Diving excursions off the Paul Gauguin

[egret]

Celticeyes,

Getting back on the zodiac is not much of a problem. I always wondered about it too, based on my previous diving experience. They have one of the staff in the zodiacs when you come up and you take off your tank in the water and pass it to him. Then you just climb up tha aft ladder or use the outboard to climb onto the zodiac. I haven't seen anyone have any problems.

As far as what creatures I have seen, lots of black tip reef sharks, some lemon sharks, Napolean wrasse, turtles, variety of rays, trumpet fish, anemone fish, lionfish, morays, etc.

Unfortunately, I have not seen hammerheads, mantas, whales or dolphins on any of my dives.

I don't think the PG does Nitrox. Can't say I have a favorite spot, I really enjoyed every dive at every location. I know you will have a ball.

[egret]

Celticeyes,

Getting back on the zodiac is not much of a problem. I always wondered about it too, based on my previous diving experience. They have one of the staff in the zodiacs when you come up and you take off your tank in the water and pass it to him. Then you just climb up tha aft ladder or use the outboard to climb onto the zodiac. I haven't seen anyone have any problems.

As far as what creatures I have seen, lots of black tip reef sharks, some lemon sharks, Napolean wrasse, turtles, variety of rays, trumpet fish, anemone fish, lionfish, morays, etc.

Unfortunately, I have not seen hammerheads, mantas, whales or dolphins on any of my dives.

I don't think the PG does Nitrox. Can't say I have a favorite spot, I really enjoyed every dive at every location. I know you will have a ball.

[Leejnd4]

John, thanks for posting the link to the Scubaboard thread! Hopefully this will answer many of CelticEye's questions. (Be sure to go to the second page of the thread, which is where you'll find the detailed description of the dives, and all the photos.)

 

We DID see a hammerhead during the Tiputa Pass dive, doing figure eights below us along the wall before we turned the corner into the pass. The manta rays were at the Marquesas island - we saw two.

 

hrprof - that's really unfortunate about missing out on the pass. I'd read several places that the pass can be very unpredictable, and if the current isnt going the way it needs to go, then you can't do it or it will wash you out to sea rather than into the lagoon. I'd suggest you go on that cruise again so you will have another shot at it! Hey, that's as good an excuse as any, right? :D

[gazuccio]

Well we just got back from our cruise and honeymoon in Tahiti. I must say the diving experience on the Paul Gauguin was amazing. The crew there was fantastic. Jeremy was awesome and Peirre was stupendous! Martin was a great help in confirming dives and booking new dives. We had a blast. As for the tipping we did tip those who helped us the most. We did it at the end dive party and did it privately to those we wanted to tip. When we used outside operators I did tip each dive operator if I felt they did a great job. I did not tip each dive on the PG run dives but did it at the party. Let me tell you these guys go beyond what is expected of them. We never rinsed our stuff once, they took care of the equipement we brought and it was dry each day! I thought I was on a live aboard! So it was well worth any tip just to not have to worry about our gear!

 

As for the dives well we were a little disappointed in some and wowed by others.

 

Tahiti - Bathy's Diving - 3 dives and all amazing, Bathy's was fantatsic!

Huahine - Outside operator horrible - dive horrible as well - skip this one!

Raiatea - Outside dive operator awesome!!! Dive amazing - sharks galore!

Rangiroa - Outside operator was so so and dive so so as well didn't get to do the drift dive....

Bora Bora - Outside operator(Top Dive) Night dive was fun and 2 tank dive was great! PG dive was ok but crew amazing

Morrea - PG crew awesome! Dives were good but not great

 

so all in all a lot of fun. Huahine was the worst and Raiatea was the best.

[CelticEyes]

Celticeyes,

Getting back on the zodiac is not much of a problem. I always wondered about it too, based on my previous diving experience. They have one of the staff in the zodiacs when you come up and you take off your tank in the water and pass it to him. Then you just climb up tha aft ladder or use the outboard to climb onto the zodiac. I haven't seen anyone have any problems.

As far as what creatures I have seen, lots of black tip reef sharks, some lemon sharks, Napolean wrasse, turtles, variety of rays, trumpet fish, anemone fish, lionfish, morays, etc.

Unfortunately, I have not seen hammerheads, mantas, whales or dolphins on any of my dives.

I don't think the PG does Nitrox. Can't say I have a favorite spot, I really enjoyed every dive at every location. I know you will have a ball.

 

 

Egret,

Thanks for the info. It was nice to hear I wasn't the only person who wondered about the mechanics of diving from a zodiac. If you ever get the chance to dive the Kona coast of Hawaii the manta ray night dive is a must not be missed dive. DH and I seem to always be diving at the sites were there are regular sightings of dolphins and whales...except when we are there.:o Thanks again for all the info.

[CelticEyes]

John, thanks for posting the link to the Scubaboard thread! Hopefully this will answer many of CelticEye's questions. (Be sure to go to the second page of the thread, which is where you'll find the detailed description of the dives, and all the photos.)

 

We DID see a hammerhead during the Tiputa Pass dive, doing figure eights below us along the wall before we turned the corner into the pass. The manta rays were at the Marquesas island - we saw two.

 

hrprof - that's really unfortunate about missing out on the pass. I'd read several places that the pass can be very unpredictable, and if the current isnt going the way it needs to go, then you can't do it or it will wash you out to sea rather than into the lagoon. I'd suggest you go on that cruise again so you will have another shot at it! Hey, that's as good an excuse as any, right? :D

 

 

Leejnd4,

 

Many thanks for the wonderful trip report you posted on your PG experience. B/c of your posting DH and I have booked the Tiputa Pass. The information re skills and experience was very helpful and since we met the criteria we booked the dive. We also plan to get drift dive certified prior to the pass for a little extra experience. Now if only the pass will cooperate and let us dive. DH and I have read your trip report many times and are so glad you took the time to do so.

[Leejnd4]

Happy to help! I think about that trip on the PG often, and would love to get back there sometime. I think it's a good idea to get some more experience in drift dives before you go - it'll make it that much more enjoyable.

[johanterry]

Thanks for sharing your diving excursion experience.

[islandwoman]

We also plan to get drift dive certified prior to the pass for a little extra experience. Now if only the pass will cooperate and let us dive.

Cozumel is a great place to get experience drift diving. All of the boat dives there are drift dives. You'll be surprised at how easy it is :D

[ckpp]

Raiatea - Outside dive operator awesome!!! Dive amazing - sharks galore!

 

so all in all a lot of fun. Huahine was the worst and Raiatea was the best.

 

Gazuccio:

 

Which dive operator did you use on Raiatea?

 

Much thanks,

Janie

[gazuccio]

It was set by the PG. Hmmm will have to wait until I get home and to see the name in the log book. This was the dive when my camera fell out of its housing when I did a backward entry into the water. There went my D600 camera floating slowly to the bottom of the ocean. I was able to retrieve it but the salt water ruined the camera! Not sure what happened but it sure was upsetting since we had just begun our PG dives! UGH!

[Leejnd4]

It was set by the PG. Hmmm will have to wait until I get home and to see the name in the log book. This was the dive when my camera fell out of its housing when I did a backward entry into the water. There went my D600 camera floating slowly to the bottom of the ocean. I was able to retrieve it but the salt water ruined the camera! Not sure what happened but it sure was upsetting since we had just begun our PG dives! UGH!

 

Omygod, the same thing happened to me! Well, similar - anyway, it was my FIRST dive in French Polynesia, with the onsite dive op at the IC during our pre-cruise. As soon as I got in the water, my camera flooded (I'd left ONE little thingy not twisted shut all the way...damn damn damn). Camera was ruined, never to return, so I got no dive pics of my own for the rest of the trip. :(

 

Fortunately, Dominique is an AWESOME underwater photographer, and took lots of great shots of our dives, including a bunch with me in them. Naturally I bought the CD. :)

[Bearnaise]

It was set by the PG. Hmmm will have to wait until I get home and to see the name in the log book. This was the dive when my camera fell out of its housing when I did a backward entry into the water. There went my D600 camera floating slowly to the bottom of the ocean. I was able to retrieve it but the salt water ruined the camera! Not sure what happened but it sure was upsetting since we had just begun our PG dives! UGH!

What happened is that the force of hitting the water knocked your housing open. That's why most dive operations will hand cameras to divers after they are in the water. (Normally the housing won't completely open, but the pressure of hitting the water can be enough to force water through the o-ring seal.)

 

Also, it's a good idea to test that the housing is intact before beginning the dive, by immersing it in a tank or bucket of fresh water and checking for any leakage - hopefully with the ability to yank it out and dry it off before any damage occurs. That would have ensured that the other poster didn't leave a "thingy" unscrewed.

 

Does the PG not offer any sort of camera rinse tank for checking for leaks and do they not hand cameras to divers after the divers get in the water? I'm leery about bringing my camera setup on next year's PG trip if that's the case. If I flood my D200 with the 12/24 wide-angle lens, that's about $2,500 "down the drain" even if I can salvage the housing.

[Leejnd4]

Also, it's a good idea to test that the housing is intact before beginning the dive, by immersing it in a tank or bucket of fresh water and checking for any leakage - hopefully with the ability to yank it out and dry it off before any damage occurs. That would have ensured that the other poster didn't leave a "thingy" unscrewed. [/Quote]

 

I HAD checked the housing in a bucket before we boarded the boat, at the dock. There wasn't a bucket on the boat itself - it was just a small powerboat. This was just a stupid mistake on my part - I opened something while on the boat, and didn't close it properly. Also, this wasn't with the PG's dive crew, this was with the Hotel InterContinental's onsite dive op.

 

Does the PG not offer any sort of camera rinse tank for checking for leaks and do they not hand cameras to divers after the divers get in the water? I'm leery about bringing my camera setup on next year's PG trip if that's the case. If I flood my D200 with the 12/24 wide-angle lens, that's about $2,500 "down the drain" even if I can salvage the housing.

 

Since most of the dives are done off a Zodiac, there is no bucket on the Zodiac. I did see the DM's handing cameras to divers after they rolled off the Zodiac into the water. I also saw a rinse bucket in the dive shop on board. (Remember, by that time I didn't have a working camera.)

[scuba diver]

During our June cruise the PG dive crew always offered to hand my camera to me. However, I always took it with me when I rolled off. I even take it when I do a giant stride off larger boats. The PG dive crew always offered to take the camera when I surfaced. This I let them do because it is rough getting out with a camera onto an inflatable. They treated all of the camera gear with extreme care.

 

There were no buckets on board the inflatable, but rinse water was available on the platform before and after the dive.

[drifting_away]

We were on the same trip as Gazuccio (Hi Rudy). The PG DMs were very willing to hand cameras in to you and they had a dunk tank on the back of the ship before you got into the zodiacs.

 

Now some of the outside operators (esp. the Rangiroa DM's were less inclined) I think this was because the water was very rough and we all had to go off the zodiac at the same time or we would probably tip. Everything was very rushed. I am pretty sure that they would hand you the D200 though just due to its shear size.

[ckpp]

It was set by the PG. Hmmm will have to wait until I get home and to see the name in the log book. This was the dive when my camera fell out of its housing when I did a backward entry into the water. There went my D600 camera floating slowly to the bottom of the ocean. I was able to retrieve it but the salt water ruined the camera! Not sure what happened but it sure was upsetting since we had just begun our PG dives! UGH!

 

Thanks for the info -- I just requested the dive on MyCruises. Also, thanks to everyone for the tips for the camera. My husband and I got recently certified for this trip and information such as this for us newbies is always appreciated! Sorry to hear about what happened to your D600....

[gazuccio]

Hey everyone from the PG June trip. Yes this was my fault...yes the PG divemasters were always will ing to hand the camera to a diver and so were most of the outside ops. This happened in Rangirora and I am not sure what the heck happened. LUCKLY there was a wonderful woman who had this amazing camera and she sent me a copy of here pics as she was on all the same dives we were. And I will say this...her camera was amazing. The pics were sensational .... I can not thank her enough as we now have memories of our trip. Without her kindness we would have lost a lot of great memories.

 

Hey drifting away I see you rebooked for next year!!! LOL Someone has the Tahitian Bug!!!!

[drifting_away]

Hey Rudy

 

Tahitian bug with no cure in sight. I have some pics for you and a video!! I will try to get them out this week! I wanted to dive the dives we didn't get to do and I am praying that we will get to do the drift dive!!

 

In the mean time we are diving Hawaii over new years, and Cozumel for spring break.

 

We had a blast with you and Lisa!

 

Diana

[gazuccio]

It was our pleasure diving with the both you and Shannon as well. I hope that we will be able to cross paths once again some time but it is a real drag that we live on opposite coasts. However friends for life as I always say! Thanks for the pics and video we will be looking for it. One of these fine days I will upload what I got in the form of pics to a site so people can look at them and down load them. www.snapfish.com allows this. Both Lisa and I had an amzing time with everyone and it couldn't have been a better group of people to get to know and dive with. T has already sent me her pics as she was on all our dives...what a godsend she was...and amazing pics as well. Good memories! I have all the pics on my laptop but have been busy with work and just got back from Florida as I took my daughter to college :( she was excited but alas I miss her already. Lets keep in touch and hope all is well with you!!

[cwc]

Dear Diana,

 

We will be in Hawaii (Oahu) during New Year also, any dive site or shop you can recommend?

 

Thanks!

 

Cindy

[drifting_away]

Cindy,

 

I have not had the opportunity to dive Oahu, but the best advice I can give you would be go to scubaboard.com and research, research, research.

 

The one Hawaiian dive that I want to do is the Kona night dive with the manta rays, but that is on the big island.

 

I hope you have a great time on your cruise with the kids Rudy!!

 

Good luck and enjoy!!!