Raja Ampat Cityseahorse Deb Fugitt Ondina

[tsongkapa77]

Quote ''But tsongkapa77, this particular report is not about that sort of trip. That would be done on a standard trip. Not one that is specifically organized for photographers, videographers and people who like that sort of diving in different environments.
This keeps coming back to a few people who made the wrong choice of trip and are angry/unhappy. There are always a few problems on any ship, but on this trip they were minor. These unhappy divers make them out to be earth shattering while there were only some inconveniences."

Of course the primary responsibility lays on the diver to make the suitable choice according to their desires, but with all the hype and information overload out there, that's not always an easy task.

If you are still getting unhappy divers even after numerous years running the same charter in the same area, perhaps you should consider reexamining your screening processes and look for new was to communicate your standards more clearly and effectively. Just a suggestion.

 

[IceIce]

I didn't have the time to read the whole posts yet, but I will.

Subject: Raja Ampat Cityseahorse Deb Fugitt Ondina
So, in summary, if you are a passive, sedate, complacent or sheep-like diver, content with kneeling in 35 feet on a mundane, ordinary reef dive after dive for yet one more photo of Nemo, City Seahorse tours with Deb Fugitt is for you.

Let me comment on this one.
Sounds like an ideal dive for me! It's obvious that you are looking for certain type of dives and you took the wrong one.

Good dive is not just about blue water with amazing visibilities and big fish.
In fact, that kind of dives all the times would be boring. Many divers, especially those photographers and those who appreciate divercity, are willing to spend hours or days in good dive sites. Again, good dive sites might not be typical dive sites. Did you bother to look around exceot a few clown fish? From your description, it sounds like typical great muck dive sites for me. Murky, ordinary, reef, no deeper than 40 ft. For all you know, you can find the greatest, amazing and most bizzare creatures in the 'ordinary' reef and even sandy bottom with nothing on the first sight. They hide, they camouflage, they are nothing like what you expect to see in the blue.

Rajah Ampat is a very divine site for macro lovers, it has one of the greatest diversity of marine lives if you care enough to look for it. One thing for macro diving is, they are there for you, but you have to look for it. For pelagic dives that you prefer, you only can count on your luck to expect them to appear.

 

[popoia814@yahoo.com]

tsongkapa 77 seems to be missing the point. bad fumes, lousy food, diving that only the organizer wanted, mediocre accommodations, etc. how is the diver supposed to know these items in advance that i have just mentioned unless other divers express their disappointment. i never said i was angry. i have no control over the food, the accommodations, the fumes. we were told that the organizers were unwilling to be flexible on the dive sites. we spent too much time at one place that was extremely boring because there was so little biodiversity. from what we observed, it was all about the personal wishes of the organizers. the divers wishes did not matter. we made the right choice of the trip, but the wrong choice of the tour operator. i hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

 

[popoia814@yahoo.com]

twhi has many more dives under his belt that most divers. he knows what a good dive sight encompasses. he knows what a good dive operator is all about. he is not naive when it comes to choosing a place to dive. i think some of these comments indicate that you have never experienced a disappointing dive tour. for your sake, i hope you never do. when you do, i am sure you'll say the same things we have said, unless you are sheepish. maybe we'll read some of them and say to you, "you picked the wrong dive tour!"

 

[bmyates]

I've been on three of Deb's trips - the first to St. Vincent and then two trips to Indonesia (including Raja Ampat aboard Ondina both times). The latest one - in mid-2008 - was perhaps the best dive trip I've ever been on. I credit Deb with helping make possible some of the best photos I personally have ever taken. Ondina is an extremely well-run boat - not Peter Hughes shiny clean, but with a superb dive deck layout, very decent cabins, and surprisingly good food for a liveaboard dive boat.

I organize charters myself, and the reason I've gone with Deb (and expect to more in the future) is that she simply constructs and runs outstanding uw photo trips. She goes out of her way to think of every detail, and directs the dive operators she uses so as to maximize photo opportunities for her groups.

Deb is very devoted to one goal: providing her clients the best possible photo/video opportunities. She is not particularly interested in being a warm and fuzzy mother figure, and she won't rearrange the schedule to suit one or two divers at the cost of what the rest of the group wants (photo/video opportunities). When she finds a great photo spot (e.g., the Passage, which is a unique group of mangrove islands with great over-under and other opportunities), and all the photographers keep coming back dive after dive having seen/photographed great stuff and can't wait to get back in the water, she'll stay all day...or more. Before each wide angle dive, she makes sure one of the divemasters actually goes out in a ponga and gets IN the water to check the currents; if the currents are wrong/aren't ideal for wide angle (i.e., strong enough to cause soft corals to be feeding), she'll move to a different site. And as we all know, some of the greatest macro diving is in limited visibility ("muck dive"?).

I could see how that might annoy someone wanting to get to the next dive site to see something "new." As a photographer, however, I LOVE being able to spend all day in a great spot. And I love having someone who knows the area and dive sites always looking for ways to maximize great photo opp's.

BTW, it is important to note that Deb doesn't just "park" the boat and dive one site all day every day, or that her Raja Ampat trips are mostly muck/macro diving. On the contrary; Raja Ampat offers such great wide angle diving that most of her itinerary focuses on wide angle. In fact, most days she only does one dive per site and then moves because currents are only to her liking (optimal for photography) for one dive at a time, or maybe two. She'd rather return to that site another day when currents are similarly ideal than do another dive, than to stay for a second dive just to avoid pulling anchor. Frankly, I've never been on a boat where there were so many "one dive and move on" sites.

In short, I think it is important to realize what Deb's trips are good for: maximizing photo and video opportunities. If photos or video aren't your thing (or you don't appreciate the kind of diving that serious photographers/videographers seek), I'd say look elsewhere.

You'll find FAR more people who've been on Deb's trips that sing her praises and go with her over and over again than you will the few who had a bad experience. I feel sorry for such folks (dive trips are expensive), but the rest of us should be careful not to put too much weight in their criticisms until we've weighed the opinions of others with first-hand experience first.

Bruce Yates
Seattle, WA
UnderwaterReflections.com

 

[bmyates]

Oh, BTW, over on Wetpixel, twhi started a similar thread. Here was the final post by twhi himself in that Wetpixel thread:

"Rather than rehashing replies to my previous post, I would like to offer some lessons that I learned from my experience.

By way of introduction, I'm a diver first and photographer second.
From the nature of most of the replies on this web board, it appears that most members here are the reverse.

Obviously, I selected a trip that was not in line with my expectations. I should have done more homework.
Out of the frustration that followed, I stumbled onto this forum and hastily posted my review with the desire that others not make my mistake.
I could have stated thiings differently.
I didn't.
In the process, I insulted a number of people, including Deb. For that, I apologize.

I have been on a number of liveaboards, most with lots of avid photographers.
I used to be one of them.

In light of these blunders, out of fairness to Deb and to inform all those photography-first divers out there as to what Deb's trips have to offer,
I would like to offer that which I left unsaid.

So here it goes:
From my first-inquiry email until the last day on the boat, Deb was always there. She replied to every email promptly and clearly.
When she knew she was going to be without Internet access, we were notified and given an alternate contact.

As things progressed, she sent out updates. She researched airfares and offered hotel and resort recommendations.
She cheerfully responded to all of my serious and non-serious email requests.

Organization and management are her strong points and she has them in spades. I have considerable work experience as a manager and have spent a fair of time in developing countries.
In looking at our trip with these challenges in mind, our trip was nearly flawless.

For those of you with high end camera rigs, you will appreciate her attention to detail. The layout of the dive deck, camera table and rinse tanks are nearly perfect.
She specifically recruits a cruise director and dive master for all of her trips and they are excellent at what they do.

The dive briefings were appropriate and to the point. The process of getting dive ÁÕeams in the water that she has developed and refined was effortless to follow. And of course, the all-important dive tenders good-natured, friendly and totally competent I can't say enough about them.

It is clear that Deb and I differ as to what constitutes a good dive site.
But that is entirely subjective and could be debated forever.

What is not at question for me is her integrity. She is responsible, reliable and competent at what she does.
If you are a photographer-first kind of diver who appreciates all of the intangibles that high-level photography requires, I can assure that you will find it with CitySeahorse as long as Deb is in charge.

Signing off.
Sincerely,
Tom"