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The Dive Deck
Just
between the salon and the camera room is our spacious dive deck. The
divedeck on NAI'A is unconventional in several respects. First, it
is huge, bridging the entire 30ft beam of the ship, and it is located
amidships away from the clutter of the working deck aft. During the
charter, the crew take care of filling the tanks and loading gear
into the skiffs from the aft dive platform, while divers have the
uncluttered divedeck forward in which to suit up and listen to the
very thorough dive briefings.
Only masks, fins, and camera gear are stored forward, while the heavy and unwieldy tanks and BCs remain aft. Divers returning to the dive deck are treated to hot deck showers and clean dry towels at the end of every dive. NAI'A has a small laundry aboard where towels and tablecloths are washed daily.
Once the scuba tanks have been moved aft at the start of the charter, the dive deck cushions come out and the place becomes a lounging area sheltered from the midday sun.
Click here for a VR Tour of NAI'A's Dive Deck.
The Stern Dive Platform
When its time to dive you'll find your skiff waiting at the back dive deck. The crew takes care of moving your gear and making sure your tanks are full so you don't have to. After the dive you simply step out of the skiff onto the back deck and the crew will do the rest!
NAI'A went into the shipyard for a major refit in 2000, which included making a bigger and better dive platform. NAI'A is now 3 feet longer and 2 feet wider. The extra space allows divers greater manuvering room as they enter and exit the dive skiffs. As an added advantage, the large dive platform also allows NAI'A to achieve greater speeds on ocean crossings -- making vogage time quick and comfortable.
NAI'A uses two 20ft rigid inflatables. These are robust boats, and their low freeboard makes them easy to exit and enter. Because NAI'A uses two skiffs, divers who surface early are whisked back to the ship where they can have a shower and a brownie while they wait for the hard-core macro photographers to complete their dive.
Click here for a VR Tour of NAI'A's Stern Dive Platform.
The Camera Room
The camera room is located immediately adjacent to the dive deck and has storage and work space for more than a dozen photographers, their gear and storage of cases.
Both 110 and 220 volt charging strips are available. There are more than enough for everyone!
NAI'A features elaborate provisions for professional and amateur photographers: E-6 processing, camera and video rentals, a multisystem VCR and television able to play miniDV in NTSC format and VHS in both NTSC and PAL formats, slide projector and light box, and a dedicated camera room.
After each dive you can rinse your camera gear in our two large fresh water dip tanks. Compressed air is at your fingertips in the camera room for cleaning and drying parts.
Click here for a VR Tour of NAI'A's Camera Room.
The Sundeck and Wheelhouse
The top deck is where you'll find the wheelhouse, captain and crew accommodations, and the huge sundeck.
For those who do want to be outside in the sun, the whole roof area over the dive deck and the camera room is a sundeck open to undiluted rays. This is a great place to enjoy a relaxing lunch while working on your tan. For the enthusiastic, this area turns into a great workout space.
If you are more interested in simple relaxation, there are plenty of comfortable lounge chairs.
The crow's nest on the mast, fifty feet above the water, is the ideal spot from which to guide the ship through the narrow passages common to Fiji's outlying islands and from which to yell the traditional "thar she blows" when sighting a whale. During long passages the sundeck is used to carry NAI'A's two rigid inflatable skiffs.
Click here for a VR Tour of NAI'A's Sun Deck.
The Pulpit
The pulpit over the bow is another great place to lounge. Roomy enough for six to sit, a dozen excited people can stand there watching bow-riding dolphins or breaching whales.
When cool ocean breezes are a'blowin this is the place to be! Protected from the wind and exposed to the sun, this is a great place to get away from it all and enjoy some time alone.
Did someone say WHALE?
That word can wake you up from an afternoon nap in a split second. And this is where you'll want to be ready with your camera in hand when it happens.
Click here for a VR Tour of NAI'A's Bow.
The Salon
NAI'A's main salon is perhaps her most eye-catching feature. Carefully crafted out of local timbers, the 625 square foot room serves as lounge, theater, classroom, and dining room. The three tables in the salon are showpiece items, built as a gift to NAI'A by the Fijian carpenters who refinished the ship. Made of alternating planks of the four native timbers used elsewhere throughout the ship, the tables are polished to a high sheen.
When you come back from the dive you can review your videos immediately using the entertainment system located in the salon. A multisystem VCR and television able to play both VHS and Hi8 tapes in both PAL and NTSC formats, slide projector and light box, are all available for your use. Don't forget to bring your favorite videos to watch and audio CDs to listen to while relaxing. We would love to see the your videos from previous trips!
The salon is also a comfortable place to just sit and relax, read a book or take a nap. We have an extensive library of interesting books, magazines, games and puzzles available for your use while onboard.
Click here for a VR Tour of NAI'A's Salon.
The Cuisine
We serve a cold breakfast of toast and cereal at sunrise, a full breakfast after the first dive, lunch after the second dive, snacks after the third dive.
A white-tablecloth and complementary wine dinner after the dusk dive. Coffee, tea, water, and juice are available 24 hours a day.
NAI'A Stewardess, Sereana, is available to provide for your every need an make the salon feel just like home - but better!
The Galley
Our Chefs serve up a wide variety of international flavors, all utilizing locally grown produce and meat. Special tastes, allergies and preferences, such as vegetarian menus and low-fat cooking, are effortlessly catered for at your request. A New Zealand publisher is now working on a NAI'A cookbook which features our unique recipes alongside underwater photographs.
We've recently lured Austrian gourmet genius, Christian Gruden, aboard NAI'A to revolutionize our menu. Some of you may know Christian from his days managing the culinary castille of Marlin Bay Resort. If you thought NAI'A's meals were delicious before, you'll drool over the flavors now!
Asst. Cook/ Salon Steward - Sereana Bainivalu. |
Asst. Cook/Cabin Steward Suli Tuilaucala. |
Chef - Peni Sovakalia. |
Nothing is more important in keeping up your energy for vigorous days of diving at sea than wholesome and delicious food. NAI'A's galley is on the maindeck aft of the salon and our Chefs work their magic. A charter on NAI'A is not the time to start a diet. Fortunately the meals are healthy, because most people eat more than they would if their will-power were better.
The Accommodation Deck
NAI'A has accommodation for 18 passengers in 9 air-conditioned staterooms with private ensuite heads. Four staterooms have queen-size beds, three have both a queen-size bed and a twin-size bunk above, and two have twin bunk beds. All the staterooms are larger than those on most dive vessels, with plenty of stowage for gear, and they are tastefully decorated in a muted Fijian motif. While strobe charging is best done in the camera room, each room has both 110 and 220 volt power to run whatever electrical goodies you have. Click below for a VR Tour of NAI'A's: |
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