Utila Agressor II in March 09 or wait until 2010 for Utila I

My husband and I want to go to Utila in March 09, however, Utila Agressor I is booked. Utila Agressor II is available (I understand this one will be remodeled soon. I am wondering should we go in March on the older boat or wait to go on the nicer one. Does it really make a difference. Obviously we are more interested in diving then our accommodations, however, I don't want to pay a hefty price for a lessor boat. Any info would be appreciated.
thanks,
Mary

I haven't been on the Utila Aggressor(s), but I was considering it for 2009 until reading the reviews in Undercurrent's "The Traveling Diver's Chapbook" (if you haven't heard of it, it's a yearly compilation of diver reviews of destinations all over the world from the subscribers to Undercurrent; the 2008 book is 426 pages long).

Mostly the crew got good reviews, but there were complaints about the shape of the boat from a number of reviewers - showers not working, showers leaking, air conditioning suited for a meat locker, bugs and ants, broken gearbox so running on one engine, generator problems, etc. A summary might be this quote from one reviewer - "The boat is the former Turks & Caicos Aggressor and should be sunk as a new wreck site."

Not sure which boat the Undercurrent reviews were talking about (I or II) so you might be on your own to figure out which they might have been talking about. As I said, what I'm relaying is just what's written in the Chapbook - I have nothing against the Aggressor fleet (I've done Belize and Caymans, and am on the Palau Aggressor in January 2009).

Also, reading the captain's logs for 2008 on the Aggressor site it appeared that the number of whale sharks they saw through October could be counted on one hand. That was my main interest in going there, so with an aging boat and a good chance of no whale sharks, I decided on a different trip (Palau Aggressor in Jan.).

Jim

The 2009 Chapbook showed up today and it had 3 more recent reviews of the Utila Aggressor (again, no indication of I or II) from Nov. 2007, Feb. 2008, and May 2008. No complaints about the boat at all.

joebill:

The 2009 Chapbook showed up today and it had 3 more recent reviews of the Utila Aggressor (again, no indication of I or II) from Nov. 2007, Feb. 2008, and May 2008. No complaints about the boat at all.

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I looked at the website, and it appears to me that the NEW boat doesn't start service until 2010. Until then it is still the older boat, so there would be no reviews on it yet. Nothing specific on the website saying what is to be done with the old boat, but I doubt they will run 2 boats for that itinerary.

I was on the Utila Aggressor about two years ago. It was the old Aggressor boat from Belize. It was just fine. I was on it when it was in Belize and it was fine then too. I was on two different Bay Islands Aggressors and they were both fine. I've actually worked on a liveaboard and one thing to remember is that the boat will always be in best condition shortly after a dry dock session or upfitting. I think many comments I've read on this board are a bit too critical of many of the boats. These things are subject to the elements and rough treatment day in and day out. They will rarely be perfect. Things go wrong and things break. What makes or breaks a trip for me is the crew, the diving and the food. The boat is just a place to sleep and a way to get from place to place. Certainly you want it too be comfortable but remember, it's a boat not a luxury hotel with lots of parts and repair staff waiting to fix every little issue. Choose the time you want to go and go. Don't worry about the boat unless you see dozens of people complaining about the same thing over and over.
You'll love the Utila Aggressor regardless of what the happen to call it the day you go.

Thank you for all of your comments. Your feedback is very helpful. Being an adventurous sort of person and not one to get too upset if things are not perfect, I think I will take my chances and go in March 09. If the weather and diving are good, I will be happy.