kneptoon
Contributor
I have just returned from my second Fiji trip and my first experience with the Aggressor operation. I have had some hesitation in doing a trip report for this one as I am still perplexed by the experience. The diving operation and service aboard this ship were stellar. Really, they set the bar so high for competency you just have nothing to complain about. The crew is quite small (8) by liveaboard standards (15 or more in Indonesia). All crew members overlap and multitask. Apparently all crew members are DM rated for the exception of the cook. The captain often lead dives. The whole operation runs like a well oiled clock. The food is very good, thoughtfully prepared and served. The cabins are spacious and clean. I was particularly impressed with the dive tender operation. The tender is hydraulically lifted in a cradle to the level of the dive deck where the divers step aboard and the tender now filled with divers descends to the water surface and off you go. Everyone's gear stays aboard the tender ready for the next dive. So there is no schlepping of gear back and forth between dives. So no misplaced gear. We were 17 diver/guests just one short of capacity. Most of the other divers had at least one previous Aggressor trip. All but one of the 17 was experienced. A very knowledgeable experienced group. Really a great group of divers and people.
So here is the rub. The diving was not stellar. In fact I was left wondering why are we doing some of the dives we are doing. Two sites off of Gau were the most dismal dives in memory. The absolute total collapse of the coral in these 2 areas was wrenching, really just dead rubble, with a smattering of new growth. The renowned Jim's Alley (named for Jim Church UW photographer) also was a perplexing choice. A very unhealthy reef. There were some good dives and there were a couple of truly great dives. Namena Marine Reserve offered some great diving and one of the best I have experienced. This was a wall/drift dive to 90'. We were greeted first by 3 hammerheads further along a pair of mantas, a reef shark, a white tip and finally, on the ledge, a large marble ray. There were also some very good bommie dives in the protected area of the park. The park itself is suffering from over fishing and we divers are fortunate that groups like CORAL are on site to try to lessen the impact from the local fishermen. I think without some oversite Namena could well end up looking like the "reefs" at Gau. Later in the week we did 2 shark feed dives. The first was in the Nigali Pass off Gau. Around 30 black tips showed up for a feast of tuna heads. The second was the Aqua Trek shark dive at Beqa on our last day of diving. These were both interesting and are what they are. I appreciated the experience as a one off thing.
So the rub is I thought the dive operation was great and the crew fantastic. Because of the diving, or choice of sites, which was not so good I would not do the trip again. I think that was the general consensus of the other divers as well. I sincerely hope that Capt. Ned and his crew live well and prosper. Good or bad I always try to do a trip report.
So here is the rub. The diving was not stellar. In fact I was left wondering why are we doing some of the dives we are doing. Two sites off of Gau were the most dismal dives in memory. The absolute total collapse of the coral in these 2 areas was wrenching, really just dead rubble, with a smattering of new growth. The renowned Jim's Alley (named for Jim Church UW photographer) also was a perplexing choice. A very unhealthy reef. There were some good dives and there were a couple of truly great dives. Namena Marine Reserve offered some great diving and one of the best I have experienced. This was a wall/drift dive to 90'. We were greeted first by 3 hammerheads further along a pair of mantas, a reef shark, a white tip and finally, on the ledge, a large marble ray. There were also some very good bommie dives in the protected area of the park. The park itself is suffering from over fishing and we divers are fortunate that groups like CORAL are on site to try to lessen the impact from the local fishermen. I think without some oversite Namena could well end up looking like the "reefs" at Gau. Later in the week we did 2 shark feed dives. The first was in the Nigali Pass off Gau. Around 30 black tips showed up for a feast of tuna heads. The second was the Aqua Trek shark dive at Beqa on our last day of diving. These were both interesting and are what they are. I appreciated the experience as a one off thing.
So the rub is I thought the dive operation was great and the crew fantastic. Because of the diving, or choice of sites, which was not so good I would not do the trip again. I think that was the general consensus of the other divers as well. I sincerely hope that Capt. Ned and his crew live well and prosper. Good or bad I always try to do a trip report.
