Rags II liveaboard questions?

We are hearing the call of the Philippines again, but this time we would like to do something a little different. We will return to Sabang/Puerto Galera again for about a week, but then I was wondering about a trip with the RAGSII, which is based out of Puerto Galera I understand? If so, that would cut down a lot on travel headaches, as it should be a short connection from Sabang to the boat. At least, I think it would be. I can't seem to find a lot of specifics on this boat, and who exactly runs charters and booking for it? Any information on this outfit would be greatly appreciated. We are looking at spring of 2015 for this adventure. We were thinking of about a week with the boat after a week at Sabang.

Philippines Diving liveaboard - Cave - Wreck - Technical Diving.

I think if you ask the guys at tech asia or asia divers they can put you in contact.

enjoy

woody you can get in touch with ralph directly through the link above - if you have difficulty using the link pm me and i will give you his email.
i have been on 2 trips with ralph and the rags ii. (and we have it chartered in april for an all around mindoro - 10 days. in fact we might have a diver bailing on this trip for medical reasons so if you are interested let me know.) it is an absolute class act. they will either bring the rags ii to you, or send a tender for you anywhere in the dive districts (i noticed you have an issue with calling the area puerto galera!). the food is good (served off a menu, individually prepared - no swill from a warmer), the crew is excellent, the accommodations comfortable enough with ac in cabin and 24 hour genset, forward sonar for discovering new dive sites (we found a great one on the fringe of the apo reef protected area), all water, soft drinks and beer included, nitrox included (basically all in), 4 dives per day, the best price anywhere, and only 8 divers in 2 groups of four. it is giant stride off the boat and pick up directly on to the boat, so no time wasted with tenders. this is a dive boat, not a holiday cruise - and you are not going to be babysat in or out of the water, if you know what i mean. and your fellow divers will likely be very experienced. you won't regret diving with this outfit.

I agree with xrcjdx. Contact Ralph, the Rags II manager, directly at the website Matt provided a link to. The boat, its crew, its chef and of course its manager are all absolutely top-shelf.

The only downside is that unlike most liveaboards, you can't just sign up to dive from Rags II. That is, Rags 2 does not just announce a departure date and a destination and then open up the booking to whoever wants to sign up individally or in pairs or whatever. Instead, you need to charter the whole boat (or tag along with someone else's charter). Last time I checked with Ralph, if you have a total of 6 that's enough to charter the boat (there are 4 fairly spacious cabins with 2 bunks each for a total of 8 diving customers). However, if you don't have 6 divers, check with Ralph anyway and maybe he can work something out ... when I chartered it last year, there were only 5 of us in my group of buddies, but Ralph knew of 3 other divers who were eager to join us, so that worked out fine. It turned out to be an excellent trip and I am looking forward to chartering Rags 2 again.

I believe from time to time 'berth" is available for individual booking.
Check the itinerary.

first, do as central says. check the web site - itinerary/schedule. there are some individual spots on offer. that is how i got on the last 2 trips. if none meet your requirements, but boat is available (name your trip), send ralph an email. my experience is he will post the trip with x number of slots available, and doing so suits his purpose and yours. makhno is right, the boat will leave with 6. it is full at 8. the advantage of this system is you really get to name your trip. the disadvantage, if he can't get 4 others to sign on your trip is puerto galera. not necessarily a bad outcome.