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Sorry to hear about your experiences. A little over a year ago I was on the Truk Odyssey and had a great experience. There were two instructors on board as well as the guides. As an instructor, if I am not mistaken, you must maintain your CPR certificaiton. In addition the group I was with had three instructors, two dive masters, and most of the rest of us were rescue certified, plenty of CPR training on board.
While there are always issues on a boat (a few minor plumbing issues quickly resolved), the Odyssey was very well maintained, the food was excellent and the crew was awesome. And if you like wrecks, I challenge anyone to find a better place to dive.
I've been there over 70 times over the years and have been on a lot of the wrecks there. Oite, San Fran, and other deeper wrecks included. You can enjoy 90% of the "good" wrecks there without being tech trained. Even the San Francisco.
Most of the diving on them is within 20-90 (unless you're a bottom lover).
I'm not knocking the tech divers, they can stay down longer, are better trained for deco,. etc. , but anyone who dives regularly and has 20-30 dives should enjoy the diving there. No currents to speak of, warm waters, etc.
My husband and I went to Truk (then Yap, then Palau), in late December. We stayed at the Blue Lagoon for 5 nights. I waited to see if someone would report on the death that occured on the Thorfin liveaboard while we were at the Blue Lagoon, but since I haven't seen anything, I thought I'd post it here. About mid-way through our stay, we heard about a middle aged man who had a heart attack while on the boat (not while diving, as far as we could tell). The other passengers on the Thorfin spent the rest of their time at the Blue Lagoon. We were told that the Thorfin had no defibrillator and noone trained in CPR. I don't know if they notified anyone (either at the Blue Lagoon, or the Oddysey, the other liveaboard at Truk) in a timely fashion. The information was somewhat confused on that score. By the time the Odyssey did get to the Thorfin, there was nothing that could be done. It sounded like a complete lack of basic safety equipment and procedures on the Thorfin. I also heard from some of the folks that had been on the Thorfin that even aside from that awful event, it was not otherwise a great experience.
I heard about this from a friend of mine that was there, but my information is third-hand so I am reluctant to repeat it. I asked my friend to maybe stop by here and take a look. But the story I heard differs quite a bit from what you related.
I was a part of the group that was there that week and loved the trip. None of us are technical divers, but we have all had some training (PADI) in deep and wreck diving. I will say that we were taken beyond recreational depth and deco limits. I would not go to Truk if you do not like diving deep or on wrecks. Yes, there is a lot of fish and coral, but it really is a wreck divers paradise.
As for the Blue Lagoon, we were very happy. The resort does have cats, but not that many for a Pacific Island and at least there were not chickens. The food was very good although we were also annoyed when they ran out of fish. The menu covered everything from Italian to Japanese and everything in between.
All dive resorts, boats, instructors, dive masters should have basic CPR and First Aid knowledge. You need this knowledge in order to be a professional. In order to be an instructor you even need to be able to teach CPR and First Aid. For boats in the US who are under the USCG they must have emergency oxygen and an AED on board, but I do not think that Truk must follow these rules. Although I do know that on the boats for the Blue Lagoon they did have emergency oxygen on board for all dives.
There were both an incident and a death while we were there, and both came from the Thorfinn. One night there was a man who came in and was transported by ambulance to the hospital and then later that night another man also passed away. I have heard many things about what happened but this was all told to me second hand. I was told that the first man who was sent to the hospital was bent and that he lived. The man on the boat, we were told was also bent and was allowed to go back to his room and he passed. By the time that anyone checked up on him he was dead and that was when the CPR issues came into play. As for the truth in any of what I heard and what has been reported is unknown as they are second hand and I was not present on the liveaboard.
I am however able to state with certainty that at least one other person during that week got bent. He had type 1 and is fine. When diving such deep profiles please be careful!!!
absolutdiver, glad to rear your comments about Blue Lagoon. My wife & I staying there for 5 days before heading to Palau for a week on the Aggressor. I would have preferred the Odyssey but travel dates don't work and, unlike me, wife not a huge fan of wrecks. Here in the Midwest, wreck diving in the Great Lakes is decent, but I've been dreaming of trip Truk Laoon since mid 70's. As long as the dive op at Blue Lagoon is good, food ok, view nice and theres some post-dive beverages available at the bar, we should be fine.
Also glad to hear about the O2 on board the boats. (They do look a bit "rustic".) Even those of us with the standard rescue diver training are taught to admin O2 and must remain current with CPR. However, preliminary emergency response efforts we make are only meant to buy time until medical staff take over. I'd be very surpised if your report is true about alowing a bent diver to go back to his room. Every certified diver should know better, not to mention DM's, instructors, etc. Last weekend I attended seminar by Dr Nick Bird, CEO & Chief Medical Officer for DAN. Two main points stand out. Benefit of administering O2 early and that, unlike AGE, almost everyone fully recovers from bends if they get appropriate treatment. Having a diver "rest & see how he feels in the morning" doesn't qualify. Especially at a destination where deep diving and associated risks are the norm.
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Originally Posted by judypots
