Finally I have managed to find a gap and write this trip report about our Christmas time 11 day LOB in Raja Ampat on the Indo Siren, a World Wide Dive and Sail yacht.
Two months have passed since the trip and it seems like a dream. A very very good dream.
This was our first live aboard trip so we have nothing to compare it to, so keep that in mind when reading this report. We saved up for two years for this trip and
we had MASSIVE expectations leading up to it. And I am glad to say that it blew our expectations out the water
(much like the manta’s leaping from the water at Blue Magic) and it was worth every single cent.
This report is quite long, I hope it is not too boring. Click on the pics to make them bigger (at the end is a link to a few more pics).
Getting there
Yes Raja is at the end of the world and even though we live in Singapore it still took 2 days to get there. Due to flight times etc we had to spend 2 nights in Manado
before flying on to Sorong. We stayed at the Novotel. The only reason you would stay here is if you need to overnight in Manado. It is close to the airport but that is
its only saving grace. Rooms are ok but nothing special. Food at the restaurant was expensive and average. We flew Silk Air from Sing to Manado then Merpati to Sorong.
All went smoothly and we got our luggage (others on the trip never got theirs and ended up wearing WWDS tee shirts the whole trip). Lisa the cruise director met us
at the airport and after a little wait for a few other passengers took us to our home on the sea. There were many LOB’s in the harbour proving that RA is no longer
“off the beaten track”.
The Indo Siren and her Crew
The Indo Siren is simply beautiful. And after 10 days the crew are your new best friends. The boat is less than a year old and therefore everything
works really well and obviously is in perfect condition. It is a 40m Phisini type yacht with two masts. Unfortunately we never saw the sails up
(bad weather on the last day).
We were welcomed aboard with a warm smile and a cold drink. Lisa took us for a tour of the boat and showed us to our cabin (No. 3).
The cabin had a proper double bed and a desk with your own personal PC. The en-suite bathroom had a normal flush loo and a hot shower.
We never ran out of hot water. There is more than enough cupboard space for even the most heavily packed person.
Next was to pick a spot on the dive deck. The dive deck is out on the front deck of the Siren. Each person gets their own spot and a drawer
to toss all your loose goodies. There are a few well placed fresh water hoses around to rinse off and squirt those down on the boat.
We only had to unpack the dive bag and show the dive crew what was ours and they set it all up from that point on. For the camera gear there were two
big rinse tanks on the dive deck and two stations in the saloon to set-up your gear. Below these stations there were additional drawers to store extra gear.
There are so many spots to chill out and relax on the boat. The saloon is cozy, the sun deck is toasty, and you have your air-coned
room if total privacy is called for. The one place we spent tons of time was at the back by the dining area. It has a big U shaped table where
everyone gathers for eating times and for the dive briefings. This area is undercover and the sides can be closed if it gets windy. So this is where
we ended up if we were escaping the sun, rain or wind. It was a very pleasant place to relax AND it was close to the drinks fridge!!
Talking about drinks THE BEER IS FREE!!!
The food was absolutely brilliant. Always more than enough and there was always a good variety of western and Indo/Thai styled yummyness… and free beer!
Chef Agus is a genius! Breakfast was fruit, cereal, eggs, bacon, toasted cheese sandwiches etc, Lunch was usually more western, with burgers, pizza, pasta, plus salad.
At dinner time Agus always came out and explained his magic, this was always good fun! Dinners always had two or three kinds of meat/chicken/ seafood and then some
type of veggies and of course steeeeemed rice!
The crew really are amazing. I cannot say enough good things about them. Always helpful, always happy! They really did seem to enjoy each other and the guests.
One big happy family (at least that was my perspective). Frank the owner of WWDS was with us for the first few days. He is one funny guy and the life of the party.
10 Days of Bliss
First stop on our 11 day cruise was Batanta Island for some muck diving. A bright orange Froggy Fish and a tiny Wonderpus (which I spotted!!) got the full flash furry
of the eager photographers. Nudi’s, ornate ghost pipefish and the first of many Wobblegong Sharks were also spotted. Good start to the trip. That night was a rough crossing
to Misool. Keri, my wife wished she had taken the sea-sickness tabs a few hours earlier! But we learnt our lesson and the rest of the
trip we were better prepared.
The diving in Misool is all about rainbow coloured soft corals. It really does take your breath away. Such vivid colours! The viz in general for the entire trip hung around the
10-12m mark which is ok. Not only are the corals stunning but the fish life is also very diverse with all the usual reef fishies and critters. The DM’s spotted many pygmy sea horses
including the tiny little red one which is endemic to RA and they think it may be a new species.
Christmas day dawned and we dove Boo Windows with its stunning corals and topography and then we moved on to Magic Mountain! Boy was it magic!
Frank was our DM for the day and he took us along the current swept ridge and we hooked in with our reef hooks and there gliding majestically were
two MANTAS!! A better Christmas present I could not have wished for! We had never seen these awesome creatures before. The size and grace with
which they soar mesmerizes you. They hung motionlessly in the current just a few meters from us, truly MAGIC! And to top off the dive there were a
few white tips cruising up and down the reef.
Christmas on board was one MASSIVE party. Everyone received a present from Santa (Frank), a WWDS Komodo tee-shirt, along with a humorous
advert about WWDS trips to Komodo. Christmas dinner was a true feast, roast chicken, beef, prawns…… Agus showing us his artistry with the roast
chicken. Then the party really kicked into gear. We ducked off to bed at a reasonable 11pm but the party went on without us till 2am!!
Day 5 we dived around Daram, we dived “The Candy Store” (many multicoloured treats await), Andiamo and “Living Colours”… no explanation required
for the last one, it lived up to its name.
That night we headed north towards the Big Birds.
Day 6 we dove Manta Sandy in the morning with at least 10 other divers. Many of them paying no attention
to the no go zone of the cleaning station!! The mantas were there the entire duration of the dive. At times there were 3 of them dancing in the current.
We just knelt in the sand and hung onto the ring of rocks that is there to keep you away from the cleaning station and stared in amazement for over an
hour. An hour was not enough so back we went for take two. This time there weren’t as many big birds but they still gave us a show to remember.
And in the times they weren’t flying past there was a little robust ghost pipefish floating right below me to keep me company.
Day 7 we dived the famous Cape Kri in the morning and had a manta fly by and I came literally eye to eye with a very big barracuda. We then moved up
to Yangeffo and dived Citrus Ridge. This was another super special dive, schools of barracuda, swarms of fusillies, gangs of bump head parrotfish, walls
of glass fish so thick you couldn’t see the wobbles lying below. Just incredible beauty and an explosion of life. I sucked my tank dry on this one, refusing
to come up.
Next we ganged up on Lisa and bent her arm to take us to “The Passage”. Top side scenery is WOW. I wish we had more time to cruise around the place
and explore. We could see the current was ripping but went for it any way. We dropped in in a little cove, viz was only 8m and then we were sucked into
the main current and we were flying! Literally flying! Big boulders would rush up and you had a roller coaster ride up and over or swept around, you had
very little control. I was loving the crazy ride but Keri thought she was going to die and demanded we surface. We managed to kick our way into a little
cove away from the current and surfaced. We had covered about a kilometre underwater in 10min!! This is clearly a spot where you need a DM who knows
the place extremely well and it was Lisa’s first time here, which she made clear to us.
Day 8 was back to Yangeffo and we dived Mayhem (not nearly as much Mayhem as The Passage) and Way Pretty Shallows. Both pretty dives with lots of
fish action. When we got back to the Siren we heard the shocking news that the Mandarin Siren was on fire. The big dingy sped off to assist but there was
nothing that could be done except grab as much gear as possible. The Mandarin guests were underwater during the fire so were all unharmed. The crew,
thankfully were for the most part unharmed but were in shock after losing their home! They all came and camped out with us for the afternoon while
emergency transport back to Sorong was organised. It was a very sobering day for all. Mauro (a Brazilian pro photographer) suggested we see what we
could give to the Madarin crew as they had lost everything and I was really moved by everyone’s generosity! That night we dove Mangrove Ridge, not the
best of the night dives and got stung on the ear by a jelly when getting back into the dingy! Man it hurt, and I was not the only one to get tagged.
Day 9 saw us heading back to the Kri area and dived Sardine reef first up. Then as we cruised towards Blue Magic we see a big splash.
Mantas were leaping out of the water. So incredible! Needless to say we were pretty keen to get underwater. This dive was probably the best dive of my life!
As we dropped in and got to the leading edge of the reef mantas just came cruising towards us and were so inquisitive. We had a few fly within touching
distance over us, it really seemed like they loved the bubbles tickling their tummies. We then moved down the reef and there was a massive school of Jacks
cruising in the current along with barracuda, Wobbles and even a black tip Shark or two. The mantas then turned up for some more tummy tickling.
After we had sucked our tanks nearly dry we started the ascent up the buoy line and half way up a manta literally flew right at us to say good bye, gracefully
veering off at the very last second. WOW WOW WOW!! It was unanimous that we were going for round two, BUT you cant demand Magic every time.
The current had picked up big time and we got dropped off at the wrong spot so missed the reef. After a 10min slog against the current we aborted and
tried again. Second time we found the reef but the Mantas were gone.
That night we dove Yembessar Jetty, a very chilled muck dive with Wobbles, crocodilefish, toadfish, microscopic bobtailed squid …
Day 10. Sadly the final day of diving. We dove Batu Lima (5 Rocks). It’s a beautiful shallow dive with great topography around the rocks. Then it was Moiskon
Reef for the very last dive.
The weather then turned miserable and therefore we could not raise the sails and see the Indo Siren in all her glory. What a pity.
The trip back to Sorong was by far the roughest ride we had. But it was New Years eve and we were rocking and rolling along with the Siren through
the rough seas. From the moment we entered Sorong port until we went to bed at 2am the fireworks in Sorong never stopped for a second!
The people in Sorong clearly knew how to party and so did we! It was the perfect ending to an absolutely incredible trip!
Hopefully I haven’t bored you to tears! For a few more pics see the Flikr set below:
Raja Ampat Dec 2011 - a set on Flickr
Two months have passed since the trip and it seems like a dream. A very very good dream.
This was our first live aboard trip so we have nothing to compare it to, so keep that in mind when reading this report. We saved up for two years for this trip and
we had MASSIVE expectations leading up to it. And I am glad to say that it blew our expectations out the water
(much like the manta’s leaping from the water at Blue Magic) and it was worth every single cent.
This report is quite long, I hope it is not too boring. Click on the pics to make them bigger (at the end is a link to a few more pics).
Getting there
Yes Raja is at the end of the world and even though we live in Singapore it still took 2 days to get there. Due to flight times etc we had to spend 2 nights in Manado
before flying on to Sorong. We stayed at the Novotel. The only reason you would stay here is if you need to overnight in Manado. It is close to the airport but that is
its only saving grace. Rooms are ok but nothing special. Food at the restaurant was expensive and average. We flew Silk Air from Sing to Manado then Merpati to Sorong.
All went smoothly and we got our luggage (others on the trip never got theirs and ended up wearing WWDS tee shirts the whole trip). Lisa the cruise director met us
at the airport and after a little wait for a few other passengers took us to our home on the sea. There were many LOB’s in the harbour proving that RA is no longer
“off the beaten track”.
The Indo Siren and her Crew
The Indo Siren is simply beautiful. And after 10 days the crew are your new best friends. The boat is less than a year old and therefore everything
works really well and obviously is in perfect condition. It is a 40m Phisini type yacht with two masts. Unfortunately we never saw the sails up
(bad weather on the last day).
We were welcomed aboard with a warm smile and a cold drink. Lisa took us for a tour of the boat and showed us to our cabin (No. 3).
The cabin had a proper double bed and a desk with your own personal PC. The en-suite bathroom had a normal flush loo and a hot shower.
We never ran out of hot water. There is more than enough cupboard space for even the most heavily packed person.
Next was to pick a spot on the dive deck. The dive deck is out on the front deck of the Siren. Each person gets their own spot and a drawer
to toss all your loose goodies. There are a few well placed fresh water hoses around to rinse off and squirt those down on the boat.
We only had to unpack the dive bag and show the dive crew what was ours and they set it all up from that point on. For the camera gear there were two
big rinse tanks on the dive deck and two stations in the saloon to set-up your gear. Below these stations there were additional drawers to store extra gear.
There are so many spots to chill out and relax on the boat. The saloon is cozy, the sun deck is toasty, and you have your air-coned
room if total privacy is called for. The one place we spent tons of time was at the back by the dining area. It has a big U shaped table where
everyone gathers for eating times and for the dive briefings. This area is undercover and the sides can be closed if it gets windy. So this is where
we ended up if we were escaping the sun, rain or wind. It was a very pleasant place to relax AND it was close to the drinks fridge!!
Talking about drinks THE BEER IS FREE!!!
The food was absolutely brilliant. Always more than enough and there was always a good variety of western and Indo/Thai styled yummyness… and free beer!
Chef Agus is a genius! Breakfast was fruit, cereal, eggs, bacon, toasted cheese sandwiches etc, Lunch was usually more western, with burgers, pizza, pasta, plus salad.
At dinner time Agus always came out and explained his magic, this was always good fun! Dinners always had two or three kinds of meat/chicken/ seafood and then some
type of veggies and of course steeeeemed rice!
The crew really are amazing. I cannot say enough good things about them. Always helpful, always happy! They really did seem to enjoy each other and the guests.
One big happy family (at least that was my perspective). Frank the owner of WWDS was with us for the first few days. He is one funny guy and the life of the party.
10 Days of Bliss
First stop on our 11 day cruise was Batanta Island for some muck diving. A bright orange Froggy Fish and a tiny Wonderpus (which I spotted!!) got the full flash furry
of the eager photographers. Nudi’s, ornate ghost pipefish and the first of many Wobblegong Sharks were also spotted. Good start to the trip. That night was a rough crossing
to Misool. Keri, my wife wished she had taken the sea-sickness tabs a few hours earlier! But we learnt our lesson and the rest of the
trip we were better prepared.
The diving in Misool is all about rainbow coloured soft corals. It really does take your breath away. Such vivid colours! The viz in general for the entire trip hung around the
10-12m mark which is ok. Not only are the corals stunning but the fish life is also very diverse with all the usual reef fishies and critters. The DM’s spotted many pygmy sea horses
including the tiny little red one which is endemic to RA and they think it may be a new species.
Christmas day dawned and we dove Boo Windows with its stunning corals and topography and then we moved on to Magic Mountain! Boy was it magic!
Frank was our DM for the day and he took us along the current swept ridge and we hooked in with our reef hooks and there gliding majestically were
two MANTAS!! A better Christmas present I could not have wished for! We had never seen these awesome creatures before. The size and grace with
which they soar mesmerizes you. They hung motionlessly in the current just a few meters from us, truly MAGIC! And to top off the dive there were a
few white tips cruising up and down the reef.
Christmas on board was one MASSIVE party. Everyone received a present from Santa (Frank), a WWDS Komodo tee-shirt, along with a humorous
advert about WWDS trips to Komodo. Christmas dinner was a true feast, roast chicken, beef, prawns…… Agus showing us his artistry with the roast
chicken. Then the party really kicked into gear. We ducked off to bed at a reasonable 11pm but the party went on without us till 2am!!
Day 5 we dived around Daram, we dived “The Candy Store” (many multicoloured treats await), Andiamo and “Living Colours”… no explanation required
for the last one, it lived up to its name.
That night we headed north towards the Big Birds.
Day 6 we dove Manta Sandy in the morning with at least 10 other divers. Many of them paying no attention
to the no go zone of the cleaning station!! The mantas were there the entire duration of the dive. At times there were 3 of them dancing in the current.
We just knelt in the sand and hung onto the ring of rocks that is there to keep you away from the cleaning station and stared in amazement for over an
hour. An hour was not enough so back we went for take two. This time there weren’t as many big birds but they still gave us a show to remember.
And in the times they weren’t flying past there was a little robust ghost pipefish floating right below me to keep me company.
Day 7 we dived the famous Cape Kri in the morning and had a manta fly by and I came literally eye to eye with a very big barracuda. We then moved up
to Yangeffo and dived Citrus Ridge. This was another super special dive, schools of barracuda, swarms of fusillies, gangs of bump head parrotfish, walls
of glass fish so thick you couldn’t see the wobbles lying below. Just incredible beauty and an explosion of life. I sucked my tank dry on this one, refusing
to come up.
Next we ganged up on Lisa and bent her arm to take us to “The Passage”. Top side scenery is WOW. I wish we had more time to cruise around the place
and explore. We could see the current was ripping but went for it any way. We dropped in in a little cove, viz was only 8m and then we were sucked into
the main current and we were flying! Literally flying! Big boulders would rush up and you had a roller coaster ride up and over or swept around, you had
very little control. I was loving the crazy ride but Keri thought she was going to die and demanded we surface. We managed to kick our way into a little
cove away from the current and surfaced. We had covered about a kilometre underwater in 10min!! This is clearly a spot where you need a DM who knows
the place extremely well and it was Lisa’s first time here, which she made clear to us.
Day 8 was back to Yangeffo and we dived Mayhem (not nearly as much Mayhem as The Passage) and Way Pretty Shallows. Both pretty dives with lots of
fish action. When we got back to the Siren we heard the shocking news that the Mandarin Siren was on fire. The big dingy sped off to assist but there was
nothing that could be done except grab as much gear as possible. The Mandarin guests were underwater during the fire so were all unharmed. The crew,
thankfully were for the most part unharmed but were in shock after losing their home! They all came and camped out with us for the afternoon while
emergency transport back to Sorong was organised. It was a very sobering day for all. Mauro (a Brazilian pro photographer) suggested we see what we
could give to the Madarin crew as they had lost everything and I was really moved by everyone’s generosity! That night we dove Mangrove Ridge, not the
best of the night dives and got stung on the ear by a jelly when getting back into the dingy! Man it hurt, and I was not the only one to get tagged.
Day 9 saw us heading back to the Kri area and dived Sardine reef first up. Then as we cruised towards Blue Magic we see a big splash.
Mantas were leaping out of the water. So incredible! Needless to say we were pretty keen to get underwater. This dive was probably the best dive of my life!
As we dropped in and got to the leading edge of the reef mantas just came cruising towards us and were so inquisitive. We had a few fly within touching
distance over us, it really seemed like they loved the bubbles tickling their tummies. We then moved down the reef and there was a massive school of Jacks
cruising in the current along with barracuda, Wobbles and even a black tip Shark or two. The mantas then turned up for some more tummy tickling.
After we had sucked our tanks nearly dry we started the ascent up the buoy line and half way up a manta literally flew right at us to say good bye, gracefully
veering off at the very last second. WOW WOW WOW!! It was unanimous that we were going for round two, BUT you cant demand Magic every time.
The current had picked up big time and we got dropped off at the wrong spot so missed the reef. After a 10min slog against the current we aborted and
tried again. Second time we found the reef but the Mantas were gone.
That night we dove Yembessar Jetty, a very chilled muck dive with Wobbles, crocodilefish, toadfish, microscopic bobtailed squid …
Day 10. Sadly the final day of diving. We dove Batu Lima (5 Rocks). It’s a beautiful shallow dive with great topography around the rocks. Then it was Moiskon
Reef for the very last dive.
The weather then turned miserable and therefore we could not raise the sails and see the Indo Siren in all her glory. What a pity.
The trip back to Sorong was by far the roughest ride we had. But it was New Years eve and we were rocking and rolling along with the Siren through
the rough seas. From the moment we entered Sorong port until we went to bed at 2am the fireworks in Sorong never stopped for a second!
The people in Sorong clearly knew how to party and so did we! It was the perfect ending to an absolutely incredible trip!
Hopefully I haven’t bored you to tears! For a few more pics see the Flikr set below:
Raja Ampat Dec 2011 - a set on Flickr
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