Green Rhinopias This trip in February 1998 marks my second trip on the Tiata, the first being
in a different part of Papua New Guinea -- Kavieng in September, 1996. Tiata
changes locations to maximize seasonal weather and provide the best diving for
that particular season/location. Kavieng is more oriented towards pelagics whereas
Milne Bay is more of a rare critter location. Green Rhinopias
This is exemplified by the photographs chosen for this trip report which include, in order: Rhinopias (one of four animals found in three colors), Mantis Shrimp, Mimic Octopus, many cuttlefish and even two flamboyant cuttlefish.
The boat is GORGEOUS and is extremely well maintained with nice touches abounding.
While not roomy, it is adequate and exceptionally well laid out with scuba divers
in mind. Every inch is used maximally for crew storage and/or diver comfort.
Supplies are stored under the seats in the lounge, under the dive deck and in
other locations which would otherwise be dead space. Even the bathrooms are
designed to maximize space. The dive deck is not as spacious as the Telita or
especially the Bilikiki; with ten divers preparing to go in the water simultaneously
things can get crowded such that divers must be "processed" serially
rather than concurrently. There is an outdoor table for meals that will barely
accommodate all ten divers and this is often used for camera maintenance in
between dives. There are 12 small camera cubicles indoors, each with a charging
outlet but there is no camera table due to lack of room; cameras are stored
on the floor outside the lounge around the outside eating area; this does not
present a problem. On my trip we had 23 cameras for 10 divers and all were accommodated
easily. Tanks are steel rather than aluminum which meant that many of us did
not use or have the need for weight belts. Both 90 and 100 cubic foot tanks
are available. Air fills are 3000 psi+ and refills are promptly accommodated
even for back to back dives in shallow areas. We had some divers who spent 8+
hours underwater on some days. 
Mantis Shrimp
At 66 feet, the Tiata has 5 double cabins for guests, additional cabins for
the captain and for the cook, and one below deck for the crew of three. The
cabins are small but comfortable and are laid out well. The boat has two desalinators
so fresh water is plentiful with unlimited showers on the dive deck and in the
two heads which are internal to the boat and are used by the guests; there are
an additional two heads for use of the crew. As there was rarely any kind of
wait for the heads, this seemed adequate. The boat also has stabilizers which
can be beneficial in seas that are less than calm. On our trip, the weather
was nice and the seas were very calm except for one evening storm. 
Mimic Octopus
Meals on the Tiata were sensational! Martina is a trained gourmet chef and she is able to create amazing fare from a galley that is almost microscopic. Her desserts and snacks are often killers; she knows how to use chocolate in sinful ways with "Death by Chocolate" being the one receiving rave reviews and a command repeat performance.
There is a video monitor available for viewing video (Dave Miller is perhaps the best videographer I have ever seen) and good E6 processing available at a cost of $12/roll whenever there are five rolls in the jar.
Water temperature was a warm 84 degrees and most people wore little or no thermal protection but protection from stings is recommended. Some dives had strong currents but most had mild or no current at all. In some cases current lines were desirable and available. Visibility on the reef dives was exceptional approaching 100 feet horizontally.
Passages were often done at night (at a cost of sleep if you are unable to
sleep during passages but no passage was exceptionally long) so there were always
five dives available including a night dive. In some locations due to the shallow
depth, dives were 2 hours plus. The night dives were less sensational than in
my last trip to Milne Bay but good never the less. In some locations there seemed
to be a critter transition around five in the evening. 
Cuttlefish
The diving on our trip could be characterized as approximately 60% reef diving and 40% muck diving. With the excellent visibility there were many opportunities for excellent wide angle. The muck diving occasionally had visibility as low as 40 feet.
The day starts out with an early breakfast followed by a 7:30 AM dive. After a suitable surface interval (remember you are a LONG way from a chamber) the second morning dive is followed shortly be lunch. The first afternoon dive is at 1:30 and the second afternoon dive is about 4:00 PM. My only complaint is that dinner was not until 7:30 or sometimes later which made night diving start a tad late for my taste. There were plenty of snacks available at all times.
We were fortunate to find many rare critters, some of which are pictured within
this trip report. We found Mimic Octopus, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, many, many
regular cuttlefish, squid, Ghost Pipefish (less than previously), Dwarf Pipehorses,
Dwarf Seahorses, Rhinopias in three colors, Caledonian Stingers, Cockatoo Waspfish,
Bugs Bunny Scorpionfish, and a variety of nudibranchs. There were also various
and sundry shrimp, eels, etc. 
Flamboyant Cuttlefish
To say that Chris and Deda are personable is to greatly understate their charm, sense of humor, and warm personalities. It is obvious that they really care about whether their guests have a good time and they do everything in their power to make sure the trip runs smoothly and that each person feels included. During days 2 through 7, Chris teaches an underwater photo seminar that involves daily lectures approximating an hour and a half; in the evening Chris produces four slide shows that illustrate the elements of composition with some of his own slides. This teaching activity is best appreciated by an intermediate to advanced photographer but even beginners (and we had one) will learn and can acquire useful information. Chris is clear, articulate, knowledgeable and able to practice what he teaches right before your eyes. Chris has some equipment advice but the seminar will work for any camera system despite Chris being a user of housed SLR systems almost exclusively. This seminar will NOT be available after 1998.
If you are curious about what Chris shoots, as I was, I will share that information
with you. For macro, Chris uses a modified Ikelite housing (modified for attaching
TLC arms) and two Ikelite SS50 using a 100 or 200 mm lens on a Canon body. For
wide angle, Chris uses an Aquatica housing with two Ikelite SS200. Chris feels
that electronically the Ikelite strobes are the best on the market despite certain
mechanical shortcomings that Chris has gotten around with his own personal modifications.
In discussions with Chris, I found out that he plans to shoot wide angle in
the future using a Nikonos RS lens now that there is a German made 18 mm rectilinear
wide angle lens available. He is the exclusive North American distributor of
this lens as well as the German made teleconverter. To contact Chris and Deda
at Rainbowed Sea Tours click on the link. 
Coleman Shrimp Pair
Ok, so would I go back? I would dive Milne Bay again in a heartbeat and I would be happy to book the Tiata during the five months it moves to Milne Bay. Dave and Marti run an excellent cruise and I could not have been happier with the boat, diving, or the overall experience. I would repeat diving with Chris and Deda at every opportunity!!