Alor - done my homework, now some important questions

[jake11]

I know that Guido B. sold the Komodo Dancer to a couple from Singapore???? Check out the dancer fleet website and I think I remember reading about the new owners and crew???? This might help. ???? Also, you could call Susan Pantle at world of diving out of California and I think she knows a few things about the take over??? I hope this helps!

Does anyone know any of the dive crew on the Komodo Dancer (KD) currently? I was actually on the KD in Jul 2011 - cruise director Paul and main DM Gede were both leaving shortly (both had come back only to run a few trips) and the 3rd DM was a fill in from Bali, i.e. 100% of the dive staff was turning over.

Perhaps I should post under separate cover to ask.

S_M from the info I have, at least one of the KD Alor trips this summer doesn't have enough divers presently to run.

 

[cephalopod2]

Valwood your report and post were incredibly helpful - thank you! Crucial info about the dive schedule, travel time to dive sites, electricity and benefits of Bahasa Indonesian in Kalabahi.

Jake I have the PR on the new KD owners - only describes owners, not crew, but I will certainly email as you suggested. Thanks for the DN invite

Very interesting to hear about this Garry fellow - exactly the kind of guide one hopes to find.

N

 

[Shasta_man]

Garry gone and Gede gone too and the boat sold?! Hmmm... Garry was great, he seemed to generate his own oxygen, though a man, and was always below us and down the longest. But I'd follow him anywhere and learned much from him likely without his knowing it.

Just watch out for his hiking trips.

 

[jake11]

When we were on the Komodo Dancer years ago Garry was not there. There was another couple in charge and we were not fond of the guy but the girlfriend was great. In spite of everyone having problems with the male cruise director the rest of the crew was FANTASTIC!!! I don't think you could ever have a bad Indonesian crew. I would bet that Garry left his beta on the Alor for the new owners!

Valwood your report and post were incredibly helpful - thank you! Crucial info about the dive schedule, travel time to dive sites, electricity and benefits of Bahasa Indonesian in Kalabahi.

Jake I have the PR on the new KD owners - only describes owners, not crew, but I will certainly email as you suggested. Thanks for the DN invite

Very interesting to hear about this Garry fellow - exactly the kind of guide one hopes to find.

N

 

[cephalopod2]

We heard that half of the original KD crew left after the Aggressor-Hughes merger, now definitely 100% of the dive staff have left. I wouldn't really mind who is DMing as long as they are excellent!

Today I discovered the Dancer Fleet has adopted the Aggressor Captain's Logs. There are only 2 reports outside my Jul 2011 trip (hmmm). An Eddie Widnall appears to have been cruise directing at least part of the time.

Nov 19 - report by Wayne Hasson - "dive guides Michael and Eddie"
Oct 15 - Cruise director Eddie Widnall, DM 2 Gede, DM 3 Wayan Sutikta

Gede was outstanding - a truly exceptional guide I would feel lucky to dive with anywhere. Incredibly gracious, with unbelievable eyes. Our fill in DM from Bali OTOH was not impressive - guests gave feedback but nothing changed. One buddy pair assigned to him decided the best approach when they were assigned to his panga was to try to find the other DM ASAP.

In my experience truly exceptional guides are rare. I have dove two Indonesian LOBs with one - far more with none.

 

[silent running]

Hello Natasha, I was in Alor in 08' and dived with Thomas. He was excellent and his boat is very nicely suited to all day diving, meaning it's big, has shade and an excellent set of actual dive steps for getting back into the boat. Do a search of my posts on the trip for more info, but the main thing I have to say regarding your decision of land vs liveaboard, is that diving in Alor is highly conditions dependent and I really doubt that any LB guide, no matter how good, will have the necessary local knowledge to read the conditions well enough to know exactly when and where to dive. I've read too many bad reports from LBs passing through Alor. Thomas has been going non stop since he opened and has the requisite knowledge to make sure each dive will be good, plus he's very nice and accommodating, never met a better operator. At it's best, Alor is as good as diving gets, sometimes it's a matter of going in the water 20 minutes earlier or later which can be the difference between a great dive and one that's mediocre or even dangerous, given all the strong currents present in East Nusa Tenggara... -Andy

 

[Eddie W]

HI Natasha,

In reply to the liveaboard section of this. My name is Eddie and I am the CD aboard Komodo Dancer.

Yes the boat is under new ownership, and we have a new CD, me, that said the base crew is as was, with dive guides, myself and two others. Some of you will know Gede, he has been with the boat for four years. The boat is still run by the same people in Bali, so on the face of it nothing has changed, well some things have as we all have our ways of doing things.

With the three guides we mix them up so the guests get to dive with different guides, everybody gets something different from diving, including guides, and by doing it this way I feel the guests get to really taste the variety that Alor, and Komodo, has to offer.

Gede has been "doing" Alor for four or five years and knows it very well, our captain also knows the area well, I of course draw from their experience. So I feel we have a good coverage of the area.

If you have anything else you need to know please feel free to give me a shout.

 

[cephalopod2]

Eddie thanks so much for writing! Great to (virtually) meet you. Thank you for the correction re. Gede - that's terrific news that he is still guiding. Sorry for the incorrect information. It is very kind of you to offer to answer questions on your time off.

silent running - I have definitely bookmarked your past Alor posts - I will go back and make sure I haven't missed any.

 

[Eddie W]

Hi Natasha,

A pleasure.

To clarify for all those that don't know.

KD was bought last year by 3 Malaysians, very nice people, well I do work for them ;-)

The boat is still a Dancer boat and run from the same office in Bali by the same people it has been for the last 10 years.

I am the CD, English been working in Indo for nearly 3 years and most of that time in Komodo, prior to that the Maldives.

Gede, father as we call him, been on the boat for nearly 4 years. A guide I have a lot of respect for and draw from his experience, he loves to be in the water and loves sharing it with guests.

The boat crew is as was.

 

[Mike Veitch]

Oi Eddie, where are you? Bali?