scubafanatic
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Nekton Mayaguana Trip Report
- Thread starter Rand
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scubafanatic
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I dove with SPREE ...MANY.....times while they were still 'here' in the Texas Flower Gardens, and NITROX is included as 'standard' in the trip price, meaning the trip costs the same whether or not you even use NITROX......also, SPREE can even do HP (real 3500 psi) fills if your tank is rated for it. SPREE does this because they consider the extra safety margin NITROX provides for high-intensity/frequency liveaboard diving to be invaluable, hence they REALLY try to encourage NITROX usage....moreover, the SPREE's NITROX system works without fail and provides properly filled tanks.
scubafanatic
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Boy, if that happened to me, I'd HIGHLY resent it! It astounds me that the boat doesn't realize the damage the forced/worthless 'excursion' is doing to their reputation and business.....in this desperate economy, with the scuba/travel business in such trouble and so competitive, I'm amazed they are this shortsighted!
tbrady
Registered
Some of my pics from this same trip.
wags684
Registered
I'll be on the Rorqual on Mar 27th and had a few questions. Thanks for the great trip report.
Did you find you used your snorkel much/at all while you were there? Also, I know the ads say that this boat will eliminate sea sickness. I am not normally susceptible to sea sickness, but this will be my first liveaboard and I am not sure if it is worse than normal. Did you see the need for sea sickness meds?
Did you find you used your snorkel much/at all while you were there? Also, I know the ads say that this boat will eliminate sea sickness. I am not normally susceptible to sea sickness, but this will be my first liveaboard and I am not sure if it is worse than normal. Did you see the need for sea sickness meds?
Darnold9999
Contributor
Its not going to eliminate it, I managed to get quite queazy a couple of times on these boats, but in the same conditions on a mono hull I would have been feeding the fish as opposed to being merely uncomfortable for an hour or two.
The design makes a significant difference if you are suceptable.
I would take the meds with you but unless conditions are forecast to be poor would not take them.
The design makes a significant difference if you are suceptable.
I would take the meds with you but unless conditions are forecast to be poor would not take them.
robint
Contributor
take your snorkel and keep it down on the dive deck under your seat... you never know when a pod dolphins come to play! When they do, everyone will make a run for the deck for mask, snorkel, and fins!
seasickness is greatly reduced on the Nekton boats unless there is some really rough water. There is a slight motion to the boat, but after the first day you won't notice it at all... those submerged pontoons work well to stabilize!
I took a package of ginger tablets on our trips but didn't really need them. (Bahamas trips, not this itinerary)robin
rudymc1977
New
I was on the same trip and wanted to add a few things to the trip review.
I was a little nervous about spending an entire week on a boat because I can get seasick very easily. I had no problems on this trip. I put a patch on once not because I felt sick, but more as a precaution to avoid getting sick. I had the patch on for about an hour and it washed off after my first dive. I didn’t find the need to replace it. I felt fine all week.
The crew was excellent! After our dives they were very interested in our opinions of the sites. Even asked for us to share our thoughts on the names of some of the sites and let them know if we could come up with better names. After one of the drift dives many of the divers suggested that a mooring be set in that area. After hearing our thoughts about the site the captain marked it in his GPS. They plan to return to the area and see if they can set a pin. It was exciting to know that we were some of the very first to dive in that area and that our input could be used to establish sites.
Parts of the trip sort of felt like we were on an expedition. A lot of the sites the crew hadn’t even dived yet and they eagerly solicited our info on the dives to supplement their site maps. Because the sites were brand new, a few of the briefings consisted of a quick look overboard by the DM and a depth reading from the captain. That was pretty cool going into the unknown. They wanted to know if we found anything interesting that they could point out to other divers or add to their maps.
The sites were extremely undisturbed and pristine. No kicked over corals, not even a fin swipe in the sand. You could tell by some of the curious and/or skittish fish that they hadn’t seen a diver before. The reefs and walls were very healthy. There are not many locations that can claim these attributes. Many of the sites had some incredible topography: giant coral mounds and large swim thrus, deep cracks, and overhangs begging to be explored—and those are just the sites we saw—there is so much more around the island that no one has seen yet
I’m sure the drift dives will be replaced by regular moored dives once all the moorings are put in place. It is a work in progress. The captain chose to do drift dives so we wouldn’t tire of the same 3-4 sites that they had set up at the time. I’m sure each week they’ll be adding more moorings for new dive sites.
Hats off to the crew for still maintaining their regular duties on the decks while being tasked to send out work crews to drill and cement the moorings. I’m sure they had to forego any scheduled breaks they may have had and definitely worked longer shifts to improve the dive sites and keep the customers happy. In talking to some of the crew, they seemed to enjoy the break from the norm in drilling the new pins. For many of them, it was the first time they’ve gotten to do anything like this before.
One of the crew members on our trip was a marine biologist. She gave a few presentations in the evening before our night dive. I think having her on the boat was an extra perk. She was very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions and discuss marine life.
One evening a hammerhead shark was spotted. I missed it, because I was changing my batteries in my camera and didn’t make it up to the sundeck in time. Another evening a whale was spotted. I was able to make it up to the sundeck in time to see it. That was wonderful! Other fish seen were very large groupers, file fish, some curious barracuda, lots of jacks, large crabs, nurse shark, puffer fish, sea biscuits, turtles, stingrays, eagle rays, trigger fish, etc.
Tour—no trip is perfect and since this is a new itinerary, there are sure to be some bugs to be worked out. The tour wasn’t bad. Maybe they could add several scheduled stops and talk more about the history of the island, tour the old airbase, talk about the pirate influence, local jobs and life in general on the island. In any event, it was just a few hours. What else we were going to do while our gear dried? They could even do a powerpoint presentation showing some unique aspects of the island while we ate at the resort.
Many of us took the opportunity at the resort to comb the beach and several of us came back with some nice shells and even some small corals that had washed ashore.
It is easy to focus on the negatives and forget about everything that was great about the trip. The positives far outweighed the negatives. And, all in all, I think everyone on the boat enjoyed the trip and were happy to be some of the “pioneers” in this uncharted destination.
I enjoyed my week on the Rorqual and plan to dive with them again.
I was a little nervous about spending an entire week on a boat because I can get seasick very easily. I had no problems on this trip. I put a patch on once not because I felt sick, but more as a precaution to avoid getting sick. I had the patch on for about an hour and it washed off after my first dive. I didn’t find the need to replace it. I felt fine all week.
The crew was excellent! After our dives they were very interested in our opinions of the sites. Even asked for us to share our thoughts on the names of some of the sites and let them know if we could come up with better names. After one of the drift dives many of the divers suggested that a mooring be set in that area. After hearing our thoughts about the site the captain marked it in his GPS. They plan to return to the area and see if they can set a pin. It was exciting to know that we were some of the very first to dive in that area and that our input could be used to establish sites.
Parts of the trip sort of felt like we were on an expedition. A lot of the sites the crew hadn’t even dived yet and they eagerly solicited our info on the dives to supplement their site maps. Because the sites were brand new, a few of the briefings consisted of a quick look overboard by the DM and a depth reading from the captain. That was pretty cool going into the unknown. They wanted to know if we found anything interesting that they could point out to other divers or add to their maps.
The sites were extremely undisturbed and pristine. No kicked over corals, not even a fin swipe in the sand. You could tell by some of the curious and/or skittish fish that they hadn’t seen a diver before. The reefs and walls were very healthy. There are not many locations that can claim these attributes. Many of the sites had some incredible topography: giant coral mounds and large swim thrus, deep cracks, and overhangs begging to be explored—and those are just the sites we saw—there is so much more around the island that no one has seen yet
I’m sure the drift dives will be replaced by regular moored dives once all the moorings are put in place. It is a work in progress. The captain chose to do drift dives so we wouldn’t tire of the same 3-4 sites that they had set up at the time. I’m sure each week they’ll be adding more moorings for new dive sites.
Hats off to the crew for still maintaining their regular duties on the decks while being tasked to send out work crews to drill and cement the moorings. I’m sure they had to forego any scheduled breaks they may have had and definitely worked longer shifts to improve the dive sites and keep the customers happy. In talking to some of the crew, they seemed to enjoy the break from the norm in drilling the new pins. For many of them, it was the first time they’ve gotten to do anything like this before.
One of the crew members on our trip was a marine biologist. She gave a few presentations in the evening before our night dive. I think having her on the boat was an extra perk. She was very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions and discuss marine life.
One evening a hammerhead shark was spotted. I missed it, because I was changing my batteries in my camera and didn’t make it up to the sundeck in time. Another evening a whale was spotted. I was able to make it up to the sundeck in time to see it. That was wonderful! Other fish seen were very large groupers, file fish, some curious barracuda, lots of jacks, large crabs, nurse shark, puffer fish, sea biscuits, turtles, stingrays, eagle rays, trigger fish, etc.
Tour—no trip is perfect and since this is a new itinerary, there are sure to be some bugs to be worked out. The tour wasn’t bad. Maybe they could add several scheduled stops and talk more about the history of the island, tour the old airbase, talk about the pirate influence, local jobs and life in general on the island. In any event, it was just a few hours. What else we were going to do while our gear dried? They could even do a powerpoint presentation showing some unique aspects of the island while we ate at the resort.
Many of us took the opportunity at the resort to comb the beach and several of us came back with some nice shells and even some small corals that had washed ashore.
It is easy to focus on the negatives and forget about everything that was great about the trip. The positives far outweighed the negatives. And, all in all, I think everyone on the boat enjoyed the trip and were happy to be some of the “pioneers” in this uncharted destination.
I enjoyed my week on the Rorqual and plan to dive with them again.
rudymc1977,
welcome to this board.
thank you for the trip report.
you worded a very detailed and positive report.
it seems that other divers had different observations.
have you thought about your next trip?
regards,
welcome to this board.
thank you for the trip report.
you worded a very detailed and positive report.
it seems that other divers had different observations.
have you thought about your next trip?
regards,
robint
Contributor
rudymc1977 - thanks for your report and welcome to SB. You should fill in your profile though so we can get to know you better and therefore have a reference for your report (where you have been, how long diving, etc.)
My husband and I were on the very first Medio Reef trip back in 2008. It was awesome being the first ones to dive several of the sites, give our opinions about whether a pin should be set there or not, and to name them. Ron was the one who came up with H2Oasis for one of the sites.
Our crew was also out drilling the mooring pins daily, which was fun to chat about with them.
My thoughts about that land tour are that you are right, it is a new itinerary and lots of bugs must be worked out. The criticism they get now will help them to make it better and understand what works and what doesn't.
robin
My husband and I were on the very first Medio Reef trip back in 2008. It was awesome being the first ones to dive several of the sites, give our opinions about whether a pin should be set there or not, and to name them. Ron was the one who came up with H2Oasis for one of the sites.
Our crew was also out drilling the mooring pins daily, which was fun to chat about with them.
My thoughts about that land tour are that you are right, it is a new itinerary and lots of bugs must be worked out. The criticism they get now will help them to make it better and understand what works and what doesn't.
robin
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