The divemasters were awesome, but the other two crew members on each dive boat seemed to have little experience. The deck of the ship and the platform by the hot tub (which is really only salt water, sun heated, and luke warm at best) are extremely slippery, causing three dangerous falls that left huge bruises. Then they got stuck on a reef and the boat did not have reverse to get off the reef. The crew who was on board the boat did not know how to run the boat. One evening, the dive boat drifted away from the dive site and three of our group had to swim long distances in rough water to get to it. One of the dive boats broke down several times, stranding our divers. Also, the toilets only flushed sometimes. During our stay, the air conditioning only worked part of the time. Captain Lance has amazing knowledge of the wrecks and gave us detailed briefings before every dive. It is not to be missed if you're a diver! We were on the SS Thorfinn, and unfortunately did not have a very good experience. Blue Lagoon: Some damage but still operating divesĭiving is currently very silty and there is some slight damage to the shallower wrecks (one of the Fujikawa masts is now leaning at 45 degrees) but still very much a world-class dive site!!Įverything you may have read about the wreck diving in Chuuk is true. Check with the operator regarding future bookings Siren - currently sat up on the reef and reporting extensive damage. Check with the operators regarding future bookings Not currently operating, no injuries reported. Odyssey - currently sat up on the reef and reporting extensive damage. (some sites say Thorfinn is missing - it's not - I'm a guest on board and we're currently sat highly visibly in the middle of the lagoon) Built for open oceans, there was no damage or injuries and dives were operating the following day - no impact on ongoing operations. SS Thorfinn rode out the storm and is fully operational. The intention of this review is to update, and dispel some myths about the status of the dive operations after Typhoon Maysak ploughed through on 29th March 2015 3 days in and each of my dives has been 'the best ever' - the wrecks are out of this world! Go to Truk Stop if you need trimix for technical dives, but otherwise, you'd be mad not to spend the diving trip of a lifetime aboard the Odyssey.įirst of all - Truk is incredible. There are three other main options (the Thorfinn, Blue Lagoon Resort, and Truk Stop). And if you are going to do it, you really should do it on the Odyssey. Most people travel for nearer to 36 hours.īut Truk really is somewhere that every scuba diver should go to at least once. Even Australia, which is comparitively close, is more than a 24 hour journey. Secondly, wherever you live in the world, Chuuk is a heckuva trip to get there. Firstly, it isn't cheap but even given the price, I do think it represents good value for money (try costing out 4 or 5 nitrox dives a day from a land based operation in Chuuk.). And I have been around the proverbial block a few times. I fully appreciate that gushing reviews always look a bit suspicious, but I can honestly say it was the most enjoyable week's diving of my entire life. The Odyssey keeps a reasonable set schedule, rotating around the key wrecks of the lagoon (a typical week takes you across 13 different wrecks), but if you have a burning desire to visit somewhere off the beaten track, they will launch the skiff and take you. Whatever you want.) What is even more amazing is that they accomplish this in Chuuk, which (if you spend any time on land) you quickly realise is a pretty backward place. First timer who wants a guide holding your hand? No probs. The crew is extremely relaxed about letting you dive your own way (Deco? No probs. 16 guests is a very modest number for the total space available. But the Odyssey is more like living off a mini cruise ship. Liveaboards usually have a well-deserved reputation of being cramped places, with dodgy food, that give you a positive incentive to spend as much time underwater as possible. There are really four ways to diveTruk Lagoon - stay in one of the two hotels (Truk Stop and Blue Lagoon) and dive from shore, or stay on one of the two liveaboards (ss Thorfinn and Truk Odyssey). It was the quality of the Truk Odyssey that was a real shock to me. So I won't waste time here gushing about the quality of the diving. Let's get something out the way first - the diving in Truk Lagoon is spectacular.
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