Star Dancer PNG

in article P72Pb.104730$na.62761@attbi_s04, Forest Aten at
forestaten@comcast.net wrote on 1/19/04 11:28 PM:

> Brian,
>
> Kiwi has been off the boat for a number of years now. (what a great captain)
> He's been the captain of a "bright white" boat in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami
> area since leaving the PHD fleet.
> Palau is off the schedule for PHD. After the reefs in Palau took the beating
> from coral bleaching, the number of divers traveling to this destination
> slowed considerably. Business for both Peter's boat and the Aggressor boat
> in Palau were very slow for several years. The last group I ran to Palau was
> in the final year of the Sun Dancer's tour in Palau....this the season
> before they moved it to Belize. The Aggressor hadn't been out on a charter
> in three weeks at that time. (hard times for both boats) The hard coral was
> not nearly as nice as in my previous trips. Quite a lot of algae had come in
> behind the coral bleaching and things were really out of whack. I hear now
> that the soft corals are looking great and that marine life is still first
> rate. It's the stony corals that took the brunt of damage and really
> suffered. It's been a number of years now, since this event, and I'm sure
> that many of the faster growing hard corals have made a nice comeback. I've
> heard that the "water weather" has been more favorable in recent years.
>
> The diving up north is fantastic during the "rainy season". You just get
> wet....very wet. But....you're likely to never find a calmer sea during the
> rainy season. Flat, calm water. Photographers complain some....not as much
> sunlight. PNG has so much to offer on land as well. The rain doesn't help
> land excursions as day trips inland are fairly messy. Someone earlier in the
> thread mentioned malaria....it is a very serious problem in PNG!! All
> precautions should be taken! Any time of year....
>
> Forest Aten

Forest,

Poor sunlight is a big concern of mine. What time of the year are you
referring to?

Lawrence

"Forest Aten" <forestaten@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:P72Pb.104730$na.62761@attbi_s04...

> Brian,
>
> Kiwi has been off the boat for a number of years now.

Actually Forest it was me who asked about Kiwi. He was the captain on board
the last time I used that boat (Fall of 1999). As you say, good guy, good
Captain. That was a trip to remember for more reasons than the diving. The
ship's engineer, some big Aussie character who had taken up with a Canadian
divemaster onboard, had decided to leave for another vessel and had just
told her (and that she wasn't going with him) right before our charter
began. Man, she was a royal bitch (and I say that will all kindness because
it doesn't fully describe her behavior that trip). The interaction between
her and us and her and the engineer was really a delight. You couldn't get
mad....it was all so extreme as to be incredibly entertaining. Kiwi did a
great job cushioning the cruise from this turmoil. That poor guy worked
doubly hard on our behalf because there was no controling that gal's
desposition. This was as compelling a domestic/social situation on a
liveaboard as I have ever personally witnessed.

Your post seems to indicate he's Captain of some rich guys private yacht
(bright white)....is that correct?