Our floating hotel for the week is a great set up for the type of conditions that the Cosmoledo Atoll presents. The ship is 112 feet long and was completely refit three years ago to comfortably sleep 14 guests. The guest cabins are below deck, while the salon, bar and tackle station, which are the primary gathering areas on the ship, are up top. The salon and bar are spacious and styled in an open concept that creates a very social atmosphere. The salon/ bar area is fully air conditioned and there is a decent library on the front side of the dining area. There is also good sound system for music as well as DVD/VCR video facilities located right beside the bar.
All meals are taken in the salon at set times. The food is a combination of traditional Seychelles dishes, standard North American fare, along with a heavy seafood influence. While almost everything that our guests catch is photographed and released, we are only too happy to keep the odd catch for dinner. Yellow fin tuna, Wahoo and grouper are big favorites and if the right sized fish is caught, it will more than likely end up on the dinner table that night. There is an excellent ice maker on board the ship which provides unlimited amounts of ice for guests as well as an espresso machine that helps kick start just about everyone's day. There are two desalination machines that work 24/7 so there is plenty of fresh water on board at all times.
The bar set up on board is pretty straight forward. Beer and wine are available for purchase on the ship. SeyBrew (the local Seychelles lager) along with Stella Artois and Heineken are the usual beers available, while the wine (red and white) is usually French or Chilean. Hard liquor is not for sale on board the ship. However, guests are welcome to bring alcohol onto the ship. The best bet is to purchase spirits such as single malt scotch, vodka, gin and rum at the Duty Fee Shop in our European point of departure, for consumption aboard the ship.
At the entrance to the salon there is a staircase that heads down to the sleeping cabins. There are seven double birth cabins located below deck, each with its own en suite bathroom. There are two beds in each cabin with storage space designed to provide as much space as possible for 2 guests. Each guests cabin is fully air conditioned and there is daily made service for each cabin. The power outlets are 220 volts (European) so a power adaptor is needed for our North American guests who wish to use lap tops or other electrical devices.
The tackle station where guests rig up and store gear is located at the back of the ship. There is plenty of rod storage space and the lots of room for tackle bags, flats boots and rod tubes. There is a large sitting area located just off the tackle station and most guests end up here with a cocktail in hand at the end of the day to watch the sunset or to just dissect the day's events. There is also a sun deck area up top on the ships second level with sun chairs. There are also two fixed tables and the sitting area that is completely shaded when it gets too hot out. The third level, directly above the bridge, is a great place to photograph your surroundings and is, without a doubt, the highest vantage point for 100's of miles.
The crew on board is probably the best we've ever encountered on any ship we've fished from. There are 10 crew members in total for only 14 guests and they truly do look after everything that our guests could possibly need during their stay. Warm and friendly, the on board crew help make the trip almost as memorable as the fishing.
