rebreather diving in Bali - Archipelago - follow up

PCDiver

A couple of days ago I posted a request for information on rebreather tanks and sorb in Bali. I have not yet located sorb & tanks but it looks promising.

The liveaboard we are going to use is the Archipelago Adventurer II. I received an email from Buck, who is the manager. They have no experience with rebreather divers but they are willing to give it a try and he offered his assistance with sorting out the logistics.

They have a boot at Dema, so if any of you want to give them a visit and convice them of the benefits of rebreather diving ...

I hope that we can add them as a rebreather friendly liveaboard in the near future because the boat looks excellent. (Liveaboards Indonesia, Indonesia Liveaboards)

silent running

An OC diver friend of mine recently spent a few weeks on that boat and loved it. If I'm guessing right, Buck owns the resort I dived at in Ambon and is a long time resident of Indo. Mario is the manager of the Ambon resort and was very helpful in sourcing O2 and renting an extra boat for our land based diving. O2 was not hard to find in Ambon, fittings were British bullnose, if I remember correctly. Let me know if you are having trouble and I'll try to put you in touch with Mario... -Andy

das

I just got off the boat this morning. Very good boat and excellent crew. It is an "American" standard boat.

I don't know about r/b's on the boat but will ask at Dema.

DAS

PCDiver

That's a coincidence. It sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Any pictures? And how was the diving?

If the interest is high enough perhaps we can get them to buy some rebreather tanks and rent those out.

PCDiver

Archipelago can be found at Dema at boot #267 in the Indonesian pavilion.

das

To follow up this discussion, I met with John Randolph the GM of Archipelago. He indicated that they were open to r/b's but at this point they don't know much about them. He indicated that others have expressed interest in running a charter that has r/b's.

John said he was scheduled to take a r/b course when he returned next week. This would bode well for future support for r/b's on the boat.

It seems that in 2008 that logistics regarding support for r/b diving will be hashed out. They will run some charters with r/b's and then decide if it a market that they want to serve.

The best way to use a r/b on a charter is to find 14 to 18 like minded folks and book a trip. Ultimately, money is what speaks loudest to operators. Full charters have more influence than individual bookings.