Tue, 17 May 11 12:48
Our last trip was to be for 8 days in the north part of Raja Ampat. However, due to flight availability our guests arrived a day early so it became a 9 day event.
On day one we sailed to a small bay at Pulau Arefi on the North coast of Batanta Island. We arrived after dark, anchored for the night and dove a night dive on “Putiraja Corner”. That reef has a beautiful coral formation and a large variety of fish.
The next morning we dove “Putiraja's Gallery” where there are large schools of Barracuda, an unbelievable variety of small fishes, and nudibranchs. For the second dive we dove on the P-47 plane wrecks near Wai Island. There were four fighter planes that hit bad weather on the way back to their base on Morotai Island during WW2. Three have been found, The planes were trying to go around the storm, ran out of fuel, and ditched the aircraft there. From there we sailed to Penemu Island and dove “Melissa”s Garden”. There are some interesting coral formations and of course lots of fish. After diving “Melissa”s Garden” we sailed to Batang Pele Island and anchored in the “Manyaifun“ bay for the night.
Early the next morning we proceeded to “Eagle Rock” south of ”Kawe Island” dove once and set sail for “Wayag Island”. “Eagle Rock” has a large and beautiful field of soft coral and a large Wobbegong shark was found resting there with a Moray eel lying on its tail, The weather was beginning to turn bad as we arrived at Wayag and we were disappointed to find another ship tied to the mooring there. We anchored but shortly afterward the ship left so we pulled anchor and moved to the mooring. In spite of the worsening weather we managed to safely dive inside the mouth of the bay. Then we took a scenic sail through the multitude of small islands and rocks in our speedboat.
On day four an early morning dive was made, breakfast was served, then the guests climbed a nearby mountain to view the majestic scenery. The view from that point is stunningly beautiful. As they were on their way down the mountain a helicopter from the French TV group and a chartered “Wings” passenger jet began circling the area and filming Putiraja as well as the local scenery. It was surprising but fun to watch. As soon as the guests boarded Putiraja we departed and headed south toward the equator islands. There we dove “One Tree Island” several species of Pygmy Seahorses can be found. After One Tree Island we dove a nearby island where we descended North of the equator and surfaced on the South side. From here we headed toward Manyaifun where we wanted to overnight again. As we sailed the weather began getting worse again and as we approached Manyaifun in the evening winds were gusting as high as 31 knots and waves were getting high. We finally arrived in the shelter of Manyaifun and anchored.
Very early the net morning the weather had calmed so we departed for Yanbraimuk (Pulau Yanggelo). Shortly after departure the weather began to pick up again and soon we were fighting large swells and high winds. Several very difficult hours later we reached Yanbraimuk and anchored in the channel and dove twice. The dive sites there have colorful coral and lots of fish, including wobbegong and walking sharks. Then we dropped the guests off at Airborek Island to visit the local village and proceeded to pick up 2 additional guests from Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, Mansuar Island. After that we picked up the guests From Airborek, returned to Putiraja, and dove a night dive.
On the sixth day they dove at Airborek early in the morning then “Manta Sandy” where they mingled with manta rays. Afterward we returned to Putiraja and the corner of the channel mouth.
The next day, we sailed to Wofoh Island , dove twice, then dove the nearby Manare island. The Wofoh dives were spectacular dives however Manare island was disappointing with a lot of dead coral and not so many fish. We returned to Yanbraimuk, did a night dive, then sailed to Raja Ampat Dive Lodge and moored on their buoy for the night.
Early the next morning we had planned to go see the Cenderwasih birds but it was raining so we cancelled and went for a dive at Mioskon Island, then “Sardine Reef”, and “Cape Kri” before sailing on to Kapasbou, Batanta Island for the night. There we dove “Pintero Rock” after dark, saw a wobbegong shark and walking shark.
We left early the next morning for Sorong and two of the guests boarded their departure flights. The remaining guests stayed overnight on the boat and departed the next day.