Blackbeard advice...

Hello fellow SB'ers

I'm looking to take a dive vacation this winter (early 2010) Price is a big concern, so I am looking at booking a Blackbeard trip. Any advice or reasons I should not book it. I've been diving the cold waters of Chicago for the better part of this and last year and don't have a ton of warm water experience.

I have read some reviews that the wildlife is very sparse, and the reefs are dull... How bad is it? I've only dove Jamaican waters and, for me, that was not as bad as everyone says. I'm not too concerned with easy/hard diving I think I can handle it.

Any tips would be great, what to bring (clothes/scuba gear), how's the food etc...

Thanks in advance!!

If you are used to diving the cold freshwater around Chicago I can all but guarantee you that you will find even the "dullest" and least populated reefs much prettier than anything you see up there! I can remember after diving the lakes and rivers for years in SW Virginia getting into the ocean for the first time at Palm Beach Florida....it was like diving in an aquarium!
Most of the people who complain about the reefs in the Bahamas being fish poor and faded are people who have been to some really exotic places, and I guess by comparison it might be, but I think you'll love it when comparing it to lakes, rivers and quarries!
The major beef I've heard about Blackbeard cruises is the lack of privacy, but if that doesn't bother you I think you'd have a great time!

if you end up going, you'll post a report right? I'll be going in August, for my first ever dive trip (liveaboard or otherwise) so any insight I can get in advance I'll take.

paulvay:

Any tips would be great, what to bring (clothes/scuba gear), how's the food etc...

Click to expand...

Thanks for asking this, there's so many things I want to ask but 8 months in advance seems a bit early. :blush:

If you go, enjoy!

If I go I will definitely post a report

Explorer ventures has a good special going for that time of year, $500 off. it still would be a few hundred $ more, but definitely worth it. The two boats aren't even comparable.


One night i was talking with Zack the cook on the CEX II. He said he's from Illinois, so I'm guessing he dives in your neck of the woods. I asked him why he's not diving. he said "because i like diving at home, I don't like warm water diving, I like diving on history". So I'm guessing the diving over there where you are must be pretty good.
Mark

I've been on 3 Blackbeard's trips. Two of those trips were from Freeport and one was from Nassau. I have had a great time on all 3 trips. I will say that my last trip was after 2 trips to Bonaire and there is a difference in fish populations between the Bahamas and Bonaire.

That being said the Bahamas is still good diving and one of the best places to see and dive with sharks. Even when you are not "shark" diving you will often see them because they follow the boats around. I find diving in the Bahamas comparable to diving in the Keys.

There are some good wreck dives around Grand Bahama that we had a great time on. The diving around Bimini (sp) is good and varied. In my two trips we saw many interesting things from Octos, rays, turtles, eels, etc.....

On my three trips the crew has been awesome, the food good and 3-4 dives per day. It is close quarters, pack light. I have never been in the winter so I can't advise you on what conditions will be like. I would definitely bring rain gear and something warm in case it gets cool. I have always brought a water bottle with a clip so I could clip it onto something while I was in the water. Spring clips are a good idea so you can hang your towels, wet suits, bathing suits to dry on the deck. I got mine at Home Depot.

Hope you have a great time, if you want to check out my pictures from my Blackbeard's trips as well as trip reports on the first two. Go to my website. SCUBA CHICK.

I have done 7 or 8 trips on the fleet! Here is info, pictures, and Video of one of the trips! You can find more on our site!
Two Tanked Productions HD & SD Underwater Productions and video services

I'm not sure just how tight your budget is, but one of the sister ships of Black Beards is AquaCat. I've heard excellent things about this ship, and I've also heard good things about the Nekton diving cruises. I just did my first dive trip on the Kona Aggressor II this past August and I have to say, comfort on a liveaboard is SUCH a nice thing to have. To me though, ultimately on a dive trip, if you have a way to maximize your diving (which a liveaboard is the best option bar none) and you also have a way to shower off and put on dry clothes and go to your bunk, then that would be enough for me.

There is one other liveaboard that I've not done, but has been around for a while that's rarely mentioned and under new ownership and management (husband and wife team). It's called the Easy Goin', go to Bahamas Liveaboard Diving with Paradise Charters, they run liveaboards of varying length to the Bahamas leaving and returning from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The options are weekend (2 days/6-7 dives) and full week charters (7 days/25 dives or so). They also run dolphin excursions to the Bahamas as well. This would only be like a few hundred dollars more if you did the full week charter ($1525), but you might save some money on airfare since you'll only be flying to Florida and not the Bahamas. You also will have a more private experience and be able to do 5 dives a day, on a more comfortable boat, rather than 3 dives a day in a more crowded situation. Plus, if they can't make the gulf stream crossing to the Bahamas due to bad weather, they can dive locally in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area as well as the Florida Keys. Which given the wreck diving possibilities of the Spiegel Grove, Bibb and Duane in Key Largo, I'm not so sure that wouldn't be something you would want to ask them about to see if you could wheel and deal a customized trip with perhaps a customized price for like a 4 day charter or something.
I am not trying to black ball the Black Beard's folks, and like I said, I've never dove with the Easy Goin' but have talked with the Easy Goin' folks (old owners) numerous times and I'd be more inclined to try them first. But now that I'm a liveaboard snob, I can't go back to anything but Peter Hughes or Aggressor, but that's just me

Let me know what you think....hmm?
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Apr 23rd - May 3rd, 2010 ---> Star Dancer, Papua New Guinea......come on people, we need a few more bodies and this is high season, so book now!!!! Lets have a photo shootout! www.peterhughes.com

Thanks for all the responses!! This is all great info.