A few from Rajah Ampat

Hi All,

I just got back from 10 nights in Rajah Ampat on the Cheng Ho, mostly around the island of Misool. I mostly stuck with wide angle, figuring I'd be stopping in Lembeh on the back end (that'll be another post), so with that said, here are a few pics:

The rest of the pics (some macro too) are at http://gallery.me.com/philsokol#100127

Comments and criticism welcome!

Thanks,

Phil

Nice Phil.

Alex

Enjoyed you photos, also took a look at the gallery. Great stuff. So you used the wide angle on most of them right? I just love the effect. Guess I will have to polish off the ol' dome port and 14mm as we are off to Raja Ampat in January. Any more hints other that dive around Misool, for the trip. Marilyn

I love your RA shots, having just been there myself, I'm reliving it. As an admitted wide angle guy, for me its heaven. I believe the misool area is some of the greatest diving in the world. And, nice blue water mangroves too

Phil

Very good images .

I would like to know how was your experience with the boat and the crew ?

Thanks

Another fine collection. And a view to the future ... I have RA booked for 2010.

Damn Son, your turning into a regular globetrotter. You know if one is not careful they could miss the fact that you have three pages of goodies on your website from Raja. I culled this little beauty in case any one missed it. See guys and gals, Phil likes to hide some of the treasure.

Congrats partner, looks like you had a great trip!

Steve

beautiful collection.

Thanks everyone!

Elbuzo, the Cheng Ho was maybe the most spacious of the 6 or 7 boats I've been on (the other contender would be the Truk Odyssey). There's a nice, comfortable and roomy air conditioned salon, the twin cabins have separate single beds (no bunks) with lots of storage, and there's tons of deck space for lounging. Food was good, varied and plentiful, free sodas, honor bar for everything else. Each photographer gets about 4 feet of outside, padded counter space with an entire cabinet underneath to store any gear not being used. The crew was excellent, very helpful, very conscientious when handling cameras, and they line up to give you a high 5 when you return from each dive.

The only real downside has been previously reported: the boat leaks in heavy rain. They keep plastic over the charging stations in the salon, so that's good, but I (and a couple others) had water leaking in our cabins. In my cabin (which was below deck), water ran down one wall and onto one of the beds. I had ended up with my own cabin, so I just switched sides. We only got two days of that weather at the end of the trip, but given the area, one could get a lot more which would then be a real big bummer.

During our time there, the diving conditions were only fair with typical vis in the 30-40 ft. range. We had a couple dives that were even less. There were ripping currents as well and the dive staff did their best to work around them, sending a boat out to the site before each dive to check the current. While each boat went out with at least one DM, you could pretty much do your own thing and the tender would pick you up. The DM's were all very good, but they did move a little fast for me, especially on the night dive. The diving was overall very good - healthy reefs with a huge variety of fish. Very little big stuff. Some of the stand out dives were Laha in Ambon - great muck diving, the soft corals at Pygmy Rock, and Melissa's Garden. The mangroves were super cool and I wish we could have done another dive or two there - one woman even got checked out by a salt water crocodile (and got the pics to prove it!) so I don't know how that may effect them going back there.

So overall, a very good trip. PM me if you'd like more info.

Phil

Thanks everyone!

 

Elbuzo, the Cheng Ho was maybe the most spacious of the 6 or 7 boats I've been on (the other contender would be the Truk Odyssey). There's a nice, comfortable and roomy air conditioned salon, the twin cabins have separate single beds (no bunks) with lots of storage, and there's tons of deck space for lounging. Food was good, varied and plentiful, free sodas, honor bar for everything else. Each photographer gets about 4 feet of outside, padded counter space with an entire cabinet underneath to store any gear not being used. The crew was excellent, very helpful, very conscientious when handling cameras, and they line up to give you a high 5 when you return from each dive.

 

The only real downside has been previously reported: the boat leaks in heavy rain. They keep plastic over the charging stations in the salon, so that's good, but I (and a couple others) had water leaking in our cabins. In my cabin (which was below deck), water ran down one wall and onto one of the beds. I had ended up with my own cabin, so I just switched sides. We only got two days of that weather at the end of the trip, but given the area, one could get a lot more which would then be a real big bummer.

 

During our time there, the diving conditions were only fair with typical vis in the 30-40 ft. range. We had a couple dives that were even less. There were ripping currents as well and the dive staff did their best to work around them, sending a boat out to the site before each dive to check the current. While each boat went out with at least one DM, you could pretty much do your own thing and the tender would pick you up. The DM's were all very good, but they did move a little fast for me, especially on the night dive. The diving was overall very good - healthy reefs with a huge variety of fish. Very little big stuff. Some of the stand out dives were Laha in Ambon - great muck diving, the soft corals at Pygmy Rock, and Melissa's Garden. The mangroves were super cool and I wish we could have done another dive or two there - one woman even got checked out by a salt water crocodile (and got the pics to prove it!) so I don't know how that may effect them going back there.

 

So overall, a very good trip. PM me if you'd like more info.

 

Phil

Nice report Phil , thank you very much !

I'm planning go with them next year so i will take my rain jacket to the room !

Regards

Jose Alejandro