Dive Review of SS Thorfinn in
Micronesia/Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon

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SS Thorfinn, Apr, 2006, by Ioana Fiore, CA, USA ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 2419.
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
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Accommodations: cabins are not luxurious but perfectly adequate with comfy beds. They vary in size--some can be cramped, and some roomy, some sharing community showers/toilets and some with in-cabin facilities. Most, if not all, have natural light from windows or skylights and in-cabin sinks. Comfy salon with big-screen TV, good video/DVD/library with historical data on WWII activites in Truk Lagoon. Dive Ops: The wreck diving is unique and fantastic and deep (hence the mandatory safety stops, which we did faithfully). Numerous and diverse artifacts to view (both above decks and below), plus great coral reef environment formed on the ships, teeming with lots of fish and critters. They hyperfill tanks (in-water fills) for max bottom time on deeper dives. Dive guides are expert, knowledgeable, and very conscientious--do not make it difficult for them to keep track of you by your going off alone, without telling them what you're doing, or by being inattentive to your dive profile. Even if you've never penetrated a wreck before, you can do it with these guys. I'd tip them individually as well as contribute to the common pot liberally--they get little, if any salary, and they dive 4-5x/day, 7 days/week for months. We didn't see (or hear about) them getting any off-time for de-gassing, and suspect they may be chronically bent--which, if true, is exploitative at best and downright cruel at worst. The dive tenders are the best we've ever been on: super-fast transparently-enclosed inflatables, with individual sit-atop gear bins with padded seats, grip bars, clip straps for headgear, easy-up ladder at the stern, and even a sit-down freshwater shower. Bar arrangements for alcohol are strange: Pre-notification of what you'll want, and/or you have to purchase by the bottle, or six-pack at the least--then you drink from your own supply which they keep under lock & key. Soft drinks are free. No juices, unfortunately, since I hate soda. Food was good and in reasonable quantities. Good snacks served during the day, and the saltwater spa on the salon deck is great for dive post-mortems. The Thorfinn is extremely stable, no seasickness woes. The crew lives on the ship all the time, and the Captain (age 65+) and his post-pubescent local wife have a couple of babies running around (can you say "lead-paint poisoning hazard"?), so it's like a little fiefdom on the seas. And odd arrangement, but the diving was great.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	California, Florida, Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii, Malaysia, Fiji
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, noCurrents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Mandatory safety stops: 60 feet/2 minutes, 30 feet/3 minutes, 15 feet/10 minutes. Begin ascension with 1000 PSI.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	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	Separate camera shelves on dive tenders, rinse tanks on "mother ship" and camera tables on salon deck (one deck up from dive tender deck and rinse tank) with stowage shelving underneath.

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Dive Review of SS Thorfinn in Micronesia/Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon

SS Thorfinn, Apr, 2006,

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 SS Thorfinn in
Micronesia/Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon