The Passion inspired by Nekton Dive Cruises

[Doc]

.... but I think Doc was talking about boats that cater to the recreational crowd looking for week long charters.

Yes, that's what I was getting at. I didn't want to intimate that the 2/3 day excursions were any less fun or worthwhile. I would love to go to Flower Gardens or Tortugas. Instead, I stick with O'hare.

I don't know if Blackbeard's changed their flag, but I certainly understand their rationale for moving...

They no longer show pix of their various ships running a US Flag nor is there any mention of it. I'm still thinking that Nekton might be the only week long dive boats that do. But even if there is another one, the point remains. It is not a cheap, simple way to do business. Much easier to "fly a flag of convenience". At least with a US Flag, you don't have to do cash pay-offs to officials in other countries. The Coast Guard is fairly straightforward and systematic.

Even under US Flagging, the Belize government leaned on them to employee a number of locals on a specified basis. And if you recall that point about Pro-Dive IDC and the recently closed IDC of Pat Hammer's, both nearby mega-IDC's in Ft. Lauderdale, that's the obvious connection that presents itself.

The Nekton had another issue to contend with there (and other places)... it draws a lot of water (draft), so it can only be moored or moved under specific tidal conditions.

During the prior Belize days, they had to tie up to the deep-water Government Pier, which is a long hike from anywhere. The other liveaboards moored-up on a nice pier adjacent to one of the very few pleasant hotels in Belize City. It's the same hotel that Nekton would stage all their guests at for a few hours while the ship was "turned" every Saturday.

There was at least one port of embarkation, Andros, that they had to gauge their departure (and return) schedule around the tides, lest they run aground.

CappyJon could explain this much better. He knows about this well, but the point is difficult to understand by newbies... The Nekton boats have an absolutely HUGE presence underwater. (the bigger your water displacement + lighter weight upper structures = less rocking) http://www.nektoncruises.com/ScubaCruise/TheSWATHAdvantage/tabid/57/Default.aspx

I have been diving off of two other non-Nekton SWATH vessels. They kind of spoil you.

They may look like catamarans, but the are not. On the bottom of those catamaran like hulls, underwater, there are huge torpedo-like structures, maybe 8' around and the length of the ship. They displace an incredible volume of water (hence the stability) but also extend way deep- causing those navigation considerations... they can't be driven about like a standard "deep vee" hulled liveaboard.

I imagine that piloting one of these SWATH vessels is similar to an oil tanker... you better have your next six moves planned out- well in advance.

Jon?

 

[cappyjon431]

Even under US Flagging, the Belize government leaned on them to employee a number of locals on a specified basis.

That did make it difficult to operate in Belize. We came down fully staffed with US crew, but had to hire a significant number of Belizeans. The Belizeans did not want to work for the salary that Nekton paid its US crew. We did eventually get some great Belizean crew members (Malcolm, Arminda, Tisa, and Raul). Unfortunately, after 911, US customs and immigration made it extremely difficult to keep Belizean crew when the boat repositioned to Ft. Lauderdale (we did it for a couple of years but it got more and more difficult). We had to let Arminda go, an awesome chef who worked for us for 4 or 5 years because we could no longer get a work visa for her.

The Nekton had another issue to contend with there (and other places)... it draws a lot of water (draft), so it can only be moored or moved under specific tidal conditions.

During the prior Belize days, they had to tie up to the deep-water Government Pier, which is a long hike from anywhere. The other liveaboards moored-up on a nice pier adjacent to one of the very few pleasant hotels in Belize City. It's the same hotel that Nekton would stage all their guests at for a few hours while the ship was "turned" every Saturday.

The Govenment dock was a hell hole and very difficult to maneuver in and out of. It always made me a nervous wreck when I was running out of there. When I was there we did manage to get moved to the Tourist Village, which was much nicer and much easier to maneuver in, but we did not stay there long because cruise ship launches were paying bigger bucks for the dock space.

There was at least one port of embarkation, Andros, that they had to gauge their departure (and return) schedule around the tides, lest they run aground.
CappyJon could explain this much better. He knows about this well, but the point is difficult to understand by newbies... The Nekton boats have an absolutely HUGE presence underwater. (the bigger your water displacement + lighter weight upper structures = less rocking)
They may look like catamarans, but the are not. On the bottom of those catamaran like hulls, underwater, there are huge torpedo-like structures, maybe 8' around and the length of the ship. They displace an incredible volume of water (hence the stability) but also extend way deep- causing those navigation considerations... they can't be driven about like a standard "deep vee" hulled liveaboard.

I think you might be talking about the Southern Bahamas itinerary when we departed from George Town, Great Exuma. The entrance to Elizabeth Harbor was very shallow and we had to time departure and arrival times based on the tide tables.

The SWATH design is certainly different from a standard catamaran. Believe it or not, the boat can be ballasted to only draw six feet of water when all of the compatrments in the pontoons are pumped dry, but six feet can still be challenging in some of the ports we have utilized. The concept is simple. In calm sea conditions the pontoons are pumped dry and the pontoons usually only extend six feet below the sea surface. In rough sea conditions, the pontoons are flooded with water and sunk below the surface. Because the struts are very narrow, they are the only portion of the boat that experiences the big waves, as the pontoons are sub-surface.

I imagine that piloting one of these SWATH vessels is similar to an oil tanker... you better have your next six moves planned out- well in advance.

I always found that because the props were spaced so far apart (40 feet), the Pilot was extremely easy to run. That boat can literally turn on a dime by simply putting one engine in forward and the other in reverse at the same speed. Learning to ballast properly was not difficult. Probably the most difficult thing to master was learning to take the wind into consideration when docking. Because the boat is so massive, it frequently acts as a giant sail, so it is critical to judge wind speed and direction when pulling up to a dock or mooring ball.

I actually found the Pilot easier to drive than the 25' pangas I run now.

 

[Doc]

I think you might be talking about the Southern Bahamas itinerary when we departed from George Town, Great Exuma. The entrance to Elizabeth Harbor ....

Yep, that was it.

After numerous prior trips to Grand Bahama, Nassau, Freeport, Lucaya, that kind of thing, George Town Great Exuma was a delightful change!

Friendly locals, no-one in you face, happy smiles, people being welcoming and helpful. There was a great pulled pork BBQ joint way on the far side of the harbor. Much better than the restaurant at the nearby yacht basin's club. Two Turtles Inn looked nice, as well, but more of a Yachtie place. Same deal when you put us ashore on San Salvador. As soon as they saw us show up, the locals rolled out straw mats and put out some handicrafts for sale. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to see us.

At San Sal we also visited the Riding Rock Inn, a place that I could recommend well after that visit. Club Dread (Columbus Isle)? Well, some people might like it. Their dive boats were catamaran like things with wide open deck areas. I believe everyone got suited-up and they used a hydraulic plow to push them all in, but I didn't see that for sure.

I liked that itinerary a lot. I solo dived often and saw many solitary large Bull Sharks (or was it the same one who kept following me?). There was one dive site to the SE (?) shore of San Sal that was very cool (Labyrinths?). Large, widely spaced stacks of coral heads that topped out in 35fsw, sandy bottoms at 70'.

Then there was that apparently well known regular, a 7' Cuda that "hid" under the Nekton while she was moored up. I would hang clipped-off at the 15 foot bar for up to an hour- just waiting for more stuff to come by.

The magic of Pelagic Salp (siphonophore?) Jellies. Immersed in an ocean of them in the late afternoon Sun, once again as I was clipped off at the hang bar.

 

[RJP]

There are also several boats that run out of NY/NJ that do some of the wrecks (Andrea Doria, etc.), but I think Doc was talking about boats that cater to the recreational crowd looking for week long charters.

You can sleep on our boat, and we do overnight trips on occasion, but I wouldn't call it a "liveaboard"!!



Seriously - I've been on some of the other boats mentioned above, and again, they might have a berth for you to sleep in and serve some food, but nor sure I'd consider all of them "liveaboards" in the generally accepted connotation of the term.

 

[cappyjon431]

Yep, that was it.

After numerous prior trips to Grand Bahama, Nassau, Freeport, Lucaya, that kind of thing, George Town Great Exuma was a delightful change!

Friendly locals, no-one in you face, happy smiles, people being welcoming and helpful. There was a great pulled pork BBQ joint way on the far side of the harbor. Much better than the restaurant at the nearby yacht basin's club. Two Turtles Inn looked nice, as well, but more of a Yachtie place. Same deal when you put us ashore on San Salvador. As soon as they saw us show up, the locals rolled out straw mats and put out some handicrafts for sale. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to see us.

At San Sal we also visited the Riding Rock Inn, a place that I could recommend well after that visit. Club Dread (Columbus Isle)? Well, some people might like it. Their dive boats were catamaran like things with wide open deck areas. I believe everyone got suited-up and they used a hydraulic plow to push them all in, but I didn't see that for sure.

I liked that itinerary a lot. I solo dived often and saw many solitary large Bull Sharks (or was it the same one who kept following me?). There was one dive site to the SE (?) shore of San Sal that was very cool (Labyrinths?). Large, widely spaced stacks of coral heads that topped out in 35fsw, sandy bottoms at 70'.

Then there was that apparently well known regular, a 7' Cuda that "hid" under the Nekton while she was moored up. I would hang clipped-off at the 15 foot bar for up to an hour- just waiting for more stuff to come by.

The magic of Pelagic Salp Jellies. Immersed in an ocean of them in the late afternoon Sun, once again as I was clipped off at the handg bar.

Your post brings back great memories, especially the jerk BBQ place in fron of Eddie's Edgewater, Labyrinth at San Sal, Psycho-the giant barracuda that followed us from dive site to dive site at Conception Island, and the Comb jellies on the afternoon dives.

That was some great diving and that was when Nekton was at the top of its game. Man do I miss those days....

 

[Doc]

Your post brings back great memories....

Or when the DEA chopper pilot took his girlfriend out for a ride and plopped his real expensive bird into the drink at Georgetown.

Oopsie.

Musta' been a lot of paperwork.

 

[robint]

yeah, there are plenty of "liveaboards" in Calif that do 2-3-4-5 and sometimes 6 day trips around the Channel Islands. Those are not fancy boats - you sleep in a bunkbed in a common room downstairs with only a tiny curtain separating you from others and you have to share 2 bathrooms with 30-40 other divers. We have done several 2-day trips on this such trip (just returned from one this past weekend) and we LOVE them. Rustic - Yes! No privacy - Yes! Fun - Yes!!!!! Worth every penny - YES!!!!

Having done those types of trips, along with having done the Nekton and others, I think I have a reason to express my opinions about liveaboards.

I AM passionate and not afraid to speak my opinion. It annoys me that there are members of SB who refuse to post opinions or trip reports because they don't want to end up in the middle of arguments. They read all these posts, then just do whatever they want and never post if trips went good or bad. I prefer the passionate reports, good or bad.

just my 25 cents, passion is more expensive!

robin

 

[H2O Gal]

I imagine that piloting one of these SWATH vessels is similar to an oil tanker... you better have your next six moves planned out- well in advance.

And yet, the Pilot is nimble enough to do drift dives with. Or it speaks testaments about the piloting skills of the captain to be able to maneuver well enough to do a drift dive with a condominium....

 

[diverdoug1]

Don't know if I am "passionate" about, Nekton, but I AM interested in these posts. I usually go on 2 or 3 trips with them every year, and have been a customer with them since 1998. It is almost like a vacation home for me & my wife.I would really like to see the company do well, because it is one of the few liveaboards that my wife can tollerate being on, because she gets sea-sick. I think if Nekton invested more money back into their company, it would pay off with higher booking rates, and demand that would warrant increasing the cost of the trips. BUT- its not my bussiness.

 

[DebbyDiver]

And yet, the Pilot is nimble enough to do drift dives with. Or it speaks testaments about the piloting skills of the captain to be able to maneuver well enough to do a drift dive with a condominium....

I was immensely impressed with that!!!!