Underwater Photography and Scuba Diving in the world of Cayman's Cathy Church

The Adventure Continues to the...
Solomon Islands
May 16 - 30, 2006 with a Free U/W Photo Course
It's a great trip!

You can combo this trip with an earlier trip to PNG, Kimbe Bay,
on the Star Dancer May 4 - 14, 2006.
Take a whopping $500.00 total discount ($250 per trip) if you take both trips.

NEW: Book in March and take ANOTHER DISCOUNT of $250.00 off.

The M/V Bilikiki

It was a typical day on the M/V Bilikiki in the Solomon Islands. The water was glassy smooth, the group friendly and laughing. We were enjoying hors d'oeuvres, watching the s

unset, and waving to the more ambitious divers coming back from their dusk dive. Sometimes I think I just can't take another one of these trips, but Herb and I are tough. We have made fourteen trips here and we've learned to endure these evenings of utter relaxation. I'll bet you could endure it, too. Plan now to join us.

The Bilikiki is 120 feet long, and has a crew of 13, including Frank, a full time captain who has been guiding the ship through the islands for over ten years. The ten staterooms each have double lower and single upper bunks, with private head, sink and shower. And, the entire boat is delightfully free of noise and fumes.Food is delicious, plentiful and varied, with special dishes prepared to fit our diet requests. Islanders deliver fresh fruits and vegetables by canoe. We dine in soft breezes on the covered, spacious, open foredeck.We get great weather! On our previous eleven trips, the water has been flat and the crossings smooth. April/May and August are the best times to come here. And, because the water is calm, you aren't always struggling to keep your balance or ward off seasickness. Film processing on the Bilikiki is superb, so you can enjoy your beautiful photos right away and perhaps adjust your techniques to get even better pictures on the next roll of film.
The diving Diving is easy. Before each dive, I prepare my cameras at any of seven work areas. Then I have to put on my dive skin and actually carry my own mask as I step into the dive skiff. By the second day the crew knows which tank is mine, so I don't even have to point to it, it is already sitting on the skiff. I have to endure up to two or three minutes in the balmy weather before we arrive at the dive site where the crew will lift the tank from its holder and help me into it. Although I will have to put on my fins and even fall into the water on my own, the crew would push me in if I asked them to.

The dive may be a drift dive along a wall, or a quiet dive on a shallow reef. You should come dive with us and swim among schooling jacks or photograph playful clown fish. You'll love finding crocodile fish, leaf fish, cuttlefish, nudibranchs and Christmas tree worms of every color. Each time I think that I have seen it all, there are always new treats and more wonderful surprises. Special sights on our previous trips included golden soft corals in shallow water, Weedy scorpion fish, Caledonia stingers, a close hammerhead encounter, a cooperative orange mantis shrimp, a red lined cucumber and FINALLY the elusive Harlequin Ghost Pipefish!

The water is WARM!! Eighty-five (even eighty-seven) degrees is typical so even I don't get cold on the longest dive! Wherever you surface, you will be picked up promptly and whisked back to the Bilikiki for a hot shower on deck, a fresh towel, and an after-dive snack while the crew rinses your BC and regulator and sets up a fresh tank. If it is too much service, you could ask them to cut back.
Free Photo Course Photographers can enjoy a FREE five-day U/W photo course, and Herb and I both offer individual help with all types of Nikonos, Sea & Sea and housed systems. I will share anything that I know with you, at no extra cost.
Non-photographers can find over seven other ways to relax. (I'll send a free photo magnet to everyone who lists seven things that don't include eating and drinking.) The islands are marvelous The Solomon Islands, north of Australia and east of Papua New Guinea, are primitive, clean and friendly. The crew of the Bilikiki have established a good relationship with many local islanders who welcome us with dances and flowers, and their beautiful carvings of graceful sea creatures are worth carrying home! The islands have several dominant religions, primarily Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist and Church of England. They follow their religions actively and it is interesting to hear them sing their church songs in English.

The end of the day

Ten paragraphs back I started telling you about a typical day. Now it is over. I enjoyed four terrific dives with little effort. I am awaiting the delivery of a cool drink, watching the sunset, laughing over silly stories with Herb and our friends on the upper deck of the Bilikiki. But wait! This doesn't have to be just MY story...this could be YOUR story! Adjust your schedule, straighten out your priorities, take control over what is important and join us on our next dive adventure! Call 345-949-7415 now to reserve.
Costs for *14-night trip Cost of trip per person for the cruise is $5510.00 and the discounted cost for cash or check is $5350.00. Take a $400.00 discount when you book your round trip air/overnight hotel travel package through Poseidon Ventures. *Due to possible disturbances of the air flight schedules, cruise dates may change slightly and may affect the actual number of nights (between twelve and fourteen nights), that we will be on the boat. To avoid having to switch the costs around, the price will remain the same regardless of the number of nights. Take another $250.00 just for fun. The total can now be as low as $4700.00 for 14 nights. That is LOW.

Questions and reservations, call 345-949-7415. Poseidon Ventures in Newport Beach, CA is our exclusive agent for all international flight arrangements for this trip. This is because if airline schedules change during our trip, (which they did on our last two trips to the Solomon Islands) one contact to Poseidon is all that is necessary to make new arrangements for all of us. Since overseas negotiating can be complex, it is hard to bargain as a group with tickets that have been issued by more than one agent. We also recommend that you book your air from your home city to LAX with Poseidon. This will help with your LAX connections if there are any schedule changes on our international flights. Don't forget your $400.00 discount with us if you book with them.