The new Maldives liveaboard MV Orion offers seven day trips that take in classic Maldives dive sites at Male and Ari atolls as well as visiting the whale shark haunt of Hani Faru

MV Orion

MV Orion is built around the cruising in comfort concept, where the boat is appealing to divers and non divers alike. Scuba is a big part of the boat's itinerary with three dives a day -- four if there's a night dive - but it's also a great boat on which to relax, sunbathe, enjoy the spa, sauna and jacuzzi and watch the Maldives seascape go by as the boat cruises during the day. Cabins are very spacious and well-appointed, while the dining room, bar area and sundeck are also designed to provide plenty of room. (I've also written a more detailed report of the practicalities and amenities of the MV Orion, with videos and pictures of the bedrooms and mess decks).

Maldives seascape

Manta Ray, Lankan

MV Orion departs from Male on a 7 day schedule, usually with a checkout dive on one of Male's dive sites. We went to Lankan, the famous Manta Point site, where we saw a couple of manta rays hovering at the cleaning station - great way to begin a trip.

Manta Ray at Hani Faru

Hani Faru - Waiting For Whale Sharks
MV Orion heads from Male Atoll to Baa Atoll which is several hours crossing. This is the location of Hani Faru (also spelt Hanifaru), the small bay that's growing increasingly popular as a whale shark and manta ray hotspot. I've previously written about National Geographic's incredible Hani Faru video footage of mantas and whale sharks feeding together - unfortunately, we didn't get to witness quite such a feeding frenzy during our trip as the whale sharks remained elusive. There were however numerous manta ray encounters, both while snorkelling as they glided in to a bommie only 4 metres down, and again when we went diving at Darawandu Kandu.

The dhoni (a small boat separate from the MV Orion used as a dive platform) goes looking for whale sharks around Hani Faru, cruising until they spot one of the leviathans on the surface. Everyone then jumps in with snorkelling gear to spend some time with the whale shark. If everyone remains calm and no one gets too close to the whale shark, it's possible to spend anywhere up to 20 minutes with one of these huge but harmless creatures.

If there's no luck spotting a whale shark, the dhoni heads to a nearby reef for a dive - with the small chance that perhaps a whale shark will turn up while submerged. It's definitely worth the day of the itinerary at Hani Faru to have the chance to see whale sharks, even if they don't turn up - and the mantas are there pretty much all the time.

Hunting For Hammerheads
From Hani Faru and Baa Atoll we headed to north Ari toll via Rasdhoo Atoll, in search of another rare creature - the hammerhead shark. Rasdhoo Kandu is famous for hammerheads appearing out of the blue to investigate waiting divers, and our luck improved with not one but four of them suddenly materialising out of the depths. To go looking for hammerheads, you need to have good buoyancy and be able to hang in the blue at 30 metres, as that's the best chance of seeing them. Rasdhoo Kandu has a pretty sloping reef with abundant fish life on which to spend the remainder of the dive. The video clip above of the Maldives hammerheads is courtesy of Roald and SJ - thanks guys!

Red Snapper, Maldives

Speedy Drift Dives
Virtually every dive site in the Maldives is subject to the changing of the tides, and incoming or outgoing current. Besides the thilas, or pinnacles, the other staple of Maldivian scuba is channel diving, which can shape up into speedy drift dives depending on the current. We had a couple of contrasting channel dives at Gangahi Beru Faru and Gangahi Kandu in Ari Atoll - the first was pretty fast, with whitetip sharks and napoleon wrasse speeding by as we coasted along the sandy bottom of the channel with great viz all around. The second was a much more gentle affair which barely involved moving your fins to be carried forward - it also let us stop to look under ledges where there were huge stingrays to be found, while more whitetip sharks patrolled nearby.

In Love, Maldives

There are not many night diving sites in the Maldives thanks to the ever changing currents, but Maaya Thila is a stand out location due to the large collection of stingrays, turtles and whitetip sharks that are active at night. It's a deservedly popular dive site so you might encounter other groups of divers there too. Maaya Thila is also worth checking out during the day - when it's just right, the site can be teeming with fish when there's current to carry in big shoals of fish.

Yellow Snapper, Maldives

Fish And Ships
Haza Thila was one of my personal favourites of the trip thanks to the jawdropping clouds of fish racing around the pinnacle - vivid coloured fusiliers coursed over the pinnacle's top and down around us, while huge schools of snapper hundreds of fish strong hung in the current, eyeing us cautiously as we approached. Chunky dogtooth tuna cruised on the edges of the shoals, weaving in and out of the fish as whitetip sharks passed by underneath. I spent a few seconds level with a white spotted eagle ray as it rode on the current before speeding away. Haza has a convenient plateau at 10 metres stacked with big tables corals and dancing schools of tiny turquoise and orange fish.

Glassfish on the Kuda Giri Wreck, Maldives

SJ on the Kuda Giri Wreck, Maldives

For our final dives, we visited the Kuda Giri wreck, which is extremely photogenic thanks to its incredibly colourful coral growth and resident schools of glassfish. Sitting upright with the bow at 20 metres, it's perfect for diving (and indeed was deliberately sunk for divers around 20 years ago). There is still the giant propeller at the ship's bottom down at 35 metres. Beyond the wreck is the near vertical slope of the thila itself, which levels out into a shallow plateau of corals.

Bridge Window, Kuda Giri Wreck, Maldives

Kuda Giri Wreck, Maldives

Once back in Male atoll, we dived where we'd start at Lankan point in the hope of seeing manta rays again. It turned out to be a real grand finale - we encountered three mantas together at two different cleaning stations, sweeping across the reef in graceful arcs over the heads of slightly awed divers before unhurriedly heading out into the blue in a synchronised manta train.

Incoming Manta Rays, Lankan, Maldives

In all, despite not having much luck at Hani Faru, it was an excellent trip with a good diversity of dive sites and some great big pelagic action. It's my third visit to the Maldives to dive in north Male and Ari, and I'd love to go back to Hani Faru again and also venture down to the far south of the Maldives to see more of this unique dive environment.

Maldives Seascape

Newly launched in the Maldives, MV Orion provides a serious contender for those wanting luxury Maldives liveaboard scuba diving and island cruising

I recently went to the Maldives to see the newly built MV Orion in its second week of operation. The boat already has an impressive setup, and with its final improvements due to be complete by the end of October 2009 (free Nitrox, free unlimited drinking water, personal entertainment systems in each room) it will be even better. The following is a rundown of the practicalities of being on the MV Orion. I've also published a separate trip report about the scuba diving on MV Orion - the boat follows a 7 day schedule around Male, Baa and Ari atolls.

MV Orion

Included below are some of my world famous quick videos shot around the boat - there's zero production values as it's just me wandering around with my Canon IXUS. However, they hopefully give a good idea of what the bedrooms and bathrooms really look like. The first video shows the boat exterior, while the second and third show the Junior Suite and Standard Double Room. There is also a collection of photos below showing the outdoor bar area, the Executive Suite jacuzzi at the front of the boat, and the huge sundeck up top.

MV Orion is built around the cruising in comfort concept, where the boat is appealing to divers and non divers alike. Scuba is a big part of the boat's itinerary with three dives a day -- four if there's a night dive - but it's also a great boat on which to relax, sunbathe, enjoy the spa, sauna and jacuzzi and watch the Maldives seascape go by as the boat cruises during the day. Cabins are very spacious and well-appointed, while the dining room, bar area and sundeck are also designed to provide plenty of room.

Accommodation
MV Orion can accommodate up to 22 guests. It has an Executive Suite, Junior Suite and several double rooms. All rooms are ensuite with hot power shower, spacious and well-appointed. There is a vanity unit in each room which is good for setting up a laptop and camera gear if required. Each room also has its own flatscreen TV and will apparently have a personal media player in the near future. The air con was a bit hit and miss during our trip, but this is apparently being ironed out in the near future.

Dining And Drinking
MV Orion has a very large, comfortable air conditioned dining room where pre-dive breakfast, big breakfast, lunch, 5pm snack and dinner are served. Meals are served buffet style and there is always a choice of 3 or 4 different dishes. Fresh fruit e.g. watermelon or papaya is the standard dessert. Tea and coffee is available free all day.

There is a water machine due to be installed on the boat which will provide unlimited free drinking water to all guests during their trip. Some boats charge for bottled water beyond an initial two litre per day allowance.

There is a full bar on board serving beer and spirits - draught Heineken is around $4 a glass, and spirits around $5 a shot.

Sundeck and other amenities
The sundeck on MV Orion is massive, with a covered area for those who want some shade. There is also an outdoor bar at the back of the boat which is perfect for sundowners. There is a jacuzzi located in the outdoor bar too, as well as a private jacuzzi at the front of the boat for the use of guests who are in the Executive Suite. There is a spa and sauna also located near the outside bar, and a Thai massage service is available on board too.

Diving
MV Orion does not stick to a rigid schedule of trying to fit in a maximum number of dives per day. Three dives a day is the norm.

Daily Dive Routine - most days begin early at 6am for 6.30 am dive briefing. All dives are conducted from a smaller boat, known as a dhoni, which follows the MV Orion. The dhoni has a fair bit of room for gearing up and storage boxes underneath each seat. All dive gear can be left on the dhoni between dives. Most sites are no more than 10 to 15 minutes from the MV Orion. Remember to bring water, sunblock and sunglasses for each dive. A towel is provided for each guest in their room to bring on the dhoni.

Because all diving in the Maldives is tidal, guests should be aware that briefings can change while on the dhoni if the current is not behaving as expected. The dive guide will check the current before guests enter the water.

Entry into the water is by giant stride, with a fairly tall ladder to climb back up at the end of the dive.

Stepping onto the dhoni from the Orion can be a little bit tricky, so take care to watch your footing and let the staff help you.

Dive guides - there are two dive guides, Hassan and Alex. They are the co-directors of MV Orion's business. Hassan is a veteran Maldivian divemaster with over 15000 dives. Alex also runs a large dive operation in Singapore. There will a third Cruise Director joining the boat in November 2009 who will also act as a guide.

Free Nitrox - Nitrox will be provided as standard on MV Orion. It wasn't available when I was on the boat as it was only the second week of operation - send an enquiry using the form below to check if it's available for your preferred dates.

Camera Gear - there is a large flat platform on the dhoni which is a good place for putting cameras - a rinse tank is also available on the boat. There are charging stations for cameras in the dining room, but they are only really suitable for smaller cameras as they are cubby holes built into sideboard areas. There are several plug outlets in each room. The plugs use 3 pin British style plug sockets. Bring an adapter and surge protector if you use other types of plugs. The electricity voltage is 230 Volts AC / 50 Hz.

Getting There
Fly into Male Airport (the Maldives' capital city) for pickup and transfer by speedboat direct to MV Orion. The ride takes about 10 minutes. Find the cheapest flights to Male on Skyscanner and Kayak.

Deep Sea Detective Richie Kohler has scuba dived many shipwrecks around the world. The WWII American submarine USS Lagarto, whose final resting place was only discovered three years ago in the Gulf of Thailand, is among the most important to him. Chris Mitchell finds out why.

Deep Mystery - USS Lagarto in Fah Thai Magazine

This article was first published in Fah Thai magazine, Oct-Dec 2009. The article appears here in a slightly different form.

Fah Thai is the inflight magazine of Bangkok Airways, Thailand's boutique airline.

To see more of my stories for other scuba diving magazines, visit my Scuba Diving Magazine Stories page.

3rd May 1945: even though the war in Europe is days away from ending, the war in the Pacific rages on. The USS Lagarto submarine meets with the USS Baya in the Gulf of Thailand to take on supplies. The two ships separate, agreeing to stay in radio contact. The Lagarto and its crew of 86 submariners is never seen or heard from again.

60 years later, almost to the day the Lagarto disappeared, the lost sub is rediscovered 70 metres down in the Gulf, far below the depth to which most scuba divers can dive. For a hardy few, like Richie Kohler of the History Channel's Deep Sea Detectives show, deep diving is a way of life, with all the rigorous training, special equipment and danger that entails. Driven by a fascination with the histories and mysteries of lost ships, Kohler traveled halfway round the world from his native New Jersey in 2007 to dive the Lagarto and film a forthcoming PBS underwater documentary to honour the crew of the lost sub and analyse how it met its fate. "I was hired by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum along with John Chatterton to do photodocumentary evidence of the wreck, having documented submarine wrecks before," explains Kohler. "We can apply a forensic approach looking at it. We're technical divers, deep divers with an expertise in shipwrecks. We were shooting hi-definition movie footage using rebreather technology which allowed us to stay underwater for 3 hours at a time."

Chatterton and Kohler's previous experience documenting submarine wrecks is already the stuff of legend, thanks to Robert Kurson's bestselling book Shadow Divers. The book documents the duo's six year quest to identify a German UBoat and its crew that was inexplicably discovered off the New Jersey coast. The book gained a huge audience because it deals not only with high adrenalin deep diving but also with the history and human drama of trying to understand the events that led to the Uboat's demise and give the families of the dead crew closure. While on the Shadow Divers book tour Kohler first heard about the Lagarto. "An older woman came over to me and says she was especially touched by the story, " he explains. "Her father had been lost on an American submarine in the Gulf of Thailand and she wished that somebody would tell her what happened to him. Almost a year later she emails me this amazing story about how her dad's submarine had been discovered by two British divers."

Those two divers, Jamie MacLeod and Stewart Oehl, had sunk their life savings into buying their own boat, MV Trident, so they could pursue their dream of deep wreck diving from their base on Koh Tao. They'd purposely set out to discover the Lagarto, working out an ocean floor survey plan from the last place where the submarine was seen, taking on supplies from the USS Baya. Both assumed it would take them several years to find the Lagarto, but they had a spectacular stroke of luck.

Thai fishermen can occasionally be persuaded to part with the GPS marks of where they find the best fishing -- and as fish congregate around wrecks, this can lead divers to wholly undiscovered ships on the bottom. Stewart having acquired a new set of marks for 500 Baht, Jamie drew the short straw of having to be the first one to go down and see what was there. There's no guarantee that checking a virgin set of marks will produce something interesting -- it could be a pile of stones or debris or, more dangerously, a submerged pinnacle covered in lost fishing nets which can ensnare and trap an unwary diver -- "the billowing wall of death" as Richie's wife, Carrie, also an accomplished technical diver, calls it.

"I followed the shot line down to 70 metres," recalls Jamie, "and suddenly, I realized that the line had landed just in front of the bow, so when you get to the bottom, you're right in front of it, right in front of the bow and looking up at it. It's unmistakable. The Lagarto is sitting upright on the bottom so when you're in front of it it's like it's coming towards you. You never forget it."

"It was the best 500 Baht I ever spent," laughs Stewart.

Because the Lagarto is a war grave, Jamie and Stewart had made contact with the Lagarto US Submarine Veterans of WWII Association to ask their permission to search for the submarine and to keep them aware of their ongoing efforts. When they broke the news that they had discovered the Lagarto, the US Navy sent a team on the USS Salvor to verify the wreck themselves, while the footage from Kohler and Chatterton's documentary provided definitive evidence that the Lagarto had been sunk by a depth charge dropped by the Japanese minesweeper Hatsutaka. For Kohler, there was also a vital task he had to carry out on his first dive to the Lagarto: "As I was heading out to Thailand I received a phone call from Nancy Kenney. Her father died when she was 3 years old on the Lagarto - she has nothing to know him by but the black and white photos she has of him. She knew that the diving was very dangerous and we would be filming the documentary. What she wanted me to do was rap on the side of the hull and say to her dad that her and her mum were OK and that they loved him very much. And that I did for Nancy."

After the flurry of international publicity that surrounded the Lagarto's discovery, the submarine has been left in peace. Only Jamie, Stewart and the US Navy know the exact location of the Lagarto, and there will only be the occasional custodial dive on her in the future. For Kohler, coming to Thailand led him to not only discover the Lagarto, but to also appreciate the Gulf as a still largely unexplored haven for wreck divers. He recently returned to lead an expedition of US technical divers, which was such a success that it could become an annual event. As he explains, "This is true adventure. This is a last frontier when you go down there and you don't know what to expect. Everytime you poke your head into these wreck doors you just don't know what you're going to find."

Previously:

• Diving On The USS Lagarto - a first hand account by Ayesha Cantrell with photos of the Lagarto
• Return To The USS Lagarto - Ayesha's account of one of the custodial dives on the Lagarto, with new Lagarto photos

This has to be the most incredible underwater footage of manta rays and whale sharks I've ever seen - scores of them in a feeding frenzy at Hanifaru in the Maldives

This video clip from National Geographic is absolutely insane. Scores of manta rays and several whale sharks duking it out to see who can eat the most microscropic plankton in Hanifaru in the Maldives. Hanifaru Bay lies in the Baa Atoll, and this gathering of manta rays and whale sharks - sometimes scores of mantas and several whale sharks, which are usually solitary and very rare - occurs occasionally between May to November.

I am heading out to Hanifaru on the Orion liveaboard next month, and so I'm crossing everything that we might get to witness some of this incredible action. If I saw only a tenth of what goes on in these videos, I'd be a happy man. It might even surpass the best dive of my life...

Also check out this stunning Hanifaru photoset on Flickr taken by Christian Loader - thanks to UW photographer Matthew Oldfield for sending me the link.

Hanifaru by Christian Loader

Here's another Hanifaru clip from Aqua Dreams Imaging:

There's more info about Hanifaru on this page of the excellent DivePhotoGuide.com and Bruce Barcott'sfull Hanifaru National Geographic article, complete with more photos, is also online - definitely worth a read.

Going on a Komodo liveaboard is like undertaking an epic voyage - over 10 days, a typical Komodo dive route covers hundreds of miles and sweeps through ever changing and always breathtaking landscapes both above and below the water on a round trip through The Komodo National Park.

This article was first published in EZ Dive magazine, Issue 1, 2009. It appears here in a slightly different form.

The S/Y Siren photos are their official pix, with video from Ai Futaki, except the octopus one.

To see more of my stories for other scuba diving magazines, visit my Scuba Diving Magazine Stories page.

Despite the burgeoning popularity of Komodo as a dive destination, it is still very much a remote wilderness, savagely beautiful and potentially dangerous too, as typified by the famous deadly Komodo Dragons which inhabit the island at the heart of the National Park. Much of the hundreds of square miles of the park’s protected area remain unexplored, and the incredible richness of the marine life here brings still about new species discoveries each year.

S/Y Siren

The S/Y Siren begins its Komodo voyage from the port on Bima island, which requires a one hour flight from Bali. Bima itself doesn't have much to offer visitors, but it does mean that divers get to spend more time in the Komodo National Park itself rather than sailing to and from Bali. (There's a separate S/Y Siren Liveaboard Review here on Divehappy if you're interested in finding out more about the boat and its diving practicalities).

I've dived in Komodo previously with the Peter Hughes boat Komodo Dancer (see my Komodo diving with Komodo Dancer writeup), which departs from Bali - it was good to have seen the amazing scenery along the way, but the extra day of sailing to and from Bali is not really worth it in dive terms, I think - making the short flight to Bima or Maumere or Labuan Bajo to be much nearer to the Komodo National Park is preferable for those looking to maximise their diving time.

Bima Bay is the beginning and end of the trip, a little explored muck diving haven that's got a lot to offer for those who like seeking out small critters and don't mind murky conditions and trash strewn, unphotogenic reefs. The main site here is 'The Unusual Suspects", but we also tried a couple of not unnamed parts of the bay where the diving was just as good. Between the three sites we found a beautiful mimic octopus that was happy to play for several minutes, lots of sizable nudibranches, blue ribbon eels and a couple of ordinary octopus that were not too shy, one of them putting on a real display as it moved across the reef.

The island of Sompa was our first stop after we set sail into the Park itself, where we dived in the beautiful visibility of The Circus. There is a great collection of coral here, all very shallow (10 metres maximum) and there was an impressive giant black frogfish hanging out on one of the table corals, who was thoroughly unimpressed by the divers crowding around him.

Roller Coaster is so named for having some strong currents which push along into a more gentle reef around the corner. I opted to skip the current bit and get dropped straight on the reef, a big wall slope with lots of lush soft coral and great viz again. I had a real stroke of luck as I casually examined a crinoid to find a beautiful ornate ghostpipe fish hovering inside it - I spent several minutes trying to photo it and then glanced up, only to see a manta ray exactly parallel with me about 5 metres away in the blue - it was a classic double take moment, and almost as soon as I got over my surprise it was gone, gliding along the reef into an encounter with the other group of equally surprised divers just around the corner, as I found out later. Talk about a contrast between the size of the ghostpipefish and the manta.

From here, we headed to Gili Lawa Laut. This area has three of Komodo's stand out dive sites - The Lighthouse, Crystal Rock and the real king of the hill, Castle Rock. All three sites are prone to extreme currents but they are also the congregating point for thousands of fish. Castle Rock in particular provided a couple of absolutely mesmerizing dives, the plateau of the rock below becoming the setting for an early morning smorgasbord of snapper, jacks, and fusilier schools all intertwining with each other and then separating again, while below sharks rode the currents biding their time for breakfast. I watched amazed as a dolphin broke up the coral with its beak to find food, before heading up to the surface right in front of us to be reunited with its calf. The first thing everyone one asked when they got out of the water at Castle Rock was “When are we going back in?”

Nusa Kode lies at the far south of the National Park, and it’s here that the Komodo Dragons are found on the islands of Komodo and Rinca, as well as the iconic dive sites of Cannibal Rock and Yellow Wall. The water temperature here is much colder, dropping to a chilly 23 degrees, making for a wholly different environment underwater. On the Rock’s large mount, giant nudibranches and sea apples can be found, along with equally large frogfish amongst a tangled, colourful web of soft and hard coral. Back on the boat, Komodo Dragons can be seen patrolling the overcast shoreline nearest to Cannibal Rock, making the area look like a real life Jurassic Park.

It would be difficult to find a greater contrast to Nusa Kode’s chilly climes than Sangeang, the still active volcano that heats the water around it that makes up the final destination for many Komodo trip. The hot water promotes a plethora of coral growth on the black volcanic sand, but for many divers, the chance to warm their hands by the volcano’s underwater sulphuric vents remains the highlight of diving Sangeang.

As a dive destination that offers a taste of everything, it’s hard to beat Komodo - remote, protected waters largely unspoilted by human intervention; encounters with a huge variety of marine life big and small; a fascinating diversity of underwater environments; spectacular topside scenery – and the chance to come face to face with the Komodo Dragons themselves.

Video Note: The videos above were shot by Japanese videographer Ai Futaki - she is an accomplished freediver as well as scuba diver. The first vid was filmed while freediving in Komodo - follow the link for more info. The second vid was shot on scuba at Castle Rock and other locations. The final video below is an Evil Mermaid -- watch out for those...

Thinking about going on a scuba diving liveaboard on the S/Y Siren? Here's a rundown of some of the practicalities about the boat that might help make your decision.

I went on the S/Y Siren in September 2008 and subsequently had the account of our Komodo dive safari published in EZ Dive Magazine a year later. Here's a rundown of the practicalities of what the S/Y Siren is like as a dive boat.

S/Y Siren Destinations

• Komodo, Indonesia
• Similan Islands, Thailand
• Andaman Islands

S/Y Siren

The Boat
S/Y Siren is a new, purpose built luxury scuba diving liveaboard boat owned by Worldwide Dive And Sail. The Siren (formerly known as Sangai Jumpa Lagi) has spent two years running trips in Komodo, Indonesia, the Similan Islands in Thailand and the Andaman Islands in India.

Dutch national Frank Van De Lindt is WWDS’s main partner, the Siren’s cruise director, and also its builder – along with his father, Frank designed and built the Siren from scratch in Indonesia. As such, while the boat looks like a traditional Indonesian pinisi-class schooner at first glance, it has a very different layout once on board, because it is a custom built boat.

First Impressions
are that the Siren looks gorgeous - newly built, beautifully finished with polished wood everywhere and with some unique design touches. It certainly feels like a luxury boat.

S/Y Siren Mess Deck

Boat Layout
Eating Area: The main mess area is located at the back around a horseshoe shaped table. This provides a great alfresco eating area that is also protected from the elements, with complete suncover and also effective rolldown plastic windows if the wind gets up.

S/Y Siren Saloon

Saloon: The ship’s air-conditioned saloon is mainly used for watching movies on the large plasma screen and relaxing on the two L shaped couches. There is a serious espresso maker in the saloon for coffee addicts. There is a large, uncovered sundeck with sun loungers located directly above the ship’s cabin.

S/Y Siren Dive Deck

Dive Deck and Dinghies: Located at the front of the boat with tanks arranged around a central raised platform. Guests then step down onto a fixed steel platform to two dinghies – the dinghy is always located a sizable step down beneath the platform, so getting into the boat in full scuba gear is not the easiest operation. The big dinghy is fast, the small dinghy not so fast.

The boat boys are proactive and helpful and bring everyone’s gear back onto the boat from the dinghies after a dive, although you’ll need to retrieve it from a central pile at the front of the boat to ensure you have everything to hand for the next dive.

A fresh towel waits for you at your tank station each morning when you get back from your first dive and is replaced each day. You get a hot towel when you get back from a night dive, along with water or tea served as you step back onto the boat.

S/Y Siren Room

S/Y Siren Room

S/Y Siren Room

Sleeping Quarters: Maximum of 16 guests. A variety of well-appointed air conditioned cabins – double bed, twin bed and triple bed are available, each with their own ensuite bathroom with marine toilet and shower and in-room computer where you can access movies and music from the ship’s network. The beds are comfortable and the cabins a good size with ample storage space, although the chair at the computer desk in my room stopped the bathroom door from opening fully. There are fresh towels, dressing gowns, hairdryers – it’s quite posh.

Food And Drink
The food on the Siren is uniformly excellent – a mix of international, Indonesian and Thai cuisine, as several of the staff are Thai. There are the usual 3 meals a day served buffet style where you can help yourself, with snacks after the afternoon dive and hot peanuts and cashew nuts served at sunset to accompany your sundowner. The Siren also has a heavy duty espresso maker which makes superb ground coffee.

The Siren has a Free Beer and Soft Drinks policy which I found highly commendable. I sampled several purely in the name of research. Cocktails and wine are available to buy if you’re not fond of the free local brew – in our case, it was Indonesian Anker beer. There’s tea, coffee and hot and cold water available at any time. If you have a problem with people smoking, be aware that most of the staff on the Siren smoke and most outdoor areas are considered smoking areas.

S/Y Siren Sun Deck

Dive Routine
4 dives a day, with night dives available 5 times during the trip as one of the 4 dives. The Siren offers free Nitrox, which is a nice bonus. Backroll entry from the two dinghies. On my trip, there were two guides for 12 people – Frank and Thai guide Reung – but I think there are more guides normally. You can either stick with them to find stuff or do your own thing with your buddy, if you are considered experienced enough by the dive crew to buddy dive in Komodo’s occasionally tricky waters.

Dives are recommended to be 60 minutes long, although guests can dive as long as they like. The guides come up after 60 minutes, and after 45 minutes when diving in the colder waters of southern Komodo in Nusa Kode (Cannibal Rock, Yellow Wall etc).

Diving with a safety sausage is mandatory – with two dinghies, one will remain on site while the other ferries divers already up back to the Siren.

Photography Setup
Large rinse tank by the front of the dive deck with regularly changed water.

The Siren has different styles of diving for different trips – the boat runs Photography Charters in Komodo with onboard seminars given by photo pros and sites specially selected for the best photography, along with more photo setup and maintenance areas. I haven’t been on one of those trips so I can’t comment on it first hand, but I'd suspect these would suit a serious photographer better than the standard Siren trip.

There are 220V / 50Hz and 24V / 60Hz power outlets available in each of the guestrooms. You should bring your own universal adapter.

Dive Gear Rental
The Siren has a fairly large selection of dive gear on board for free use by guests if you require it. Best to enquire at the time of booking for specific dive gear.

Marine Park Fees
Marine park fees are not included in the Siren price – they are approx $100 US for Komodo.

Arriving and Departing From the Siren
For Komodo trips, the Siren arrives and departs from Bima rather than Bali. This requires a flight on Merpati Airlines from Bali to Bima – the cost of a return flight is around 170 Euros. Worldwide Dive and Sail can organize the ticket for you and have someone to come and meet you at Denpasar domestic terminal in Bali to deliver it to you.

A quick summary:
Positive:
- Custom built boat, beautiful finish, great alfresco mess deck at the back
- Great food
- Free Nitrox, Free Beer

Negatives:
- Getting into dinghy can be difficult

If there's any aspect of the boat you'd like to know about that isn't covered above, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to help.

Canon's G11 Powershot camera looks set to become the new standard for underwater photographers wanting a top notch camera in a small, point-and-shoot underwater housing that won't cost a fortune

It's been eagerly anticipated for months, and the Canon G11 Powershot has now been released in early October 2009, complete with its own affordable underwater housing, the WP-DC34, also from Canon. The G11's predecessors, the G9 and G10, have both won rave reviews from underwater photographers about the quality of their imaging, the ability to take much higher quality RAW photos, and the joy of being able to get great shots with such a small camera. There's also the bonus of being able to shoot video too.

Canon Powershot G11

The current prices stated on Amazon.com are just under $500 for the Canon G11 and $200 for the WP-DC34 underwater housing. You can order the Canon G11 and order the WP-DC34 underwater housing too. You can also check Ebay for Canon G11 and WP-DC34 housing bargains, both used and brand new. See the Ebay Canon G11 listings below.

Canon Underwater Housing WP-DC34 for the Canon G11

I've been very happy with my trusty Canon IXUS 800 (or Powershot SD700 as it's known in the USA) which I bought over 3 years ago and have used constantly since. (See photos I've taken with the Canon IXUS 800 on my Sulawesi liveaboard and harlequin shrimp encounter). I've resisted the temptation to upgrade to the G series, but the G11 might be what makes me make the change. The wide-angle 28mm lens and the bigger 2.8" LCD screen on the back, as well as the ability to shoot RAW, are the main things I'm interested in. DivePhotoGuide.com notes that Fantasea already have a wet lens Big Eye wide angle lens adapter available for the G11, which makes maximum use of its wide-angle capability.

I can't wait to run into someone on a dive boat who has a G11 so I can have a play with it - it might well wind up being a Christmas present to myself!

You can browse the latest Ebay auctions for the Canon Powershot G11

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Hong Kong Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Singapore Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

Hand Grip Strap for Canon Powershot SX10 IS SX1 G10 G11    US $6.99

Canon PowerShot G11 Batt Gifts    US $602.30

Canon PowerShot G11 Batt 8GB SDHC Gifts    US $620.87

Canon PowerShot G11 Batt 16GB SDHC Gifts    US $635.71

NEW Canon PowerShot G11 10MP 6GIFTS FREE SHIP 1yr wty    US $665.00

Hand Strap for Canon Powershot SX20 SX10 SX1 G11 G10 S5    US $9.95

Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Pro Camera Int Warranty    US $609.00

CANON POWERSHOT G11 PURCHASED 10 18 NEW USA WARRANTY    US $443.00

Canon PowerShot G11 100 Megapixel Brand New    US $492.00

Canon PowerShot G1116GB SDIntWarranty7Gifts WO3U    US $619.99

Canon Powershot G11 IS Digital Camera 8 BONUS NEW USA    US $529.95

Brand New CANON POWERSHOT G11 Multi Language Version    US $668.20

Canon Powershot G11 8GB Kit 2 Pro Lenses NEW USA    US $599.00

NEW Canon PowerShot G11 10MP Digital Camera IN STOCK    US $520.00

Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Camera Brand New    US $485.00

Canon Powershot G11 4 GB Kit 2 Pro Lenses NEW USA    US $589.00

TARGUS MINI TRIPOD FOR CANON POWERSHOT G11 G10 SD980 IS    US $4.79

Canon Powershot G11 IS Digital Camera 4GB 8 BONUS NEW    US $539.95

Canon Powershot G11 IS Digital Camera 8GB 8 BONUS NEW    US $549.95

Canon Powershot G11 IS Camera 12 PIECE PRO KIT LENSES    US $599.95

Canon Powershot G11 Digital Camera w 5x Optical Zoom    US $489.00

Canon PowerShot G11International Warranty7 Gifts 5ODR    US $580.99

NEW Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Camera USA    US $489.99

Canon Powershot G11 16GB Kit 2 Pro Lenses NEW USA    US $619.00

NEW Canon PowerShot G11 29 PIECE PRO KIT G 11 16GB    US $729.99

NEW Canon PowerShot G11 29 PIECE PRO KIT G 11 8GB    US $689.99

A0299 Canon PowerShot G1116GBBat6Gifts2YrsWty G 11    US $630.37

A0296 Canon PowerShot G11Bat NB 7L6Gifts2YrsWty G 11    US $614.80

A0298 Canon PowerShot G118GBBat6Gifts2YrsWty G 11    US $633.09

A0297 Canon PowerShot G114GBBat6Gifts2YrsWty G 11    US $627.46

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Latest Ebay auctions for Canon G11 Underwater Housing WP-DC34

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Hong Kong Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Singapore Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

Canon WP DC34 Waterproof Case WPDC34 for PowerShot G11    US $296.88

Canon PowerShot G11 Batt Gifts WP DC34 Case    US $890.84

Canon for PowerShot G11 Waterproof Case WP DC34 NEW    US $275.80

CANON WP DC34 G11 Waterproof Housing WPDC34 WPDC 34 DC    US $289.29

CANON WATERPROOF CASE WP DC34 for PowerShot G11    US $264.00

NEW CANON WP DC34 Underwater Housing for PowerShot G11    US $259.99

Canon WP DC34 Case for Canon PowerShot G11    US $189.95

Canon WP DC34 Underwater Housing for G11 NEW    US $195.99

Japan ORIGINAL Canon WPDC34 case WP DC34 Powershot G11    US $293.00

Last year several airplanes and helicopters were sunk off Phuket's Bang Tao beach to create an artificial reef. Now the Coral Reef Squadron has been destroyed by savage monsoon currents

Sad news from Phuket - the Coral Reef Squadron, a collection of decommissioned military aircraft that was sunk last year to create an artificial reef and become a tourist attraction for divers, has been all but destroyed by monsoon currents. I dived on the Coral Reef Squadron back in January 2009 - I'm glad I got to see it before it disappeared.

The Phuket Gazette reports

PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s ‘Coral Reef Squadron’ sunk off Bang Tao Bay last November is 90 percent missing or destroyed, the Thai Dive Association admitted today.

Rainer Gottwald, head of the Thai Dive Association (TDA) technical committee, said TDA divers visited the site on Wednesday and were only able to find one of the 10 aircraft that formed the artificial reef.

Storms and heavy monsoon season currents were to blame, Mr Gottwald said.

Failure to follow instructions by some members of the team who chained the aircraft to large concrete blocks, and subsequent damage by trawlers,may also have played a role, he said.

You can read my report about diving the Coral Reef Squadron and see some (very murky) pictures here on Divehappy.

There's a new challenge for divers in Thailand - freshwater cave diving in the newly discovered underwater cave system of Khao Sok National Park. Ayesha Cantrell was one of the first to explore it.

My friend Ayesha has written up a fascinating story about exploring the newly discovered underwater cave system in Khao Sok National Park for Underwater Photography magazine.

Khao Sok National Park in Thailand is an area usually visited for the ancient rain forest, jungle trekking and wildlife spotting opportunities. This lush area is dominated by 165kmsq lake which was created by a damming project, limestone pinnacles tower out of the water creating a stunning vista all around. Transport is by traditional Thai longtail boat only and the area is peaceful and serene. The damming heightened the water, flooding some amazing formations that have all but passed into history. Careful exploration and research is beginning to locate some of these submerged sites and this is what I was here to document.

Unlike diving on a coral reef, these caverns are home to very little life, only curious catfish. It was abundantly clear that they were very confused by these noisy bubble blowing creatures who seem to be carrying slices of the sun in their hands. They seemed to pop out, swim around and then rest on just the surface I was entertaining as a possible platform to steady the camera. Evidently they were going to be as constructive to photography as a kitten with a ball of wool.

You can read the full Underwater Photography article about Thailand cave diving online - and you can also read Ayesha's personal account of the same trip too. If you're interested in exploring the caves yourself, you can read the info on how to get there and the next trip that's being organised to the Khao Sok Underwater Caves.

Asian Diver Magazine is back on the shelves with a fresh new look and direction to complement its sister magazine Scuba Diver AustralAsia.

Asian Diver

The first issue of the newly relaunched Asian Diver comes as a double issue with Scuba Diver AustralAsia - after this, it will be a magazine in its own right. So if you're looking for it on the magazine shelves, you might not spot it, as the Asian Diver front cover is the back cover of the current issue of SDAA - featuring the kid on the front as the Family Diving themed issue. It's a nice way to re-introduce the SDAA readership to the rebooted Asian Diver.

The new look Asian Diver focuses on the practical side of diving, with lots of tips about best practices and efficient equipment use, along with some interesting features about diving-related careers and some of the more exotic creatures you might encounter diving in Asian waters. It looks like a great complement to its sister magazine Scuba Diver AustralAsia and it'll be interesting to see how it evolves over the coming months to serve the interests of divers in the region. Sol is definitely interested in getting feedback and creating a more interactive experience with readers - you can get in touch through Asian Diver's relaunched website. I'm hoping I'll get to contribute some stories in future issues too.