First timer questions about liveaboard - BA IV

[drrich2]

It was still called the Sun Dancer II back then.
Sun Dancer 2 (Belize) May 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ving-belize-via-sun-dancer-2-may-2nd-9th.html

I’m always needing to go to the toilet immediately after a dive.

Go during. Less stressful. Another reason I like my front zip shorty...I just keep telling people I unzip on the way in & fan it a bit because I get hot...

Richard.

 

[Dogbowl]

It was still called the Sun Dancer II back then.
Sun Dancer 2 (Belize) May 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ving-belize-via-sun-dancer-2-may-2nd-9th.html



Go during. Less stressful. Another reason I like my front zip shorty...I just keep telling people I unzip on the way in & fan it a bit because I get hot...

Richard.

@drrich2 , wonderful review! Your and @gbf ’s reviews and comments were truly very helpful. Now I have a much better idea of what it will be like. And I’ll be able to better prepare!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Ok, gotcha! No agreement required...hubby is my roomie. I ALWAYS get to go first. I tell him women can’t hold it.

I have to go so badly after a dive no matter how much I try to empty before the dive. It’s my 1 of 2 claims to fame while on a liveaboard. How urgently I need to pee post-dive and how much I can eat - hollow legs. .

 

[drrich2]

RCB1882 posted a Trip Report: Belize Aggressor IV (April 2017) thread. Complimentary.

Key Largo Dive Center posted in early July 2016 the thread, Just Returned From Belize Aggressor IV. Complimentary.

Lavalamp posted the thread Trip Report - Belize Aggressor IV Liveaboard - December 2016. Sounds like perception was an overall good but not exceptional experience; considered it okay value for money at the discount price. Also drop down to Post #5 where gbf gave a brief review, and WrmBluH2O's review in Post #6.

Naturally when researching trips it's nice to find nothing but 5-star excellence every time with all of many reviews. In the real world of dealing with varied weather patterns, oceanic conditions, marine life activity, customer preferences/standards, crew mix that week, etc...not all reviews will be fully consistent, and it's good to read a mix.

There are probably more, but those were quick to dig up and fairly recent. I figure other people researching this live-aboard may find this thread in the future and drawing on a broader range of perspectives may be useful.

Richard.

P.S.: Disclaimer: So far, both my Aggressor live-aboard trips were purchased during big sales; I haven't paid 'list price' yet. Not saying it wouldn't have been worth it, but deep discounts sweeten the deal!

 

[Damselfish]

Some boats (don't know about BA3) especially don't want shoes/sandals with black rubber bottoms marking up their nice white decks, or grubby street shoes. I've seen some have a basket to put your shoes in as you board. Most people will go barefoot all week. I always have some kind of sandals to wear around when I want, on sun decks in particular as sometimes you can fry an egg up there. No one has ever objected. Be careful of something like flip flops being more of a tripping hazard getting caught on bulkheads or ladders. Occasionally I'll wear socks especially in the evening, maybe using some moisturizer. I find my feet get too beat up going barefoot all the time between rough surfaces and whatever.

One firm rule on pretty much any liveaboard is dry clothes and no wetsuits inside, so the boat and furniture doesn't get all skanky. I usually rinse me and the wetsuit at the same time while taking it off under the deck shower. And just hang it up. should be plenty of hangers. Towel dry the bathing suit while still on me, pop into the cabin and change to a dry suit. (Heading to your cabin in a rinsed dampish bathing suit is ok - you've rinsed off the sea life, and you're not plopping yourself on the couch.) Hang the bathing suit on a railing or maybe a line over your spot to dry. Repeat. (For a woman's one piece, or men' trunks with a liner, you can loop it through itself on a railing no clips needed, but they're still handy to bring. Can't do the loop trick with a towel, and it seems boats never have enough clips.) I bring around 4 bathing suits so I always have a dry one. Also often 2 diveskins so one of them is usually dryish, but that might not work with a heavier suit luggage-wise. My husband doesn't even bother changing between morning or afternoon dives, he either stays on the dive deck messing with his camera or maybe goes up to the sundeck.

Every boat has a slightly different towel routine, but the BA3 will supply towels for dive deck use. Some boats will have shampoo by the dive deck shower - depends how they feel about all the soap going in the water. It may be a giant bottle of something generic from whatever passes as Costco locally, or sometimes people leave things and you wind up with a whole beauty salon back there. Last boat I was on didn't do shampoo because they felt it made the deck too slippery. I rarely shower in the cabin every day especially if there is shampoo outside, the dive deck shower is easier than a cramped one in the cabin, and once you're dry and relatively clean you will probably call it good enough and not want to bother. Expect some kind of shampoo/soap in dispensers in the shower in your cabin, but you may want your own at least for the "returning to civilization" shower. Good conditioner especially. (I'll guess most guys probably don't care what kind of shampoo is in there.)

Regs and BCs stay on the tank for the duration. The theory is they never really dry out anyway, also fresh water is limited on a boat. Stuff gets rinsed after the last dive day. Once all the cameras are out of the camera tanks they will become gear tanks. Often it's hard to get it done as well as I'd like on a boat and I will re-rinse when I get home.

 

[Damselfish]

With regards to the clamps you suggested buying, and clipping to the rails...what rails are you referring to? I don’t see any swimsuits clipped anywhere in your pics. Also, what size clamps would you recommend? I suppose the size of the rails would determine size of clamp.

The railings you'll find lots of around the boat will be like 1.5-2 inch diameter. But you don't need something big enough to clamp directly onto a railing, you just want tight and sturdy so they don't pop off or break. Put whatever over the railing, and clip the 2 sides of the fabric together below the railing. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[Dogbowl]

The railings you'll find lots of around the boat will be like 1.5-2 inch diameter. But you don't need something big enough to clamp directly onto a railing, you just want tight and sturdy so they don't pop off or break. Put whatever over the railing, and clip the 2 sides of the fabric together below the railing. Hopefully that makes sense.

Yes, that makes sense. Thanks!

 

[KeithG]

I will be going on the Belize Aggressor IV in April and have some questions. I’m sure I’ll have more as I get closer to my departure but I’d like to start off with a few.

1. Footwear vs. no footwear - I’ve heard some people say no footwear is allowed onboard but I’m not sure if that was specific to BA IV or other liveaboards. For hygienic reasons (just reading that other thread - Severe soft tissue infection, presumed related to rental wetsuit), I’d really prefer to wear a pair of flip flops onboard if possible.

2. Can someone describe to me the process of how one changes into dry clothes after each dive? So I climb up the ladder with my gear on, fins off, go to my dedicated spot and remove my gear...then what? Is there a fresh water hose to hose down my wetsuit, beanie, booties, socks? Or just a rinse tub that everyone dunks their stuff in? Are bcd’s or regulators even removed from the tanks at all and rinsed after every dive? Do people shower on deck and change into dry clothes there, or shower in their own cabins? I don’t even know if the BA IV has showers on deck.

3. Are towels provided on deck and in the cabins or do I need to bring them? What about soap/body wash/shampoo?

1 No footwear required or desired. The crew will discourage foot wear as your bare foot gets better traction on wet decks compared to most foot wear. It also eliminates a trip hazard.

2 Dump your gear at your station, take the first stage off your tank, dump your wetsuit and booties in the rinse tank containing disinfectant, mask goes in a separate bucket, cameras go in another. take a shower on the back deck, grab your personal numbered deck towel and dry off. hang up wetsuit using provided hangers. Stand upstairs in the sun for a few minutes to warm up, go to your room switch into your other bathing suit, tie your wet bathing suit to the railing and put your first stage back on your full tank. eat a snack and rest for an hour. the staff will hose down your bcd / regs / tank once or twice a day as they rinse off the dive deck.

3 towels are provided in the room. they stay in the room. personal numbered towels are provided on deck. they stay on deck. shampoo body wash is provided in room and on deck. bring your own brand if you are picky.

 

[Shasta_man]

Note on post dive cleanup: you'd be surprised how quickly the next dive comes up. Seems like a long time but between marveling at what you just saw on the dive, talking with other divers equally stunned, stuffing some food in, it goes quick. Add any camera fiddling and it's over.

My post dive is typically as Giffenk describes in #2 above where you take your suit off, dunk it in a rinse tank, then hang up to drip "dry", then just a rinse off in the outside shower. I wear a skin because it dries quickly, makes putting wet suits on easy and I don't blind people with too much skin that hasn't seen enough sun. Change to dry shorts and done.

Amazing how many nuts and bolts sticking out like the bolt that tore open my little toe on the deck in the Solomons. Stuffing that in and out of a boot sucks so I wear slippers (they protect toes rather than leaving them exposed like flip flops) with non-black rubber bottoms.

And my rule is if I didn't pee twice during every dive, I'm not hydrated enough. I'd love to use that rule on land but it gets embarassing

 

[Dogbowl]

Note on post dive cleanup: you'd be surprised how quickly the next dive comes up. Seems like a long time but between marveling at what you just saw on the dive, talking with other divers equally stunned, stuffing some food in, it goes quick. Add any camera fiddling and it's over.

My post dive is typically as Giffenk describes in #2 above where you take your suit off, dunk it in a rinse tank, then hang up to drip "dry", then just a rinse off in the outside shower. I wear a skin because it dries quickly, makes putting wet suits on easy and I don't blind people with too much skin that hasn't seen enough sun. Change to dry shorts and done.

Amazing how many nuts and bolts sticking out like the bolt that tore open my little toe on the deck in the Solomons. Stuffing that in and out of a boot sucks so I wear slippers (they protect toes rather than leaving them exposed like flip flops) with non-black rubber bottoms.

And my rule is if I didn't pee twice during every dive, I'm not hydrated enough. I'd love to use that rule on land but it gets embarassing

Almost sounds like Crocs would be appropriate. Non-slip, covered toe, lightweight...ugly...