Erik....Anda dimana ??
Translation :
Erik ....where are you ??
He is enjoying life boys......... don't worry.
He wants to come with me this March but the wind still strong, I'll post some photos of us later if we get together in the water, with or without "Ay"..... he he he
Actualy I am doing some research for a possible hunting location in Manado. The known good ones are within the National Park, those places are world reknown for wall dives and clear water.
Let me do a pioneer trip there outside the protected park zone and sort out the bugs, if all go well, maybe we all can get together there sometime. I been there once but I was using Live On Board operation and the places I went to are for photo maniacs not meat lover.
I been doing some calculation on "Trigger Pull Quantity per Dive Trip" and Manado can be a winner compared to my current closer location. Say it we calculate from Singapore as the point of departure or start, I am looking at perhaps ( very rough guess ) of US$700-900 for 3 dive days, decent air-cond lodging, meals and a two way ticket from Singapore-Manado. I am hoping the 3 days trip is based on daily trip with some at least 20 knots boat in a group of 4 divers going some 40 miles away from Manado City, something like that.
Fish or no fish, this place is world class. My friend is still reporting live from there a few days back. Dog Tooth in 10-20kg weight is plenty and in fact so friendly and curious as Amberjacks, coming close to divers up to a meter away. He dove the National Park of course and does not shoot there. It is just a matter of luck and patient ( freedivers ) to spot a 40 up kg Doggie or perhaps some Yellofin Tuna. Marlin and Sail in not that un-common there. Won't be as good as Midnight Lump but probably highly entertaining, even more for photo mania.
A lot of dives are wall dive with bottomless pit. Sea depth average 3,000 feeet to 6,000 feet over there....!!!!
NEWSFLASH : This just came in a minute ago.
My friend currently diving in Manado just reported that there was a Bluefin of 52kg shot by a freediver ( foreigner of course, probably blond...
). Manado waters can be as cold as 19* Deg Celcius when I was there. Even in Bali the long line sometime get Sourthen Bluefin, rare but they do get it once in a while.
After my failure with yellowfins 8 days ago, crappy 3 meters viz and super sensitive fishes, plus 5 fishing boats trying to net them and that make us the sixth boat....the Manado news sure sounds a better news than Clinton & Lewinsky.