Dive Review of Macana Maldives in
Maldives/Ari Atoll (N&S) / Male' Atoll

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Macana Maldives: "Maldives Aboard the Princess Handy", Sep, 2017, by David Gere, WA, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 9847 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I think of this as my Charles Dickens dive trip. I had some of the best dives of my life and one or two near the worst. First off, the ones that weren't good were absolutely not fault of the boat, crew, dive operator or dive masters. They simply were tough conditions taking any fun out of the dives and turning them into pointless physical exercises. Strong currents and low visibility were the norm. The crew did an excellent job and the dive masters were outstanding. The boat was clean and comfortable. It’s large (36m long, with a beam of 10.5m). Locally made of wood, it twisted and creaked in the waves and swells. With a shallow draft for navigating around the atolls, it’s not particularly comfortable in heavier seas. Our group had planned to go to Hanifaru Bay, however the sea conditions didn’t allow an open water crossing that long. The dive operation is staffed by Italians, and like all Italians, food is a very big part of their life. Accordingly, the food was excellent, done with an Italian flair. All meals were served family-style, at a large table aft of the main cabin. I will say that fish as an entree grew a little tiresome by the end of the trip, as it was the staple for most meals. But in a country with fishing as its main industry, combined with the logistical problems of transporting and refrigerating other meats, along with the various dietary limitations of many of the nearby cultures and countries, it’s hardly surprising that fish was regular fare. The dives were filled with the myriad of reef fish that you would expect in the Maldives, along with a bunch of pelagics. Mantas, sharks (mostly white-tip reef) and tuna were frequent. Unfortunately, no whale sharks this trip. Maybe the next one. A manta cleaning station in South Ari Atoll yielded some amazing encounters with these beautiful animals. Visibility was pretty poor, with a low of 6m - 8m to a maximum of maybe 15m. Since much of my local diving is in the cold waters of Puget Sound, where visibility is often no more than 3m, it was not an issue for me, other than limiting how much of the incredible reefs and marine life we could see. So, in that respect, it was somewhat disappointing. According to the dive staff, the low visibility was primarily the result of heavy rains and storms for the week or two preceding our trip. All diving was from a roomy dhoni (dive tender), where the scuba equipment stayed throughout the trip. Nitrox was available, and supplied from O2 bottles in the dhoni. As it was manually made up in each tank for every dive, it tended to vary quite a bit. EAN ranged in my tank ranged from 26% to 38%. All tanks were steel 3000 psi/200 bar, 15 liter tanks, equivalent to steel 100s at home. Most were equipped with dual valves, and both yoke and DIN fittings. Most days we did 3 dives. Diving was done in groups of 4 or 5 divers with a dive master. The entire group stayed together throughout the dive. This is fairly challenging open-ocean diving with strong currents and it’s important that no one gets separated from the group. Entries were negative, with the group assembling at about 10m and descending to the reefs together. Assents were similar, all ascending at once, and holding at the safety stop until all divers had cleared. At the safety stop, the divemaster would send up a surface marker buoy to alert the dhoni to our location for pickup.
Websites	Macana Maldives
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Multiple Caribbean, Socorro, Maldives, USA - both tropical and cold water (Pacific NW), Hawaii
Closest Airport	Male'	Getting There	Frequent flights in/out of Male'
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	81-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	10-45 Ft/ 3-14 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	see narrative above
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Good boat arrangements for photographers. Crew was careful in handling expensive setups. Diving conditions (currents) made using large cameras difficult and poor vis limited wide angle opportunities.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Macana Maldives in Maldives/Ari Atoll (N&S) / Male' Atoll

Macana Maldives: "Maldives Aboard the Princess Handy", Sep, 2017,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Macana Maldives in
Maldives/Ari Atoll (N&S) / Male' Atoll