ewaiea
Contributor
I tried to post this yesterday but I don't think it posted so I'll write the same trip report again........
Well all, just as I predicted - the liveaboard lifestyle is definitely for me. It was especially nice before and after the manta ray night dive when all the day boats were sitting out there with their cold sopping wet wetsuits, cramped together with a long cold ride back to the harbor and there we were just sitting and sipping drinks in warm dry clothes from the sun deck. I think the other boat captains hate it when the Aggressor shows up because it really shows them up in ways they can't control.....OH WELL!!!!
Getting there:
Anyway, getting to Kona was quite easy since I live in Honolulu - just a short 25 min flight. I had a 2 hour delay but I called the boat's cell number provided to me in my cruise package and they adjusted my pickup time accordingly. They dropped me off at the pier to walk around Kona and they took care of my luggage - it was that easy!
The diving:
Kona's diving is all about clear water, coral gardens that look different than what you're used to if you dive the Caribbean or the South Pacific with the worlds highest concentration of endemic organisms - you won't see them anywhere else in the world because of Hawaii's geographic isolation. You might see sharks, you'll probably see mantas, most likely turtles, and we even got to swim with pilot whales which according to the crew is few and far between but between dives 2 and 3 we eat lunch offshore (which was not bumpy by the way) and the captain looks for dolphins and pilot whales to see and swim with should you feel so inclined.
The schedule is 5 dives a day - one after a hot breakfast(08:00), eat a snack, dive 2 (10:30) at the same location......eat lunch and move to site #2 - this is a good time for a nap, dive 3 at 02:00pm, eat a snack, dive 4 at 04:30pm, eat an awesome dinner and if you haven't had anything to drink in the way of alcohol then you can dive the night dive at 07:30. I missed two dives during the week so I only did 25 dives - one of them I did free diving for added challenge and fun (but that's just me). Make sure you don't miss AuAu Crater and The Hive - those were my two favorite sites.
The food:
Chef Doug made some awesome dishes - everything from stir fry, to scallops, to one day where we BBQ'd, the breakfasts were awesome with hot and cold selections, lunches and dinners with mixed greens to start, and everything in between. Let them know if you have special dietary requirements but tell them as far in advance as you can because they have to plan for it.
I won't bore you with the dive by dive details - just remember that the small stuff in Hawaii is what you should be looking for more so than the big stuff in my opinion. But don't forget to look out into the blue - you never know what might be cruising by in the way of dolphins, pilot whales, mantas, turtles, or eagle rays.
I'm sure you all have some questions regarding specifics so I'll be checking periodically to answer them - hope you all consider this vessel. I've lived in Hawaii 10 years so yeah, I would've liked to have went to Palau, or Belize, or Fiji or wherever for my first liveaboard but I had to get new gear this year so I saved for the trip and didn't want to spend a bunch on airfare so Kona - which I've dove 3 or 4 other times was my first choice in destinations close by. I'll be going to Papua New Guinea 4/23-5/3 on the Star Dancer - so it's time to start pinching pennies again. So long!
Eat, Sleep, Dive,
Eric
Well all, just as I predicted - the liveaboard lifestyle is definitely for me. It was especially nice before and after the manta ray night dive when all the day boats were sitting out there with their cold sopping wet wetsuits, cramped together with a long cold ride back to the harbor and there we were just sitting and sipping drinks in warm dry clothes from the sun deck. I think the other boat captains hate it when the Aggressor shows up because it really shows them up in ways they can't control.....OH WELL!!!!
Getting there:
Anyway, getting to Kona was quite easy since I live in Honolulu - just a short 25 min flight. I had a 2 hour delay but I called the boat's cell number provided to me in my cruise package and they adjusted my pickup time accordingly. They dropped me off at the pier to walk around Kona and they took care of my luggage - it was that easy!
The diving:
Kona's diving is all about clear water, coral gardens that look different than what you're used to if you dive the Caribbean or the South Pacific with the worlds highest concentration of endemic organisms - you won't see them anywhere else in the world because of Hawaii's geographic isolation. You might see sharks, you'll probably see mantas, most likely turtles, and we even got to swim with pilot whales which according to the crew is few and far between but between dives 2 and 3 we eat lunch offshore (which was not bumpy by the way) and the captain looks for dolphins and pilot whales to see and swim with should you feel so inclined.
The schedule is 5 dives a day - one after a hot breakfast(08:00), eat a snack, dive 2 (10:30) at the same location......eat lunch and move to site #2 - this is a good time for a nap, dive 3 at 02:00pm, eat a snack, dive 4 at 04:30pm, eat an awesome dinner and if you haven't had anything to drink in the way of alcohol then you can dive the night dive at 07:30. I missed two dives during the week so I only did 25 dives - one of them I did free diving for added challenge and fun (but that's just me). Make sure you don't miss AuAu Crater and The Hive - those were my two favorite sites.
The food:
Chef Doug made some awesome dishes - everything from stir fry, to scallops, to one day where we BBQ'd, the breakfasts were awesome with hot and cold selections, lunches and dinners with mixed greens to start, and everything in between. Let them know if you have special dietary requirements but tell them as far in advance as you can because they have to plan for it.
I won't bore you with the dive by dive details - just remember that the small stuff in Hawaii is what you should be looking for more so than the big stuff in my opinion. But don't forget to look out into the blue - you never know what might be cruising by in the way of dolphins, pilot whales, mantas, turtles, or eagle rays.
I'm sure you all have some questions regarding specifics so I'll be checking periodically to answer them - hope you all consider this vessel. I've lived in Hawaii 10 years so yeah, I would've liked to have went to Palau, or Belize, or Fiji or wherever for my first liveaboard but I had to get new gear this year so I saved for the trip and didn't want to spend a bunch on airfare so Kona - which I've dove 3 or 4 other times was my first choice in destinations close by. I'll be going to Papua New Guinea 4/23-5/3 on the Star Dancer - so it's time to start pinching pennies again. So long!
Eat, Sleep, Dive,
Eric