Diving Adventure at the ´Sea World Club´Preface 1 ...
Diving Adventure at the ´Sea World Club´
Preface 1:
I write in english, but I´m german. So don´t be dissapointed if you find some mistakes. I do my very best, Miss Sophie!
Preface 2:
I don´t want to speak badly about the service of the waiters and the local staff of the hotel and the restaurant, as i know these things depend on payment and education as well and i´really don´t know too much about the circumstances on flores and especially in the sea world club. I agree with the aims of Pater Bollen, if his ideas he told me are true and in respect of the indonesian culture. This i can´t prove also, of course.
I only write about the diving and accomodation facilities the sea world club offers on it´s website and brochures. Not more.
I stayed in the sea world club for nearly two weeks in summer 2006, means in July together with my wife. First of all everybody tried to help us with the flight bookings to Maumere, transport service and customs. We arrived safe and got a warm welcome. We booked a bungalow called VIP or similar, which meant was one of the newest and expensivest one. It was generally okay and we had a warm shower most of the time, so, there were some anymals in the bed, but they bite me and not my wife, so it was generally okay. Don´t expect any luxury items, it was clean andappropriately, worth the money.
We came there for diving and nothing else. I was there in 92 before and it was a great spot and a good place for safe and high level diving. So i wrote a few mails before about diving facilities, boats and diving spots i wanted to visit. Everything was promised to me and the big dissapointment came when we wanted to go for our day trips. First of all: ´The boat´ was a superold, poor, nearly completely damaged plastic flat with a 30 year old 50 HP diesel engine, which was broken! So we had to go to the houseriff or to near places with a small 2x40HP spped boat, which was to small to go to the outer diving spots, where the big fishes were. And one day there was no diving, next day there were the same spots as before and so on and so on. It was a ´every day adventure´ in the morning, if there was a diving tour or not or with the big boat or with the small boat. They repaired the engine every day, but there were two broken controls outside and one broken engine outside. Of course no life vests and no radio, even not a working mobile phone. No Oxygene, even no medical first aid box. Nothing!
The equipment was totally poor and broken. No single working computer, only three working regulators and the bottles were filled by somewhere else and were brought by car, so there was no idea if the air was clean and safe.
Guides: There were two locals, when we stayed there. Of course friendly and nice and experienced divers as well. But one couldn´t speak any foreign language at all, so there was no briefing. And the other one tried to repair his computer everyday and tried to get a new one from Pater Bollen. So at last he made a briefing like: ´Here´s a wall, you can go leftside ore rightside, as you like. sometimes current, sometimes not.´
Of course, the spots were marvellous and as I´m quite a experienced PADI DM I made some nice pics and some interesting meetings with sharks, turtles and rays. But if you go there for diving: Beware. Bring your own equipment, go on your own if you´re experienced and go safe. There are some difficult places with strong current and there at the sea world club will nobody help you in any case, as these guys have no idea of international standards in diving. The minimum for the holiday diver is the PADI standard, which is not comparable to the german diving rules by VDST/cmas. So please, check the risk. Check the equipment. Check the guide. And better go not if you are in doubt.
One last sentence: Before you accuse me in speaking badly about a caritative project which is worth to substitute and to help, think: ´One dead diver is one dead diver too much and will stop the whole sea world club project definately, as the indonesian authorities are waiting for a good reason to push the christian churches out of their muslim ruled country!´
Matthias Resch
mresch@aol.com
Preface 1:
I write in english, but I´m german. So don´t be dissapointed if you find some mistakes. I do my very best, Miss Sophie!
Preface 2:
I don´t want to speak badly about the service of the waiters and the local staff of the hotel and the restaurant, as i know these things depend on payment and education as well and i´really don´t know too much about the circumstances on flores and especially in the sea world club. I agree with the aims of Pater Bollen, if his ideas he told me are true and in respect of the indonesian culture. This i can´t prove also, of course.
I only write about the diving and accomodation facilities the sea world club offers on it´s website and brochures. Not more.
I stayed in the sea world club for nearly two weeks in summer 2006, means in July together with my wife. First of all everybody tried to help us with the flight bookings to Maumere, transport service and customs. We arrived safe and got a warm welcome. We booked a bungalow called VIP or similar, which meant was one of the newest and expensivest one. It was generally okay and we had a warm shower most of the time, so, there were some anymals in the bed, but they bite me and not my wife, so it was generally okay. Don´t expect any luxury items, it was clean andappropriately, worth the money.
We came there for diving and nothing else. I was there in 92 before and it was a great spot and a good place for safe and high level diving. So i wrote a few mails before about diving facilities, boats and diving spots i wanted to visit. Everything was promised to me and the big dissapointment came when we wanted to go for our day trips. First of all: ´The boat´ was a superold, poor, nearly completely damaged plastic flat with a 30 year old 50 HP diesel engine, which was broken! So we had to go to the houseriff or to near places with a small 2x40HP spped boat, which was to small to go to the outer diving spots, where the big fishes were. And one day there was no diving, next day there were the same spots as before and so on and so on. It was a ´every day adventure´ in the morning, if there was a diving tour or not or with the big boat or with the small boat. They repaired the engine every day, but there were two broken controls outside and one broken engine outside. Of course no life vests and no radio, even not a working mobile phone. No Oxygene, even no medical first aid box. Nothing!
The equipment was totally poor and broken. No single working computer, only three working regulators and the bottles were filled by somewhere else and were brought by car, so there was no idea if the air was clean and safe.
Guides: There were two locals, when we stayed there. Of course friendly and nice and experienced divers as well. But one couldn´t speak any foreign language at all, so there was no briefing. And the other one tried to repair his computer everyday and tried to get a new one from Pater Bollen. So at last he made a briefing like: ´Here´s a wall, you can go leftside ore rightside, as you like. sometimes current, sometimes not.´
Of course, the spots were marvellous and as I´m quite a experienced PADI DM I made some nice pics and some interesting meetings with sharks, turtles and rays. But if you go there for diving: Beware. Bring your own equipment, go on your own if you´re experienced and go safe. There are some difficult places with strong current and there at the sea world club will nobody help you in any case, as these guys have no idea of international standards in diving. The minimum for the holiday diver is the PADI standard, which is not comparable to the german diving rules by VDST/cmas. So please, check the risk. Check the equipment. Check the guide. And better go not if you are in doubt.
One last sentence: Before you accuse me in speaking badly about a caritative project which is worth to substitute and to help, think: ´One dead diver is one dead diver too much and will stop the whole sea world club project definately, as the indonesian authorities are waiting for a good reason to push the christian churches out of their muslim ruled country!´
Matthias Resch
mresch@aol.com