mangole.

"They use small speed boats. As usual, I wanted to concentrate on nudibranchs, and our guide totally bought it. In addition to the usual cast of sluggy characters, I saw about 20 species that were new to me, and Donald Duck and Coleman shrimp, a pale Halimeda ghost pipefish, and two very young and exquisite flamboyant cuttlefish only about one inch long. All this for very reasonable prices, even for single occupancy. Those with mobility issues will want to consider the 70 or so steps down to the dive center and the water. Only one thing marred an otherwise wonderful stay: loud club-style music played at top volume 20 hours a day in the adjoining villages. Bring good earplugs." (www.blacksanddive.com)

Don't Let Your Buddy Land on Your Head.

We all know better, but we all make the most ordinary diving errors. Michael Millet (Dublin, CA), who has made more than 1000 dives, confessed to his error while staying at Menjangan Dynasty in Bali, where he dived with Bali Hai Divers in September.

He liked the glamping accommodations and pleasant rooms with canvas sides and found the food nicely prepared and tasty. "The primary dive sites are a 25- to 30-minute boat ride, where on one dive, I had a 20-minute memorable encounter with a broadclub cuttlefish as I watched her delicately place her eggs into the reef . . . On one dive, after backrolling in, I noticed sunglasses slowing sinking in the water. I kicked down, snagged them, and headed up alongside the boat, but my buddy backrolled on me, lacerating my head. We returned to the shore where a local doctor put in six stitches."

The takeaways for all of us: "Sometimes we get too casual about checking for divers in the water before we backroll in. The crew member should have looked in the water. Second, if I return to the boat after descending, I should surface several feet away to avoid any diver entering the water (especially with a backroll). (www.mdr.pphotels.com)

Florida Muck Diving for Teeth

Thomas Huggins (Boss, MO) took a three-tank, $175 dive to hunt for megalodon shark teeth, which are a couple of million years old, and dug up several, including one four inches long. He went with Black Gold Fossil Charters (Venice, FL), but wasn't keen on the attitude of Michael, the owner/operator, who dropped his first "F-bomb" within sight of the pier, with a lady diver present.

"He left the boat unattended so that he could hunt for teeth. What could go wrong, miles away from shore with no one else around? Depth was 35 feet, and visibility was 10 feet, maybe less. He failed to talk about boat signals, which turned out to be important since we were one day ahead of Hurricane Ian and had to cut our last dive short."

He blamed the divers for not knowing that reviving the boat engine was a signal." About the big tooth, Huggins said, "Holy cow is it pretty. Cleaned up nice." But he wouldn't tell how to do it. He just referred me to his YouTube video. I enjoyed the day despite Mikey. l don't tip if they don't act professionally and are crude. So I didn't tip, but the other couple did. Wake up, America." (www.blackgoldfossilcharters.com)

So, fellow divers, next month we'll send you our Travelin Diver's Chapbook, in which you'll have these and hundreds of other reports at hand to help you find your next splendid trip.

Thanks for being a subscriber. We rely solely on subscription income, which is why we can always tell you the truth. We don't have to worry about disgruntled advertisers pulling the plug.

- Ben Davison