Truk liveaboards

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jdl

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Anyone done the Thorfinn liveaboard, for Truk Lagoon? Any personal info regarding the op and the diving itself would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
jdl:
Anyone done the Thorfinn liveaboard, for Truk Lagoon? Any personal info regarding the op and the diving itself would be appreciated. Thank you.

I've been aboard it twice, but years ago. A couple of friends went last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, both were very experienced wreck divers and chose the Thorfinn because it would permit them to dive deep and go into decompression.

I've also been aboard the Aggressor. Diving rules, while not unreasonable, are more restrictive than the Thorfinn's. For example, I've dived the San Francisco Maru off the Thorfinn, but the Aggressor wouldn't put us on that wreck.

Probably the most noticable differences between the Thorfinn and the Aggressor are the lack of a dive deck on the Thorfinn and the use of small boats by the Thorfinn to take divers to the wrecks. Personally, I didn't care much one way or the other about the dive deck. As far as the difference between diving off of a small skiff vs. off the big boat, it's a trade-off - small skiff = few divers on the wreck at the expense of a short, but uncomfortable ride in choppy water; big boat = lots (18 or so) of divers on the wreck, but a very comfortable ride getting there.
 
jdl:
Anyone done the Thorfinn liveaboard, for Truk Lagoon? Any personal info regarding the op and the diving itself would be appreciated. Thank you.
I have used the thorinn and wouldn't dream about using another operator..

I went to Truk the same time as a friend, he was on the agressor, while I was on the Thorinn, I got to see more varied sites including the deeper sites..

The BIG advantage with the use of skiffs divers can be broken up into experience levels, you can keep the advanced divers and beginners both happy..

The food was great and as much as needed.. The thorfin is BIG about 180feet long x about 40 wide, drafts 18feet.. the cabins are large, in the lower decks you have both a private shower and private head.

When the ship is moving you do not feel it.. The week I was there a squal came through, te ship didn't even rock while my friend on the agressor didn't feel too good..

He and his family had half the agressor and they still couldn't do the dives they wanted..


Even though the boat was going to be pretty full (and I didn't pay to guarantee a private room), the captain set me up in one of the larger rooms because of all my photo and rebreather gear..

Captain Lance has also been there much longer than anyone else.. his 2 main guides (Remo and bedowin (sp)) have been with him about 12 years or so..
 
Thanks for the replies. Anyone else....
Thinking of going in Aug/Sept; any weather concerns for that time period?
Also, how is the Pohnpei diving?
 
jdl:
Thanks for the replies. Anyone else....
Thinking of going in Aug/Sept; any weather concerns for that time period?
Also, how is the Pohnpei diving?

I loved the diving off Pohnpei. Actually my overall experience was fantastic in Pohnpei even when not diving.

We stayed at The Village and thus were in huts on stilts. They were modernized with bathrooms and a ceiling fan but that was about it. The windows were screens and the water beds had mosquito netting.

One of the dives was to Ant Atoll. The dive was timed with the tide and we drift dived between two small islands. It was basically two wall dives in one!

The most spectacular trip was to Nan Mandol. It's an ancient city that was built off shore on a coral formation. The mini islands and all buildings were built using naturally formed basalt logs from the opposite side of the island. The main protection of the 'city' was that one could only enter it during high tide. There was even a special pond where the king's favorite fish were kept so they were readily available for his dinners.

During each outing we were served food using leaves we picked as plates. On our off-gassing day we boated to a beautifull waterfall which we were able to climb partially up to jump into the water. On our way back we stopped to snorkel. While we were snorkelling the dive guide spearfished our lunch. It was odd eating the fish we had just been swimming with but definitely delicious.

Another island we visited on my first trip to Micronesia was Kosrae. At the time we stayed at the only English speaking hotel which had only been open for a few months. The dive operation (read boat!) needed some improvement but I'm sure that happened with time. The hospitality was phenomenal. & there were ruins a few minutes walk from the hotel. They were nice as they weren't commercialized and still had much of the growth covering them.

Ok - a long, long note to recommend Pohnpei and Kosrae. Let's face it - I love Micronesia! Dove Truk both visits and am very glad we hit Yap / the Manta Rays this last trip.

Paula
 
Once you've been on the Odyssey - theres just no going back.

The rest of the LOB there in my opinion pale in comparison.

In comparison the Aggressor is tiny, the Thorin is old and doesn't often move (you go out on a tender) Don't see the point - may as well stay on a land based hotel and use 'Truk stop' divers (I did both) You will save some dosh using 'Truk stop' and staying in a hotel (like Blue lagoon) But if you want a really nice bit of luxury (and a free bar!) theres only one to choose.
None of the LOBs there are 'bad' as such

The Odyssey is booked years in advance - for a good reason. If I recall rightly it was voted best, or one of the worlds best, liveaboards a few years on the trot (I could be mistaken but recall something like that)

Which ever way you do it, land based or whichever LOB Im sure you will love it there.
 
jdl:
Thanks for the replies. Anyone else....
Thinking of going in Aug/Sept; any weather concerns for that time period?
Also, how is the Pohnpei diving?

Ive dived in Truk in Sept. We had no problems with the weather - it did rain a few times and viz was not at its best - but it was fine.
 
DrMike:
Once you've been on the Odyssey - theres just no going back.

ok. i was on the thornfin in 2001. i tried to book the odyssey but it was sold out. very fortunate. thornfin is a floating hotel so to speak but the diving was very fine with little restrictions. second day of diving was the san fran. rooms were fine, i had a double for myself. my only gripe at the time was no nitrox or doubles but i believe that has changed. diving from small chase boats has many advantages over the anchor dives the agressor or odyseey do. you are able to dive a larger range of sites. over the course of the week we did three dives on the san fran maru. that says it all.
 
I dove in Truk on the Thorfinn the week of Jan 25th. I was a bit on the lucky side, it was just me and my buddy, we had the whole boat and a single dive guide to ourselves. We were able to choose the wrecks we wanted to dive, although we did follow the captains suggested itinerary for the most part. They definitely have Nitrox, Dan the DM mixed up custom blends for me and my buddy the whole week (from a low of 23% up to 33% for the late day dives). The skiff rides were a bit wet and bumpy, but manageable considering all of the different dives we got to do - 17 different wrecks over the course of 6 days of diving (with a total of 23 dives, which was the maximum I could have done based on my departing flight). Most of the skiff rides were 5 to 10 minutes, a few were a bit longer (I think the longest was 30 minutes). Our guide was fantastic, taking us into the deepest parts of the engine rooms on the shallower wrecks, and to the holds for short stays on the deeper wrecks. My buddy even finagled a dive out on one of the islands, just so we could compare the reef diving of Truk to other locations, our guide set it up with the owner of the island and away we went. With our guide, my buddy, and I, we were the only three divers on any given wreck except for our last dive. The Agressor was sitting on the Shinkoku Maru, and that was diving Disneyland (blech). I will never dive the agressor based on the style of diving I saw being executed but that group. I don't know how the Odyssey compares to the Agressor, but if its everyone goes all at once like it was with the Agressor, it will definitely diminish the experience of the wreck dives. Your experience with the Thorfinn may vary, having just 2 divers on the whole ship is a rare thing.

The rooms were comfortable (much larger than the Big Blue Explorer in Palau, but that's my only other point of comparison). The boat was rock solid the whole week - I couldn't feel the boat rocking at all, although admittedly there wasn't a lot of wave action where the Thorfinn was anchored.

The galley served you what they made, it wasn't a buffet. You did have some choice on what you wanted for breakfast, but that was it. I didn't have a problem with that, I enjoyed what was served, but my buddy has a more sensitive stomach than me, he finally wound up sitting out one dive due to some digestion problems. Alcohol was available but not free (but do you really want to drink yourself into a stupor before diving below the recreational limits the next morning?).

The captain did indicate they will be doing upgrades to their skiffs in the very near future, they may be completed by the time you're talking about going. However, in the summer, the Thorfinn does do some sort of excursion out of Truk to some other island; I've forgotten the details, but you'd better check the website to make sure they're going to be in Truk. The best time of year, oddly, is right now (Jan/Feb).

Don't even think about doing land based, you'll waste an extra 10 minutes to get to every site, and you only get 2 dives a day for free. Personally, I'd be happy to go back on the Thorfinn. There were some rough edges that could be improved, but I had a ton of fun.
 
Thanks for all the responses. Anyone who stills wants to add their feedback, please do....
 
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