Schooling Rays and Raja Rays courtesy of Dr. Ed Campbell
All other underwater photos, courtesy of Dr. Mike Lyons

Dear Friends, fellow divers & (to quote our very own Garry,) fellow thrill seekers,

Our recent 11- night trip to the incredible area of Raja Ampat, Indonesia […discovering the “end of the earth”…perhaps?] was one of the most memorable dive trips of my 50 + year diving experience!

Wayne & Dana Brown and  I arrived in Bali in the early afternoon of Oct 09, 2009, somewhat jet lagged as might be expected from the long flight over from the east coast of the USA, but fired up & very ready to enjoy the amazing hospitality of our partners/owners of the beautiful yachts [sailing ships] Komodo  Dancer & Paradise Dancer; Managing Director/Partner/Owner/Investor Guido Brink and Partner/Owner/Investor Ronald de Boer. Once settled into our five star accommodations our jet lag was quickly forgotten as we began a three day experience of sharing our partnership & our friendship w/ Guido & Ronald and enjoying the shopping, sightseeing, touring, dining and of course (just a little) drinking pleasures of Bali, before taking the next step on our journey to Sorong/Raja Ampat via Makassar (Ujung Pandang) where we’d join the Paradise Dancer.

During the construction process of the Paradise Dancer – locally built, all from local hard woods, on the bank of a river in the jungle of Kalimantan (Borneo) and using only traditional ship building methods that date back 100’s of years – I visited the job site “up river”... Amazing!! Later, after the ship was launched in Kalimantan and towed, via tug to Bali, for the “finishing” work  I was again able to visit the job site but still … even after these “previews,” when we arrived at the dock in Sorong I was amazed at what I saw and as our tender approached the “’ship,” my amazement grew and then, as we then stepped aboard I was totally “blown away!” Nothing had prepared me for the magnificence of this “ship!”

It was great to see old friends Gary & Yan and to start meeting new ones - Wendy, Acho, Henrick & Oasis to mention only a very few. We also had the pleasure of being onboard with our good friends Dr. Alan and Mrs. Bridget Thomas and their group from ISAM (International Society of Aquatic Medicine) so with new friends and old, we knew this was going to be a special treat. Once we were all shown to our state rooms (WOW!!) we were anxious to get unpacked and set up for the next day's diving ... and the  diving that followed for the next nine incredible days ...

Raja Ampat has  been described the “Holy Grail” of diving and quite rightly so – as soon as we entered the water for the first time and then continually over the next nine days, we were in sensory overload as we were bombarded w/ sights (and sounds) unlike any we had experienced before – giant schools of Jack in some cases and giant schools of Tuna in others “thundering “ by - these schools always interspersed w/  Rainbow Runners and/or Bonitos along for the ride and the rear usually brought up by one, two or three GIANT Trevally - endlessly, at such a speed you knew they were on a mission – their mission: the “devastation” of the visually impenetrable walls of Silversides that make up the principal ingredient of the diet of these pelagic hunters. The wall of Silversides was so thick one could not see one’s buddy through them but repeatedly they’d change direction as one, avoiding the onslaught launched against them and then “open” for seconds allowing us to witness the carnage that is everyday life in this part of the world, part of the everyday life cycle of these species and that which keeps things in balance and “normal.”

In addition we were blessed w/ an endless menu of marine life – from Mobulas dancing above & around us to Mantis Shrimps burrowing below us, huge Bumphead Parrot Fish & Bumphead Wrasse, Cuttle Fish to Clown Fish to tiny Crabs, walls of Fusiliers tumbling over the reefs to Triggerfish darting into their holes in the reef as we approach, Twin Spot Gobies to Frog Fish to (pregnant) Pygmy Seahorses of different species and the more unusual such as the  “walking” Epaulette Shark (night dives) to the Tasseled Wobegon and one, yes only one, Blue Ringed Octopus (night dive) and of course, an amazing array of Flat Worms & Nudibranchs too numerous to know or to name!

All of this plus so very, very much more is heavily dispersed among the world’s most diverse & stunningly beautiful “coral gardens” – clean, healthy hard corals w/ a diversity, coverage & dispersion hard to imagine, Sea Fans larger & more plentiful than ever seen before, huge Black Coral “trees” in abundance, wonderful Soft Corals vibrant and in every color of the rainbow cover the reefs and Crinoids releasing from their perches and “swimming” by are just the “everyday” in this amazing corner of the world hidden “behind God’s back.”… I could go on for pages … but …

Raja Ampat is considered by those far wiser & more learned than I as the “epicenter of marine biodiversity” and I personally have no trouble believing that having just returned – over 1,000 species of fish, 75% of the world’s identified corals and new species of shark, shrimp & reef building corals discovered w/in only the past few months. Paradise Dancer is the perfect [the only, in my mind J] way to experience this phenomenon but please too, understand this marine biodiversity comes w/ a small price – water visibility is rarely 100+ feet (30+ meters) as the nutrient richness of this ocean area decreases visibility regularly – we enjoyed as little as 30+ feet (10 meters) to as much as 85+ feet (25.5 meter) and everything in between!! But who cared … sooooo much to see and Topside, well this must truly be one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth – come see for yourself …

Thanx and as always … be ocean minded,
Peter