The M/V Pindito Liveaboard Dive Vessel

The M/V Pindito  

The M/V Pindito is an all-wood vessel built in the traditional style of Indonesian Pinisi schooners. Owner Edi Frommenwiler designed the vessel from the ground up, and it is probably the smoothest boats I've ever been on; even when we were underway I was never bothered by engine noise nor the rocking of the boat. The cabins are roomy and air-conditioned, with private bathrooms. We had only a few minor problems: Steve's cabin leaked water, and my air conditioner would not automatically turn back on after power failures (every time the compressors were turned on). The indoor dining area was comfortable as well, although Edi's personal office happens to be located in the middle of it, which can be distracting at times. One more thing: everyone on board seems to smoke all the time (in between every dive, etc.). Even with our special request that all smoking happen at the rear of the boat, we were often surrounded by second-hand smoke. I know that this isn't a big deal for most of the international community, but it's worth noting. There's tremendous irony in travelling to one of the most remote places in the world and still being unable to escape second-hand cigarette smoke.

In general, Edi and the Pindito staff were very accomodating and were willing to do pretty much anything we asked of them. I climbed up the mast to take some photos, and zodiac rides around limestone islands were always merely a request away.

Scroll past these images to see all Pindito boat and crew images!
The M/V Pindito at Wajak	All diving is done from zodiacs
Edi Frommenwiler, owner	Dive guides Hausi and Annalisa
Dive guide Tomi	Me, up on the rear mast

Diving on the Pindito:

The dive deck is very large and doubles as an outdoor social area. The flooring is all ironwood and creates a comfortable and intimate atmosphere. Typically, we suited up 15 minutes before scheduled dive times, and the helpful crew always set our rigs up and moved them -- and our cameras -- to zodiacs on both sides of the vessel. Dive sites were always just a short ride from the Pindito. Everything ran more or less smoothly, although I did have some issues with the zodiac drivers. One of them ran over one of the dive guides (injuring her arm -- I saw it from below, and it was quite scary) and they in general did not inspire confidence.

Dives were guided by Hans "Hausi" Neuenschwander, Annalisa Gorelli, and Tomi. Neither Hausi nor Annalisa have been on the Pindito for very long, but they seem to be learning the waters quickly. Edi was also always in the water with us, but he normally dived away from our small group, which was unfortunate because I had hoped to leverage his tremendous knowledge of Rajah Ampat (he's been out here the longest of any operator and has fantastic eyes for critters).

Being a photographer on the Pindito:

Photography was relatively easy on the Pindito. "Pygmy" Hausi is an excellent photo assistant, and with his help I was much, much more productive (photographically) than I would have been otherwise. I can't emphasize that enough: without his help it would have been impossible for me to have taken so many keepers. I very much enjoyed his company underwater, and he found so many pygmy seahorses that I was overwhelmed. :) Annalisa seemed to specialize in tiny, tiny critters. Her favorite were bobtail squid, and she found as many as seven at a time during night dives. Tomi had a good eye and was pleasant, although his inability to speak English made it difficult for us to communicate.

There are no camera tables or dedicated work surfaces onboard, which presents a potential problem for boats full of photographers. But because we only had three guests, we commandeered one of the dining tables to use as a dedicated work surface. Edi told us he rarely has boats full of photographers, and that when he does, most guests work with their cameras and housings downstairs in their cabins -- a prospect that sounds extremely inconvenient for housings as large and "many-parted" (you like my made up words?) as ours are.

Last words:

All my quibbles above are minor. I like to measure my travels by the productivity of my photography, and my time on the Pindito was perhaps the most productive (for macro work) of any trip I've been on so far. I had a great time on the boat and enjoyed meeting Edi, whose knowledge of local waters in the Rajah Ampat area is perhaps unparalleled.