When it comes to diving the Solomon Islands, the fact that (somewhat) sister boats Bilikiki and Spirit are the only game in town is not a bad thing. Neither of these boats would be called the prettiest girl at the ball, but they are very comfortable and well-suited to their task. At 125 feet, these large boats have plenty of space for the maximum 20 or so divers that they take.
Both indoor and outdoor common space is more than adequate and comfortably appointed. The camera room is not enormous, particularly for a full boat of hard-core photographers – but has adequate power points and can be made to work for a sensible group.
Rooms on the boat are comfortable (it is a boat and not a Four Seasons), with private baths and showers for most of the rooms. The staff onboard are very helpful and friendly, looking after any needs one might imagine. The food is great, with small but diverse buffets for lunch and dinner, and plenty of snacks (including fresh warm cookies) in between.
As with all live-aboards, a trip on these boats is about the diving, the diving and the diving. It is generally possible to do four or five dives a day, with bottom times of an hour at least. The diving itself covers everything from open water pelagics, to attractive reefs, to WWII wrecks to surprisingly attractive mangroves. The skipper and crew seem to choose wisely based on sea and weather conditions and the interests of the divers. The boats change location seamlessly in between dives or in the evenings, covering a long stretch of the island chain with no fuss or inconvenience.
Almost all of the diving is done from ‘tinnies’ – metal tenders that take the divers from the anchored boat to the nearby targeted dive site and this system really works. The local tinny captains are both friendly and highly competent at keeping track of their divers underwater. Diving can be done with a guide from the boat or just in buddy pairs – but regardless the tinny always seems to appear from nowhere when one reaches the surface.
The final bonus of a trip on these boats is the brief (optional) island visits, when the boat pulls up to fill its water tanks or buy fresh supplies from the local people. This is not the commercially packaged ‘village tour’ that one might expect from a cruise ship holiday. The lovely locals in these isolated islands are happy and welcoming in a manner that definitely makes this an additive part of the trip.
A journey on these boats begins and ends in Honiara, the very undeveloped capital of the Solomon Islands. While it is a basic place by any sensible measure, Honiara is worth a couple of days at the beginning or end of the boat trip – with an interesting WWII history for fans of such matters.