Return to Raja Ampat

We finally left Sorong by late morning on Sunday and steamed towards Mioskon. What a pleasure it was to be on The Seven Seas again, this time with Karl and Linda and a lovely group of Americans, and Swiss guests. All the pressures and tensions of real life melted away as we motored towards our first anchorage.

On board were 2 children who needed to do their open water dives to complete their certificate, and my son who has his certificate but had not had much experience. The kids went with Karl and Linda to refresh their theory knowledge. The rest of us jumped in the water, blew a few bubbles and were awestruck by the wonders we encountered.

Our intrepid dive guides, Irwan and Jefry found Pygmy seahorses, morays, a grey reef shark and the speciality of the region - tasselled wobbegongs. Wow! What a way to get back into diving.

It was my son's birthday and Irwan presented him with a birthday fish which was used to point out a scorpion fish. From the blue an Oceanic Manta came in to offer birthday wishes as well.

Day 2 brought us to M Sandy. We were forbidden to say the M word until we actually saw the Mantas! And see them, we did. After we entered the water, we almost landed on a turtle. Then we 'hung out' at the cleaning station and an oceanic manta cruised past. It was a rather brief visit and there was a general 'air' of disappointment. Finally Andy did a perfect impression of a manta and 2 real ones swam in. We had front row seats for the manta ballet as the 2 rays gracefully twirled and floated above us in time with our symphony of bubbles.

Testimonial

"Limitless gratitude from our hearts to each one of you for every moment of this extraordinary experience. Our lives are deeply enriched from this journey. Each crew member and your infinite kindness expressed throughout is truly appeciated. The diving has been the best yet for us - even after 28 years in the scuba business! The boat, meals and all special birthday celebrations, Christmas and New Years, have left heart prints we will reflect on for years to come. We surely hope to return for more! Thank you all."

Winalee & Ron (Raja Ampat, December 2015)

» Click here for more testimonials.

An Underwater Videographer's Journey to Indonesia

Lee Burghard is the Gold winner of last year's Our World Underwater video category. His article discusses the short film he made with his brother Phil during his journey on the Seven Seas. Excellent Read!

A month in the wilds of Indonesia

Please take a look at Brandon Cole's two galleries with photos taken during 2 Seven Seas cruises in 2015.

"In March we repacked our bags for Southeast Asia for a month in the wilds of Indonesia, the heart of tropical coral reef biodiversity. Encounters with Komodo Dragons, nearly one hundred scuba dives on pristine coral reefs in the Komodo National Park and around Pantar and Alor Islands, and hours and hours surrounded by the most amazing assemblage of fishes and invertebrates presented never-ending photo subjects, resulting in thousands of new images for our collection. If you need imagery from the Coral Triangle region, be sure to contact us."

Seven Seas Poem, by Cath Stark

All big adventures need a bit of a song
This epic one began in Sorong.
After being kicked out of the choir at the mere age of thirteen
I will talk through the song - to sing would be mean!
The Kellys, Starks, Barkers, Van Aarts and Skinners
I just knew I'd hit the jackpot, a full house of winners.
Upon arrival, I heard an Amercan 'Hey ya'll!'
And there he was - the famous Karl!
Huge bags were loaded in taxis for the short trip
And there in the harbour was the Seven Seas ship!

We then met wonderful Linda from the UK
And Karl gave us a briefing regarding our stay.
To those who missed bits - here's a quick recap
For quietly in the corner, Ken and Bev had a nap!
The daily routine was eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat
And after a good nights rest, the sequence in repeat.
After a shallow check dive to test out our gear
We headed South, Captain Wayhu at steer.