Red Sea liveaboard trifecta?

[rmorgan]

The Red Sea's on our list, and friends recently asked that we look at the Seawolf Dominator. Three Two issues concern us, and I'm curious whether there are boats in those waters which resolves any or all of them. The most concerning is the Zodiac issues recently discussed--boarding the Zodiac geared up, and the absence of ladders for re-entry. I've just finished rehabbing a bit of calf/Achilles nastiness, which makes me leery of the first, and my wife has some fancy back hardware which makes getting hauled over the pontoon less than ideal (we can hoik ourselves up and over the pontoons, but I've seen some videos of folks getting lifted in by one arm, which seems like a bad plan for aging shoulders). Second--are pretty much all of the Red Sea boats open everywhere for smokers? And third second--are there some with good camera-management facilities? Not necessarily a camera room, but at least a good rinse facility. Thanks for any and all thoughts!

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

The Zodiac one may be difficult to solve as most, if not all, LOB Zodiacs are rather the small ones with 1 engine and no ladder. However, if you clearly state your conditions and that you are not there for a Navy Seals Training, i am sure the guys will take care.
You can tell them that you will only board the Zodiac after handing over lead and jacket. You will need the fins until the end...
Only exception may be if you dive Elphinstone and the Longimanus (Longimani?) are around. In that scenario, the guides will insist, if not dictate a f... short time on the surface and the guys in the Zodiac will pull you out of the water in full gear.
Oh... and watch out for the nasty handles on the side of the Zodiacs: my buddy/wife/ex-girlfriend bruised her ribs when she landed on one of these handles while getting in... Afterwards, she needed even less air than usual, because she couldn't take a deep breath...

 

[noserider]

How serious are you achilles issues?

I had a full achilles rupture and surgery to stitch it back together and find climbing ladders harder then getting onto a rib, ladders are still tricky 4 years post op Stepping onto a rib when fully geared up is tricky, I always ask for a hand as I am paranoid about the achilles failing again. My rupture actually happened on a boat moving one way and me moving the other as I planted my foot without any sign it was weak in the preceding months / years.

Most decent liveaboards have good camera facilities as a standard

 

[MB NZ]

1) I just did a trip on Grand Sea Serpent, there were ladders on the Zodiacs which was a pleasant surprise. Easy thing to check before booking.

2) Egyptians smoke like chimneys. Any outside area apart from the dive deck appears to be fair game for smokers.

3) Camera facilities are variable between boats. On Grand Sea Serpent, all the cameras went in a big wash tub. It was a bit of a mess. There was also a wet camera table immediately above the wash tub.

 

[rmorgan]

How serious are you achilles issues?

I had a full achilles rupture and surgery to stitch it back together and find climbing ladders harder then getting onto a rib, ladders are still tricky 4 years post op Stepping onto a rib when fully geared up is tricky, I always ask for a hand as I am paranoid about the achilles failing again. My rupture actually happened on a boat moving one way and me moving the other as I planted my foot without any sign it was weak in the preceding months / years.

Most decent liveaboards have good camera facilities as a standard

Crappy injury, isn't it. We were in Bonaire and, geared up with the damn camera in hand, I stepped from the sidewalk onto a concrete step that had pulled away and down a few inches, something we'd done before. As advertised, it felt like I took a baton strike to the calf. It turned out to be approximately a grade 1.5, so no surgery. We were 70 days out from a PNG trip, so I rehabbed it every way I could and actually did fine on both boat and RIB ladders, but I share your paranoia. If we do the Red Sea trip under consideration, it'll be a year to the week from my injury. Six months out now, and while I feel like it's healed very well, I'm really uninterested in a recurrence!

As to the cameras, I was surprised to read that the Seawolf Dominator has (or had a few years ago) a couple of black tubs. I assume that's not the norm.

 

[rmorgan]

Oh... and watch out for the nasty handles on the side of the Zodiacs: my buddy/wife/ex-girlfriend bruised her ribs when she landed on one of these handles while getting in... Afterwards, she needed even less air than usual, because she couldn't take a deep breath...

I assume that's the same reason so many divers smoke--decreased lung capacity = longer dives.

1) I just did a trip on Grand Sea Serpent, there were ladders on the Zodiacs which was a pleasant surprise. Easy thing to check before booking.

2) Egyptians smoke like chimneys. Any outside area apart from the dive deck appears to be fair game for smokers.

3) Camera facilities are variable between boats. On Grand Sea Serpent, all the cameras went in a big wash tub. It was a bit of a mess. There was also a wet camera table immediately above the wash tub.

MB, were you happy overall with the Serpent?

 

[Mod63]

As I had my worst experience on a Seawolf vessel I would look elsewhere. Ladders in Zodiaks are not the norm in Egypt, on ther other hand we had trips where all dives where done from the main boat, especially on the more relaxed itinaries. Smoking was never an issue, most of the smokers we had on board over the years were very considerate.

 

[noserider]

Crappy injury, isn't it. We were in Bonaire and, geared up with the damn camera in hand, I stepped from the sidewalk onto a concrete step that had pulled away and down a few inches, something we'd done before. As advertised, it felt like I took a baton strike to the calf. It turned out to be approximately a grade 1.5, so no surgery. We were 70 days out from a PNG trip, so I rehabbed it every way I could and actually did fine on both boat and RIB ladders, but I share your paranoia. If we do the Red Sea trip under consideration, it'll be a year to the week from my injury. Six months out now, and while I feel like it's healed very well, I'm really uninterested in a recurrence!

As to the cameras, I was surprised to read that the Seawolf Dominator has (or had a few years ago) a couple of black tubs. I assume that's not the norm.

Yeap crappy is understatement, I did mine on a boat in Kenya being dragged up to dance by a work colleague, put my foot down, boat deck moved, heard a pop, and felt a kick to the back of my leg, foot went floppy, looked behind no one there, then thought maybe I had been shot as the pop sounded like gun fire but no bleeding. spent the nest 2 hours drinking whiskey on the boat knowing that my achilles had gone.

12 months of rehab, but can now cycle 100 miles in 5ish hours, surf and dive so happy but still do single leg raises most days

I think you'll be fine on the boat, on the odd occasion I don't feel comfortable I pass up all my gear and always let the boat boys that I have an injury so might need help

 

[Parlem]

The Red Sea's on our list, and friends recently asked that we look at the Seawolf Dominator. Three Two issues concern us, and I'm curious whether there are boats in those waters which resolves any or all of them. The most concerning is the Zodiac issues recently discussed--boarding the Zodiac geared up, and the absence of ladders for re-entry. I've just finished rehabbing a bit of calf/Achilles nastiness, which makes me leery of the first, and my wife has some fancy back hardware which makes getting hauled over the pontoon less than ideal (we can hoik ourselves up and over the pontoons, but I've seen some videos of folks getting lifted in by one arm, which seems like a bad plan for aging shoulders). Second--are pretty much all of the Red Sea boats open everywhere for smokers? And third second--are there some with good camera-management facilities? Not necessarily a camera room, but at least a good rinse facility. Thanks for any and all thoughts!

Hi!

The following Red Sea liveaboards have zodiacs fitted with aluminium ladders:

- Red Sea Explorer (operated by Extra Divers)
- MY Blue (operated by Blue Planet)
- Seawolf Dominator (operated by Seawolf Diving Safaris)
- Seven Seas (now operated by Emperor Divers)

- Scuba Scene had them too but, alas, it caught fire and sank not long ago ...


Of course, I would always write to them to check before booking. You never know: their zodiac or zodiacs might be out of action and they might be using other ones, they might have second thoughts and got rid of the ladders ... who knows. Anything is possible. Always check. And, be prepared: even when you check and get an answer in writing, by the time you get there things might have changed ...

Another thought I'd like to volunteer is that not all aluminium ladders are created equal. For instance, the ladders on the Red Sea Explorer's zodiacs used to be very narrow and larger divers with a partially inflated BC simply would not fit through and getting back on the zodiac was awkward. I was told in 2021 that they intended to get a different kind of ladder but can't say if they actually did.

Best of luck and I wish you a full recovery from your surgery.

 

[Parlem]

As I had my worst experience on a Seawolf vessel I would look elsewhere. Ladders in Zodiaks are not the norm in Egypt, on ther other hand we had trips where all dives where done from the main boat, especially on the more relaxed itinaries. Smoking was never an issue, most of the smokers we had on board over the years were very considerate.

Hi!
The Seawolf fleet is not exactly a budget option in the Red Sea. I also believe they are German-owned. Would you care to say what went wrong on your particular trip? Many thanks in advance.