Raj Ampat/MSY Seahorse

We have just returned from a 11 day trip aboard the MSY Seahorse. Their last trip for 2008. The trip originated from Sorong and ended in Sorong. We boarded mid afternoon and sailed that night to wake up in the Waigeo area about 6 sailing hours north of Sorong. We dove the Waigeo area for the next three days. Our first day of diving was Mioskon, Sardine Reef, & Cape Kri. Second day was 5 Rock & Mike's Point. Third day was Sardine Reef, Cape Kri, & Mioskon. All of these dives were stellar. The abundance and variety of fish was mind boggling. Any of these sites are very different from hour to hour depending on the current. Our second dive on Sardine Reef was the highlight of those three days. We had 2 good size white tips cruise with us most of the dive. We swam through the largest schools of fish I have ever witnessed. Barracuda, Jacks, Tuna, Snapper, Sweetlips, Mackerel, Wahoo, Fusiliers, and clouds of baitfish. At the surface we spotted a Marlin, in mid column 3 Devil rays, on the bottom an 8' free swimming Woebegon. Where to look? Most of these dives were approx. 60 min and a max. depth of approx. 75 fsw.

That evening we motored to the Misool area for 14 hours. We dove the Misool area for 5 days. The first dive site was Farondi which was the only disappointing site of the trip, pea soup viz. It is basically chosen because it is the first set of islands in the Misool area. Our first day of diving in the Misool area also included Fiabacet. Our second day of diving was all in the Fiabacet area. The third day was Boo, Magic Mountain, and the house reef at the Misool Eco Lodge. The fourth day was Yillet, Gorgorian Passage & Kaleidoscope. The last day was back to the Farondi area to dive Friendly Canyon, Little Rock, and the Cave. The Misool area dives are all about the the coral, gorgorians, and macro critters. There are schools and schools of fish but nothing much pelagic. Having said that the dives were incredibly unique and beautiful. Gorgorian Passage was quite spectacular, the sea fans were abundant and some at least 10' square. We must have photographed 40 different nudibranchs. Pygmy sea horses, ghost pipe fish, scorpion fish, and crocodile fish were plentiful on every dive. While we were in the Misool area we dropped off some visitors at the Misool Eco Lodge. What a gem of a spot they have there. Great diving on there house reef and a short boat ride to other stellar sites. A truly beautiful designed resort.
Our last day of diving was back in the Waigeo area, Manta Point. Well it really lived up to its name. From the minute we entered the water and settled on the sand at 50' we were treated to a spectacular show of Mantas. At one point 4 cruising above us. Fortunately, divers leave them alone, so they show absolutely no concern about our audience. They swoop in within inches forcing us to lean out of their way. We did our second dive of the day here as well and the show continued non-stop. I guess it was leave them (us) wanting to come back for more. This was also our best visibility of the 11 days. The max. viz was around 50-60 ft. The Misool area was in the 40' range. So I guess if there is a downside to Raj Ampat other than how hard it is to get to it would be visibility. The water is loaded with nutrients making the whole show possible.
We dove 30-32EAN with solid 3000psi fills. We did no night dives but somedays dove 4 dives. The diving was both from a very stable custom aluminum skiff and a smaller Zodiac. Both were fine, the skiff easier and roomier. There were 3 dive guides all very good and safety conscious. The lead was Cedric a very affable young Frenchman.
The MSY Seahorse is a Pinisi class schooner built in Sulawesi. The owner is Spanish and oversaw the building of the boat. He is also aboard most of the trips and is a perfectionist about the boat and the liveaboard experience. The Seahorse is lovingly maintained and fairly new. The cabins are roomier than others I have been in, smaller than others I have seen. I found them comfortable. There was always plentiful hot water and pressure. The dive deck is vast and easy to use. I really had no complaints about any aspect of this boat. Last but not least; the food was incredible. I mean go out for your anniversary dinner excellent. The bread is baked every morning. The greens were always fresh every lunch. I asked after the first week how is it possible. They buy hydroponic greens with roots attached, leave them in water in the cooler and pick fresh lettuces daily. I began entering the meals on a daily basis in my dive log. This sort of sets the tone in the "we try harder" on the Seahorse mentality. Anyway, a great trip aboard a great boat. My wife and I are divers first. She is new to UW photography, a caveat of what to expect. I will try to post some pics in the future.

Thanks for the report. The region is on my "to dive to list" and your experience on the Seahorse is tempting !
Thanks again

Same here, thanks for the post.
Rajah Ampat has been one of my dream destinations. sounds like a real gem.

I forgot to mention a couple of general questions I had before going to Raja Ampat. Weather and water temp. The rainy season in Indonesia runs approx. between November and early March. So I fully expected rain. We did get rain but it was never torrential. Of the 3 weeks in Indonesia we had bright sun at least half of the days with partly cloudy frequent, 3 days of significant rain. The consensus is not to go to Raja Ampat July, August, & September as the winds and waves prohibit comfortable diving. Many liveaboards move operations those months. The folks at Misool Eco Resort say they close for those months. Water temperatures were never lower than 82F. I also logged dives at 84F and 86F. A 3mm was plenty to stay warm. The air temps were pretty ideal, 75-85F.

Great Trip report! I have done the Sorido Resort in Papua twice in 08....and going back in 09...absolutely the best diving I have done!

We also returned from a trip on the seahorse that was extremely disappointing. We were told that it was a luxury boat with gourmet food and it was neither.

First, the diving was great, divemaster Cedric awesome. Other two divemasters were somewhat inexperienced and did not know the area well.

Itinerary was a 12 day cruise from Ambon to Sorong. Our departure was delayed for 2 days due to some damage to the boat and it had to be in drydock so we stayed in what may well have been the only hotel in Ambon, which is a town that is the armpit of the universe, filthy and depressing. The organizers of the trip never really told us what was going on; first it would be a couple of hours delay, then a few hours, then one night then another night. Finally boarded the boat 2 days late. Our room was supposedly one of the bigger better ones. It was roomy, but not clean, cabinets were dirty, we had to walk along a narrow side of the boat to get to the room and at night there were no lights to guide us. Each trip to and from the room was like running the gauntlet through the boat's staff, all smoking constantly.

The dive deck was ok, the dining area ok, but the camera room was terrible. Poor lighting, filthy, not enough room, hot, right next to the kitchen with an open window between the camera room and the kitchen where the staff passed food through right over the cameras.

We have food issues, told the organizers of the trip about them twice, and discussed it with the staff on the boat when we boarded. They were totally unprepared. Ran out of lettuce on day three so no more salads. Ran out of peanut butter, which was our fallback food if we could not eat what was served on the fourth day. We had many meals of raman soup because we could not eat anything else. I lost 8 lbs.

To top it all off, when we requested a refund because we had paid for a 12 day trip and only got 10 days we were refused until we threatened them, have been told that we would get a refund but now almost 2 months later we still have no refund.

After departing from the boat we went to Kasawari and had the best experience of our lives. Beautiful room, camera room to die for, staff that catered to our every whim, private divemaster Ali just for the two of us who knew every nook and cranny of the Lembeh Strait. And the critters were so amazing it is impossible to properly describe them.