Dive Review of Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Mermaid 1, Oct, 2011, by Bart Mertens, CA, US ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 6277.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was a fantastic live-aboard experience. The air-conditioned cabin was large and comfortable with an en-suite bathroom, and each cabin had its own TV plus DVD player. The vessel had a large sun deck with lounge chairs, plus comfortable inside and outside lounges. The inside lounge and eating area also provided a large selection of books, magazines and fish and critter identification guides. Towels were changed every other day and the bed linens too were changed at least once during the trip. Warm towels were provided after every dive, and hot chocolate after the night dives, while the crew rinsed your gear. The service by the entire crew was excellent from helping you gear up, getting the gear in and out of the zodiacs to helping you with getting your wetsuit off and washing and hanging it up after every dive. At the end of the trip the crew washed all our gear and hung it out to dry. Most of the time the day was organized as follows: wake-up call and small breakfast around 6:30, dive 1 at 7:30, hot breakfast (eggs, etc) around 9, dive 2 around 10:30, lunch, dive 3 around 15:30, night dive at 18:30, dinner at 20:00. The whole crew was great, always friendly and smiling and willing to help out. A maximum of five divers were with each guide who were very knowledgeable and helpful and excellent at spotting critters; they paid attention but in the end everybody was free to do their own thing and dive their own profile. Dive times were limited to 60-70 minutes; nitrox is available and was used by many. The diving was amazing from tiny Bargibanti and Denise pygmy seahorses and many critters like stone and scorpion fishes, stargazers, ghost pipe fishes, frog fishes, numerous nudibranches and other amazing critters to large aggregations of sharks, manta and eagle rays, tunas and giant trevallies. The diversity of the dive sites and the critters to be found there was amazing; dive site topography varied from beautiful coral reef formations to muck dives and black sand with hot volcanic thermal bubbles emerging from the soil. The diving could be challenging at times and currents ranged from mild to very strong (the fact that we were diving a few days after the full moon had probably something to do with this; something to keep in mind when planning this trip) where reef hooks were a necessity to watch the action at some ease. Water temps varied between 70 degrees at the Southern sites closer to the Indian ocean (and most people switching to a 5 mil or 3 mil plus 2/3 mil shorty in order to stay warm) to 78-80 degrees at most other sites. I'd do this trip again in a heartbeat.
Websites	Mermaid 1
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	California, Hawaii, Great Barrier Reef
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	70-80°F / 21-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dive time 60-70 minutes max
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	There was plenty of room on the dive deck laid out for photographers including a large camera table and plenty of dedicated rinse tanks. Although there were no power outlets for charging on deck, there were more than enough outlets provided in the cabins. There were also compressed air facilities.

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Dive Review of Mermaid 1 in Indonesia/Komodo

Mermaid 1, Oct, 2011,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Komodo