Febrina

Febrina has been taking divers around the Bismarck Sea since 1991, and her home berth has not moved once in all that time: the jetty of Walindi Plantation Resort in Kimbe Bay, on the island of New Britain. Owners and crew are the same people — skipper Alan Raabe and trip director Josie Wai Wai; the company is Walindi Plantation Dive Cruises. FeBrina is painted in large script along the hull, so there is no mistaking her, even though the hull has changed from dark blue to white with a dark boot stripe over the years.

Size is the first thing to know. She is a 22-metre monohull built in 1972 and refitted in 2010, with all seven cabins on one lower deck and the engine room in the middle. The operator says “up to 10 guests”, and almost every departure is sold for ten. On selected dates twelve places open up — that is when the forward cabins 5 and 6 go out as twin share instead of sole use. Places are sold individually, and when one berth is left in a shared cabin the booking system states the gender of the cabin mate; we carry that straight into the schedule. The whole vessel can also be taken: the rate is called “9+1” — you pay for nine places and get ten, minimum group ten people.

The cruising ground is wider than “Kimbe Bay” suggests, and it decides which flight you buy. Trips around Kimbe Bay, out to the Witu Islands and to Fathers Reefs start and finish at the Walindi jetty, which means Hoskins airport (HKN). The New Hanover itineraries start or finish at Kavieng (KVG) in northern New Ireland. The East and West New Britain route links Kimbe with Rabaul (Tokua airport, RAB), and the exploratory run along the east coast of New Ireland goes Rabaul to Kavieng — with boarding not at a jetty but by tender from Kokopo Beach Bungalows at 4:00 pm. Flights are the guest’s own; the airport transfers on embarkation and disembarkation day are already in the fare, and guests staying at Walindi before or after get their resort transfers free.

The way in is through Port Moresby, and an overnight there is not obligatory: the international terminal has a domestic transfer check-in desk, so a same-day connection lets you re-lodge your bags without leaving the building. Air Niugini gives an extra 15 kg for dive gear when the international and domestic legs fall on the same day — an arrangement with the national divers association. Everyone leaving Port Moresby pays a 50 kina environment levy at the airport.

The operator is plain about money. The fare covers the cabin, full board with snacks, unlimited tea and coffee, filled 12-litre tanks with belt and weights, a light daily laundry, the transfers on arrival and departure day — and the diving itself, four or five dives a day with the first at 6:30 am, night dives included. There are exactly two compulsory charges, both invoiced in advance: an environmental and safety fee of $9 per night, and a conservation fee of $20 per trip. Nothing else is payable on board as a matter of course — no separate payment to reef owners is published, even though reefs in Papua New Guinea are held under customary title. Nitrox is sold as a whole-trip package: $210 on 6–8 night departures, $270 on 9–10 nights and $300 on 11–12; the price of a casual fill is not published. There is rental gear on board but few sets and sizes, so ask ahead — no price list is published. Anything bought inside the country carries the local 10% tax. No spirits are kept aboard: wine comes with dinner, and you are welcome to bring your own duty free.

The entry bar is higher than on most boats: Advanced Open Water or equivalent and at least 30 logged dives. Diver evacuation insurance is compulsory — the nearest chamber is in Port Moresby, the country has no rescue service, and any evacuation is by private aircraft at the guest’s own cost; cover can be arranged on board if needed.

The year is laid out by the wind, and the skipper explains it himself. The season opens in March with short runs to the Witu Islands and around Kimbe Bay, on light north-westerlies and settled water. April to June the winds stay light and the sea lies down, which is when the longer itineraries come back. July and August bring the south-east trades, so the trips shorten again: Fathers Reefs and Lolobau Island, sheltered by the active volcano Ulawun about a mile high, plus the Walindi to Rabaul crossings. September to December are the best months, and that is when the boat ranges furthest — the Witus, New Hanover, Dyaul Island and the channels off Kavieng. There are no departures in January or February.

As for the diving: Kimbe Bay means seamounts rising from deep water to just under the surface, coral-covered walls and the gardens everyone knows from the classic Walindi pictures, plus a Japanese Zero fighter lying at fourteen metres. The Witus are volcanic islands with the Lama Shoals seamount, coral arches, black-sand night dives and the flooded caldera of Garove Island; villagers paddle out to trade fruit and vegetables. Fathers Reefs are offshore banks with abrupt topography, arches and swim-throughs that pull in sharks, rays and schooling barracuda and jacks. Rabaul is jetty muck diving: frogfish, ghost pipefish, harlequin and bumblebee shrimp, mandarinfish, coconut octopus. Febrina does not dive the Rabaul wrecks — the operator says outright that these are specialty dives and recommends local operators for them.

She was not built for diving but she was converted for it properly: a wide dive deck with a camera table, 110 V and 220 V charging outlets, a separate rinse tank for camera gear, and a water-level platform with a ladder for getting in and out. The saloon and lounge are air-conditioned, the sun deck is shaded and cushioned, and the laundry is done every day, so there is little point packing much.