Nautilus 2 – February 2009
The Maldives has been a dream diving destination on my wish list ever since I learnt to dive so I was over the moon when I found out I was going out to join the Nautilus 2 live aboard for a week sailing out of Male.
Due to the adverse british weather conditions before I left and risk of more snow I decided to play it safe and travel over to Heathrow on Sunday night ready for my flight on Monday. Using the link on the scuba travel website (http://www.scubatravel.com/extras/Insurance/Insurance.html) l I booked a night at the Hoilday Inn and 15 days parking for just £59!
The flights with Sri Lanka airlines allowed us a diving weight allowance of 30 kilos – very generous and the flight itself although long was extremely comfortable (even being 6″1!) and the cabin service, inflight entertainment and in flights meals were first class.
We landed into Male to 31 degrees of glorious sunshine and one of the dive guides from the boat waiting outside the arrivals hall to meet us. We were all taken by Dhoni, (small Maldavian boat) a short 20 minute transfer from right outside the airport to where Nautilus 2 was moored in the harbor waiting for us. From first glimpse in the glimmering sunshine the boat surpassed all expectations – the biggest and most spacious and comfortable live aboard I have ever stepped on.
The boat is comprised of a huge inside saloon complete with dining and comfortable seating area as well as a bar with larger on draft as well as a full cocktail menu and Australia wine! There are two areas to sit outside in the shade and a huge upstairs sun deck to catch some rays and top up the tan, watch the sunrise, the sunset or do a bit of star gazing! The cabins were like hotel rooms not boat cabins – light and airy with two very spacious beds and a bathroom like I have never before seen on a live aboard. A power shower complete with power jets and a shower seat to relax in after a hard days diving while the jets massage your back!
The holiday routine of the live aboard was sleep, dive, eat, snooze/sunbathe, dive, eat, snooze , sunbathe, dive, eat, sleep with the odd glass of vino thrown in for good measure – fantastic!!! – the diving was phenomenal and the fantastic food never ending. Breakfast was fresh fruit, toast and made to order omelette or eggs, lunch & dinner was pasta, rice, chicken , fresh caught fish, salads and a desert. One evening we had a Maldivian Gala dinner and one night we had a BBQ on one of the beautiful islands. We even had a candle light lobster evening after a local fisherman passed by and sold his catch!
I have been diving for many years and have been lucky enough to travel to many worldwide destinations working as an instructor but the Maldives really was something else. The dive itinerary was 3 dives a day either three days dives or two day dives and a night dive. The boat route was Male to the North Ari Atol down to the South Ari Atol then across the channel to the South Male Atol and back up to the North Male Atol packing is as many dives as we could along the way. Apart from the diving the scenery was breathtaking – white sand and blue seas – it really is paradise or as one of the guests described it on the phone home to her husband “heaven on earth”
Shoals of beautiful colored reef fish as far as the eye can see, beautiful corals, overhangs, plentiful white tip and grey reef sharks hanging out in the current, turtles, morays and MANTAS MANTAS MANTAS!!!
The group highlight of our week was an early morning dive at Manta Point with not one, not two not three, but TEN manta rays! Ten manta rays swopping in and almost queuing up at the cleaning station to have their parasites nibbled off by the cleaner fish giving us all 60 minutes to take photos and videos galore of this truly amazing experience. Memories that will last a life time!
The boat holds 24 people with 12 en- suite cabins, 4 doubles and 8 twin rooms. 24 guests who had never met before embarking on Nautilus 2 joined together on this trip from all walks of life and a very mixed age range with one love and passion in common – diving and the underwater world. By the end of the week many a friendship had been formed, dives discussed, future trips planned, previous destinations talked about and email addresses exchanged.
Alisons top tips for this trip:
High Factor Sunscreen – the sun is very strong and you do get a lovely breeze so it doesn’t seem as hot as it really is until you come back to your cabin looking like a lobster!
If you don’t want to end up with knees like Dennis The Menace as I did take either a full skin suit or a 3mm long wetsuit for protection! The water is 28 degrees however no matter how good your buoyancy when you have ten mantas swirling above you in a strong current you need to kneel down quick!
Also check out our insurance before you travel – tailor made for Scuba Divers with a 50 meter depth limit (subject to qualification) and cover for your scuba equipment (even whilst diving) up to £2,500 as well as all the usuals included in a travel insurance!
