Seven Seas Update

Dear Shipmates

All has been quiet since returning from Raja Ampat in April. The Seven Seas has been patiently at rest on her mooring on her mooring in Labuan Bajo.

The crew have been reunited with their families after a long six month stint in Raja Ampat. During that period most of their time was spent in lockdown onboard in order to stay Covid free, however, we did manage to get some lucky expats to join us for a few trips. During the limited time we spent out in the field it was quite an eerie feeling they saw no other boats, virtually unheard of in Raja Ampat over the last 10 years.

While on route to and from Raja Ampat from Flores we did manage get a small group of like-minded conservationists and photographers onboard. We were successful touching base with some targeted local communities in the Banda Sea. Our goal was to create conservation awareness and help remote communities protect and manage their own local marine environment. We will be following up with some informative contributions from the Epic trip team in our newsletters and social media platforms over the next few months.

Back onboard the crew have recently started maintenance work in preparation for our annual dry dock. We aim to have Seven Seas in tip top condition and ready to go as soon as Indonesia is open to tourism. We are in the process of replacing some planks in the hull and have sent a technician to Labuan Bajo to inspect all machinery prior to our arrival in Surabaya later this month for annual dry-docking. We will replace the main engine that has served us so reliably without missing a beat since 2005. I did some quick calculations and the machine has pushed us along our merry way for a distance of approximately 250,000 nautical miles!

Regarding travel restrictions there are still no clear decisions by the Indonesian government as to when or how international tourism will resume. Efforts are being made to vaccinate the entire Indonesian tourism sector. We will keep you updated of any changes as they occur and have extended our Covid terms till the end of September.

All our crew have been vaccinated and we hope to see you all back onboard hopefully in the not to distant future.

All the best from the entire Seven Seas Team.

Captain Mark

Goodbye Jos, Welcome Delphine

We are sorry to announce that Jos Pet has recently resigned from Seven Seas. Many of you know Jos or have had contact with him while planning and booking your trips with us over the last 15 years. In his own words Jos has enjoyed and had a lot of fun being part of the team and helping plan trips for Seven Seas guests but now its time to plan some trips for himself and his family. We would like to thank Jos for his contributions, dedication and support over the years.

Replacing Jos we would like to welcome aboard Delphine Chauchot.

Delphine used to work as an executive secretary in a well-established International law firm. She had been doing the nine to five in a glass building of a European capital for many years until she decided to follow her calling and live on the blue-er side of life.

Henceforth she cleared out all her belongings and left the comfort of a well-oiled routine in 2015 to start a life off the beaten path, and moved to the far-flung Bali with the only 30 kilo luggage allowed - 15 of it being her very much loved dive equipment.

She dedicated herself to what she enjoyed most: immersing herself in the blue and doing yoga. She soon graduated as a yoga teacher and as a PADI dive instructor. The later gave a decisive turn of course in her adventure: before late she was leading trips on liveaboards with guests from all over the world throughout the magical waters of Indonesia (Flores, Komodo, Alor, Derawan, Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Sulawesi, Sumba and other destinations).

That's where, in a far off island called Yilliet she met Alex... but that's another story.

After having her lovely baby Juliette last year, it came naturally that she would continue to support the adventure working from the backstage. She will bring her expertise in the area, helping planning your trips, customize your charters and work with you on new ideas for your adventures. She will be dealing with all your questions about schedules, seasons and destinations. Being Alex's Partner, they are a team in private and professional life and you can be assured that she will know all details about your adventure too.

Delphine will be happy to answer your questions in French, English, German, Bahasa Indonesia, or Spanish (but not in Catalan. YET).

Triton Bay Cinematic

By Alex del Olmo.

The first time I visited Triton Bay was three years ago on an expedition lead by Dr. Mark Erdmann and Dr. Gerry Allen.

Our mission: explore new areas and find new dive sites.

After just a few seconds underwater I fell in love with Triton Bay and I knew I would return on my own to find out what secret gems it hides and capture their beauty.

It took me two years and a pandemic to get there.

When I thought I could visit the area again (and have a deeper look into the dive sites), the pandemic struck us last year. We could only enjoy a handful of days of our scheduled 14 days trip around Kaimana and Triton Bay. The world turned upside down and we had to abort and rearrange flights for our guests to come back home safely to their loved ones.

The frustration was real and kept nagging at the back of my mind for half a year.

Later on, and taking advantage of the extra time I had, due to the impossibility of receiving foreign tourists in Indonesia, I contacted Leeza and Jimmy - the owners of Triton Bay Divers Resort - willing to spend two weeks with them and learning as many dive sites as we could manage, using their extended local knowledge.

» CLICK HERE FOR ALEX'S FULL REPORT AND MORE PHOTOS

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