Where should I go?

[jasondcrawford]

Makes sense... so its not that depth in itself is harder, it's just that when things go wrong (and they certainly will at some point), if you don't know how to handle the situation at 40 feet, there is no way you're going to be able to handle it at 90 feet. Guess I need to go log more dives.

 

[WOODMAN]

I would recommend Cozumel but several friends have recently returned from there and say the hurricane damage is way beyond what they expected and diving was not as good as before.

Well, I guess this is a matter of opinion. I was in Cozumel on the first flight in after Wilma( I have never seen an emptier airplane!) and I got to see the damage right off. Yes, it was pretty noticable, but it was still better diving than a LOT of other places I could name, and the people were working like mad to fix things up. It is now about a year later, and things are rapidly returning to normal. A lot of the stuff in the shallow areas will take much more time to heal, of course, but most of what we go to Cozumel for is still there, IMHO. Check with Christi (you will find multiple entries from her on the Cozumel forum) and she will give you an up-to-date assessment. Woody

 

[Doc]

from a PM

You seem to be a good person to ask. Are most liveaboards for intermediate-advanced divers, or are there some in the carribean (which sounds to be more beginner friendly than the pacific) that would be appropriate for new divers? Is there a website, like expedia is for hotels, that has a huge list of all the liveabords? Also, how many dives do you think I would have to make before being considered 'intermediate'? Does it matter if most of these dives are at a lake? Thanks in advance

Jason- I have maybe 5000 dives. If I were to return to dive in the Great Lakes where I did my first 1000 or so- I would not even imagine that I was anything other than a beginner. Technology has changed, now the mode of operation is 'dry suits' which I have zero familiarity. Your level of expertise is directly linked with prior experiences and how they will prepare you for the new environment.

I too, did many lake dives when I was starting out. It did not prepare me for current or downwellings or drift diving with Zodiac inflatable recoveries, but it certainly prepared me for "night diving" as well as cooler ocean environs. After lake diving, you and I will snicker when we hear people complain about a cool ocean temp of 74*. See? In some regards you're already "advanced". You know what thick rubber can do and what really cold water feels like!

That said (again, again), know that most liveaboards that you find in the Caribe are geared toward a wide range of divers and abilities. Do what I do- when you get on board, after the introductions and everbody is settled down, talk to the director of diving about your fears and concerns. He won't wave a magic wand, but he might offer advice and cousel. After he has seen you dive, he might suggest course work... or not.

On most Caribbean liveaboards, you can dive as much as you want. If there's a current, they know how to deal with it- even if you are in need of help. All should employ dedicated "bubble watchers" who's duty is nothing but to watch for divers surfacing far away. They will direct a small boat to go retreive you and either pull you aboard or drag you slowly behind on a rope to the mother ship.

Differences in quality depend upon crew and policies.

Many pleasure craft (cabin cruisers, etc) have been modified as best possible for diving. Some larger ships (usually oil platform service boats) have been refitted for divers. Some ships were designed from the keel up as dive platforms.

There is the elgant- with cloth tablecloths, there is the other end of the spectrum with draped-off bunks and shared toilets.

In your level of experience, I would suggest a liveaboard in Belize (about the only way to see Belize). It features clear warm water and shallow delights. No currents and predictably calm seas depending upon season. My far and away favorite is the Nekton. They also do Cayman, which in its state today, I would say the liveaboard is the best way to search for the Cayman "of the past".

Some poeple try to make Cruise Ships into liveabaords, all the way from NCL to Windjammer.

I pick my liveaboard based on past performance, long term crew, ease of using the dive deck, crew attentiveness, air conditioning, physical stability of the vessel, then other items follow.

There is no one website for liveaboards that I am aware of, but you would do well to search here on the single best SCUBA website and on a search engine such as Google for the following names:

Peter Hughes
Aggressor Fleet
Aqua Cat
BlackBeards
Nekton Cruises

...and others which will be added by other better informed readers.

I think you're headed in the right direction.

 

[robint]

depth is a big issue for air consumption also........ being a beginner, I would say that you and your friends probably don't stay down all that long. Going deep means you use your air supply even faster. My personal recommendation is to do more dives and work on air consumption - when you get to the point that you have air left in your tank still but dive computer says you have to go up, then you can start thinking about "advanced" dives. Learning to relax and breathe correctly, along with bouyancy, are the most important things you can learn right now. You can only learn those by experience - meaning dive dive dive. If you dive beyond your abilities right now it could be very discouraging, or even dangerous. I am not saying you are a bad diver, I am just saying you are a beginner still. Go for easy diving for now, dives where you can work on the skills you will need in the future. You will have more fun now and less stress now and in the future.

 

[DavidHickey]

There is the occasional shark spotting, recently a pod of dolphins in the channel between the islands, but about the only reliable "big stuff" is the tarpon feeding in the lights at Capt' Don's resort at night.

HEY, I was in Bonaire for the first time the 1st week of August and I saw a pod of Dolphin in between the Islands and even fairly close to the Town Peir. Are you saying this is not normal? We watched them but kinda figured it was normal.
David

 

[diversteve]

HEY, I was in Bonaire for the first time the 1st week of August and I saw a pod of Dolphin in between the Islands and even fairly close to the Town Peir. Are you saying this is not normal? We watched them but kinda figured it was normal. David

From what I've read, they've been seen pretty frequently since about February. When I was there in 04, a group came in from having snorkeled with them, the DM said that was the first he'd seen dolphins in recent years.

So maybe(let's hope) they're now resident in the channel.

 

[jasondcrawford]

Okay, with everyone's help, I've all but narrowed it down to a liveaboard in the caribbean in December (the week of Christmas probably). Currently, the front runner is Belize with the Nekton, but I'm open for suggestions. One thing though, my wife absolutely wants to see dolphins and either dive or snorkel with them... I don't know if that is too much of a long-shot, but are there any destinations in the caribbean where that would be more likely than others? Any chance of that in Belize?

 

[Juls64]

I think you should go to Cozumel

 

[BurBunny]

There's the dolphin program at Anthony's Key in Roatan or UNEXSO on Grand Bahama. Other than the two semi-captive programs, your best bet is generally in the Bahamas. Otherwise, it's luck anywhere.

 

[diversteve]

but are there any destinations in the caribbean where that would be more likely than others? Any chance of that in Belize?

What Amber said, both AKR and Unexso offer practically a guaranteed encounter with them as the dolphins live on the property and follow you out to the divesite.

You have a higher likelihood of seeing Whalesharks and possibly Mantas than you do Dolphins in Belize. I don't think you'll be allowed to dive with the Whalesharks though.

Nekton told me they've been reliably snorkeling with Dolphins on their NW Bahamas trips this summer. But they don't allow diving there so assuming you did encounter them in Belize, you could probably only snorkel with them. And they're probably not going to be riding the bow wave on the Pilot, it's a pretty slow boat.

Bimini Underseas has a snorkel with Spinner Dolphins program. But you don't really want to do Bimini for your vacation, it's pretty average.

If we ever run into each other locally, remind me to tell you about the Pilot experience.