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For Divers since 1975 The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 |
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Gaia Love: "Great Expreience in Raja!", Oct, 2018,by Tim, CA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 10601 has 3 Helpful votes.
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No photos available at this time | |||
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Accommodations |  |
Food | |
| Service and Attitude | |
Environmental Sensitivity | |
| Dive Operation | |
Shore Diving | N/A |
| Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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| Value for $$ | |
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| Beginners |  |
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| Advanced | |
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| Comments |
This was a group charter for the whole boat. Everyone in the group is very experienced and all have been on several live-aboards. All agreed this was one of the best – if not the best – live-aboard they have been on. And the diving was fabulous. The dive staff is led by a couple, Gerry and Geil, who have very high standards. Diving is conducted from 3 pangas, a driver and guide on each. Their safety and conservation policies were excellent and the dive briefings were thorough. There are hot showers on the aft deck and warm towels and tea upon returning to the boat. Each dive station has storage under the seat and a camera rinse tank across from the seat as well as a shelf for storage. The helpful crew handled all gear and rinsed exposure suits after each dive. They were flexible on the itinerary and made sure that the photo enthusiasts were able to spend the time needed to get their shots. We had 9-days of diving, half in the south of Raja and half in the north. Many of the sites were controlled by resorts which meant a reservation was required. This was actually a huge benefit as we were the only boat. Some of the sites in the north were more crowded. The marine life was abundant and the coral was healthy in most sites. Very large schools of jacks, barracuda, bat fish, snapper and smaller fish. Several Wobegong Sharks, large grouper, turtles, a variety of eels and giant Mantas. A few spotted eagle rays. Usually a few black tips or white tips patrolling the reefs. There was no trash or debris at the southern sites and very little in the north. We were focused on wide-angle, so the only time we were looking for macro wa son night dives. The Gaia (“earth” in Indonesian) Love is a 1-year old, 40 meter long vessel. It has a max cruising speed of 14 knots powered by twin 829 hp Yanmar engines. There are 11 guest rooms. On our trip we had 20 guests and 21 crew. The food was excellent with a nice variety of international menu. There is a very large dining area, a lounge area, a separate camera room and multiple decks with outdoor seating. The staterooms on the second floor each have a balcony. Cruising was very comfortable and quiet – except when lowering the anchor. |
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| Websites | Gaia Love | ||
Reporter and Travel |
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| Dive Experience | Over 1000 dives | ||
| Where else diving | California, Hawaii, Florida, Cuba, USVI, BVI's, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, La Paz, Indonesia, Chuuk, Palau, Fiji, Egypt, Saba, Dominica, St. Maarten, Bahamas | ||
| Closest Airport | Sorong | Getting There | LAX => Hong Kong => Jakarta => Sorong |
Dive Conditions |
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| Weather | sunny, rainy | Seas | surge |
| Water Temp | 82-84°F / 28-29°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 3 |
| Water Visibility | 40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M | ||
Dive Policy |
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| Dive own profile | yes | ||
| Enforced diving restrictions | Depth, time at some sites, Working dive computer | ||
| Liveaboard? | no | Nitrox Available? | yes |
What I Saw |
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| Sharks | Lots | Mantas | Squadrons |
| Dolphins | None | Whale Sharks | None |
| Turtles | > 2 | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Corals | |
Tropical Fish | |
| Small Critters | |
Large Fish | |
| Large Pelagics |  |
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Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Subject Matter | |
Boat Facilities | |
| Overall rating for UWP's | |
Shore Facilities | N/A |
| UW Photo Comments | Separate photo room. Plenty of storage and charging areas. Very clean. Crew offers to use pressurized air after fresh water rinse. | ||
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above. |
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