News

Top Class Cruising in the Maldives

Published

6 years ago

November 16, 2018

Sean Chinn

Four years on from my first visit to the Maldives, I find myself back on M/Y Sachika with Top Class Cruising to spend a week cruising and diving the Central Atolls.

Sachika is every bit as comfortable, spacious and clean as I remember. Even the basic rooms have more than enough space for two people to share, with all their equipment that comes with going on a dive trip. There is no dive deck due to the fact that all the diving is done from a separate Dhoni. This allows for spacious rooms with huge ensuites for all guests.

For those willing to upgrade to the upstairs suites you will find a bit of luxury with four poster beds. The main draw being when you open your curtains in the morning you are rewarded with a stunning view over the silky smooth waters of the Lagoons. How about an early rise to enjoy the stunning colours of sunrise glistening off the water?

The staff onboard worked tirelessly to keep Sachika clean and tidy for us to enjoy our week. Cleaning up after 21 guests must surely take some work. The kitchen staff produced wonders daily with flavoursome food on offer at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The curry dish that I was particularly fond of proved popular as it would need refilling every time it was served. Just the right amount of spice for me with a nice kick to it.

The creme de la creme came on beach BBQ night though, as we enjoyed the sunset on a desert island followed by an amazing BBQ meal laid on by the staff. It was truly delicious. One thing I would like to add as an advisory is that one of our guests was vegetarian and felt her needs weren’t really catered for. She felt she just had the basic rice and noodles to choose from. Maybe the chefs could do a few vegetable curry dishes instead of meat? After all, it was the sauce that was truly delicious and it would be every bit as tasty with vegetables instead of meat.

The Dhoni Dive Boat has enough space for 25 divers to comfortably kit up without causing too much aggravation for each other. It is equipped with a compressor onboard meaning that once you have a tank and your kit is secured it will stay there all week to be filled for each dive. No need to keep changing tanks. There’s also comfortable bench seating at the back of the boat for chilling out before and after diving, and a sundeck on the 2nd floor.

The Dhoni staff are very accommodating and always there to lend a hand. Making sure to provide water to all divers after a dive to prevent dehydration. Remember to bring your own reusable flask though to save using too many plastic cups. Little things go a long way.

Being an Italian owned and run boat, the dive manager and guides are made up of a mixture of Italians and local Maldivian guides. I found myself with Big Ali who was my guide four years ago. Still as professional, he would make recommendations for the dive and depth but was happy to go with the majority of our group and how they felt. He was also very easy to spot underwater wearing white fins, shorts and rash vest so he stands out amongst other dive groups.

I helped to organise this trip with my local Scuba School in Studley and all the guests spoke highly of the other guides onboard – Little Ali, Chiara and Matteo. Dive sites were well briefed before each site and we knew exactly what to expect. Big Ali’s knowledge of what current to expect to jump into was amazing and always right.

The trip all ran smoothly with Chiara as Dive Manager and three dives a day was comfortable with ample time to relax on the spacious sundeck in-between dives. The boat has plenty of shade to take a break from the sun and plenty of sun loungers to go around. If you want to really chill out and drift away, you can hop into the jacuzzi and look out over the varying shades of blue water. You want to make sure you are on the sundeck for sunset and then stay for the night when it is clear. Turn the lights off on the top deck and marvel at the stars. A bar sits at the back of the third floor with comfortable rattan furniture allowing for more chill out space with drinks readily available.

All in all an amazing week onboard Sachika with some incredible diving and interactions. Check back next week for part two when I tell you all about the diving!

www.topclasscruising.com

Sean’s trip was organised by The Scuba Place. For more information and to book call +44 (0)207 644 8252, email reservations@thescubaplace.co.uk or visit www.comedivewithus.co.uk.

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Sean Chinn

Sean Chinn’s scuba diving adventure started in a freezing cold quarry back in January 2011. Maybe the reason he wasn't instantly hooked! However, after an amazing trip to Indonesia in 2013, he realised he needed to see more of the underwater world. With no photography background, he enlisted some help in developing both his diving and photo skills. This kickstarted his diving and underwater photography adventure which has become something of an addiction. Seeing and photographing wildlife is Sean’s real passion in diving but he is always keen to try new ideas.

News

Book Review: Fire on Monroe Bravo by Fred Lockwood

Published

15 hours ago

July 26, 2024

CJ and Mike

Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.

However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.

As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.

The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.

In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?

We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.

Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
Author: Fred Lockwood
ISBN: 979-8325324536

Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.

Blogs

Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 1)

Published

5 days ago

July 22, 2024

CJ and Mike

In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!

The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.

Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!

In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.

Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.

Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.

The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.

The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.