Gulf Stream Eagle
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Ok....am I missing something? I clicked on the "travel" link on your website and it had info on a manatee trip.
soamelt
Contributor
I actually did a day trip on the Eagle. Fun crew (we were doing some skeet shooting during the SI), good food, but definitely not most luxurious accommodations. I can't speak of the sleeping quarters since I didn't stay overnight, but I can't imagine it's that much better than the rest of the ship.
KBeck
Contributor
I went for a week to Cay Sal Bank several years ago.
The boat: It's getting a bit old, I'd imagine. It's not the prettiest ship in the marina, but if you don't really care, it's no big deal. The A/C died one night during the trip, and we slept outside. It was fixed by the next day. When you're out on the ocean in the middle of nowhere, obtaining parts isn't too easy.
-Accommodations: As someone said, not luxurious; rooms are extremely tight, but the bed itself was perfectly comfortable. There is no private bath in the rooms; just a shower on the main deck area that was just fine to clean off and wash your hair. There isn't a lot of room to spread out, but if the boat's not too full, it's not bad. There's an upper sun deck that I spent most time on reading and sunning between dives.
-Food--the chef/mate at the time did a great job with a small space, and had plenty of food ready and available for snacks, etc. I'm fairly picky, and never went hungry. They were approached at one point by a fishing boat, and traded a few packs of cigarettes for some 20 pounds of fresh conch, which became dinner.
--Diving: Suppose it will vary based on your itenerary. Cay Sal Bank is mostly rather deep dives (the walls don't start until 95 feet or so); and, at least on my trip, your safety is essentially your own responsibility. They will let you be and let you do whatever you want, though there is a divemaster with flag on most dives. DO read into that---I'm comfortable taking care of myself, and had no major issues (some of the divers were dangers to themselves, but that's their problem, afaic). However, if a "do what you want" attitude is not your thing, you may be uncomfortable with them.
We had good weather the whole time, and had the opportunity for 4 or 5 dives a day, usually including a night dive. The dives themselves were spectacular, and in general, I'd love to do Cay Sal Bank again someday.
The Eagle is a family business-the captain and his wife own and run it. When I booked (5+ years ago now), they weren't well equipped for online, etc. payments. They may be better now; at the time, they did most of their business through Scuba Club up the road. I did witness the captain enjoying a rum drink from time to time--again, your decision on your comfort level.
Feel free to PM me with other questions, etc.
Oh: and, to my knowledge, they only have air, no nitrox.
The boat: It's getting a bit old, I'd imagine. It's not the prettiest ship in the marina, but if you don't really care, it's no big deal. The A/C died one night during the trip, and we slept outside. It was fixed by the next day. When you're out on the ocean in the middle of nowhere, obtaining parts isn't too easy.
-Accommodations: As someone said, not luxurious; rooms are extremely tight, but the bed itself was perfectly comfortable. There is no private bath in the rooms; just a shower on the main deck area that was just fine to clean off and wash your hair. There isn't a lot of room to spread out, but if the boat's not too full, it's not bad. There's an upper sun deck that I spent most time on reading and sunning between dives.
-Food--the chef/mate at the time did a great job with a small space, and had plenty of food ready and available for snacks, etc. I'm fairly picky, and never went hungry. They were approached at one point by a fishing boat, and traded a few packs of cigarettes for some 20 pounds of fresh conch, which became dinner.
--Diving: Suppose it will vary based on your itenerary. Cay Sal Bank is mostly rather deep dives (the walls don't start until 95 feet or so); and, at least on my trip, your safety is essentially your own responsibility. They will let you be and let you do whatever you want, though there is a divemaster with flag on most dives. DO read into that---I'm comfortable taking care of myself, and had no major issues (some of the divers were dangers to themselves, but that's their problem, afaic). However, if a "do what you want" attitude is not your thing, you may be uncomfortable with them.
We had good weather the whole time, and had the opportunity for 4 or 5 dives a day, usually including a night dive. The dives themselves were spectacular, and in general, I'd love to do Cay Sal Bank again someday.
The Eagle is a family business-the captain and his wife own and run it. When I booked (5+ years ago now), they weren't well equipped for online, etc. payments. They may be better now; at the time, they did most of their business through Scuba Club up the road. I did witness the captain enjoying a rum drink from time to time--again, your decision on your comfort level.
Feel free to PM me with other questions, etc.
Oh: and, to my knowledge, they only have air, no nitrox.
soamelt
Contributor
I had a few drinks with the captain (who I'm pretty sure was your captains son).
They do have nitrox. I do recall that they only use it if everyone is doing nitrox, I forget what the reasoning was. I believe it had something to do with the way their compressor was setup, way easier than switching something back and forth.
It's funny, the dives on our outing were all DM led. We wanted to go off on our own, but they wouldn't allow it. This was last year though and I think it's a different crew. It's the two sons running the boat now.
KBeck
Contributor
I should add, the people on the ship the week I went were regulars, and a number of them worked at The Scuba Club as well. I'm pretty certain that was the reason we were given more diving leeway. That said, my overall impression remains that they were fairly liberal in their dive management.
However, if the sons are now running it, they may be more conservative in their approach.
However, if the sons are now running it, they may be more conservative in their approach.
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